Wean in 15 Read online

  For all the little people in my life who bring me so much happiness and laughter: My two awesome nephews, Oscar and Milo, and my beautiful little angels, Indie and Marley.

  Without you I would never have written this book, so thank you for being my taste testers and letting me know exactly what you think of the recipes.

  I love you all so much and I can’t wait to ‘never grow up’ with you!

  CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  WHAT IS WEANING?

  15 THINGS I’VE LEARNT

  PART ONE: THE BASICS Is your baby ready?

  Milk

  Finding a routine

  Getting ready for mealtimes

  Allergies

  How to prep like a boss

  Gagging and choking

  Veg-led weaning

  Vitamins and key nutrients

  Responsive feeding and portions

  PART TWO: THE RECIPES About the recipes

  6 months

  6 months+

  7 months+ finger foods

  7–9 months+

  10–12 months+

  12 months+

  INDEX

  THANKS

  INTRODUCTION

  Welcome to the start of an exciting and messy journey into weaning your baby from milk on to solid foods. It will be a journey of ups and downs, smiles and tantrums, tears and laughter. New foods will be lovingly enjoyed in front of your eyes and the next day those very same foods might well be thrown on the floor or in your face. Although it can be very unpredictable, you can be certain that it will be fun! In fact, now Indie is 18 months old and eating like a little adult we really do miss those early stages of introducing new foods to her. Luckily, we’ve just had another baby so we can’t wait to start the adventure all over again. After weaning one baby we are now feeling way more confident about doing it for a second time.

  I’ve found the key to weaning is being realistic, and having a lot of patience

  I’m going to be totally 100% open with you when sharing our experience with weaning, every single step of the way. From Rosie’s emotional breastfeeding journey and travelling abroad with a young baby to Indie’s allergic reaction to cashew nuts and her trip to the hospital, I will be completely honest. If you follow my Instagram @weanin15_ you will know this already, but it’s very important to me that I share my reality of life as a parent as it’s not all perfect every day and I’m still learning.

  The aim of this book is to give you the confidence to start weaning and to help you enjoy it with your baby, knowing that you are doing a great job, no matter how rough or smooth the journey is.

  The truth is that when Rosie and I started this process with Indie at 6 months old we were completely clueless. We had no confidence because we had no experience. Indie was our first baby and we really wanted to be sure we gave her the best possible start. We had the usual concerns that most parents have . . . Are we doing it right? How much should we be feeding her? What if she chokes? How do we know if she’s allergic to nuts? When do we stop giving her milk? The great news is, this book will help answer all of these questions and more in a clear, friendly and simple way.

  Ultimately there is no right or wrong with weaning. There is no perfect blueprint or plan for all babies

  I will never claim to be an expert in this field but I did some research and found Charlotte Stirling-Reed, a registered nutritionist who specializes in maternal and infant nutrition. It was very important to me that before I started weaning Indie and sharing anything online that I was putting out the correct information. Contacting Charlotte was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I’m so grateful to her for all her support and advice. Having her guide us every step of the way has been wonderful and I believe it’s the reason we were so calm and confident throughout, and why Indie is such an adventurous eater.

  Charlotte really pushed us to think differently about infant nutrition and to challenge Indie every day with new foods, flavours and textures. She is so incredibly passionate about babies’ nutrition and, like me, really wants to inspire parents to help give their babies the best possible start in life. There are so many mixed messages online now about what’s right and wrong when it comes to feeding your baby. I know in my experience that this left me feeling really confused and nervous about starting.

  You’ll be happy to know that Charlotte is an experienced mummy to a little boy called Raffy and has worked with thousands of parents helping them on their weaning journey. Charlotte is sharing all of her knowledge alongside up-to-date research and NHS guidelines in this book with us all. Like me, she really understands the importance of nutrition on our energy, sleep, mood, digestion, happiness and quality of life and, together, with Wean in 15 we aim to help you set your child up for a life of healthy eating.

  RELAX,

  HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THE PROCESS WITH YOUR BABY

  One thing I would like to share with you is that I didn’t have the best start in life when it came to nutrition. After leaving home at 15, my mum had my brother at 17 then me at 19. She just wasn’t educated about healthy food and wasn’t taught how or what to cook at home.

  THIS IS YOUR OWN JOURNEY SO TAKE IT AT YOUR OWN PACE

  I was raised on formula milk from birth and didn’t get a single ounce of breast milk (awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding wasn’t as well known in 1985) and then started on jars of pureed fruit and veg. As a toddler growing up, I was given sugary cereal, fizzy drinks, fast food, sweets and fruit juice. I grew up on sandwiches, frozen nuggets and pasta with tomato sauce. My mum was just doing the best job she could and what she thought was right for me at the time. It makes me laugh now, but it’s pretty crazy to think just how much sugar I must have consumed each day.

  During this time when I was growing up there really wasn’t the awareness and education around this stuff. I was also a super fussy eater, didn’t eat many vegetables, and didn’t really get adventurous with food until I was an adult.

