Should you give your baby a spoon or the bottle during weaning?

Read this if you have the same question in your mind

Weaning is one of the most important phases of parenthood. It is also a tiring and challenging one for the mothers. Introducing new tastes, facing tantrums and a constant struggle to help your baby make this transition from breast milk to semi-solid foods is anything but exhausting. Then comes the question of how to wean like, should you give the pureed fruits and vegetables to your baby through a bottle or offer a spoon? Here are 11 food mistakes to avoid while weaning your baby.

Bottle fed babies are usually comfortable continuing with the same method of feeding, when you give them pureed fruits and vegetable in the bottle. But the idea of weaning is not just to introduce your child to foods other than breast milk or formula but to help them start eating and break the dependence on bottles.

Like many mothers, I had the same dilemma when I had to wean my babies. Each time the challenge seemed new. So I tried both the bottle and spoon during weaning. However, my paediatrician advised me to ditch the bottle and start feeding my baby first with fingers, at first and then introduce the spoon. Here are eight important weaning foods for your baby.

The rule of weaning is to continue with breastfeeding despite introducing new foods. In fact, even the WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months before weaning. Once you start weaning still supplement it with breast milk for up to two years. The younger the baby, the more difficulty she faces to take a feed other than the breast or a bottle.

So here are some tips to keep in mind when you start weaning:

Limit dependence on bottles. Once you have started to puree fruits and vegetables, try to first feed with the finger. This will allow your baby to get acquainted with texture and taste of different foods. Your baby might just suckle from the bottle and gulp the pureed food. But finger feeding will ensure that the food remains in her mouth for a little longer before she swallows it. It helps to develop the swallowing reflex and sets the stage to adapt to chewing too.

Try the spoon cautiously. Once your baby is comfortable taking small dollops of pureed foods through the finger, try the weaning spoons that come in the right bite-size for them. If you are using a regular one from home, don t pick up too much food at a time. A little of the puree is what your child needs.

Keep the bottle only for the milk. If you are used to giving breast milk through the bottle or depend on formula, keep the bottle only for those feeds. If you are still breastfeeding your child, continue doing the same.

Avoid using the bottle for weaning foods. Don t pour the pureed foods in the bottle, unless you are travelling and spoon feeding seems to be a messy affair. The more you spoon feed your baby during weaning more are chances of her developing her swallowing and chewing reflexes faster making the transition from liquids to solids an easy one.

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