Please 'spoon feed' me!

Sorry for the long post! My LO is 5 and a half months and soo ready for weaning already. I'm planning to start in 2weeks or so. The reason I haven't started already/ putting it off is because I'm feeling super confused and overwhelmed by it all. I've been trying to read as much as poss, but honestly it's just leaving me more confused. I've read to start with savoury, not sweet. Ok. Then i've read starch is important and to start with potatos or baby cereal. Then I've also read babies don't yet have the enzymes to break down starch, so then do I not give it yet or is this not a problem? Others suggest broccoli but personally for me, broccoli makes me super bloated, gassy and uncomfortable so isn't that a bit of a heavy food to start with? Also I'm scared about BLW and giving whole food, because surely they need to ease into it and learn how to swallow properly first, so I feel more comfortable starting with something blended/pureed. I see stock cubes mentioned too, but aren't they salty and we should be avoiding salt? Honestly all these 'simple/ easy ideas' videos on Instagram are anything but right now! I think part of the reason I'm so worried is because I have issues with my stomach/ digestion. I put it down to the fact that I had reoccuring tonsilitis as a child and was given soo many antibiotics to take, which ofcourse destroyed me. Plenty of doc visits, tests, probiotics, herbal remedies but still no improvements. It's had such an impact on me that I really just want to get it right for my LO and so I want to get the weaning right too. Gosh I feel so overwhelmed! Soo if you're still with me, basically can someone dumb this down for me and just tell me (spoon feed me!) what the first 2 or 3 foods/ meals I should give my LO to get us through the first couple weeks (I'm hoping I'll have gained some confidence by then!) Thanks so much!

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A lot of advice is outdated. So you’re reading old and new advice. Cereal rice starches, should not be first foods. Meats are typically best for their iron content. So liver pate, fish eggs, bone marrow butter, butter, meat stock from chickens and beef. Milktomeat on IG is a good resource too. But don’t worry you’re not late to introducing food. The norm is 6 months and it is a process. It’s not an instant switch, and breastmilk is still their main food source while they learn to eat.

Also if you don’t start right at 6 months, it’s not the end of the world either. Not all babies have the interest. Mine didn’t, was too colicky so had to wait for that to calm down first.

Honestly it all depends on your baby, they only take a couple of spoonfuls of food at a time for the first few months and this is really a time to just experiment and see what baby likes or doesn't, they still need breastmilk or formula until at least a year old if I'm not mistaken (my first child is currently 6 years old and I'm pregnant with my second so I could be wrong). Mine likes fruit more than anything, still does, didn't care much for meats because they are usually unseasoned and bland when used for baby food (we used jars) she also liked sweet potatoes a lot and sweet peas were a sometimes and sometimes not. Most of her first 6 months of eating was fruit purees, bananas applesauce, etc. This is more of a time to experiment than it is to worry about a meal plan or "getting it right" because most of their nutrition still comes from the milk they are given

At that start baby will get all the need from breast milk or formula, so it's really about starting to have them explore and enjoy food. I have a 5yr old and a 7 month old I'm doing real food with now and for first food, mashed avocado and mashed roasted sweet potatoes were big hits ( I thinned the mashed food with water for the first few times, then worked up the normal soft food ).

Just remember to start giving your LO boiled cooled water too. Ours got really constipated when she started solids.The Solid Starts app is a pain in the ass, but useful if you can get it to actually work.

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