Wean a baby questions answered at Ella's Kitchen
Your weaning questions answered!
question time
Our weanursery toys have all of your ‘wean a baby’ and 'how to start weaning' questions answered! Give them a go and see what they know!
Weaning with Ella's
The best way to get your little one to love the food you eat as a family is to offer them baby-friendly versions of the food you eat as much as possible. Ella’s Kitchen products are great options for on the go or for when you don’t have time to cook at home. We use some ingredients that are a little tricky to prepare like butternut squash or swede to help you introduce your little one to a wide variety of vegetables and fruit. Try to offer a wide range of homemade foods and use Ella’s Kitchen products to introduce foods you don’t commonly eat or for when you’re out and about. Take a peek at our range here.
Weaning with Ella's
Our 'From 4, 6 + 7 month' pouches should never be put in a microwave; there are lots of other easy ways to heat them up. Remember to always test the temperature before feeding heated-up food to your little one.
The easiest way to warm our 'From 4, 6 + 7 mont'h baby food is to stand the pouch in hot water, giving it a few minutes to heat up.
You can squeeze our yummy baby food into a saucepan and gently heat it up while stirring continuously.
Or, you can squeeze our yummy baby food into a microwavable bowl and heat it up in the microwave.
Our 'From 10 months' pouches are perfectly safe to microwave. To warm them up, simply tear off the top of the pouch, stand it on a dish (just in case it spills) and heat it up. Give it a good stir to get rid of any hot spots and, as always, test the temperature before feeding your little one.
We don’t recommend heating up Baby Brekkie, as it tastes better chilled or at room temperature
Weaning with Ella's
It’s fine to freeze Ella’s Kitchen 'From 4 months' pouches and Smoothie Fruits, but we don’t recommend freezing our 'From 6, 7 +10 months' pouches or our toddler meals, due to the more grown up ingredients. Our 'From 4 months' products and Smoothie Fruits should be frozen within 24 hours of opening the pouch, and eaten immediately after the product has been thoroughly defrosted. Remember to always test the temperature before feeding your little ones. We don’t recommend freezing or refrigerating and then reheating baby food that has already been heated up, as this can be unsafe for little ones
Popping Smoothie Fruits in the freezer makes yummy, cooling 100% fruit ice lollies for hot summer days, too!
You can refrigerate our 'From 4 months' range for up to 48 hours after opening and you can keep our 'From 6, 7 + 10 months' pouches in the fridge for up to 24 hours after taking the cap off.
Weaning with Ella's
Our packaging is amazing at keeping our yummy food tasty and safe for tiny tummies. But we know we’ve got to work reeeally hard to address its impact on the planet, so we can protect our world for future generations. As part of our Dream, we’ve set a target + promise to make 100% of our packaging widely recyclable at kerbside by 2024.
Pouches + snack wrappers:
Our pouches + snack wrappers are not currently accepted for recycling by local councils in the UK, but can be recycled through our EllaCycle recycling programme in partnership with Terracycle.
To find out more about Ellacycle click here.
Card, Pots + Trays
All our card as well as our plastic pots + trays are fully recyclable and widely collected at kerbside by local councils across the UK
Weaning with Ella's
Our products are great on their own but also, you can mix them into yummy recipes and use them as ingredients in homemade recipes, making cooking at home super quick + easy and packing an extra yummy punch! For example, you can use our veggie first tastes in yummy dips like ‘marvellous minty pea + avocado dip' (using peas peas peas) or use our veggie blends in pasta sauce or risotto to add lots more scrummy veggies (like adding pumpkin, broccoli + sweetcorn into very veggie courgetti spaghetti)
Take a peek at our recipe hacks here.
Weaning with Ella's
Our deeeliciously dairy free range is perfect for introducing your little one to coconut! Packed full of fun + interesting tastes like fig to excite tiny tastebuds. All made with creeeamy coconut milk, Mmmm! They're super tasty for all little ones especially those who are dairy free. If you take a peek at our online shop, you can search for other dairy free products using the allergen filter.
Weaning with Ella's
After your little one is happy trying single veggie tastes, you can move onto very veggie blends, combing tastes together like kale, pumpkin, squash and more! Still with super smooth texture, they're perfect for the first few weeks of weaning. Take a peek here.
Weaning with Ella's
Our veggie First Tastes (carrots, sweetcorn, peas, sweet potato, parsnips) have a super smooooth texture + are perfect for the start of weaning. We know Introducing vegetables early on gets tiny taste buds used to savoury flavours, helping them grow into a Little Veg Lover for life. Take a peek at the range here.
Finger foods
It’s only natural to worry about choking when you offer your little one a new texture or finger food. Just make sure that first finger foods are soft and dissolve easily, go for sticks the size and length of your index finger and watch you baby closely when they’re eating. Show them lots of encouragement and reassurance and give them lots of praise when they try something new.
For more info on choking + gagging, click here.
Finger foods
Great ideas for first finger foods are sticks of root veg like carrot, parsnip or butternut squash, broccoli trees and soft fruit fingers like banana, kiwi or mango. Avocado sticks are great but leave the skin on half the stick for easier grip.
