Weaning your baby

Weaning is about introducing other food to your baby alongside her usual breast or formula milk. Until 6 months, breast or formula milk provides all the nourishment that babies need. At 6 months you can gradually introduce mashed foods (also known as ‘solids’). However, you should continue to give your baby her regular formula milk feeds until she is at least one year old. You may continue to breastfeed your baby for as long as you wish.

Babies who are breastfed are less likely to have many illnesses including:

• Gastro-intestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhoea)
• Chest infections
• Urine infections
• Ear infections
• Wheeze when breathing/asthma
• Eczema, where this runs in the family
• Diabetes in childhood
• Obesity

Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk of:

• Ovarian cancer
• Breast cancer
• Hip fracture in later life caused by the bone disease osteoporosis

Learning to eat

Just as your baby had to learn to feed from your breast or a bottle, so she needs to learn how to eat solid food. This is a gradual process which shouldn’t be rushed. Be patient and allow your baby to develop her eating skills and tastes at her own pace. By her first birthday, your baby should be able to enjoy more or less the same food as the rest of the family. Developing a healthy approach to eating from the very start will stand her in good stead for the rest of her life.

When to start weaning

Every baby is different but there are some signs that can suggest your baby is ready to move on to solid foods. These are:

• She can sit up
• Her eye and hand co-ordination has developed so that she can reach out and grab things accurately
• She takes things into her mouth and chews them rather than automatically pushing them out

Weaning at 6 months: the advantages

• medical evidence now suggests that waiting until 6 months carries significant health benefits
• weaning too early may increase the risk of asthma, eczema, digestive problems, allergies and obesity in later life
• chewing skills are more developed at 6 months so your baby will be able to have well mashed food and move on to food with lumps and bumps
• chewing develops facial muscles which are later used for talking.

In addition, you’ll enjoy some practical benefits if you wait until your baby is 6 months old. She’ll have more control over her body, so feeding is easier when she can sit up in a high chair. And you don’t have to sterilise all her feeding equipment.

Weaning early: the issues

It is not recommended to start giving your baby solid foods before six months. If you decide after talking to your health visitor or GP to give solids before six months see page 175 for list of foods that should be avoided. This is because these foods can sometimes trigger the development of a food allergy.

If you do decide to wean earlier you will need to remember the following:

• all feeding equipment, including bowls and spoons will need to be sterilised
• younger babies need pureed foods and certain foods need to be avoided
• all food will need to be pureed to a completely smooth, thin consistency until your baby is 6 months old. This may make it more difficult for her to progress onto mashed food, or food with lumps and bumps
• if you wean at under 6 months, you’ll need to feed your baby from a baby chair or while sitting on your lap, or sitting up supported by cushions on the floor
• don't give them any peanuts, nuts, seeds, milk, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish, or foods containing these until after 6 months of age. This is because these foods can sometimes trigger development of a food allergy.

How to start weaning

Like all the new experiences, which you and your baby will enjoy together, it’s best to start off slowly and work at a pace that suits both of you. Remember, it’s not a race, so build up slowly from one ‘solid’ feed a day, to breakfast, lunch, tea and snacks by the time she is a year old. Some babies will take longer to do this than others.

Find a time that suits you

It’s best not to give your baby solid food immediately before her regular milk feed – you don’t want to fill her up and reduce her milk intake, as it’s important that milk is the main part of her diet until she is a year old. Choose a time when she is awake and alert, but not expecting a milk feed. The middle of the day may be best.

Be safe and comfortable

At around 6 months, your baby will be able to support herself enough to sit in a high chair, safely strapped in. Don’t leave her alone in her high chair, or leave her to feed herself – there’s a very real danger that she could choke.

Spitting and refusing

When you first introduce solid food to your baby it is a completely new experience for her. As well as the unexpected taste and texture she has to learn to move the food around her mouth and swallow it. Many babies initially react by spitting their first mouthfuls of food straight back out again! This is quite normal and you should gently keep trying until she gets the hang of it. You might find that your baby refuses food at first. Again, this is fine. Leave it for another day and try again.

Your baby’s appetite

Healthy babies know their own appetite and to begin with a couple of teaspoons of food may be enough. Never force your baby to eat if she doesn’t want to – but do contact your health visitor or public health nurse if you’re worried.

What to start with

A baby at 6 months can start with mashed food or finger foods, for example, cooked carrot sticks, broccoli or cauliflower florets, or pieces of pear of peach.

Suitable weaning foods

You don’t have to buy any special foods for weaning your baby – lots of everyday foods are suitable. These include:

• baby rice mixed with your baby’s usual milk
• cooked and mashed vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, carrot, parsnip or cauliflower
• peeled and mashed banana
• peeled, cooked and mashed fruit, such as apple or pear.

