The Stokke Guide to Weaning

Stokke expert and baby and child nutritionist, Charlotte Stirling-Reed, provides Country Child with some top tips for introducing solid food to babies and young children

Weaning can be a minefield for parents. From well-intentioned opinions of friends and family, to a plethora of internet advice, it can be difficult to know how to go about introducing solid foods into your baby’s diet.  

Help is at hand. Here, Charlotte Stirling-Reed, baby and child nutritionist and  Stokke  spokesperson, has shared her expert tips for parents tackling weaning.

Charlotte says: “Weaning, also known as ‘complementary feeding,’ is the process of introducing baby to solid foods, alongside their usual breast-milk or formula. Advice in the UK is that babies should be introduced to solid foods at around 6 months of age. This recommendation ranges throughout Europe, but infants younger than 4 months of age (17 weeks) are not prepared for solid food and so many countries advise starting weaning between 4 and 6 months of age.

“There is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to weaning, however there are several tips that can prove useful. Keep in mind that babies must  learn  how to eat as it doesn’t always come naturally. The trick is to have a lot of patience and stay consistent with the kinds of foods you offer, and remember; this is a learning curve for both you  and  baby.”

Charlotte Stirling-Reed tips and advice:

When to start weaning 
‎There are three clear signs which show that baby is ready for its first solid food and these usually appear together at around 6 months of age.

1. Be able to stay in a sitting position and hold their head steady

2. Co-ordinate eyes, hands and mouth so they can look at the food, pick it up and put it into their mouths by themselves

3. Have less of a tongue thrust, so they will swallow more food than they spit out

Once all signs appear together and regularly, it’s time to begin offering solid food.

First month of weaning

Many babies don’t take to weaning right away; it can take weeks or months before they really get into their solid foods. The first month is about allowing baby to explore their first tastes of new foods and letting them play with it to get used to the idea of solids, including flavours and textures.

Weaning is also not about getting lots of nutrients or calories into your baby’s diet straight away – they don’t need to be gobbling up all their meals. It’s natural to worry about whether baby has eaten enough or too much, however, babies are good at regulating their own appetite and will generally stop eating when they feel full. Try to remember this phrase: parents decide what to offer and baby decides how much. When baby does get some food into their mouth, however small the amount, encourage this with lots of smiles and reassurance.

If baby makes a disgusted face on trying a new food, this is normal. Breastmilk and formula are relatively sweet, so new foods can taste especially savoury or bitter, which can be a shock for baby’s taste buds. After six months taking only milk, new textures can be surprising too. A disgusted face doesn’t mean they don’t like the food, it just takes some getting used to.

Foods to try

I’m a big fan of starting weaning with vegetables. So first foods can be a range of different veggies offered in small amounts, once a day. You can offer these as purees or mashed foods from a spoon and/or as soft sticks of well cooked vegetables which easily squidge between your finger and thumb. Once you’ve offered a variety of veggies, move on to offering other foods including fruits, starchy food such as bread, rice and pasta and, importantly, plenty of iron rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, beans and pulses. You have to ensure that the texture is fine for your baby, but remember to always move textures along so baby is able to progress through textures easily.

Allergens such as eggs, fish and nut butters should be offered one at a time and in small amounts as the only new foods that day.

In the UK, advice is not to offer whole grapes or whole nuts to young babies as these can be choking hazards. From 6 months nuts can be offered ground or as nut butters. Grapes should be quartered lengthways before offering to babies. Additionally, large round foods such as blueberries and cherry tomatoes should be squashed or sliced small as they could potentially be choking hazards.

Do not add salt or sugar (including stock cubes and gravy) to your baby’s food or cooking water. Babies shouldn’t eat salty foods as it’s not good for their small kidneys, and sugar can cause early tooth decay.  

Gagging vs choking

Choking is different from gagging and it’s very common for babies to gag when you first introduce solid foods. Gagging is a way of learning how to regulate the amount of food they can manage to chew and swallow. Signs of gagging include a red face, watering eyes, pushing their tongue forward and retching. Choking and gagging can’t be prevented, and can be quite frightening, so it’s best to be prepared. You could take a child first aid course before starting weaning to be prepared for any mishaps. Always stay with your baby while feeding and try not to panic if they gag while eating as they usually right this themselves.

Learning by watching

Babies and young children learn a lot from observing those close by, and eating is no exception. They can learn how to bite, chew and swallow food by watching parents or siblings’ eating techniques. Patterns of eating and eating behaviour are often copied from friends and family from an early age, so it’s a good idea to try sitting together and eating similar foods during mealtimes - they’ll be more inclined to try things that you are eating and be happier to readily accept them too.

Keep distractions to a minimum during mealtimes and avoid sitting your baby in front of the television, phone or tablet. Bring baby to the table early on – even before they start having solid foods, to start getting them used to the idea of the routine of mealtimes.

The right highchair

The  Stokke Tripp Trapp  highchair was the first of its kind to allow babies and young children to join the family at the table. Rather than separating them off with their own tray, the Tripp Trapp fits close to the table like a normal chair and brings baby into the heart of mealtime action. With baby feeling involved, it then takes the pressure off them at mealtimes and allows you to focus on eating and enjoying food together. This can really help encourage baby to eat more too.

Don’t give up!

Babies and toddlers go through phases with food, as we all do. They can go off certain foods, or even all foods altogether – this is completely normal behaviour. Appetite in children goes up and down and is affected by so many things, including sleep (or lack of sleep), growth spurts, changes in routine, teething, or illness, to name a few.  Some babies take to solid foods right away, and others don’t. This is perfectly fine and should not be a cause for concern. Keep trying with a variety of foods and your baby will soon get used to this newfound skill and will show you exactly what s/he likes and dislikes in his or her own good time.