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Weaning Baby onto Solid Organic Baby Food

The birth of a new life is a great miracle. Many things change. Many beautiful moments await you … as well as responsibilities. Ulula aims to work with you to provide your baby with the right nourishment throughout this period of rapid growth.

Breast Feeding and Weaning

Breast feeding gives your baby the best start in life. Breast milk contains all the nutrients your baby needs in the right proportion, contains antibodies to help your baby build up resistance to infections like coughs or colds. Your baby may be less likely to develop allergies and breast milk is as natural as possible.

Therefore the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends exclusive breast feeding during the first 6 months and breast feeding should be preferably continued beyond the first year of life. If breast feeding is not possible or your baby needs additional food consult your paediatrician, GP or Health Visitor.

Read the Ulula baby weaning chart >>
Read the Ulula baby weaning diet plan >>
Read the Holle baby food advisor (.PDF, 1.2 Mb) >>

Weaning Your Baby

During the first six months of life, breast milk or infant formula milk provides a baby with all of the nourishment needed for growth and development. However as each infant is different, around 6 months is the time most babies are ready to try other foods. It is a general rule to introduce solid foods in the form of smooth purees when your baby is 6 months or older.

The Department of Health recommends that parents should not wean babies before the age of 6 months. This is partly because a baby's digestive system may not be fully developed before this age and also because the risk of a child developing an allergy is said to be greater if solids are introduced before six months.

Many parents tell me that they feel this advice is too rigid and that their babies are ready for weaning earlier than 6 months. While introducing solids is possible from about 4 or 5 months, weaning should never be attempted before 4 months, as a baby's developing digestive system simply cannot cope with the demands made of it. Similarly, a number of parents tell me that their baby was not ready for weaning until after 6 months, and that is fine too.

Tune Into Your Baby and Trust Yourself

My experince is that parents should follow their parental intuition when thinking about when to start weaning their baby. Consider the list of possible signs below and observe your baby - you're the person who knows your baby best, so trust yourself.

If there is a family history of allergies, eczema, asthma or hayfever then obviously exclusive breastfeeding or feeding baby milks or formulas would be sensible for the first six months, if at all possible.

Signs Your Baby May Be Ready For Weaning

The following may be signs that your baby is ready to start his or her first tentative steps in eating solids:

• Holding his or her head up and controlling head movements
• Sitting well when supported
• Is eager to chew and making chewing motions
• Attempting to put things in his or her mouth
• Is losing the reflex to push objects out of his or her mouth
• Picking up food and putting it in his/her mouth
• Being unsatisfied after a full milk feed
• Demanding increasing and more frequent milk feeds
• After a period of sleeping through the night waking in the night with hunger
• Displaying curiosity about what you are eating

Weaning Your Baby Before Six Months

If you decide to wean at any time before six months, there are some foods that should be avoided as these may cause allergies or make your baby ill. These include wheat-based foods and other foods containing gluten (e.g. bread, rusks, some breakfast cereals), eggs, fish, shellfish, nuts, seeds and soft and unpasteurised cheeses. Ask a trusted professional for advice, especially if your baby was premature.

Weaning and Baby Milks and Formulas

If you are unable or do not breast feed exclusively at this stage you can use organic infant formula, based on cow's milk, in combination with instant cereals instead. If your baby has an allergic reaction to dairy or cereal products please contact your doctor or health visitor. Ulula recommends you start with infant formula 1 even if you have breastfed fully more than 5 months, and to follow on with infant formula 2.

Infant formula 1 is protein adapted and does not contain starch, which makes it easier for baby to digest. It can be used until the end of 12 months. In the case of your baby being fed with formula 1 during the first 6 months, and not becoming fully satisfied, after 6 months of age, the more hunger satisfying organic infant follow-on formula 2 may be introduced.

Introducing Solids

The first solid food is usually a pureed fruit or vegetable meal, preferably apple or carrots, because they are easily digested. After about 2 weeks you may add potatoes and again after about two weeks you can try other vegetables like sweet potato, parsnip, swede, and broccoli. Once your baby is established with one solid meal you can introduce milk porridge instead of breast or bottle feeding in the afternoon or evening. Holle organic instant porridges in combination with fresh full cream milk and fresh pureed or jarred fruit provide your baby with a perfect meal.

In the next stage of weaning milk free fruit porridge will replace the afternoon breast or bottle feed and the milk porridge will then be postponed to the evening.

By about the 8th month your baby has the skill to bite and will be able to have mashed or chopped foods, which encourage your toddler to chew. You will fnd some recipes for home made organic baby food and other weaning baby tips on our recipe page.

Holle organic porridges are usable in a variety of applications and will accompany your baby through the weaning time. From adding a few spoons of Rice or Millet Porridge to the bottle feed to satisfy your baby to preparing a whole meal with one of the seven porridges or using it in your home made baby foods there are no limits to how the porridges can be used. It makes the whole weaning process easier for you because they are instant, sugar free, dairy free and have either stool loosening or stool firming qualities.

Read the Ulula baby weaning chart >>
Read the Ulula baby weaning diet plan >>