The mums at Babylicious have all experienced the joy (and occasional mess) of feeding little ones.
We're happy to share our experiences – but if you've got any big concerns then it's wise to speak to your family doctor or health visitor.
Our "Super Mum" is Caroline. And she loves to help Babylicious mums everywhere. So if there's nothing in our hints and tips below then call Caroline on 01494 432 902 (Monday – Friday 10am – 4pm)
GETTING STARTED WITH WEANING
Choose a time of day when both you and your baby are relaxed (not too tired or hungry) – late morning is a good option. You can either start by using a high quality, iron fortified baby rice or just a very simple fruit pureé. Mix the baby rice with water, formula or breast milk.
Place a small amount of the rice or fruit on a rubber tipped spoon and don’t attempt more than one or two spoonfuls initially. Follow this with your child's regular milk feed. Don't be dismayed if your baby spits out these first spoonfuls – it's a foreign feeling to them and it takes practice.
Once your baby is comfortably taking baby rice or a fruit, you can start to introduce other basic fruit or veg pureés. You should ideally wait 3 days before introducing another new taste to ensure no allergic reaction. Once they’re used to a food, try moving that food to the evening meal and introduce another new food at lunchtime. For example, introduce pureéd apple late morning/lunchtime. If after three days they have no reaction to the apple, introduce a second taste, for example butternut squash, at lunchtime and give your baby apple for dinner. Continue this process, rotating and introducing new tastes.
You can also start mixing them up, like apple and pear or butternut and parsnip – or try our Babylicious Stage 1 weaning purées. Once your baby is comfortably taking lunch and dinner, you can introduce breakfast using suitable baby breakfast cereals mixed with some puréed fruit.
After the age of 6 months - but more likely around 7 to 8 months - and once your child is established on 3 meals a day, you can introduce protein like chicken, lamb and beef.
Remember that solid food should not replace a baby’s formula or breast milk. Children between the ages of 6 to 9 months still need at least 500 – 600mls (16 – 20oz) of breast or formula milk daily.