Dear @steemitbaby (and other mothers out there with similar questions)...
From what you have described it seems like you're doing a great job weaning your son! It's easy to get caught up in comparing your experience to the experience of other mothers, however this isn't always very helpful. It can lead to worrying that you're not getting it 'right', or that your baby is 'behind' others.
Weaning is a very gradual and very personal thing, and the more relaxed you are about it, the better for you and your baby. Just keep doing what you're doing... giving him pieces of things to taste and get used to textures. You mention he is very interested in what's on your plate, which is a good sign that he has a healthy appetite and healthy interest in food... so just go with it! Let him try all kinds of things, and use your judgement as his mother about whether things are appropriate in softness or quantities, you won't get it wrong :-)
In your post you asked the community some specific questions, and here some answers from me. I'm no expert, all I can do is offer my own experience and knowledge from weaning my own son. But he's a very healthy and happy little boy, so I assume I'm doing ok! Anyone reading this, please leave your own advice/tips for @steemitbaby below in the comments thread, or comment on her post here.
But let's take a look at your questions:
Should I restrict my baby on the amount of food he can eat at once? He can really eat a lot, I’m worried how it can fit in his tiny stomach.
In my experience a child will usually stop eating when they're full, provided they're not eating processed food (which contain artificial addictive and appetite-stimulating ingredients). But when they're eating natural, fresh, whole foods, your baby's body will let him know when he's full.
This website offers two charts I think you'll find helpful – the first is 'Types of Solid Food by Age', and the second is 'Amounts of Solid Food by Age'.
(Example:)
Should I offer him food 2 or 3 times a day, or more, or less?
My son usually ate 6 times a day. When I was weaning him, I offered him solid food at every-other meal time. For example, at 9am he would just have milk... at around 11am I would offer some pureed fruit/veg or millet porridge, and then finish that meal off with milk. The next meal would be just milk, then the next would be food + milk. To begin with I gave milk with every meal, just to make sure he was both full and hydrated, but after a few months he would alternate between milk, then food, then milk, then food, every few hours throughout the day. As I said he generally had 6 meals a day, and by the time he was one-year-old, 3 of those meals would be just milk, and 3 would be pureed/soft finger food. It was a very gradual process, and as all our babies are different it's good to learn from your baby as well as try to teach them. A mutual process!
Should I offer him one type of food at once, or mix several types? How important is variety at this age? Is it like giving several options 3 times a day, all different every time, and different every day?
Variety is pretty important, and the more flavours/textures they're introduced to at an early age, the less chance there is of fussiness later on (or at least that's the theory!) There's really no need to feed babies canned veggies (we can't be sure how fresh/quality they are), as it's just as easy to puree your own whenever you cook some for yourself. Just make a bit extra, and you can always freeze it too. I always saved those little pesto/mustard jars for freezing baby food.
Personally I fed my son all kinds of foods, for example:
- BREAKFAST: fruit & veg mixed with millet/quinoa/amaranth/lentils/mashed beans.
Here is a recent recipe I posted to give an idea what I'm talking about:
"Beauty-Fruity Green Millet for Infants!"
This was always the time of day when he would eat the most. So I tried to pack as much nutrition into this meal as possible. Basically, just think in terms of making a delicious smoothie, as you would make for yourself, but instead of adding water to make it more liquid, just add a grain like millet (which is easy to digest) or lentils/beans. For example I would cook about 200g millet and pop it in the fridge, and this would last about 3 days. The next time I would cook the same amount of a different type of grain or legume.
- LUNCH: homemade scone/bread...falafels... hummus... savoury muffins, etc
Recipe ideas (not vegan but sure you can substitute the egg/milk with vegan alternatives):
- Easy MINI SODA FARLES and HERBY BREAD TWISTS - Homemade Healthy Snacks for Children
- The Perfect Scones for Sweet or Savoury
- SNACKS: tiny pieces of grated raw carrot, apple, or something like that (for texture really) between meals. In summer he liked to eat homemade frozen fruit puree too, just like ice-lollies!
- DINNER: things like homemade curry & rice, veggie bolognese, stew, mashed potato with onion gravy, etc. I liked to give him spicy dishes as they say it's good for a developing a child's palate! Don't be afraid to put strong flavours into food, such as garlic, as they're important for nutrition and immune health too.
Recipe ideas:
- Red Curry Served with Black Venus Rice and Cannellini Beans
Is it absolutely necessary to be able to sit on his own? He’s just learning to sit.
Your baby will sit on his own when he's ready... when he's strong enough and has the balance to sit unaided. He can sit in his highchair or on your lap until he can sit on his own. It's not a thing to worry about or rush :-)
Is it ok to give the same porridge every day for breakfast if that’s what I eat every day? (oatmeal)
Yes, absolutely porridge is a fine and nutritious meal for him to eat daily. You can always puree some fruit and stir it in, if you want to use the opportunity to give him a variety of flavours. You can even grind up seeds into a fine powder and stir in for extra goodness.
What kind of raw food is ok to be given? Is cooked food more preferable?
Raw food is, of course, better in terms of nutrition, and as far as I know there aren't any digestive/parasite issues to worry about (except raw animal products, but you're vegan not it's not an issue). The real problem with raw foods is that most are too difficult for a baby to eat until they have their teeth through. There's also the risk of choking.
You can puree raw foods and spoon-feed to your baby, and then gradually introduce grated raw food when you feel they're ready, and then move onto chunks, and so on. But yes, just lightly-cook veg until it's softened enough for him to 'gum' and no longer a choking hazard, yet retaining as much of the nutrients as possible. I think my son was about 10 months when he started with finger foods such as raw broccoli, which seemed nice for him to nibble on! As long as an infant is supervised when they're eating, they should be fine. It's good for them to try things, even if they can't eat them they can lick them haha!
(I know it's a girly pink bowl, but there's the blue spoon to balance things out! hehe)
So @steemitbaby, I hope there is some useful information here! Please feel free to ask me anything, anytime, and I will do my best to advise based on my own mothering experiences! Much love to you and your family x
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("5 Cs" shared with kind permission from @kiwideb)