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Starting your baby on solids

Weaning Guidelines

For the first 6 months of your baby’s life, breastmilk or infant formula meets all your baby’s nutritional needs, however, you may introduce your baby to solid food from 4 months of age if you feel that he / she is ready before 6 months.

A mother’s instinct knows best what your baby needs, nevertheless, should you feel that your baby needs solids earlier than 6 months, speak to your local clinic or GP and look for the following signs from your baby:

Your baby has started to demand feeds more often
Your baby still seems hungry after his / her usual milk feed
Your baby was sleeping through the night but has started to wake again for a feed
Your baby displays curiosity about what you're eating.

It’s important to follow your instincts because no two babies are the same, however, it is not recommended that solids be introduced before your baby is at least 4 months of age, as a young baby’s digestive and immune system is not sufficiently developed before this time. If weaning is delayed until after six months, however, your baby may have difficulty eating lumpy food. As your baby gets older he will also need more iron and nutrients than milk alone can provide.

While weaning keep in mind that up to the age of one year, milk is still the most important part of your baby’s diet. It is recommended that your baby have a minimum of 600ml of breastmilk or formula a day.

Recommended First Foods

Apple, pear, banana, paw paw, avocado, carrot, potato, parsnip, butternut and sweet potato.

These are the most popular first foods for babies due to their naturally sweet flavour and smooth texture once pureed. Don’t be tempted to add salt or sugar to your baby’s food however bland it may seem. Salt may harm your baby’s kidneys and sugar may encourage a sweet tooth. A baby is not used to these tastes so will not miss them.

No matter how pressed for time you are, there are some “fast foods” that you can use. Fresh fruits like banana, paw paw and avocado are best because they don’t require cooking, provided they are ripe – simply mash them with a fork to make instant baby food! Banana’s, apart from being very nutritious, are an ideal convenience food for babies as they come in their own sterile packaging!

Preparing Your Own Baby Food

It is a lot cheaper to make your own baby food. Here are a few pointers:

Always wash your hands before handling food or feeding your baby.
All feeding equipment should be sterilised for a baby less than 6 months of age (excluding bottles & teats, which should be sterilised for the first year or for as long as they are used). Cooking equipment should be washed in the dishwasher or if handwashed, it should be rinsed with boiling water from the kettle until your baby is 6 months of age.
When you introduce a new food, prepare it without any other ingredients.
Don’t add sugar, salt or fat.
Prepare large quantities at a time and freeze small portions for later.

Recipe Ideas for Stage 1 Weaning (from 4 months)

Apple Puree

To prevent the apple turning brown, do not peel or slice it until you are ready to cook it. When you are ready, peel, quarter and core each apple and either steam the pieces or place in a pot and cover with a small amount of freshly boiled water. Put the lid on the pot and simmer until soft. Once cooked, place in a blender or using a hand blender, blend with a little of the water that you cooked the apples in until smooth enough for your baby. Once your puree is the desired consistency, allow to cool before feeding your baby or place in your Baby Cubes and into the fridge or freezer until needed.

Note: Apples may be given raw from the age of 6 months, but should still be peeled, cored and pureed. Once your baby can manage more texture, apples may be given peeled, cored and grated.

Pear Puree

As with Apples, it is important to cook pears as soon as they have been prepared to prevent them from going brown. Peel, quarter and core each pear and either steam the pieces or place in a pot and cover with a small amount of freshly boiled water. Put the lid on the pot and simmer until soft. To prevent them from sticking, stir the pear pieces continuously while cooking. Once cooked, mash with a fork or blend with a blender, using a little of the water that you cooked the pears in until smooth enough for your baby. Once your puree is the desired consistency, allow to cool before feeding your baby or place in your Baby Cubes and into the fridge or freezer until needed.

Note: Pears may be given raw from the age of 6 months, but should still be peeled, cored and pureed. Once your baby can manage more texture, pears may also be given peeled, cored and grated.

Carrot Puree

Rinse, peel or scrape and slice each carrot. Steam or place in a pot and cover with a small amount of freshly boiled water. Put the lid on the pot and simmer until soft. Once cooked, blend with a blender, using a little of the water that you cooked the carrots in until smooth enough for your baby. Once your puree is the desired consistency, allow to cool before feeding your baby or place in your Baby Cubes and into the fridge or freezer until needed.

Note: Ensure that you give your baby a balanced diet even at these early stages, as too much of any food, particularly carrots, is undesirable.

Be your baby’s chef

Prepare your own choice of fruits and vegetables in a similar way and offer them to your baby one at a time. By offering foods one at a time, you can easily identify any allergic reaction to any particular fruit or vegetable. Once you have ruled out any possible allergies and your baby is ready to enjoy more than one cube per meal, combine different fruits or vegetables as a way of encouraging your baby to enjoy a varied diet and benefit from the nutritional qualities the different fruits and vegetables have to offer.

When to feed what

Buy a good weaning guide or consult your local clinic or paediatrician for advice on what foods to introduce your baby to at what age / stage in the weaning process. Here is a guide to the foods that we have mentioned to get you started:

Apples – from 4 months
Pears – from 4 months
Banana – from 5 months
Paw paw – from 5 months
Avocado – from 5 months
Carrot – from 4 months
Potato – from 4 months
Parsnip – from 5 months
Butternut – from 5 months
Sweet potato – from 4 months

When you start to wean, we would recommend introducing your baby to his/her first taste of solids at his/her midmorning feed, around 10am.

Guide to quantities to feed

Once again it is best to follow your own instinct. Start with one cube of either a pureed fruit or vegetable and when your baby still seems hungry after his milk and fruit or vegetable cube, then offer him / her another of the same variety. Your baby will tell you when he/she has had enough by refusing to open his/her mouth, by pushing the spoon away or by turning his/her head away from the food.

Once you know which foods your baby is enjoying and has no allergic reaction to, then begin to combine different fruit or vegetable varieties. You may also like to combine the ones that your baby doesn’t appear to enjoy with ones he / she does so that your baby gets a healthy, balanced and varied diet.

An unusual, but popular combination with our children is apple and avocado! Simply mix one cube of prepared apple puree with one tablespoon of freshly mashed, ripe avocado and serve (add an additional tablespoon of avocado for every cube of apple).