I found that mothers are quite confused now days about when to start weaning and what to start with.

Facts:

• The intestinal tract and digestive system is not fully formed till 6 months.
• Babies do not have all the teeth to chew on their food till about 1 year old.
• They start with the front teeth, but cannot chew much on these.
• Certain foods will be a bit more histamine reactive than others
• You needs to start with more of a liquid one, such as milk density, using your own breast milk or formula, so that the intestinal tract gets used to new foods.
• Iron and zinc are not supplied from the breastmilk, hence baby rice, or oats or baby cereal are fortified with iron
• Iron is an essential mineral for the brain development of your baby, as well as blood component, which takes nutrients around the body.
• Whatever iron the baby had at birth, is what they will have till 6 months, hence starting solid with iron in it such as cereal, to prevent any damage to the intestinal tract and digestive system (hopefully the umbilical cord has been of a minimum of 1 minute after birth, so that at least 60 per cent of the iron is received back into the baby).
• I hear of many books and others websites, who would suggest even peanuts before a year old. I would hold on that, peanuts are not nuts, are part of pea family, and if you want to give any of that family give the mashed peas around 7 to 8 months instead. Nuts for later, and if you have had nuts during pregnancy, you have already introduced nuts to the your baby anyway.
• I know that now the common wisdom is to introduce any of the possible allergy early, but I would wait till the baby is 1 year old and introduce a minimum of a minimum to start with.
• I do see babies who are introduced to cows or dairy formula who do react to that already, or even when breastfed they react to the mother drinking milk, hence I would be a bit more cautious to start anything that could cause a possible allergy too soon.
• Giving probiotics when the baby as not had a normal birth or the mother and the baby had to take antibiotics, or even a water birth, can promote the growth of their own individual bacteria that are beneficial for them, so that the non beneficial bacteria do not overgrow, leading to possible bloating, more colic and possible digestive problems later in life.
• And yes the probiotics that you take will only stay in the intestinal tract for up to two months after you stop, but that will allow your own good bacteria to take their place and grow more, giving your intestinal tract food to repair it every 3 days.
• After the milk density cereal, start increasing the thickness of the cereal, till it becomes a bit more lumpy. This for few weeks after the weaning. Your breastmilk and the formula will still be the baby full food intake.
• Then start with vegetables pure (buy a simple hand blender and make it yourself).

Weaning babies and more (notes from Leo Galland Superimmunity for kids)

A baby is ready to eat solid foods between 4 to 6 months. But it is best for your child to start as late as possible, more near the 6th month rather than the 4th. Any solid foods even the baby rice should be started later. Breast milk and formula milk are still enough up to 6 to 7 months. After 6-7 months the iron content of both formula and breast milk is not enough for a growing baby.

The best thing to do to start him/her of solids is to start when he is ready to eat. He will be able to sit up a bit by then and his tongue will move back and forth in his mouth, rather than up and down in the sucking pattern. This means that his is ready to move food from his lips to his throat. 

Reasons for delay his weaning:

1. When he starts eating solid foods, the protective Lactobacillus Bifidus will disappear from his intestinal tract. At six- seven months he will be better able to handle this loss than at four months.

2. If you have been breast feeding, the extra two months of breast milk will help sustain and enhance his developing immune system, minimizing any chance of food allergies. Allergenic reactions will increase the susceptibility of his intestinal and respiratory tracts to infection, just at the point when he is susceptible anyway because he is losing his Bifidus protection. 

3. At seven months they can handle mashed food and you don’t have to puree’ or strain everything. 

4. If you start solids too soon, your baby will spit or drools when he is fed, that means he is not ready for them. Don’t try to force him to eat, stop feeding as soon as he stops eating.  Many babies might resist spoon feeding, the reason why is because they want to keep sucking or because they want to feed themselves.

If you force-feed him, it will just build frustration and increase resistance.

If you add sugar or salt in order for him to eat, it will just lead to habit of eating sweet things or salty food. When he gets hungry enough so that breast milk or milk no longer suffices, he will start to accept solids.

