How do I get my 6 month old daugther to wean properly with her spoon?

Question

It's weaning time and I know it takes a long time (4-6 weeks) but everything I stick in her mouth makes her wince and gurn. Any advice?

Answer 1

She'll wean herself you can't just say it is time. Once she starts to show interest in holding it then that is when it is time. My son is 16 months he loved the finger foods but he wasn't interesting the spoon. But as of four months ago he started showing interest by grabbing it and not letting me feed him and his is now feeding himself well. Don't force it she'll do it when she is ready and that goes for the sippy cup, walking, potty training and anything else. Good Luck

Answer 2

There are really two different issues with the baby: One is that you want to wean her from the bottle or breast. The other one is that you want her to learn to eat using a spoon.

If its the breast you want to wean her from then you need to replace that with a bottle because babies get a substantial portion of their nutrition from milk or formula during the first year of their life. Babies near a year old can start to try to use "Sippy Cups" for the purpose of learning to drink from a cup, but until the baby is really proficient at it they still need a bottle.

Most babies will eat baby cereal or baby applesauce from a spoon as early as a month or so (whether or not that's good is a separate issue). Maybe your baby is teething and has tender gums? Are you using a spoon designed for babies, with that "rubber" coating, or are you using one of your own metal spoons?

Maybe you should wait a little while with the spoon in case she's getting any new teeth. If it were me, and if her teeth are in, I'd try offering her something like a few canned peas that she could try eating herself. It may also be worth considering that what you're giving her may not be tasty enough for her to want it (particularly since the spoon is apparently an additional unpleasantness for her). It may be worth trying something that babies tend to really love - like maybe the baby food custard or the peaches or applesauce (maybe you've already done this). If it came down to it I may even try something like a little bit of cake frosting on a spoon. (No, you don't want her eating this on a regular basis; but if its sweet enough to make her want to pursue the spoon issue it may be worth the occasional little taste of frosting on the end of the spoon.)

If you're weaning from breastfeeding, aren't there bottles that kind of recreate breastfeeding for just this purpose? Also, there's always the thing where you dip the store-bought nipple into a little water and then a tiny bit of sugar. You could also try dipping a pacifier into a little sugar. Most babies take that.

That's all I can think of. I'm leaning toward thinking your baby may be teething when it comes to the spoon.

Most people see the first year of the baby's life as the year they need milk from somewhere as their biggest source of nutrition because they don't eat all that well and there are so many food they can't have. So whatever tips I've offered are on switching to a bottle, using a spoon, but not on getting a baby to switch from nursing to spoon-eating at six months old.

Answer 3

Just try and give it to her a couple time a day and let her know that there is something on the spoon. She will see that there is something on there that will fill her up just like the milk does and the she will eat it. She will still try and pull away for a little bit.

Answer 4

6 months is too young to wean if by weaning you mean taking the bottle away.. she still needs lots of breastmilk/formula.. you can try giving her a cup for this, but most likely she will still want the bottle for awhile..

Answer 5

wean her from what? your breast or the bottle? remember that a baby needs her milk until a minimum of 1 year may that be formula or breastmilk as this will still be her main source of nutrients. before you take this away, you must have a sure way for her to continue her intake of milk.

Answer 6

i may not have ne children of my own yet...
but i do have 6 other brothers & sisters...& im the oldest [18]...& have takin care of every single one of them when they was a baby....
as of now 2 of them are still infants..
& my mother started feedin them food at 5 or 6months...yes its takes them some time to get use to....but she did both.
she would still give them formula...& jus feed them once a day wit the food....jus to slightly & slowly easy them off of the whole bottle thing...
& it has worked wit every SINGLE one of us...lol

Answer 7

Just keep trying, if you get the spoon on their tongue the will first suck it off like there bottle, little bites.

Answer 8

you need to feed her with a bottle a bit longer

trust me it will work
good luck!