Recently Ella developed a bit of refulx. We took her to the Dr who prescribed ranitidine and told us to try her with a few spoon feeds to get her on the way to eating solids so we could reduce her milk volume.

Ella was 20 weeks when this all happened and I was a bit overwhelmed; all the advice points towards waiting until 6 months to help prevent infections, childhood obesity, to let the gut mature and to reduce the risk of choking. Its all pretty scary and you want to do the best for your child, but when a Dr advises it, it’s the best, right?

We waited a week (because we were away, and starting weaning then would have been really inconvenient… Great parents…) and started Ella with the veggies first approach. The only reason I done this was because of external influences. Its funny but strangers on Instagram or Facebook really do impact your decisions. I’d read about how babies have a preference for sweet things so veggies are best to widen their taste experience and introduce them to bitter flavours, also how pre-made pouches contained so much sugar and how doing baby led weaning was better for your baby’s development of their fine motor skills.

Information overload. How is a first time mum meant to know what to do for the best when everyone out there on the world wide web has an opinion that differs! So I joined a weaning group on Facebook, thinking mums who’ve been there would give me the help & direction I needed, unfortunately not. I was so discouraged and saddened by some of the mums on there, shaming other mums for using a mixture of weaning methods, or giving their child a petit flous! Don’t get me wrong, the majority were sharing recipes and helpful tips, while a small minority were tearing other mums apart & quoting the sugar contents of foods they shared, leaving comments like “my child certainly would never be eating that!” It was outrageous.

So I’m still none the wiser! We’re in week 2 of this weaning journey, now following no specific plan, just winging it and taking each day as it comes. Ella has had fresh home prepared veggie purees, some from premade packs, baked potato, homemade fruit purees, oaty pancakes, veggie finger foods and a chocolate bicky, she’s even had a suck on a wine gum… Balance right? She’s enjoyed everything she’s tried so far, especially the biscuit!

From here on in we are going to just do our own thing. We’re going to try a mix of spoon feeding and finger foods. Some say it’s not recommended and some say it’s the best way forward. Who’s to know? Babies can seem to love something one day, but the next be completely uninterested, so we’re just taking it as it comes & trying to make the variety of foods as wide as possible. Giving her a variety of textures might keep her interest, it might not, it’s all trial & error. The only thing I’ve learnt from this experience so far is that someone on the Internet has no idea what is best for my baby, and if you get up tight about what your baby is and isn’t allowed to have and how they are allowed to have it, then the experience is ruined before you’ve even began.

I want to enjoy this new stage with Ella. Watching her play with her food, feeling new textures, experiencing new tastes, pulling funny faces. I don’t want to be loaded with Mum-guilt because I gave her a convenient pouch or jar, or gave her a milky bar & a children’s yoghurt, or get bogged down trying display insta worthy food on bamboo plates and not succeeding. I just want to feed my daughter, to give her healthy & nutritious foods, and some treats too! I want to let her experience food & find her favourites. Yes it’s all new for me, but it’s also new for her too! I don’t want to ruin her experience by getting stressed out around meal times, I want her to take the lead, to show me how she’s most comfortable eating. It’ll be messy, but it’s all part of the fun!

If you have any helpful weaning tips or recipes for a new mama just starting out, let me know…and if you want to tell me how much sugar is in pre-made baby food and petit flous, don’t worry, I already know. Fresh & organic choices aren’t always options for everyone, people do what’s best for them & their family; so we just need to learn to respect everyone’s decisions on their weaning journey and help eachother out.

Follow along our weaning journey on Instagram @ashleigh_mcconkey