Weaning your baby chat

Snacks for a 13-month-old
saz30
My daughter is 13 months old and am just wondering what snacks I can give her. At the moment, she has either a stick of cheese, baby rice cake, banana, half a Rich Tea finger biscuit. She is not keen on raisins, grapes or apple (tries to eat them but spits them out) but I keep trying her with them every now and again. Is it worth persevering with these foods? We're not sure of good healthy snacks/finger food for going out for the day either - what can you recommend?

judith_wills
Your range of finger foods is fine - although Rich Teas are quite high in sugar but less so than some other biscuits. Try fine oatcakes instead of those if you can at least some of the time.

Keep trying with the apples and other fruit. Research shows that it takes up to ten tries to get an infant to like a new foods, so don't give up after one or two goes.

If you take an insulated lunch box with you when going out, the choices are many - a pot of fruit fromage frais, little sandwiches, hard-boiled egg, breadsticks, good quality fruit cake, seedless satsumas plus all the things you've already mentioned. Just try to avoid highly-processed snack foods and drinks which can be high in salt and/or less healthy fats and/or sugar.

Recipe ideas
suki
Can you give me some tips on what to feed my little one. He's been having lots of veggie combinations since I started weaning him at six months. I'm worried that he might get sick of veggies as he seems to have them all the time. I'm fast running out of inspiration! Many thanks

judith_wills
It makes a change to hear of a baby who really likes his vegetables! But as you say even so he needs more variety in his diet over the next few months.

From six to nine months is a good time to introduce a variety of new fruits (assuming he has already had pureed apples and pears) including peaches, melon and perhaps avocado.

Also try a variety of cereals including wheat and oats (unless he is gluten-allergic) as well as baby rice. Pureed poultry and lean red meat can also be eaten, as can pulses such as red lentils. He can also have yogurt, little bits of hard cheese and hard-boiled egg.

Just remember not to add salt and to puree his food to suit his age adding bigger lumps as the weeks go by.

Diabetes and colitis in the family
angela546
Unfortunately we have a history of diabetes and colitis in the family and I wondered what foods I should avoid to help protect my son from these illnesses.

He is 18 weeks and breastfed at the moment and I don't want to give him the wrong thing when I start to wean him

judith_wills
If the diabaetes is non-insulin dependent type, then keeping your children at a suitable weight (ie not putting on too much) and giving them a general healthy diet and regular exercise should help them avoid diabetes later in life.

Colitis is not my area of expertise and I think you should go to your GP for further advice and possible referral to the community dietician on this.

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