You’ll notice that down the baby isle of any supermarket, many packets of baby food will say that your little one can have it from 4 months. The reason that companies can get away with this is due to a gap in the law. The guidance now (after much extensive research) is the wean your little one at 6 months. This is due to them having a more developed digestive system which means they are less likely to become allergic or have an intolerance to foods. It doesn’t mean that this won’t happen, but it lessens the chances. If you would like to read more around the laws regarding marketing formula milks and advertising baby foods, I would encourage you to look at First Steps Nutrition as they provide a lot of information on this.
It will get messy but this is an important part of learning. We want your little ones to get stuck in to exploring their foods and learning through this experience (there is so much to be learnt through having food all over their face, hands and in their hair! Don’t panic, having food in their hair is unlikely to be every meal!) You could put a shower curtain under your little ones highchair to collect all the food they drop, or get a dog- they will forever be your little ones best friend with all their frequent snacks!
Their nappies will change, and your little one will produce some rather smelly poos! Its also high likely that you will see the foods your little one has eaten come through their nappy (sweetcorn is often most noticeable, and the tiny little seeds from strawberries and bananas!)
Your little one will want things off your plate, as frustrating as this can be, even if they have exactly the same on their plate, this actually stems from an evolutionary reason due to little ones knowing it was safe to eat things their parents were as it meant it wasn’t poisonous.
Family meals- don’t feel you have to stand in the kitchen for hours preparing different meals for all the family (unless you want to), but this is not necessary and is time consuming (and also expensive!). From 6 months, babies are able to eat most things that you are eating (be aware of seafood, the cheeses you were not able to eat in pregnancy, cured meats, and honey is a ‘no no’ until your little one is over the age of 12 months due to the bacteria that can be found in the honey)
Written for Etta Loves
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