Little ones can then move on to bread and toast fingers, pasta pieces, slices of cheese and well cooked scrambled egg.
From 9-10months, you can offer finger food meals like omelette strips, falafel, fish goujons, meatballs and mini burgers, chopped and sliced tomato and cucumber, hard boiled egg, cheese cubes and so on.
Take a peek at our finger foods recipes here.
Finger foods
Great first foods include soft cooked vegetable sticks like carrot, parsnip or broccoli trees and soft fruit fingers like banana or melon. The texture should be melty enough to squash between your thumb and finger at this stage and the size and shape should resemble your index finger.
Finger foods
Little ones learn by playing with the world around them, + that goes for finger food too! Finger foods can really help your little one to develop their self feeding and chewing skills, as well as learning great hand-eye coordination too
Trying new foods
It’s normal for some babies to gag when they try new textures. You’ll often find they make a small coughing sound and might go red in the face. Just reassure them with lots of smiles and let them try the food again.
Choking is different from gagging. Your baby may be coughing, so allow them to do so as it will help bring the object causing the choking back up again. If your baby goes quiet and struggles to breathe, you may need to use back blows to help dislodge the object. Here are some tips from the NHS for helping a baby or toddler who is choking: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/...
Nutritionist Claire has written a handy article on gagging + choking too, take a peek here.
Trying new foods
Once little ones are over 6 months of age and happily eating a range of foods, you can offer a little water in a sippy cup at mealtimes. Sometimes you have to experiment with cups before you find out which one works best for your baby. It’s still important to offer at least 600ml your baby’s usual milk a day, between the ages of 6 and 12 months.
Cows milk can be offered as a main drink at 12 months
Trying new foods
Try to eat together as a family as much as possible, so that your baby can see you eating what they're having (even if the texture is different). Little ones love to copy, so make sure you show them how much you love eating veg!
Also, make food and eating fun - show your little one how much you love eating the foods you'd like them to eat and make up funny songs, games or stories about food, to make the weaning experience a positive and happy one.
Trying new foods
At 6m babies can move their food from side to side using their tongue and they may move on quite quickly (within a week or two) from a super smooth puree to a slightly thicker, grainier texture (with no lumps). Try adding some baby rice or use less liquid when blending to make a thicker, smooth puree.
At 7 months, your little one is ready for more complex tastes + textures! During mealtimes, try going for soft lumps in a thick puree, like fork-mashed banana, potato or avocado. Don't worry about lack of teeth. Little ones quickly learn to push small soft lumps against the roof of their mouth, so they can squish before they swallow.
Trying new foods
Here's a few top tips from nutritionist Claire:
- If your little one pulls a funny face, it doesn't mean they don't like something… it's just reeeally new! Even a disgusted expression doesn’t mean they won’t grow to accept and like a new food. Keep trying + they'll learn to love it
- Repeat it! try try try again – it can take up to 8 tiny tastes for your little one to learn to love a new food
- If you love your veggies, your little one will too... If your little one sees you tucking in, they'll copy you and tuck in too!
- Try offering the same veg in different ways (puree, roast, boil, mixed with herbs + spices)
Trying new foods
It’s important to make sure your dairy free little one is getting enough calcium and iodine to help little bones and bodies to grow. You can find dairy free calcium in sesame seeds, hummus, ground nuts, kale, spring greens, calcium set tofu and calcium fortified products.
Remember, alternative milks are fine for use in cooking (go for ones fortified with calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iodine) but you shouldn’t give them to your baby as a main drink.
Dairy free iodine can be found in eggs and white fish. If you are raising your child on a vegan diet, then you may want to offer supplements of vitamin B12, vitamin D and iodine.
Trying new foods
At 6 months, little ones are ready to discover new + exciting foods which offer vital nutrients for tiny tums! Continue to introduce lots of veggie tastes + combine familiar tastes together, as well as introducing iron-rich foods, protein, grains and dairy foods.
Trying new foods
Once your little one is happy trying single veggie tastes, you can begin combining a variety of tastes together:
- Offer a new food on its own first before combining it with another more familiar taste
- Try introducing exciting fruity tastes to tickle those taste buds
- Remember to offer a rainbow of veg + fruit in unusual combinations
- Keep offering single veg though, maybe as finger foods so your little one remembers the taste
For more top tips click here.
How much food to give
It’s quite common for babies to go off their usual milk once weaning starts, as there are so many exciting new tastes to try! It’s important for little ones to still have their usual milk as it’s a very important source of nutrients, so do keep offering it as much as possible. The Department of Health recommends that little ones have about 500-600ml of their usual milk a day between the ages of 6 and 12 months, alongside a variety of foods. If your little one isn’t keen on drinking milk, try using it in cooking e.g in macaroni cheese, fish pie or rice pudding or in porridge. Take a peek at our easy weaning recipes in yummy kitchen!
