How to Wean Your Baby

by Charlotte Stirling-Reed

The easy weaning plan to ensure your baby becomes a happy and adventurous little eater.

In this beautiful, full-colour book, expert nutritionist Charlotte Stirling-Reed reveals her renowned method that has helped thousands of parents wean their babies confidently.

Based on a vegetable first approach, the perfect way to develop healthy eating habits and to tackle fussy eating before it begins, you'll be hand-held through the first 30 days of weaning as well as given lots of delicious recipes all the family can enjoy.

Packed with tried and tested tips, as well as the latest evidence-based guidance, How to Wean Your Baby will fully equip and empower you to take this exciting next step.

'Charlotte gave me the confidence and knowledge to love every single step of the weaning journey'
Joe Wicks

'Charlotte really is a font of knowledge when it comes to weaning.'
Jools Oliver

'We've loved Charlotte's approach to weaning. Skye loves her food and we are so grateful for that!'
Ella Mills

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Cookbooks

208 pages, Hardcover

Published April 29, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My second time around and it’s even better without the anxieties of weaning the first time.

[Katherine Hutcheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

SLT approved! 🤓👍🏻

[Georgina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sets out meal plans and how to serve different foods. Simplistic but informative.

[Roop Gill Axelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part-weaning guide, part recipe book. It advocates for mixed weaning (spoon feeding combined with baby led approach) and is particularly suited for those trying to raise a vegetarian baby.

[Becki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has been my bible whilst introducing foods to my baby 👌

[Laure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I was looking for. No useless talk, just what you need to know in short bits easy to find again when needed. Sample of meals for the first 30 days with shopping lists and a lot of of other recipes for after. I like the amount of details given for every recipe, because even though it is pretty simple this way you can be confortable even if you forgot absolutely everything else this book says (or don't want to read it).

[Bexy Bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the tone a little patronising- it keeps referencing ‘improving your confidence’. Like a lot of parents, I am confident in my ability to wean my child successfully. I bought this book to get information on the best way to do so, not to improve my confidence.

As a mum to multiple children I found the advice of offering purée and finger food each time a new food is introduced in the first 30 days completely unrealistic and also where is the science backing this? I do not have the time to give a mix of puréed and finger food when introducing each new food and find this approach over the top. I ended up just doing finger food.

I also find the ‘one new food a day’ too rigid and simplistic. I think this is outdated advice and more recent studies show no benefit to introducing only one new food at a time.

A positive is that there are some good recipe ideas.

[Helene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide to weaning. We're on day 18 of the 30-day plan, which is so helpful and easily adaptable for veggie/vegan families like us. Our child has tried so many vegetables (broccoli, courgette, aubergine, kale, carrot...), pulses and beans (red lentils, chickpeas, butter beans, red kidney beans...) and loved most of them on the first attempt! I've bookmarked quite a few recipes which I am excited to try. I've been doubling the portion size each time, so that I always have leftovers in the fridge/freezer. That means that moving on to 2 meals a day was a breeze.
Honestly, I can't recommend this book enough. I only wish there was a bit more guidance about how to introduce fruit (how much, when, what with?) But I can easily Google that.

[Kotryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author covers many topics that parents starting their baby on the weaning journey should be aware of. In addition it contains a proposed food introduction schedule and some recipes, which look delicious!
The author seems to suggest that puréed food should be introduced alongside finger food, which somewhat contradicts to BLW.
Nevertheless I found the book useful and look forward to trying some of the recipes.
The author has an Instagram account, which I like and have been following for sometime

[Madiha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started reading this book a few weeks into my weaning journey so I had a fair idea of what my weaning style is and what works for our family. I loved how the writers guidance resonated with me and what I was doing to help reassure a first time mama that all is good in this world of information overload and social media mom shaming era.
It’s a nice guide to introduction into weaning, followed by a recipe section which is very useful and hopefully we will continue to use this as baby grows older and we can try out big boy recipes for him.

[Chloe Paton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ended up being the weaning book for us!

Charlotte advocates for Baby Led Weaning with a veg-first approach, which is what the NHS Start 4 Life guide also recommends. Super easy to follow along, and I've enjoyed offering the same new food in whole and mashed form. The first 10 foods that Charlotte recommends are avocado, courgette, broccoli, potato, spinach, kale, suede, cauliflower, aubergine, green beans. Some great suggestions for vegan or vegetarian babies.

[Aimée Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful book when starting to wean your baby. I refer to it often when deciding and preparing foods for my baby. I like following the combined approach of both purees and solid finger foods. It's nice that there are opportunities to write your own reflections in the book of how things are going too. Not as visual and easy to dip into as another book I have, whilst it's very informative, it's a little wordy at times, so 4 stars!

[Emily Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

I devoured this book in a day (in multiple sittings) in-between looking after my four-month-old boy. Great for practical tips, nutrition guidance, allergens advice and recipe ideas. I’m looking forward to the messy chaos that will be my life very soon… and the many photos and videos of him trying new things.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book that I would recommend to any mother! I was really worried and scared about this new challenge, starting to introduce real foods to my baby. The 30 day plan in this book immensely helped me building up my understanding, skill and confidence in cooking for my little one. It takes all the stress and worry it of it.
My friends from my NCT group are all going by this book too.

[Mina Pappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must when weaning

If you have this book, then you don't really need other ones. Really easy to follow, covering all the major concerns, followed by recipes - keeping it basic and then advancing the meals.
The fact that the author is a children's nutritionist is an added bonus.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really really good introduction to weaning your baby. I just wish my baby had read it too as he seems determined to not enjoy solid food at the moment!
I love the 30 day step by step process - complete with exactly how to mash, cook, steam etc... the veg for your baby. I would recommend this book to any new mum who is at the weaning stage.

[Sanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful book to start the weaning process. We took a lot of inspiration from the 30 day guide, but did not follow it completely and are now into the second month of weaning our baby. It’s so good to see the progression of meals laid out in a schedule to give an idea of how to progress from purées to more solid foods.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used to introduce my baby to food and the weaning process. Charlotte suggests that all babies are different and will progress at different rates, but doesn't give much help or guidance on what to do if your baby is not eating all of the food that is prepared for them.

[Samantha Wiltshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had read this well before my babies were ready to be weaned; it certainly challenges the preconceptions of how babies ought to be weaned. The recipes found within this book are both creative and thoughtful, providing alternatives for all diets and dietary requirements.

[Angharad Elin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a brilliant book and would highly recommend it. With its 30-day plan and the combination plan of finger food and spoon feeding, it makes you feel more confident and informed on your Weaning Journey.

[Lee Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A valuable and insightful resource for any parent looking to take the steps towards weaning.

Full of great recipe ideas and simple solutions for introducing little ones to solid foods in a healthy and safe way.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes sense. Fairly prescriptive, feels like it's written for people who don't necessarily normally cook that much hence the level of detail

[Lizzie Sellers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was the perfect guide to start weaning.

I followed it for the first 20 days and just made me feel a lot more confident with it.

Especially helpful in introducing allergens.

[Megan Fahy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction into weaning from a mam who absolutely hadn’t a clue where to start!

[Charlotte Ferriss]

Very helpful

[Roshanak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good start for weaning. It has inspiring recipes too.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a brilliant guide to weaning - clear first 30 day plan and some lovely recipes. Would recommend to any new mums!

[Mia Duong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book provides a lot of useful information , starting with approach of introducing veggies first before fruit . Author is nutritionist which helps to increase credibility for the book .

[Maya Osseiran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let your baby eat a fruit Charlotte.

[Cara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The only book you need for weaning. Plus Solid Starts app, you’re all set. My 6 month old loves his vegetables!