If he doesn’t want to let you put the spoon into his mouth, and grasps at the spoon or the food or both, you will know he wants to feed himself.

If he is able to grasp with his fingers, he may be ready to feed himself at least some of the time. But if he grasps with his palm, he is not ready. 

What you can do is give him sticky foods that he can grasp with his palm and put into his mouth. Big lumps of thick, cold baby cereal or moistened, fork-mashed potatoes, mashed vegetables stuck together with oatmeal. At first, he will play with his food more than he will eat it, but if he eats whit his parents or siblings, their example and his won hunger, should have him eating more, and playing less before your patience runs out.

 Remember feeding a baby will be messy for him and for you, so be prepared and be patient!

What to start with

 You want to start him on soft, bland, smooth foods, such as cereal. When he has mastered cereal than you can add vegetables, then fruit and then more vegetables, between 9 and 10 month you start on protein, not before than because his kidneys and digestive tract are not ready to deal with them. 

It is a good idea to introduce one food at a time.  Giving him a larger amount of a single food at a feeding, rather than small amounts of several foods, allows him to get use to a new food so that he will be less likely to reject it. It will take them to taste the new taste 20 times at times, to get used to it and eat it! so be patient and vary the food!

He will also be less likely to have an allergic reaction (a small amount of a new food is more likely to induce his immune system to form allergic antibodies than is a larger amount. 

1st food solid – iron fortified cereal:

Start with iron fortified rice, for the first 6 days or more. Try Organix oat and baby rice or Beechnut oatmeal or baby rice (try to avoid the porridge already made, it contains more things that your baby is ready to digest or might get allergic too.

If you find Barley cereal try to introduce that as the third cereal. 

Please note: NO WHEAT OR COW’S MILK UNTIL HE IS A YEAR OLD (even if on formula, formulas are made to suit babies), because it is more likely to produce an allergic reaction.  The iron is important because by this time your child’s iron stores are used up and he needs iron sot that his brain will develop, as well as preventing anaemia, as I mentioned above. 

Preparing your baby’s cereal.  Use breast milk or formula as the liquid. You will want to start with a consistency only slightly thicker than milk (e.g. start with a cereal broth and add more cereal to get the texture you want). As you child becomes able to handle it, you can gradually thicken it to the more usual consistency.

Feed a very small amount (e.g. 1/8 teaspoon at time, slowly increasing the amount as he is able to handle it).  Every three days or so he is ready for a new cereal (after the initial 6 days on baby rice)

Sample of feeding at 6 months: Solids once a day, one new food every three days. Baby rice for first 6 days, then oats meal for three days, then baby rice again until he is 6 and half.

If you start earlier than 6 months:  Sample of feeding at 5 months: On waking: Breast or formula feeding- mid morning Baby rice and vegetable of the day, followed by bottle feed or breastfeed.

 Lunch: Breast or formula milk

 Tea time: Vegetable of the day and baby rice or oat. Breast or formula milk

 Bed time: Breast or formula milk.

 Food II Vegetables

 Once your baby is happily eating cereals, he is ready to meet vegetables. Start with pureed green beans, and peas, then pumpkin, squash and potatoes. Change each food every three days and give one at the time on rotation, he will get used to the taste and like it better.

Never force a baby to eat his food, if he does not want to eat something try later when he is hungrier. Rotate these foods for a while until he is ready for the other foods. 

DO NOT GIVE YOUR BABY SPINACH, BEETS, TURNIPS, CARROTS OR COLLARD GREENS UNTIL HE IS NINE MONTHS OLD. 

While they are excellent sources of important nutrients, especially vitamin A, these vegetables may be too rich in nitrates for him. Nitrates can change his red blood cells so that they are less able to carry oxygen. 