  Surprisingly, I was never an overweight kid, but, jeez, I was hyperactive. I never slept through the night and would be climbing the walls during the day. I had very little focus, a short attention span and had behavioural issues at school. Looking back now and knowing what I do about nutrition, I have no doubt that my diet played a huge part in my behaviour. The reason I think it’s important to share my background is because I don’t want you to feel that anything written in this book is judgemental in any way. It will contain suggestions and up-to-date health guidelines but remember these are just guidelines to help you make decisions, and not a rigid framework you must comply with at all times. There are obviously a few things you need to avoid but ultimately there is no right or wrong with weaning. There is no perfect blueprint or plan for all babies.

  IT IS COMPLETELY NORMAL NOT TO BE PERFECT EVERY DAY

  Each baby is unique and individual in their food preferences, appetite and development. Your baby is your baby and you are free to feed them however you like. Try not to compare your child to others. This is your journey and you can take it at your own pace. Whichever style of weaning you decide to go for is your choice, and remember all children eventually do learn to eat with a knife and fork.

  I hope this book acts as a useful guide that helps you feel calm and confident and prepared, with lots of lovely recipes that you’ll enjoy cooking. You will have days where you ace it and have prepped wonderful healthy food and it all goes to plan, and other days you’ll be too busy or tired and grab food on the go or offer something less balanced and wholesome. Just know it’s okay to not be perfect every day. I’m certainly not with my own food choices and also at times with Indie’s. But I really care about nutrition, so this means I always try to do the best I can, and that’s the most important thing.

  Don’t wo
rry, you don’t have to be a master chef to put healthy food on the table for your baby or toddler. Wean in 15 is simple and quick (most recipes take less than 15 minutes to make) and the more you get stuck in to the recipes, the easier you’ll find it to create delicious, healthy and balanced meals for the whole family.

  So if you’re ready, let’s saddle up, get cooking and enjoy the ride.

  Good luck!

  WHAT IS WEANING?

  Weaning is simply the process of introducing your baby to solid foods – that gradually increase in variety, texture and portion size – alongside breast or formula milk, until your baby is eating a similar diet to the rest of the family.

  It’s all about a gentle and gradual journey from a single food – milk – to the more complex, varied and exciting experiences that make up adult foods and mealtimes.

  Sometimes weaning is referred to as ‘complementary feeding’, simply because we are introducing our baby to foods and nutrients to complement their current milk intake. Up until around 6 months of age, breast or formula milk is all a baby will need to help them grow and develop; however, at around 6 months of age, babies start to need more than they can get from milk alone.

  There are many reasons for this, some to do with an increasing need for nutrients (especially iron), as stores that a baby received from Mum during pregnancy start to become depleted, therefore these need to be provided by a more varied diet.

  Additionally, eating in itself is a skill that your baby needs to discover, and the introduction of solid foods also helps your baby to learn important developmental skills such as biting, chewing, swallowing, as well as skills around self-feeding and dexterity with utensils.

  Weaning is also about helping children to learn to enjoy a variety of foods, and experience the social aspect of mealtimes with the family. They learn a lot from watching you eat, so bringing them in to your mealtimes and eating a wide variety of healthy foods yourself can make the whole process of weaning smoother and more enjoyable for your baby.

  When it comes to introducing foods, it’s good to follow your baby’s lead most of the time, and to let them go at their own speed. Starting off with a few tastes of solid foods, and gently moving from one meal, to two and then three meals a day, is what it’s all about. The same goes for textures and introducing a variety of new foods too.

  All babies are different and often take to the process of weaning in very different ways. Some gobble up their food right from the very start, while others are slower to build interest. The same is also true with portion sizes, so try not to compare your little one’s weaning journey with others and go at your own pace. Getting his or her weight checked regularly and visiting your health professional is a good way to be sure that you’re on track!

  We know from research how important weaning is, and that what and how we feed our children from a young age really can make a difference to their patterns of eating later on in life. This book will help you to learn the what, the why and the how of getting your little one off to a good start with their food.

  15 THINGS I’VE LEARNT

  Here is a list of fifteen things I’ve learnt that I wish I had known when Indie was 6 months old. This is when we started weaning her onto solid food. Hopefully it will take away a bit of the worry, stress or fears you may have before moving forward through this book.

  1 It doesn’t matter if you decide to spoon-feed your baby, do baby-led weaning (BLW) or a combination of both. Either way your baby can get all the nutrition they need to grow and develop. We did a combination of both with Indie.

  2 Your baby’s appetite, just like your own, will vary every day depending on many factors. This means there is no perfect portion size for all babies. Each baby is individual so try not to compare yours to others. You will learn very quickly how much to offer your baby because they will let you know if they are full up or still hungry. If you find the portions in this book are too small or large for your baby just adapt them and save any leftovers for lunch the next day.

  3 If your baby does refuse to eat, stay calm and remove the pressure on yourself and your baby by leaving the table. They may not be interested in food in that moment but probably will be later. We usually play with Indie or take her to the park to burn some energy and work up an appetite. Most of the time we reheat the food we initially offered, and she eats it all.