Remember not to add any sugar or salt to your baby’s food – salt can damage her kidneys.

What can my baby eat?

The table below shows foods which are unsuitable for your baby before 6 months, and indicates when they may be introduced. It is important that you do not introduce any of these foods before 6 months. This is because of possible allergic reaction.

After 6 months you may gradually introduce these foods, one at a time, checking for any reaction. If you think your child is having an allergic reaction, you should seek urgent medical attention.

Common symptoms of an allergic reaction include one or more of the following: coughing; dry, itchy throat and tongue; itchy skin or rash; diarrhoea and/or vomiting; wheezing and shortness of breath; swelling of the lips and throat; runny or blocked nose; sore, red and itchy eyes.

Cows’ milk is not a suitable drink for babies aged under one year old. Full fat cows’ milk can be added in small amounts to weaning foods from six months. Cows’ milk does not give all the nutrients that children aged under one require. It is also low in iron and high in sodium and lacks the essential energy levels that babies under one need.

Feeding and allergies

If your baby develops an obvious reaction just after eating a food for the first time, for example, swelling or redness around the lips, you should report it to your health visitor or public health nurse or GP who will advise on whether any further investigations or precautions are necessary.

A severe and immediate allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis, which requires urgent medical care, is obvious. Medical staff will advise on how to check for possible causes and avoid repeat episodes. Some foods, such as honey, should be avoided altogether until your baby is over one year old.

Sometimes mothers remove foods from their baby’s diet for various reasons. This is not always wise. It is always better to talk things over with your health visitor or GP before making any substantial changes to your baby’s diet.

You may have heard the previous advice to avoid giving a child foods containing peanuts before three years of age, if there was a history of allergy in the child’s immediate family (such as eczema, hayfever, food allergy or other types of allergy).

The advice has now changed because the latest research has shown that there is no clear evidence to say that this will reduce the chances of your child developing a peanut allergy. If your child already has a known allergy, such as a diagnosed eczema or a diagnosed food allergy, or if there is a history of allergy in your child’s immediate family (if parents, brothers or sisters have an allergy such as asthma, eczema, hayfever, or other types of allergy) then your child has a higher risk of developing peanut allergy. In these cases you should talk to your GP, health visitor or medical allergy specialist before you give peanut or foods contain peanuts to your child for the first time.

Remember not to give whole peanuts, nuts or seeds to children under five because of the risk of choking.

For the most up-to-date advice on weaning your baby, ask your health visitor or public health nurse for a copy of the revised NHS Health Scotland leaflet, Fun First Foods. This booklet helps parents to introduce foods in a way that suits their child. It provides tips, advice, recipes and information on weaning.

Ready prepared foods

Baby foods can be expensive to use every day, although it’s possible to get healthy and interesting products. Read the label to check for added sugars, these may be in form of concentrated fruit puree or fruit juice. Also check for starch and water – both bulk out the food but add little in the way of nutrition. Some babies who have a lot of pre –prepared ‘baby’ which are mostly pureed take a while to get used ‘real’ food with its varieties of tastes, textures and lumps.

Organic food

Some sources indicate that organic food may be better for us – and so for our babies. But it’s still not clear whether organic food is actually healthier, and it’s certainly more expensive. Whatever you choose, it makes sense to buy the best and healthiest food you can afford.

Vegetarian diets

Babies do not need meat or fish to stay healthy, but you need to make sure she’s getting enough protein and other nutrients from the rest of her diet. Make sure she gets a good variety of foods including pulses, eggs, milk, grains and cereals.

Vegan diets

A lot more care needs to be taken with a vegan diet, which cuts out animal products such as eggs and milk, although it is possible for your baby to develop healthily on such a diet. Ask your health visitor or public health nurse or GP to arrange for you to speak to a dietician if you are thinking of weaning your baby onto a vegan diet.

Feeding your growing baby

After 6 months you can start introducing your baby to foods she can pick up and eat by herself. Some babies seem to enjoy food better this way – they prefer picking things up and feeding themselves to taking food from a spoon. Getting your baby involved in feeding herself can also make weaning easier.

Here are a few suggestions for finger foods – all should be cut up into a shape and size your baby can hold easily to chew, gnaw or suck at:

• slices of bread, toast, chapatti or naan
• slices of eating apple or pear
• sticks of carrot or celery (part boiled)
• tiny sandwiches with grated cheese, cottage cheese or mashed banana
• fingers of cheese on toast or pizza
• cubes of cheese
• cooked pasta shapes
• cooked vegetables.

Vitamins

Ask your health visitor/public health nurse about vitamins for you and your baby. It is recommended that babies and young children have vitamin drops (A, C and D) up to the age of five. If you qualify for Healthy Start, you can receive these vitamin drops free of charge.