After six months, both you and your child will enter an exciting new phase called weaning. It’s a time when your little bundle of joy gets to explore his taste buds. Let’s delve a little deeper to understand how to wean and what foods are recommended.
Tips for Weaning
Here are a few tips you could use, right from the start:
- Timing– when introducing your child to solids, it’s important to choose a good time. Pick a time when your child is fully awake and not distracted. Be patient as well because feeding times may take longer than you’re used to.
- Start with fruits and vegetables– Proteins may be too harsh for your child’s tummy to digest and may cause constipation if your child isn’t properly hydrated. It’s best to start with fruits.
- Shorten or Postpone– adjusting or delaying breastfeeding or formula feeding time, helps your child lose interest in breastfeeding or he becomes more comfortable with shorter periods breastfeeding.
- Gradual steps– Don’t go “cold turkey”. Start by eliminating one feeding time at a time. This will help your child adjust to new food and eventually be completely wean. Stopping all at once may not be pleasant for you too. Your breasts need time to produce less milk and also avoid plugged ducts and mastitis.
- Make feeding time fun- Find fun things to incorporate into feeding time.
Types of Weaning
There are generally two types of weaning. These are:
-
Baby Led Weaning
As the name suggests, this is when you let your child decide when they are ready to be weaned. With this method, you follow your child’s cue. You’ll probably notice your child pushing away the breast or bottle or refusing to feed. This is an excellent time to introduce new food (solids).
-
Mother Led Weaning
This is when you decide you are ready to stop breastfeeding. It could be you are ready to go back to work or as simple as you’re not producing enough milk.
Both options are great. Use what works well for both you and your child’s nutrition.
Foods to Use when Weaning:
You can use one or more of the foods in this group:
- Fruits
- Juices
- Vegetables
- Soups
- Legumes
- Water
- Greens
- Cooked food
- Animal protein
Foods to Avoid During Weaning:
- Salt
- Sugar
- Honey
- Nuts
- Fish
- Eggs
- Tea
- Coffee
- Soft drinks like soda
Give a new food some time before introducing a new one. This is because your child may develop allergies and it’s important to catch this as soon as it occurs.
Disclaimers:
Please note that development differs from one child to another.
Content intended for educational purposes only, and not a substitute for medical advice from your doctor.
Be careful when using any products mentioned on this website. We hold no regulations for such products or their providers
Last reviewed March 2019
Sources: emmasdiary, bounty, todaysparent, cgbabyclub, kinacle, medelabreastfeedingus