  4 Your baby will pull very funny faces and often reject something new you have offered them. This is normal. They are experiencing a new flavour or texture for the very first time. Perhaps they are in shock, sometimes they are disgusted and sometimes they are overjoyed. Don’t be disheartened or upset by their response and assume they hate it. It’s so important to expose your baby to something multiple times before really knowing if they totally dislike it. Indie, for example, can’t stand avocado on its own. We offered it to her as a finger food and a mash more than ten times and had it thrown back at us. Rather than give up on this really great source of healthy fat we just started to add it into wraps or pasta and she’s fine with it and gobbles it up. I think the texture was what put her off, not the flavour.

  5 Weaning babies is very unpredictable and requires lots of patience. One day your baby will love something you cook and eat the whole lot in minutes. The next day you can offer the exact same thing and they look disgusted and won’t touch it. This has happened with Indie many times, especially if she is overtired, unwell or teething. Don’t let this worry you. In the early stages of weaning your baby will be getting most of their nutrition from breast or formula milk.

  6 Try not to let the fear of choking hold you back from offering finger foods or thicker, lumpier textures of food. A baby choking is very rare as long as you chop and prep foods properly. Your baby needs to learn how to deal with solids and how to bite, chew and swallow food as they progress through their weaning journey. Babies also have a very strong gag reflex, which is further forward in the mouth than it is for adults. So quite often you will see your baby gag and bring foods to the front of their mouth with their tongue. It’s a bit scary the first time you see it, but it’s important not to panic or get really alarmed or start pulling food out of their mouth. If you honestly do find the thought of offering finger foods to your baby too worrying, then just focus on spoon-feeding and offer small amounts of super soft finger foods (overcooked veggies for example) that you can easily squish between your finger and thumb, until you build up the confidence for more advanced textures. It’s not a competition or race, so go at your own pace and increase to lumpier textures when you and your baby are ready.

  7 Try to be adventurous with new flavours and food groups. You can offer just plain steamed, boiled or pureed foods for months but imagine how delightful it is for your baby to experience different flavour combinations and textures each week. We constantly challenged Indie’s palate from early on with things like stews, orzo, risotto and curries using spices like paprika, cinnamon, cumin and turmeric. We introduced coconut milk, Greek yoghurt and homemade pesto and excited her senses every day. This is one reason why Indie has such a big appetite and eats almost anything. We’ve created a mini foodie by being the chefs at home designing the menu and always trying to change the special of the day. It’s so easy to encourage fussy eating by limiting the options and only offering what we know they will love and never reject. So be adventurous for your baby even if you aren’t yourself. Keep the variety, keep it exciting and keep encouraging.

  8 A calm and peaceful environment makes all the difference when it comes to a healthy eating routine. We have Indie sitting in her high chair at the table with acoustic lullaby music playing on Spotify. This means she has an instant familiarity and she knows it’s time to sit and eat. Of course, we eat out a lot too but when at home we try to keep the same familiar environment with as little distraction as possible.

  9 Be a role model and try to sit down together to eat whenever possible. We all have busy lives and I know this can really be a tough one. Babies are constantly watching and lear
ning from us, so it’s good to show them that mealtimes are relaxing and enjoyable. It’s natural to want to just stare at them, trying to make them eat their food, but we’ve learnt now that Indie will often eat more when we’re not pressuring her and are just getting on with our own meals. I missed out on this as a kid so I hope it’s something we continue as our family grows.

  10 Prepping like a boss is key! Something we’ve really learnt is that there is no point in putting a lot of effort into cooking one meal for a baby that may end up thrown over the walls. Always make enough so that there can be leftovers to store in the fridge or freezer for when you’re really in a rush. Another idea is to batch-cook things when the baby is napping so you’ve always got something prepared . . . Cooking around a hungry baby is NOT fun!

  11 Allergic reactions are a big fear for new parents on the weaning journey. Indie actually had a reaction to some cashew butter we gave her on toast when she was 7 months old. It wasn’t serious but we still had to take her to the hospital. An allergy test revealed that she is allergic to cashews and pistachios. Prior to this we had given her peanut butter and almond butter mixed in with her porridge and she was fine so it was a surprise for us. Even though it was upsetting we kept calm in front of Indie. There is really no way of knowing what your baby is allergic to until they start to try things so don’t let this fear hold you back from introducing certain foods. (See here for more detail about allergies.)

  12 One dilemma we initially faced with weaning was trying to understand when to reduce Indie’s milk intake and how to get the right routine and timing with milk and food. When you first begin weaning, it’s ideal to offer your baby the same amount of milk as you did before they first began their solid foods. Breast milk or formula milk will still provide the majority of calories and nutrients that babies need each day at the start of weaning. As you notice the frequency of your baby’s meals, along with their portion sizes, increasing, you may start to notice a very natural and gradual decline in the amount of milk your little one takes too. (See here for more information.)