Weaning truths and myths

Baby food expert Annabel Karmel answers the most common weaning questions, offering advice on how and when to wean as well as the ideal first foods for a healthy, balanced diet

Do I need to wait until my baby is six months old before weaning?

The advice on what age to start weaning has changed a lot over the years. Until recently, the UK recommendation was between four and six months and the World Health Organisation (WHO) advice was to breastfeed until six months. The recommendation in the UK is now the same as the WHO advice. However, it is important to realise that the WHO advice includes developing countries where breast milk is the cleanest and most readily available food for babies.

Most health professionals agree that research, theories and medical evidence do not necessarily correlate with an individual's experiences. Recent statistics show the majority of people in the UK still start to wean their babies before six months. All babies are different and many are genuinely ready to start having solids earlier than six months.

Most paediatricians agree that the most important thing is to listen to your own baby, know him and read his cues. Your baby is ready to wean if:

He may still be hungry after a full milk feed
He may start waking more during the night demanding to be fed
He may demand feeds more often

The earliest that babies should start on solids is 17 weeks. A very young baby's digestive and immune system is not sufficiently developed before this time.

However, you should not leave it later than six months to introduce solids. Your baby needs to learn how to chew and swallow foods. Chewing food also helps to develop the muscles that are important for speech. If you delay starting solids past six months, your baby may find it difficult to learn the skill.

Tomatoes Go at your baby's pace. Allow plenty of time for feeding when first introducing solids. While sucking is a natural reflex, your baby needs to learn to move solid food from the front of the tongue to the back, to swallow it.

It is more important that your baby gets a good variety of foods in his diet.

Get cooking! Tasty recipes by Annabel Karmel

What are the best first foods?

First fruits: Apple, pear, banana, papaya and avocado.

First vegetables: Carrot, potato, swede, parsnip, pumpkin, butternut squash and sweet potato.

Banana and papaya do not require cooking provided they are ripe and can be pureed or mashed on their own or together with a little breast or formula milk.

Apricot and banana A banana is very nutritious and makes ideal convenience food for babies as it comes in its own sterile package! If you warm it in a microwave, it's even easier to mash, but mix it round and let it cool down a little before giving it to your baby. You can also mix mashed banana with a little of your baby's usual milk. Bananas are not suitable for freezing.

Another good first food is baby rice. Mixed with water, breast or formula milk, it's easily digested and its milky taste makes an easy transition to solids. Choose one that is sugar free and enriched with vitamins and iron. Baby rice combines well with both fruit and vegetable purees.

Recently, the advice was to introduce each new food separately with a space of three days before introducing another food. However, unless there is a history of allergy or you are concerned about your baby's reaction to a certain food, there is no reason why new foods should not be introduced on consecutive days, provided you keep to the list of best first foods.

Blender First foods need to be semi-liquid and as much like milk in consistency as possible so that they are easy to swallow. At first add breast milk, formula or a little cooled boiled tap water to thin the puree. Your baby's purees should not be made up with tap water that has not been boiled but only with the water from the bottom of the steamer or the cooking liquid if boiling vegetables in a saucepan.

A baby's food should be given at room temperature or lukewarm. It should not be too hot as babies' palates are very sensitive. If re-heating in a microwave, heat until piping hot all the way through, allow to cool then stir thoroughly to get rid of any hot spots. Check the temperature before giving it to your baby.

It may be a good idea to give your baby a little milk immediately before his solids as he may be more receptive to this new way of eating if he is not frantically hungry.

The importance of iron

Do I wait until my baby is nine months before introducing red meat?

On average, babies are born with only sufficient iron reserves for approximately the first six months of life. Iron deficiency is the commonest nutritional problem for young children and red meat, particularly liver, provides the best source of iron for your baby. The trouble is that meat can be quite chewy, which can put babies off, so it's best to combine meat with root vegetables or pasta, both of which will help to produce a much smoother texture.

