Weaning

When, at about 5 months, C started to show an interest in trying to eat real food, we let him try. No purees or specially prepared food, but he was able to take some of the food we were eating ourselves and suck or chew at it. Soft cooked courgette was a particular favorite in these early stages.

As the months went by we were keen to let C set the pace and let him eat as little or as much as he wanted. We ignored books telling us to introduce foods one at a time, giving several days to watch for allergies, and pressure from others to progress rapidly through the food groups. We knew that in some parts of the world babies are exclusively breastfed for a full year, and felt secure in the knowledge that breast milk would supply the bulk of C's nutritional requirement. We simply started cooking without salt, and offered him a wide range of our own food.

But, as time went on, I started to be curious. How much milk does a baby drink? How much food would a baby need to eat to fulfill his requirements? When is the best time to wean? How much salt is too much? Is sugar really "bad"? Here are some partial answers to these burning questions.

How much food a baby would need to fulfill his requirements? Breast milk becomes richer with every month that you breast feed but, as a rough guide, it provides 22 kcals per oz. If we assume that a breast fed baby takes on roughly the same amount of milk as a bottle fed baby, lets say 5 8oz feeds, that's approximately 750kcal per day. Of course, calories are only one measure of nutrition, but an interesting baseline, which can give us a rough idea of how much food would be required to completely substitute for mum's milk.

When is the best time to wean? The La Leche League argue that milk should be the primary source of nutrition in the first year. It is after all specially designed for your baby. The age at which humans wean seems to vary hugely from culture to culture, but the natural, or biologically optimal age appears to be somewhere around 2-5 years. Chimpanzees nurse their young for approximately 4 years, and some of the more relaxed of the remaining non-industrial human populations follow suit. The !Kung San of Namibia, for example, are reported to allow their children to become tired of the breast. Following their babies' lead, breastfeeding reduces gradually until by the age of 3 it is a rare activity reserved for times when extra comfort is required. Mothers who have breastfed their children for just a few months often look aghast at the thought of breastfeeding for so long, but I can assure you that feeding past 6 months is really not a big imposition. Yes, feeding a new-born is a huge commitment, but by 6 months, feeds are really quick and easy, and the look of adoration on you child's face really makes it feel worth while. I'm still not decided on when I will wean C, but he is already nearly 2 years old and still going strong.

How much salt is too much? I found the advice handed out by health visitors on salt very confusing. First we are told not to add any salt to our cooking, but then told that feeding bread, cheese, Weetabix, even Marmite, to our children is fine! The only more specific advice I have received on salt levels is that children under two should not eat take more than 1g. This might sound a lot, but start adding up how much is in a slice of bread (~0.5g) or a tablespoon of shop bought tomato sauce (~0.25g) and you start to realise that you really need to watch out. In the first few days of breast-feeding the salt content of the milk is quite high, presumably to meet some peculiar need of the newborn. But after a few days the salt content stabilise at about 1/4g per ltr. The average baby will drink approximately 1L of milk a day, so daily salt intake before solids are introduced will be about 1/4g per day.

Is sugar really bad? When C started eating solid foods, we wanted to start him on the right track with lots of nutritious foods, so we didn't want to encourage him to load up on sugary foods. However, sugar is not all bad. Fruits and vegetables can be high in sugar, but also provide a great all round package of nutrition. We decided fairly early on not to worry about sugar too much, but we tried to opt for foods close to their natural state, and limited the amount of refined sugar C ate to occasional desserts or chocolates, until he was better established on solids.