Weaning and sterilising

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16456417 http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/introduce-meat-to-baby.html http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning.html http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning-first-foods.html http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-how.html http://www.parentingscience.com/iron-rich-foods.html a little light reading for you from my bookmarks ;) You'll find a lot of contradictory info online, a few good key points, starches(rice, bread,pasta, corn, carrot etc) =harder for baby to digest = constipation/gas, give limited amounts in first year meat= easier to absorb nutrients/iron etc from if pureed, if BLW can puree and use as a spread/dip chunky foods= better accepted if introduced before/by 9 months whole milk=ok for cooking, but don't replace formula feeds with milk before age 1 salt= bad, never add salt to baby food herbs and spices=good, baby food doesn't need to be bland :)

First of all I wouldn't really call 3 hour feeding that frequent at all for a 6 month old especially if she isn't feeding at night, (how often do you eat/snack/drink something in a day?) I think you'll find only one feed a day is a long way away (def not in the first year for sure) Secondly, do remember that the fat/calorie content of milk is MUCH higher per gram than almost all of the foods you are weaning her on to and in the first year those foods will "complement" her main diet which is milk, adding a few extra things and teaching her how to chew etc in preparation for moving away from a milk diet in her second year. Thirdly, at this point, I would only be sterilizing bottles, which you should continue to do as the remains of milk can grow dangerous bacteria in them after a feed, no point in sterilizing anything else at all and def no need to sterilize her plate, bowl spoon etc, dishwasher is fine. So......with weaning, think of it at this stage is teaching her to enjoy food, not about getting calories in, so what you have been doing so far is great. Instinctively, babies look to their mother to show them which food is safe, so she will want what you are eating. You can read up on Baby-led-weaning, or you can go the puree route, but either way let your daughter set the pace. If you are feeding her formula, (I'm assuming so by you knowing how much she takes)be aware that babies in their first year have very limited ability to break down starches (complex carbs) so even though baby rice may not be allergenic, its not really a great first food. Easiest to digest are simple carbs, so fruit purees are a good place to start. If you have any family history of food allergies/asthma or eczema then you might want to be more careful with the way you introduce foods. I would go non-constipating fruits like peach, pear, apricot, banana (very ripe with brown spots on skin, green banana is constipating) in the first week or 2, then add things like apple, peas, carrot and meats lamb, chicken and later on beef and fish as well as a small amount of things like rice, oats, quinoa, millet etc over the next month. Current recommendations are that anything is fine after 6 months (they used to say wait on certain foods), so you can introduce wheat, eggs and meats whenever you want, but its a good idea to give repetiively over 3-5 days always in combo with foods she has been tolerating well for a while so you can easily pinpoint any allergic/intolerant reactions. Best to eat with her, even off the same spoon/out of the same bowl, its shows her food is safe to eat and its a good motivator to make sure her foods taste good too! The bought fruit purees taste ok but IMHO pretty much all other bought foods taste awful and the meat ones have hardly any meat in them (tend to be bulked up with apples, parsnip, carrot etc) so you might like to make your own purees and freeze them in flexible icetrays then store in ziplock bags. Offer only 1-2 cubes (thinned with water or milk if you want) per meal the first week and build slowly to avoid overloading her digestive system, solids are a major digestive adjustment and can make them uncomfortable in the beginning. Ideally start with one food per day, one meal per day so you can keep an eye on how she is reacting and until she is at least 9 months give her a milk feed first and then offer solids, so that she doesn't overeat and be too full for milk. HTH

At 6 months my son was having 4 bottles and 3 light meals/snacks. At around 8months he was having 3 bottles and 3 bigger meals. He than weaned himself off the 2nd bottle until recently when he demanded a bottle again around noon, jumping up and down in front of the sterilizer pointing at it and sucking it empty in a few minutes. Just realize that the less milk they get the more solids they will eat to satisfy their hunger. I would just try to follow your babies' cues as all babies are different and some are quite attached to their milk while others are more into exploring solids. I still sterilize most of the times but when I forget to do it I am not that bothered. (my son is now 1) My sister had premature twins and she is one of those people who doesnt even believe in sterilizing so she did it for only a month or so and babies are fine. To get her on a schedule I think you need to make a schedule for her and than follow it so she gets used to it. Babies are quite flexible and adapt quickly to new scenarios but you have to be consistent. I wouldnt say that ONLY milk is best for babies after 6 months. I had a long discussion with my pediatrician about this and this is actually his specialty and he told me that even if a baby completely refuses to drink milk after 6 months they still turn out perfectly healthy as long as they eat a variety of healthy food. I am not saying I agree, but it put my mind at ease the days he refused to drink anything more than 40ml. <em>edited by Yasmine on 28/08/2011</em>