Heinz - Tinytums

Weaning - first steps

At first it's like a colossal waste of time.
Helen, 27, says weaning was really good fun

“The first thing I fed my baby was fruit. Puréed apple, banana, that sort of thing mixed with milk or baby rice. I’d feed her just after her bottle. At first she didn’t hardly eat any of it. I was only giving her two teaspoons of food anyway and really these first steps are about getting them used to something solid, rather than just milk, and experiencing new tastes. They still drink the same amount of milk and have the same number of feeds.

“At first it’s like a colossal waste of time. You shovel some puréed pear in or something and she pushes it back out with her tongue, so you push it back in again with the spoon and she pushes it back out again. This used to go on really for quite a while! Sometimes it’s just easier to use your finger rather than a spoon. But I think the spoons are kind of cute."

She Would just splat food around her face.
“At the very very beginning I’d feed her the same thing for a few days, just while she got the hang of swallowing it. And I’d introduce new tastes like that. But after a week or so you can just go for it and puree veggies and fruit. Mia used to like sweet potatoes, she’s got very refined tastes you know. “I gave Mia a spoon straight away, even at the first feed just so she could hold it in her hand. She’d have a spoon and I’d have a spoon and I’d encourage her to use it. She would just splat food around her face, but it’s all part of the learning process isn’t it? And a mint time for getting photos.  You should keep a camera next to the high chair and capture those moments. That’s one of the best times they get to start learning a bit of independence you know?

She'd feel she was participating in a bit of family life.
“The other really nice thing about starting baby weaning is you can push the high chair up to the table and kind of sit down as a family for the first time.  Even if you’re not all exactly having dinner together, it’s fun. Me and my husband would sometimes have some toast and sit down with Mia, just so she’d feel she was participating in a bit of family life. I used to love family mealtimes at our house, so I’m really looking forward to that aspect of having a family as Mia gets older.

“Actually I think the best thing you can do to ensure success, and I think this applies to a lot of things to do with babies, is to be consistent in your approach and in the times that you do things. Babies obviously can’t tell the time, but they do know. The stronger your routine the better.”

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