Food III- Fruits About a three to four weeks after starting vegetables, he should be ready to eat fruits. Good fruits to start with are applesauce, peaches if in season, apricots, pears, nectarine, and plums. Choose organic fruit and if not possible, make sure that the fruit has not been treated with Alar (Daminozide), a dangerous chemical used to regulate growth. Demand this information from the manager of the supermarket. If it is impossible to get the information, use only washed or peeled local fruits in season. Ripened fruits are tastier and sweeter, and the baby will like it better, as well as easiest to pure or mash. You can add organic avocado pears as well. 

Start with cooked fruit, either baked or boiled in very little water. To preserve its nutrients, bake it with its skin in a covered dish with just a little water. When it is tender, it is done. You can also steam it in a tightly covered pot. Either way peel it before mashing or puree it. You don’t need to add water for a smooth puree, since both cooking methods preserve natural liquids as well as nutrients. If you must add water, use the absolute minimum.  When your child can handle cooked fruit, try uncooked mashed fruit. The chewier texture will help him learn to chew. If he has a good grasp and chew, you can give him small pieces to hold, chew and suck on.

Caution: THEY MUST BE ABLE TO CHEW WELL, MASHING THE FRUIT ON HIS OWN, OR HE MIGHT CHOKE ON HARD FRUIT, SUCH AS APPLE OR PEAR.

Food 4: more vegetables

At around nine months, once he has mastered fruits, your baby is ready for chewier vegetables: zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower asparagus tips, kale and tomatoes (not before 9 months because of their acidity and strong taste).

He can also eat now spinach, beets, turnips, carrots and collard greens. Serve each one every four to five days until he becomes familiar with them. Don’t make the servings too large. If he shows gassiness or bloating, especially after eating turnips or collard greens or similar vegetables, wait about a month before trying them again.

Between nine and ten months protein time, Until now your infant’s kidneys and digestive tract were not ready to handling high protein foods, but these foods, are rich in vitamins and minerals too and your baby is finally ready to take advantage of them.

By now he is ready to eat meat, poultry, beans, egg yolks (wait for the white until he is about one year old to avoid allergies), tofu and bean curd.  Beans work best when combined with grains to produce a more complete protein.  Examples of this are rice and beans, corn and lima beans and hummus (sesame butter (Tahini) and chickpeas.  If you are vegetarian, nut butters (no peanut butter as is not a real nut and can cause allergies) can be given for his protein meals too. Nuts and seeds are good form of proteins, vitamins and minerals as well as EFA. 

Please note: There must not be a history of family allergies in order to give any form of nuts and seeds to the baby.

 You can puree meat and poultry from your table for him. SKIP FISH until he is a year old because of the possible allergic reaction to it. 

Finger-licking food. At ten months he will enjoy finger foods. Give him pieces of fresh peeled, pitted fruit, tofu chunks, or small pieces of moist cooked chicken.  

EFA: To be sure your baby is getting enough of the essential oil, the omega 3 essential fatty acid. It is a good idea to add about a teaspoon of food grade, cold pressed, organic flaxseed oil. You can mix it into meat and vegetable dishes. 

 Tips on food preparation

 It is best to prepare your baby’s food yourself.  With a blender or food processor, it is easy to puree fresh vegetables and fruits. James Martin blender or nutribullet are two of the best right now. It is best to use organic fruit and vegetables as they have fewer pesticides and they taste better, as well as having good quality nutrients. When you can’t buy organic, then wash vegetables thoroughly in a mild soapy solution and then rinse thoroughly to remove the soapy residue (a drop of Ivory soap in a pint of water will do or buy fruit and vegetable wash at your supermarket. After washing remove the peel from potatoes, squash and tomatoes. In this way your baby’s first meals will be pesticide free.

 Do not give sugar, salt or too much fat. These anti-nutrients do not contain any nutrient of their own and they actually slow down the metabolism of the Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). EFA are essential oils that the humans need in order for the brain, nerves, immune system and many other body systems to work properly.

You only obtain EFA from certain healthy food, such as vegetables oils (mainly cold pressed sunflower oil, Hemp, walnut, almond as well as pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and linseed) and from oily fish.  Also, sugar will increase the body’s need for vitamin B and salt will increase the amount of magnesium lost in the urine. 

