HELP! Do we start with one meal a day when weaning? If so which one is best?

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Hi - our local health service gave us loads of information and we had a meeting over Teams which was really informative. Does yours do anything like that? Might be worth checking with them and they’ll give you lots of information and you’ll have a good idea where to begin. But with the pouches, they said fine for being out and about but much more nutritious to make your own. And we have only been doing one meal a day for the moment, one food a day.

@Hattie Ty. My HV hasn’t mentioned anything like this to me no. Paeds said to start because of constipation / reflux and showing signs of readiness but aaabt expecting to start yet. Are you doing puree or BLW? Do you tend to do lunch time / dinner etc?

Yes, we were told the same (fresh orange juice seemed to get things moving!). We are doing a combination of the both, so for example yesterday she had puréed pepper and held a stick of pepper which she could chew on at the same time. And we’re doing breakfast cos we all tend to have breakfast together at the mo and baby is generally in a good mood

@Hattie Ahhh thank you! are you isn’t a hand / food blender for the purées? I need to get one so might have to get a couple of jars in :/ I was going to get baby porridge but my friend said if BLW do weetabix I’m like surely they can have porridge too lol

I'm just about to start the weaning journey too and going by your comments, we seem to be taking a similar approach. I'm using a kostte machine which cooks and purees veg and fruit. (It's self sterilising which is a bonus) and then putting them into tubs to freeze. I think in terms of pouches for out and about, Ella's kitchen pouches are decent. I'm using baby porridge to start with, with fruit puree mixed through. I've got a great book by annabel karmel which has weaning recipes in there. I think I'm going to offer things like banana on the side that is abit more solid. And I think I'll offer meal around lunch time feed, before the bottle so lo is abit more interested. (I'm in no way in the know here btw, just kind of winging it 😅)

I use a hand blender and mix in breast milk for purees but you can use water. I also do finger foods and were on more mash/lumpy food now. Water should be given in a open cup or sippy cup to prevent constipation and avoid anything with added sugar or salt. Lunch is apparently the best to start with as it's halfway through the day so generally more alert, but any you feel works best. To start with it's only a teaspoon in total. I'd make the purees and then freeze in icecube trays as this was a perfect size. My LO has weetabix or toast for breakfast as that's what I have. They can have baby porridge or oats and also ready brek. The solid food is more taster food and should not be replacing any milk intake until around 1 year I think?!? I was advised to start with savoury as if they start sweet they, like us, they prefer it so might not want savory after. Solid starts app is good to show what they can have and how it should be prepared

With my son we did blw (I'll be honest, I just don't want the hassle of making purees and I don't want to buy them- we tasted some at my baby shower and they were not nice). I think his first day we did 2 meals but after that I did 3 meals a day. My philosophy is that if I'm making a meal for myself, I might as well plate a bit up for baby too. Keeps them entertained while I eat, and they are trying new foods/practicing

I’ve started with dinner 🥘, I’ve been making her purée myself instead of buying them pre-made. What works for us is feeding her half her bottle before she eats so she isn’t upset 😢 then feeding her the food. Making it yourself is so convenient as you can freeze it up to 3 months x