Weaning your baby? Weaning expert Michelle Gray shares some top tips

New research from Milupa reveals Irish parents find weaning the most challenging development stage for their baby. 

When it comes to weaning, new research from Milupa, the specially grown cereal made just for babies, has discovered that parents find it the most challenging stage for a number of factors. One of the predominate factors being that they are unsure of when to start, what to expect and how long it should take? Though almost two in five found it to be an enjoyable and interactive experience, many parents view weaning as a race and not as a journey with one in five parents admitting their main goal is to get their baby eating the same food as the rest of the family as quickly as possible. This is where Michelle sees alarm bells ringing. Michelle Gray is a weaning expert and Milupa dietitian and last week, she sat down with Her to share some advice for new mums scared about the process of weaning. She said:

"Every baby is different so don't feel in a race to compete with friends or family whose child has already completed weaning. Every baby is so, so different and they all develop at different times, some start weaning at four months, others at five months and some even later than that so don't feel stressed, every baby completes the journey differently."

According to Michelle, when you are weaning your baby, you have to remember that this is an exciting time and a great moment of discovery for your baby as they explore new foods and different tastes. Michelle explained:

"Weaning on to solid foods is a really exciting time for you and your baby and is a brilliant window of opportunity to allow your baby to learn to love healthy foods! Your little one will still get most of their nutrients they need from their usual milk but gradually, as they progress through the 3 weaning stages and as the amount of milk they drink gradually decreases, their weaning foods will start to contribute more significantly to their intake of key nutrients for their rapid growth and development such as iron, vitamin D and omega-3 fats.”

And as an important tip when weaning your baby, Michelle explains that little babies are born with a sweet tooth so go for a blander taste first. Then at a later stage, begin to introduce sweet foods. She revealed that a top tip is to get the green veggies in early, around the first stage of weaning as after that, it is harder to get your babies to take to those foods. Also, meat and fish are good early starters so they develop a taste for them. Michelle's last piece of advice is to go to the beat of your own drum and listen to your own child's needs. "Don't rush you have plenty of time.

"People will just tell you the 'good advice' of their babies, enjoy it, take your time."

And for more information on all things weaning and the three stages you can check it out on the Milupa website here.