If your child is vegetarian, these foods provide a good source of iron:

Fortified breakfast cereals
Egg yolk
Wholemeal bread
Dark green vegetables such as spinach and cabbage
Beans and lentils
Dried fruit such as apricot, prunes, peaches, raisins

First fruit The problem is that iron in non-meat sources is more difficult for our bodies to absorb. However, if food or drinks containing vitamin C are eaten at the same meal as non-meat sources of iron, then the iron is better absorbed. So give them something like citrus, berry fruits or diluted orange juice during the same meal.

Surveys have shown that one in every five babies aged 10 to 12 months has daily intakes of iron below the desired level.

How much milk does a baby need between six and 12 months?

Babies should have 500-600ml of formula or breast milk each day between six months and one year.

Encourage your baby to drink from a cup or beaker as soon as possible as it is better for your baby's teeth.

Should I avoid cow's milk until he is one year old?

Breast or formula milk should be your baby's main drink for the whole of the first year. Full-fat cow's milk can be used in cooking from six months, for example when making a cheese sauce for your baby, and cow's milk can also be given with your baby's cereal. However, don't give cow's milk to your baby as his main drink until he is one year old. This is because it doesn't contain enough iron and other nutrients to meet your baby's needs.

Which foods should you avoid giving babies?

Nuts

In families with a history of any allergy, including hayfever, eczema and asthma, it's advisable to avoid all products containing peanuts until the child is three years old.

Children under the age of five shouldn't be given whole nuts because of the risk of choking although peanut butter and finely ground nuts can be given from eight months where there is no family history of allergy.

Salt

Babies can't cope with more salt than that which is naturally found in foods. Up to one year, babies shouldn't have more than 1g of salt a day. Avoid giving your baby any processed foods that aren't made specifically for babies such as pasta sauces and breakfast cereals, because these can be high in salt.

Sugar

Try to avoid adding sugar to your baby's food as this encourages a sweet tooth and can lead to tooth decay when your baby?s first teeth come through.

Honey

This should not be given to children under 12 months as it can cause infant botulism. Although this is very rare, it is best to be safe as a baby's digestive system is too immature to deal with the bug.

Eggs

These can be given from six months but they must be thoroughly cooked until both the white and the yolk are solid.

Gluten

Wheat-based foods and other foods containing gluten, including bread, wheat flour and breakfast cereals, should be avoided until your baby is six months old. If someone in your family can't eat foods containing gluten because they have coeliac disease, talk to your GP before giving any wheat, rye or barley-based foods to your baby.

Annabel Karmel's top 10 tips:

If your child has an allergy or intolerance, make sure you tell everyone who looks after your child about it.
If you are short of time, there are plenty of instant no-cook, fresh baby foods like mashed banana, mashed papaya or combinations like banana and peach.
If your baby is not keen on certain foods, try mixing them with familiar tastes, like some baby rice and milk or some pureed potato or sweet potato to make a gentler introduction.
Don't delay introducing meat, fish and chicken. These are important foods for your baby from six months.
Water is the best alternative drink to milk, but fully breastfed babies don't need any water until they start eating solid food. Boiled, cooled tap water is best.
Fruit juices like orange juice are a good source of vitamin C, but giving your baby juices and other drinks will reduce his appetite for milk. Fruit juice is acidic and also contains natural sugars which can cause tooth decay. All fruit juices should be diluted five parts water to one part juice. To protect teeth and gums it's best to only give juice at meal times.
If you freeze food in ice-cube trays, you can defrost two individual flavours and mix them together to make combinations like apple and pear or sweet potato and parsnip.
Never re-freeze meals that have already been frozen. The exception to this is that raw frozen food can be returned to the freezer once it is cooked. For example cooked frozen peas can be re-frozen.
Do not re-heat food more than once and do not save your baby's half-eaten food as bacteria-carrying saliva from the spoon will have been introduced.
There is no need to sterilise spoons and bowls.

Annabel Karmel Annabel has launched an exciting new range of food preparation and food products called 'Make Your Own' at Boots.

The range includes weaning equipment and delicious food products which can be combined with fresh foods to make easy meals for your baby and toddler. For more information and recipes visit www.annabelkarmel.com

Get cooking! Tasty recipes by Annabel Karmel