Let the weaning begin...
- papertrailuk
- Jan 26, 2018
- 4 min read
So this week I am going to tell you all about our weaning adventures so far, and it's been a bit of a rollercoaster ride.
From the start Callum wasn't a great feeder. I struggled to breastfeed and then he rejected the bottles and I had an absolute nightmare of a time. The start of weaning was no exception to this rule.
Due to all of Callum's fussiness people kept suggesting that maybe he would be better on some food. So at about 5 months we have him some puree, and it was hit and miss. Some he would I say tolerate at best and others he would just spit out, baby rice didn't go down any better. It was a complete and utter messy rejection!
Yet again I was banging my head against the wall. Now he was rejecting his bottles and any food I offered him - man this child was testing my patience!!
A few deep breaths later, I decided consistancy was best and so I began to offer him food every day at the same time starting in the evenings. This worked occasionally, and then Damion bought me Holly Willoughby's newest book - Truly Scrumptious Baby, and I finally had some sort of advice to follow.
There were many problems when it came to weaning for us - one was being consistent and the other was I didn't have a bloody clue what I was doing. Poor Callum didn't stand a chance. Thankfully my new book shone some light on the situation and it all got better from then on in (Thanks Holly 😘).
The first step was to reintroduce baby rice every morning made with Callum's morning bottle and after a few days to my surprise he was guzzling it every day. I also continued to offer him a variety of fruits and vegetables in the evening before his bedtime bottle.
Next we had to add more food during the day, and so after his breakfast and milk he would then have another portion of puree and a bottle at his mid morning feed. I decided to reduce this bottle as he never finished it anyway, and I knew in a few hours he would be having just milk on it's own anyway. This was then followed by more food at tea time and then his usual bedtime bottle an hour or so later.
I then started making my own purees and freezing them in ice cube trays. Although I also decanted some pre made food pouches into ice cube trays so they didn't go to waste (or so they weren't fed to the dog, sorry Max). Callum started by having just the one cube and this quickly increased to two. He now has three cubes and I can see this soon becoming four before we know it! He's a greedy boy - who would have thunk it huh!
Our schedule now has changed again and next week we are introducing more food variations and textures. But this is what we are currently doing:-
Breakfast - around 8/8.30am
Baby Porridge followed by Callum's usually milk.
I tend to drizzle this with a bit of prune puree (Callum loves it and has been a bit "blocked" with all the vegetables, it's a win loose situation ha)
Mid Morning - his usual 6oz bottle
Lunch - around 12.30/1pm
A combination puree of three cubes. I tend to do two vegetables or a fruit and vegetable combination. I then give him a snack, either a vegetable crisp or wafer, or some fruit!
Mid Afternoon - his usual 6oz bottle
Tea - around 5.30pm
A combination puree of three cubes. I have just started mixing three different vegetables together so he doesn't get too bored with the flavours. He then has two cubes of fruit puree with one teaspoon of plain live yoghurt.
Bedtime - around 6.30/7pm - his usual 6oz bottle.
Until a few weeks ago we were still giving Callum a dream feed around 11pm but he was starting to wake for it and only took 3-4oz each time so we decided to stop. Callum thankfully wasn't even bothered and it was a good decision to make. Since then he has started sleeping through again (his teeth have broken through the gum which has helped) and he has more of an appetite the next day, especially in the morning which is perfect.
Most days now he drinks all his milk feeds and eats all his food.. I hate to jinx it but he is currently a perfect little eater!! That's it now, he's bound to throw a curve ball at me tomorrow ha!! (I will keep you posted, keep your fingers crossed for me please).
I hope this little insight may help some of you who are struggling to wean at the minute or don't have a clue like me. As I say, if in doubt consult Holly Willoughby lol!!
Love to you all xxx
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