Weaning can be an exciting new experience for you and your baby. While some babies transition to solid foods in a fairly straightforward way, other babies find weaning challenging resulting in concerns and plenty of questions. When weaning is challenging, knowing when to seek specialist support can make a big difference.
Normal Weaning Behaviours
During the early stages of weaning many babies exhibit some or all of the following behaviours:
- Occasional gagging.
- Spitting food out.
- Pulling faces when trying new foods.
- Playing with food more than eating food.
- Eating small amounts of solids and appearing to prefer milk feeds.
As your baby becomes more experienced with solid foods, these behaviours should decrease and solid foods should gradually become a regular, enjoyable part of your baby’s mealtimes.
Signs Your Baby May Need Support with Weaning
- Regular coughing or gagging, or a choking episode.
- Unable to transition to puree foods by 8 to 10 months of age.
- Unable to accept textured foods by 9 to 12 months of age.
- Unable to accept table foods by 12 to 14 months of age.
- Relying on milk feeds as the primary source of nutrition beyond 12 months.
- Unable to transition to cup drinking by 16 months of age.
- Often unhappy or upset when offered solid foods.
- Feeding times are regularly stressful.
In addition to the above signs that specialist support may be needed, babies with certain medical conditions or developmental diagnoses are at an increased risk of difficulty with feeding and feeding transitions including weaning. These medical and developmental factors include:
- Prematurity
- Significant Reflux
- Respiratory Difficulties
- Cardiac Difficulties
- Neurological Conditions
- Low Muscle Tone
- Developmental Delay
- History of Tube Feeding
For babies with medical and/or developmental factors who are struggling with weaning, specialist support is always recommended.
What Does a Weaning Assessment Involve?
A weaning assessment with South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy generally takes place at a regular meal time in your home. It is important that your baby’s Speech, Language and Feeding Therapist (SLT) sees a typical mealtime, so we ask that you serve food that you would usually serve and respond to your baby’s feeding in the usual way (this includes offering a milk feed alongside solids if that is your routine). There will be forms for you to fill out before the appointment to help your SLT learn about your baby’s feeding and developmental history and time during the appointment to discuss your current concerns.
There are multiple aspects of feeding and mealtime that your SLT will be looking at when observing your baby and talking with you about mealtimes. Areas assessed include:
- Positioning: What is your baby’s preferred position when eating and are they able to achieve postural stability.
- Oral Motor Skills: Functional movement of your baby’s jaw, lips, and tongue during feeding and non-feeding activities.
- Functional Feeding Skills: The skills your baby uses to manage the food and drink offered. This may include their latch and suck, lip closure, biting, chewing & jaw movements, and tongue movements.
- Swallow Safety: Your SLT will assess for any signs of a swallowing difficulty.
- Sensory: How your baby responds to the different sensory properties of foods and mealtime.
- New and Known Foods: How your baby responds when new versus known foods are offered.
- Mealtime Participation: How your baby participates in family meals.
Following the assessment, your SLT will collate the information and analyse what was observed during the weaning assessment as well as what was reported by you. A written report will be provided to you detailing the assessment findings and recommendations for next steps.
When Should I Seek Help?
If your baby is struggling with feeding, the recommendation always is to seek help sooner than later. Babies are at the very early stages of their feeding journey and lifelong relationship with food. The aim of feeding therapy is to help your baby develop a positive relationship with food and mealtimes that grows with them as they move through childhood. The earlier your baby develops a positive relationship with food, the better!
If you have questions about weaning your baby or feeding therapy with South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy, please get in touch. Follow us on Facebook for more speech, language and feeding tips and sign up for South Lakes Speech & Language Therapy’s newsletter if you would like new posts sent directly to your inbox.