When To Wean

Making the transition from breast milk or infant formula onto solid foods is a big step, and you will undoubtedly have lots of questions as you approach this milestone in your baby’s development. There is no need to get stressed about the situation just to become observant about how your baby is progressing and react to the situation as it develops. You will probably instinctively know when the time is right but here a few tips to help you with your decision.

Timing

Introducing your baby to solid foods is recommended when he is around 6 months old, although sometimes you might wean him onto foods earlier than this if he is ready. The reason for waiting 6 months is that milk provides all the nutrition babies need until this point, and breast milk has the added benefit of helping to protect them against infections. Developmentally, it’s a good idea to wait as it will make eating so much easier and more enjoyable for your little one. Waiting also gives your baby’s digestive system time to develop and to cope with solid foods better.

You will also save time and hassle for yourself by ensuring your baby is ready to wean before introducing solid foods into his diet. As babies can generally swallow properly at the age of 6 months, feeding themselves is something they’ll learn more easily. If your baby can’t yet swallow properly, he’ll simply push the food back out of his mouth instead – getting more food around his mouth than in it!

What if your baby wants to wean early?

You should be able to tell when your baby’s ready to wean, and this is normally when he’s around 6 months old. However, if he’s a hungry baby he may well show an interest in solid foods at a younger age than this.

There are a few tell-tale signs to look out for. To eat solid foods, babies need to be able to swallow properly – and to do this, they need to be able to sit in an upright position and keep their head steady. So if your baby is able to stay in a sitting position and support his head up, he may well be ready for foods.

Your baby’s coordination needs to be at a certain level too, and he should be able to see the food, reach for it and put it in his mouth, all by himself. Just keep an eye on how he is developing and make your decision based on what you see.

Build on quantity gradually

Start small when weaning your little one onto solid foods. In the beginning, it’s important for your baby to get used to eating and to feeding himself rather than just having milk, which is all he’s been used to up until now. So don’t worry about quantity in the early days, just try a few mouthfuls of food a day initially, and over time increase the amount and types of foods so that he’s eating the same as you in the end – only in smaller portions. 

When it comes to weaning, try to ensure your baby enjoys the experience as this should encourage him to try new flavours as well as feed himself. Allow your baby to touch the food, hold it and feed himself using his fingers, and there’s no need to force or hurry him to try new foods. Be patient, explore together and before you know it, he’ll have an excellent palate. If yu get stressed your baby probably will too and that will just disrupt the process.

Caroline Dalzell is a regular blogger and mother who writes on a number of interesting topics. She is currently writing on behalf of Baby Pages.