Forming a Weaning Routine
One of the best tricks to weaning success is to form a weaning routine. Just like your baby adjusted to a specific milk feeding schedule, you can slowly adjust them to a mixed feeding schedule, one in which they eat solid food for some meals and milk for others. Usually you can begin this schedule at around six months of age. This is the age when your baby's nutritional needs change, and they need more nutrients than milk can provide.
When starting your routine, go slow on your baby. Let's say your first attempt at solid feeding went well, and it was a breakfast or mid-morning feeding. You can begin to make all of your baby's mid-morning feeds a solid food meal. Having a solid food meal once a day for about a week is a great start. All other meals can be milk feedings.
After a week of once a day solids, you can move your baby up to twice a day solids, and then three times a day. Remember that the more solids your baby eats, the less milk they will drink. This doesn't mean you shouldn't give them any more milk, though. Babies should be drinking milk till they are about 12 months old because they need its nutrients to develop healthily. So make sure you feed your baby milk meals about twice a day. It can be their first meal of the day and their last meal of the day, drinking it to go to sleep.
When you begin weaning, and have successfully gotten your baby up to about 2 or more solid feedings a day, begin introducing a variety of food to your baby. Some mothers start with variety as early as the first week of solid feeding, but some babies will not respond to quick changes. Though your baby is likely to have favorite solid foods, it is important that you give them variety so that they can develop a taste for many foods. Try not to feed them their favorite food too frequently so they will learn to eat other flavors. This will help you feed them a balanced diet as they get older, and keep them from becoming a fussy eater.
To get your baby to try many different types of food, show them how good it is by eating some yourself and saying “Mmmm! Good!” or other noises that tell them you are enjoying the food. Babies are naturally curious and are likely to want to try the food. Remember to start with small portions and to start with foods that have simple flavors and smooth textures. Giving your baby solids that are similar to milk, such as smooth purees or baby rice are a good place to start because this will teach them how to swallow solids.
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