BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Feeding Solid Food => Topic started by: *Ali* on April 09, 2012, 13:35:27 pm
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Continued from http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=224254.0
Please continue chatting here.
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Yep we sometimes double bib too.
If only it were appropriate to dress your baby in a waterproof suit for feeds :P - Sofia has taken to rubbing food in her hair.... I am forever finding sticky patches behind her ear. Yuck!!
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Yah we had to cut short tea the othe day cuz Aud rubbed risotto on her eyes.
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I used to use a plastic long sleeve bib from mothercare at the beginning and sometimes a pelican bib too! Also a plastic sheet on the floor which I could just dust outside after. The mess quickly got better, though it never felt it would in the beginning! Now she hardly makes any mess at all, though she does like to run her grubby hands in her hair! ;)
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I'm finding he's getting messier!
I like long sleeves shirts and/or a nylon/plastic bib with a pouch. I find when too much is getting to the floor or he's messing around with his food he's full though and I shut it down. We use a spoon for mushy stuff.
Rice is the worst because it smears when you wipe the floor and you can't really sweep it :( And its hard to keep on a spoon. Wild rice worked better and I cooked it with more water so they were popped open and soft. He had good luck picking it up with his hands.
Our cat is the cleaner upper here. C was on the floor with a piece of bread this morning and he held it up to the cat's mouth (he was lurking waiting for scraps) to share...so cute!
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Yeah I feel like Sofia is getting messier. When she's finished eating she very quickly starts rapidly flicking her fingers through whatever is on the tray and it goes everywhere. She loves squishing stuff in her hands and always wants to touch anything that comes at her on the spoon (yoghurt etc.) I think that's probably the downside of BLW - she feels she has to have her hands on everything whether it's finger food or not...
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Yes Sophia throws everything over once she's full. She's now got used to eating yoghurt off a spoon but at first used to just stick her fingers in it!
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Not always practical but if you can let rice dry it is easy to sweep up.
Those waterproof coverall aprons ment for painting that you can get from Ikea etc. Would be good.
Colby had chicken fajitas this evening minus the spicy flavouring.
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Wow, Anna, sounds like Audrey is having an amazing time!! Good start! We have a plastic backed picnic rug and I used to put that under D's chair with the plastic side uppermost so that whatever was dropped was easily cleaned up. Also, as she has the Fisher Price booster seat, we started with that on the floor rather than on a chair so there wasn't lots of spatter if things did drop. We also started weaning in the summer when it was warmer, so she was just stripped down to her nappy and could then either be wiped up or chucked in the bath :)
So D is getting a lot better with a spoon (for yoghurt) and I'm wondering if some of her refusal to eat certain foods is that she wants to be able to use a fork or something, but hasn't quite got the skills there to do it at the right speed yet.
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I've been doing "picnic" lunches on the floor with C on an old sheet, then I just shake it outside and throw it in the wash. I'll use it a few times the same day (just fold it different) for snacks or lunch. Its fun for both of us :) Not all food is picnic friendly unfortuneately :( but I find the highchair set up and clean up very tedious day in and day out.
Its funny how they need to touch and taste everything. When I'm reading a touch and feel book with C he touches it with his hand then he has to put his face to it. I'm not sure if he's trying to taste it or feel it with his cheek :-\
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Hi all, my LO and I are just starting out with BLW. I had intended to do a but of a combination thing with some purée & finger foods too, but DD really hates having the spoon put in her mouth & it tends to make we sick. I still let her try the purées but with her holding the spoon herself, messy but more fun! DD is turning six months next week so I'm keeping things very relaxed at the moment & only giving her bits to try once a day. I'm interested to find out if others started giving more than one "meal" of finger foods straight away at six months or if you followed a more steady introduction with one meal a day to being with? Best wishes xx
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Welcome buttonbobs. We just started with giving lo food at each of our 3 meals a day right from the start. We started at 25wo and I'm pretty sure that nothing but the odd suck went down for at least a week or two. Because they get off to such a slow start with blw I think it is fine to offer at each sitting right from the start. There is certainly nothing in the info leaflet I got from the NHS HVs saying to start with one meal a day anymore. Hth.
