Every baby goes through the process of weaning off breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Sooner or later, toddlers start eating solid foods and gain meal independence. Weaning your baby is an exciting but complex task for parents.
To help you and your little one cope with this challenging period, here are the best and most useful tips for weaning a baby off breast milk and formula. However, the main advice is, to always pay close attention to your baby’s responses and needs to make the transition easier and comfier.
Tip#1 How to understand that your baby is ready for solid foods
The main signs it’s time to introduce solid foods to your child are:
- your baby shows interest in food, attempts to grab products and bring them to his/her mouth
- your kid can sit upright with support and hold the head steady
- your child swallows reflexively instead of spitting when food enters his/her mouth
If all these points can be applied to your toddler, it’s safe to start giving him/her solid foods. It is not yet weaning but the process begins at this point.
Tip #2 Introduce solid foods gradually
At the age of about 6 months, a baby is usually ready to try his/her first solid foods. It’s when the process of weaning, basically, starts. However, your child will fully switch from breast milk or formula to solid foods only in about another half a year or more. Don’t rush your baby in this process, make it as natural and comfortable as possible.
Start with complementary foods, then replace one meal a day with solids, then breastfeed or bottle-feed only a couple of times a day, and then stop giving milk altogether. It’s important to let your kids develop their eating habits at their own pace.
Tip #3 Choose the right timing
Never hurry your baby and choose the right moment for the next step in weaning. If you’re bottle-feeding, at first, replace PRE Stage or Stage 1 formula with Stage 2 and Stage 3 formulas (for instance, hipp stage 2 or holle stage 3 organic baby formula), and then add solid foods gradually.
Offer complementary foods instead of breast milk or formula when your infant is not too hungry or tired, because when a baby doesn’t feel comfortable, he/she becomes whimmy and denies any experiments.
Tip #4 Watch your baby’s responses
It’s essential to always observe your kid’s reactions and responses to anything you offer him/her. Patient and attentive parents go through the process of weaning their babies off breastfeeding and bottle-feeding easier, as they are perfectly tuned with their little ones and feel what to do next.
Some babies switch to solid foods quickly and easily, others need time to adjust – both ways are fine, you just need to pick the right route for your child.
Tip #5 Try baby-led weaning
This is one of the latest baby feeding trends that has become popular among many British and American parents. This feeding method allows kids to self-feed from the start of their weaning off liquid meals.
Parents who practice baby-led weaning don’t spoon-feed their babies with purees and mash meals. They give a baby soft, whole foods to hold and eat independently. The scientific research of Dr. Gill Rapley, a pioneer in baby-led weaning, suggests that toddlers who experiment with different foods at their own pace will better develop their feeding skills.