Remember baby’s love sweet food, but they can get all the sweetness from fresh fruits. 

Never give honey to a child who is less than a year old.

It could be contaminated with spores from botulism-causing bacteria.  Your baby will not think that food is bland without salt. They will taste the different food with joy. 

 If your baby becomes a fussy eater, e.g. he loves baby rice or cereal but does not like the other foods, than try to give the other food first, and then the baby cereal. For example, in the morning when he is most hungry before the baby cereal give the fruit or vegetable of the day first and follow it by the baby cereal. In that way the baby will have a good breakfast. 

 Sample of eating at 6 and ½ months:

On waking: Breast or formula milk.

Breakfast: Fruit of the day, or mashed banana. Baby rice with usual milk.

Before morning nap: Usual milk

Lunch: Mashed vegetables of the day and fruit of the day

Mid- afternoon: Usual milk and practice giving milk from a cup. Or and fruit of the day.

Supper: Mashed vegetables with sweet potato or white potato or baby rice or oat meal or a mix of baby rice, barley and oat meal. 

 Bedtime: Usual milk. 

 At 7 months he should be able to have the following:

Breakfast: Early morning, breast milk or formula milk- around between 7am-8am then at 9am give either the vegetable of the day or the fruit of the day, followed by baby cereal.  Snacks: at 11am-11.30am or before his morning nap: breast milk or formula milk – not too much or he will not eat the other foods, or fruit/vegetable.

Lunch: between 13pm -2.00pm vegetable of the day or fruit of the day (have a choice of two things one new one and one that you know he likes, and try the new thing first and if he does not like it after you have tried for a while, give the one that he likes).

Snack: breast milk or formula milk – around 3pm Dinner: between 4.30pm and 5pm – vegetable or fruit of the day. Bed time: milk breast or bottle

 Please note: At this age your baby still needs around 500-600ml of milk a day for his intake of calcium. 

REMEMBER: The above time-table is approximate, your baby might have a complete different schedule, as long as he eating breakfast, lunch dinners and snacks in between as well as his milk should be fine. 

REMEMBER EACH BABY IS DIFFERENT SOME WILL EAT MUCH MORE THAN THE ABOVE SUGGESTED AND SOME LESS.  

Commercial baby food. There are some good-quality commercial products on the market. Be sure to check labels to see that they don’t contain additives of any sort- also make sure they don’t have sugar, salt, BHT or BHA (preservative that may be allergenic or toxic), or EDTA (colour preservative agent that binds to minerals such as calcium and magnesium, preventing their absorption).

EDTA, salt and sugar are also anti-nutrients. Look for the least ingredient in an organic food.

If you cannot make the fresh food yourself, buy food in jars not in cans (even though now jar tops could be a worry now). Canned baby foods may be contaminated by the lead used to solder the seams. 

One year old: Now your baby can eat almost anything. He has a few teeth, so he can chew more, and his digestive system can handle whole milk, whole eggs, yoghurt and wheat. He will want to feed himself and you should encourage him to do so as much as possible. You will still have to cut up his food, but he can pick up the pieces with his hands and put them in his mouth.

He may miss occasionally but he will learn.  By this time, he should be eating at the table with the rest of the family.  You should still be careful though, some foods can slip down his windpipe. E.G. he is not really ready yet for whole nuts, raw carrots (the small chunks he bites off can create trouble), or popcorn.  These foods are not safe yet for him until he reaches eighteen months (whole nuts until they are 5 years old). 

At this time, he can have some whole grain wheat or cereals. He is still not ready for dry cereals, but stay away from cream of wheat as is not a whole grain product and is less nutritious.  You could crumble whole-wheat toast into very small pieces and soak it in milk. You can also puree cooked whole-wheat pasta in a small amount of milk. At this stage you can give whole-milk yoghurt rather than cow’s milk. Yoghurt is more digestible, and adds beneficial bacteria to his intestinal tract. Add fresh fruits with it but stay away from the commercial fruit yoghurts, because they contain sugar and preservatives as well. Mash fish after removing both skin and bones.