All about Weaning!

My oldest daughter was weaned from the bottle by 5 months, on her own.

My youngest was weaned from the breast by 16 months, by accident.

I know a lot of mother's struggle to wean their babies from bottle or breast, struggle for months, or in some cases years. Babies should be exclusively bottle or breast fed for the first 4-6 months of life, only after then should you gradually introduce easily digestible solids to your baby.

With my second daughter I did baby led weaning.

What is it? It's simply allowing your baby to feed his or her self, and leaving the pureed and jarred baby food in the dust..

It worked well, and for us it was true, she's not a fussy eater at all, eats what is put in front of her and loves fruits and veggies. My oldest daughter, weaned herself yes, but she was fed homemade baby food, she loved the sweeter foods, and as she gets older i'm noticing the more she chooses the sweets over the healthy.

Replacing one or two feedings a day with rice cereal to begin with can give your baby that want to wean! As soon as my oldest got a little taste of cereal there was no turning back for her! She had herself weaned in a month . Completely off bottle right onto beginner baby foods.

Should continue really, bottle/breast feeding and solid feeding until their 1st birthday, after that they are happier feeding themselves, and making gigantic messes.

The origin of weaning dates back to the prehistoric era, weaning from that time is referred to as Primitive Weaning, prehistoric mother's observed the habits of birds and animals. They picked up the art of regurgitating food for their young, and thus baby weaned from breast! .. eureka!! Seems so straight forward.

Today weaning is thankfully not that disturbing, shoving your tongue down your babies throat is no longer relevant thanks to technology. the 21st century has presented us with blenders and food processors for creating our own pureed baby food. Or the option of manufactured baby food, is available pretty much anywhere and everywhere.

It's not advisable to just up and switch your baby from liquids to solids in one foul swoop. It can be rough on the little digestive system, and waiting 3 months is appropriate for the complete diet change.

The taste preferences of a baby in early months is generally sweet. It takes them a bit to develop a palette for bitter veggies and bland meat. My daughter always loved the banana's and the sweet potatoes, she despised the meat and veggies. I would have the 'no good' food thrown or spat at me...ahhh motherhood.

All in all the progression from liquids to solids may require immense patience on the part of the parents, it's not easy to get them to swallow with a taste for sweets so particular. Just remember a diet full of variety and yummy tastes can allow your baby to grow into a healthy child, and encourage healthy eating habits for life.