39 It may take 10 tries or more for your baby to get used to new foods, flavours, and textures. Have you ever heard of baby led weaning (BLW)? How does it work? WEANING Weaning is the process of introducing a baby to solid food, gradually switching from breast- or formula feeding. When to start? Choosing when to wean also depends on personal decisions such as a mother return to work, the mother s or the baby s health, or other considerations, but, usually, it starts when the baby: is around six months old: breast or formula milk can provide the necessary energy and nutrients until this age; can stay in a sitting position, holding their head steady; can coordinate their eyes, hands and mouth, in other words it can look at food, pick it up, and put it in their mouth; can swallow food rather than push it back out. When and how much? When weaning starts, the main source of nutrition is still breast or formula milk, and the baby simply needs a small amount of solid food once a day. The best time to wean is the one that suits both parents and baby, when there is no rush and when the baby is not too tired. Weaning is a gradual process and takes time , so it is a good idea to allow plenty of time and go at the baby s pace, never forcing them to eat. How much the baby will eat depends on their appetite, so parents should be able to recognise when they re hungry or when they have had enough. What? There a few different theories on what to feed a baby when weaning , but a few common good practices are agreed upon: offer different kinds of food and not just the sweeter ones so as to get them used to a range of tastes and prevent them from becoming fussy eaters as they grow up; gradually increase the amount and variety of food choosing from the different food groups week by week; give the baby some finger food and let them feed for themselves to develop their hand-to-eye coordination and get them interested in new food; avoid salt and sugar; the former is not good for the kidneys and the latter causes tooth decay; blended: frullato fussy eater: schizzinoso (nel mangiare) lumpy: grumoso mashed: schiacciato to swallow: ingoiare tooth decay: carie weaning: svezzamento 88 BABIES AND CHILDREN move on to mashed and finger food from pur es and blended as soon as the baby is ready so as to get them used to different textures and teach them how to chew and swallow more solid food; keep offering lumpy textures and stay with them to check they re swallowing safely; it s an important skill they need to learn even if it takes time.