How much food to give
All babies are different and they will have different appetites, which is completely normal for them. In fact, some days they will have a bigger appetite than others! You may notice that one day they want to gobble up everything in sight and others, they're not that interested. This is often in line with growth spurts and is nothing to worry about. Always be led by your little one's appetite as they know when they've had enough. They will tell you by turning their head away from the spoon or by pushing it away. Don't worry if they don't seem to eat much for a day or two. Over the course of a week or so they will eat enough to get all the nutrients they need, especially if you offer lots of variety. For more top tips, visit the classroom!
How much food to give
To start with, it doesn't matter how much your little one eats. You're just introducing them to new flavours, so a tiny taste is enough as they'll still be getting most of their nutrition from their usual milk.
Once your little one has got the hang of eating foods that aren’t just milk, especially a variety of veggies, it’s time to start offering lots of variety to make sure they’re getting enough nutrients. Slowly introduce veggies and fruits then pulses, cereals, dairy, nuts (as ground nuts or nut butters), soy products, meat and fish.
How much food to give
Your baby will show you when they’ve had enough by turning their head away, pushing away the spoon or spitting the food out. Once you’ve offered the food 3 times and your baby has had the same reaction, it’s time to end the meal. Never pressure babies to eat when they don’t want to! For more top tips, visit the classroom.
How much food to give
At the start of weaning, babies are still getting most of their nutrition from their usual milk, so it's all about offering a variety of tiny tastes of especially veg for now! Just try one or two spoonfuls a day + remember to take your baby's lead – if they’re not interested, try again later or the next day.
From 6-6.5 months you can start to slowly build up the amount you give in a meal once your baby is confidently eating a few spoonfuls but you still only need to be offering one meal a day with your baby's usual milk (around 600ml or more in the early stages), as this is still a main source of nutrition.
How much food to give
Go at your own pace + be led by your baby! Try not to worry + compare yourself to others as every baby is different + will be ready for new experiences at different times! Don’t forget to join our Facebook group 'The weeny weaning group!' where you can chat to + get lots of support from other parents who are on their little one's weaning journey too!
How much food to give
As your little one starts to eat more food, you may find they naturally want less milk. Milk is still a really important source of nutrients so you should still offer little ones over the age of 6m around 600ml of their usual milk a day. They may start to take less and less of a certain milk feed e.g. the lunchtime feed as food becomes more important. Go at your baby’s pace and let them lead you when it comes to dropping milk feeds.
How to start weaning
Some little ones seem to prefer feeding themselves rather than being fed, so this is really normal! Try giving your baby their own spoon to play with while you sneak a cheeky spoonful in while they’re occupied! You can also offer a variety of foods to choose from such as fingers of cooked vegetables and soft fruits to start with. Pop over to the weaning classroom for more top tips!
How to start weaning
Baby led weaning in its truest sense skips any pureed or mashed foods and just focuses on offering finger foods with a suitable texture for babies. They need to be the right size + shape for little hands and a reasonably melty, easy to chew texture.
However, some babies struggle with finger foods early on. So, it’s best to use the approach that works for you + your baby. A mixture of some purees and mashed textures with a variety of suitable finger foods can be a good compromise.
Whichever way you wean, offer plenty of food variety and go at your baby’s pace.
How to start weaning
Pick a time to start when your baby isn’t too hungry and not too sleepy – maybe just after a milk feed or around lunchtime is a good idea! For more top tips on starting weaning, click here.
How to start weaning
Start with a perfectly smooth puree that has the same texture as double cream or runny honey. To make a first puree… soft cook veg in a steamer and blend with a little of baby's usual milk to achieve the texture of pouring cream. You can always loosen the texture with water or your baby’s usual milk. Check the temperature before feeding to your little one using a lovely soft spoon. F
How to start weaning
Research shows that introducing single veg tastes early on in weaning gets tiny taste buds used to savoury flavours. Once you're little one is happy trying single veg tastes, move on topure veggie blends for even more fun!
We've got more tips + advice on how to start weaning or take a look at our first veggie taste weaning recipes in the yummy kitchen!
Getting ready for weaning
We've pulled together a super handy 'getting ready for weaning essentials' checklist for you, take a peek here!
Pssst! Don't forget to be kind with your time! Try to plan your meals, shop online + try recipe hacks so you have more time to enjoy the experience with your baby
Getting ready for weaning
Some signs to look out for include:
• Your little one sitting up + holding their head steady by themselves
• Good hand-eye coordination like picking up a spoon + popping it into their mouth
Trust your instinct + you’ll know when the time is right. If your baby just pushes out what you give them, don’t worry – wait a week or two and try again. Find out more from expert nutritionist Claire here.
Getting ready for weaning
Most little ones will be ready to wean at around 6 months old, but every baby is different.
It’s important that you don’t give your little one food before the age of 17 weeks as tiny tummies + kidneys aren’t ready.
If you think your little one is ready to start weaning before they're 6 months old, have a chat with your health visitor. For more top tips on when to start weaning click here.
join the conversation
Join our Facebook group 'The Weeny Weaning Group' where you can chat to + support other mums + dads with little ones who are starting their weaning journey too!