Weaning Workshop Contents o When should I start

Weaning Workshop

Contents o When should I start weaning my baby? o What are the best first foods for my baby? o What is baby led weaning? o How do I wean my baby? Mealtime routine, portion sizes and tops weaning tips o Drinks o Vitamin Drops Slide 2

When Should I Wean my Baby? • The Department of Health (Do. H) recommend introducing solid foods at around 6 months (Do. H 2004) • For the first 6 months of life your baby can get all the nutrients and energy he/she needs from milk alone • Solid foods should not be introduced earlier than 4 months (17 weeks)

Signs of Readiness Look out for signs that your baby is ready to start solid foods e. g. • Watching you or others eating and showing a keen interest in what you’re doing • The ability to grab objects and put them into their mouths • Sucking, chewing on fists or other objects like toys (although this is a typical developmental skill and can develop much earlier than 6 m) • Copying you when you’re eating. Mimicking the chewing action • Seeming more hungry than usual. Perhaps the milk doesn’t seem to be satisfying your baby as much as is used. Look for a combination of these signs, don’t feel rushed into it. You will know what is right for your baby.

Not too soon…. . • Baby’s gut & kidneys are immature (diarrhoea/constipation) • Possible risk of choking • Baby may be more likely to suffer from infections • Inappropriate use of food to comfort Slide 5

Not too late…. . • After 6 months breast/formula milk cannot give baby all the nutrition he/she needs • Refusal to accept solids • Refusal to accept lumpy or mashed foods • Poor acceptance of “family foods” • Difficulty adapting to the spoon or finger foods

Suitable First Foods • Vegetables especially green vegetables eg. broccoli, spinach, cabbage, green beans, kale, avocado, courgetti, runner beans • Other vegetables: carrots, butternut squash, swede, sweet potato, parsnip, • Baby rice (made with baby’s usual milk), baby porridge (go for plain flavours) potato or other starchy foods • Pureed or mashed lentils, beans, pulses • Fruits eg. banana, pear, mango, apple, peach, apricot, melon, nectarine, Slide 7

Stage 1 Foods Slide 8

Stage 1 Foods

Baby Led Weaning or Purees? Baby led weaning • Another way of describing self feeding • Offer pieces/fingers of foods which your baby can grab and put into their mouths themselves • Food should be roughly the size of an adults index finger and soft enough to bite through with gums • The baby has control over what they put in their mouth

The Gag Reflex • The gag reflex is a protective reflex that prevents the ingestion of pieces of food that are too large to be comfortably swallowed • As the infant gets more used to lumpy foods in the mouth, the gag reflex usually declines • Head to Catherine Lippe Nutrition Facebook Page for more info on the gag reflex and a useful video to demonstrate what it looks like in real life

Baby Led V’s Purees Advantages of baby led weaning Disadvantages of baby led weaning • Encourages chewing • It takes time • Baby may be less likely to be fussy when they are older* • Difficult to ensure variety and good nutrition • Less need to prepare something different for baby • Not all foods are suitable for baby led weaning especially at first • Baby becomes more used to family foods • It will be messy • Baby cannot be force fed More food wastage • • • *BLW has not been tested in a randomised control trial and there is insufficient evidence to suggest that it has better long term feeding outcomes than traditional feeding practices *Observation studies suggest that it may support acceptance of a wider range of textures and flavours (SACN 2016)

Are there any foods I should avoid? Foods to Avoid Before 12 Months • Salt and foods that contain added salt • Sugar and foods that contain added sugar • Honey (until 1 year) • Hot chillies • Unpasteurised cheeses • Shark, swordfish and marlin Foods to Limit • Liver – no more than once per week • Oily fish such as salmon, sardines, pilchards, fresh tuna, trout, herrings -No more than twice per week Slide 13

What about Food Allergies? The following foods are considered higher risk allergen foods and should be introduced one at a time after your baby turns 6 months • Cow’s milk products such as cheese, yoghurts, custard, (cow’s milk shouldn’t be given as a drink until 12 m but can be introduced in cooking and as an ingredient from 6 m) • Wheat or gluten based products such as bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, and other foods made from wheat, oats, barley, rye) • Nuts and seeds and foods that contain them • Eggs • Fish and shellfish • Celery • Soy Continuing with breastfeeding throughout weaning can help to minimise the risk of developing allergic diseases

Mealtime Routine and Top Tips • Vegetables first, vegetables frequently and vegetables in variety • Start slowly, 1 meal per day and then gradually increase to 2 and then 3 meals a day by 7 months • Chose whatever time of day fits best with your routine, think about the timing of milk feeds, is baby too full, too hungry, too tired? • Start with 2 -3 spoonfuls or mouthfuls and let baby guide you. • Look out for signs of fullness and avoid force feeding • Eat together, smile, make eye contact, relax and make yummy noises! • If baby is not interested, don’t worry. Try again the next day. Slide 15

Stage 1 Menu Planner Weaning Workshop

Stage 1 Menu Planner

Stage 2 Tips (from 7 months) Weaning Workshop

Stage 2 Weaning: from around 7 months • Move on to mashed or minced texture • Introduce a wider range of tastes • 2 -3 servings of starchy foods, 2 -3 serving of fruits/vegetables, 1 serving of meat, fish or pulses daily • Encourage chewing by offering finger foods even if you’re not following baby led weaning • Introduce drinks from a free flow cup at 6 months • Continue breastfeeding on demand or offer about 560 ml/17 oz formula milk per day in addition to food Slide 19

Stage 2 textures Minced and Mashed

Stage 2 finger foods

Stage 2 Menu Planner Weaning Workshop

Stage 2 Menu Planner

Stage 3 Weaning: 10 -12 months • Chopped or minced foods • Aim for family foods by 1 year • Give 3 meals + 1 -2 snacks • Encourage self-feeding • Continue breast or formula milk on demand between meals. Milk intake may begin to reduce slightly at this stage • By 1 year babies should be taking ALL drinks from a cup Slide 24

Stage 3 Menu Planner Weaning Workshop

Stage 3 Menu Planner

Drinks • Water is the best drink for your baby at mealtimes • From 6 months your baby can drink freshly drawn tap water • Offer a small amount of water with each mealtimes in a free flow cup or beaker or open top cup • Avoid fruit juices, squash and baby teas. They often taste sweet and can be acidic resulting in eroded tooth enamel • Continue to offer baby’s usual milk (breast or formula milk) on demand throughout the rest of the day • Whole cow’s milk can be introduced as a main drink from 12 months old Slide 27

Vitamin Drops • Vitamin D is recommended for infants for optimum bone and musculoskeletal health. • Infants from birth-12 months are recommended to have 8. 5 mcg 10 mcg daily unless receiving more than 500 ml of formula milk daily • From 12 months – 5 years a multivitamin containing vitamins A, C and D is recommended daily • Pregnant and breastfeeding women are also recommended to take a vitamin D supplement (10 mcg) daily • All other women (and men) are recommended to take a vitamin D supplement of 10 mcg daily from the October to April Slide 28

Questions Weaning Workshop Catherine Lippe RNutr (PH) BSc www. catherinelippenutrition. co. uk