What to feed when weaning your child

It can be very tempting to rush into the kitchen and start cooking exotic combinations of fruit and vegetables as a start to the amazing world of solid food, but in reality you should probably hold back on the purées you make to a single ingredient, which will mean you can establish how crowd pleasing each new kind of food is with your baby. There will be time for more extensive dishes later on.

Use organic fruit and vegetables where available as they will be additive-free and tasty. Home-made meals are much less expensive than store-bought jars, so it is worth investing a bit of time every few days cooking up some purées. You can always put them in the freezer and heat them during the course of the week.

First off, it might be best to give your baby half of his usual breast feed before trying his first taste of solids. That way, he won’t be too hungry, nor will he be too full. Try to pick a time when he is not too fractious and try to establish a routine by feeding him at the same time every day. To begin with, you might want to sit him on your lap.

In the beginning he will most likely only eat a teaspoon or so, you can offer him more, but when he loses focus it may be best to feed him the rest of his breast.

Children need to learn how to swallow, (hence the regurgitation anddribbling that turns yourself, him and the surrounding area into a large mess) so be patient. In the first couple of weeks, you should become accustomed to your lovingly home made fruit concoctions being unceremoniously spat out as your little one figures out how to chew.

If your child does not show interest in solid food, then may be to leave it for a bit longer before giving it another bash. Maintain the normal breast feeds and perhaps try something a bit simpler, formula and pudding rice or puréed potato for example. He might not like the strong taste of the weird new food that you are giving him. No matter what, your baby will gradually enjoy eating.

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The Effects Of Stopping Breastfeeding

If you have been considering about stopping breastfeeding or are busy weaning your baby, you should know that there are a few side effects of this. Some of the drawbacks of weaning can be psychological, whilst there are also a few physical consequences. Understanding some of the side effects of stopping breastfeeding may put you in a better position to identify the signs, or even completely side step the side effects all together.

Tender breasts are quite frequent after having stopped breastfeeding. This is due to the fact that your body will continue to produce quantities of breast milk for your child. This will often end in engorgement within the breast tissue. This will usually clear up after a couple days, but if it continues for over two weeks you should contact your midwife for advice or medication.

If you remain feeling really full, you can express to alleviate some of the pressure. You must however avoid pumping as much as possible at this stage as it will provoke your body to produce extra milk.

Another effect of stopping breastfeeding is depression. While this does not happen to all moms, it can be quite frequent. The main attributing causes to post weaning depression is the change in hormones, also the change in the relationship between little one and mother. These changes can be quite taxing on everyone in the family, and often does not display any signs.

A great way to avoid depression after weaning is to take it slow. If at all reasonable do not go cold turkey. Slowly weaning baby down to three feeds, then two and finally one feed per day, maybe in the afternoon, will lower the shock of the new routine. Your body will have time to adapt to the hormonal differences and your mind will have time to acclimatise to how the relationship between you and baby is changing.

Something that is not irregular in mums who are stopping breastfeeding is insomnia. Not being able to sleep properly could also be related to the changes in your hormones akin to how depression after weaning is caused. As with depression after you start weaning, taking the weaning process gradual will help with the hormonal changes and hopefully limit the chance of having insomnia.

If you're not forced to stop breastfeeding cold turkey due to medication or another reason, you should hold out until both yourself and baby are ready to stop breastfeeding. Moving onto bottle before baby is ready makes for one unhappy little one. Remember to talk about anything you are not sure of with your doctor or other health professional as they will be able to give you advice more suited to your current situation.