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Hi buttonbobs. I started out with bfast and dinner, giving her a bit of whatever we or DD1 were having. I added lunch soon after.
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Hi Buttonbobs - we did the same as Ali - just started giving her bits of whatever we're having, 3 x per day. Although because she's still having so little, if I just can't be bothered, or if we're on the go for one meal or whatever, I don't worry about it.
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It's always very upsetting to hamish when he rubs food in his eyes!! And is worse as he then keeps rubbing trying to get rid of it!! :(
Also- we deal with the mess by organising our day so that he has a shower with me after his breakfast, a dry/brush off lunch, and a bath after dinner.
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Re-joining the party. We're still slow on BLW. DH is concerned about gagging and choking.
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Welcome lidiayy.:) gagging is an important skill to learn and is .ot dangerous. It is just Lo bringing the food from the back of their mouth to the front again. Choking is no more likely with blw than with traditional weaning where finger foods are offered alongside purees anyway. In fact some say it is less likely to cause choking as the LO isn't used to just sucking purees straight to the back of their mouths and now can't do the same with a solid piece of food. Plus with blw they get to feel and see the food in it's actual for before putting it in their mouth themselves. Can you get hold of the blw book so DH can read up on the details?
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Thanks everyone, we managed two sittings today & I've been out to buy some more interesting things for her to try tomorrow & for me to enjoy too :-)
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DS is 10 mo and we've been doing BLW from the start. I'm concerned that he still seems to eat very little. Normally he'll have a few bites of what's offered, but very little seems to go and stay in. However his milk intake (formula) seems to have increased. Has anyone else experienced this? What can I do to encourage him to actually swallow what he chews? Thanks!
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Hi Cecilia. What sort of foods are you offering? Does he sit with you and eat at the same time as you and your family? Do you think his motor skills are pretty much inline with his age? Has he got better at all since starting around 6mo? When do you offer solids in his day?
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Hi Ali. He usually has a bit of whatever we're having. For meals we eat at the table together and for snacks we may just sit on the floor. I usually eat the same food or something similar. I'm working on the 2-1 nap transition but are days normally are:
7 bottle
8:30-9ish breakfast usually toast and yogurt or fruit
Today was porridge which he seemed to like
10:30 bottle
11:30 lunch today it was a bit of beef burger with chips (homemade in the oven) and a bit of tomato cucumber and pepper. Only the burger and tomato were tasted but he's eaten (...well chewed) all of these foods before
3ish bottle
4ish snack of banana flavored rice puffs I think he are about 3-4 and they are very small
5:30 bottle
6:30 dinner of rissoto a d green beans. Again sum put in mouth but very little swallowed.
He's very active and has been crawling for several months and I think he'll be walking soon. He's always been a good milk drinker and he's been bottle fed formula since he was 2 months old. He also has sleep issues and wakes 3-5 times a night.
Thanks for your help!
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Do you think switching the bottles to after the solids might make him hungrier?
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I'll give that a go today. Thanks!
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Let us know how it goes. And I thought this might help http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=61946.0
Colby wolfed down baked trout, pasta bows and carrots last night for dinner. I think he ate more than Cadan who just tipped most of his out on the tray. ::)
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Thanks for posting that link Ali - I was just posting about Sofia in our birth club as she seems to be refusing milk. I think we're on our way to transitioning to 2 bottles. She is coming up to 10m, but I thought this would happen nearer 1 yr...?
Looks like from the link that it does start around this time so feel a bit more reassured... will give it a few more days of trying the afternoon bottle and if it carries on, will just replace with a milky snack I think.
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hmm.. how much is she getting at each bottle? We are just on 3 breast feeds- but she may be taking more at each bottle....
I had a sort of panicky thread on breastfeeding the other day as hamish was going to be going from 7am to 4pm with no breast feed in between- he was having his fill of lunch- but no milk feed.. the people that responded i think thought i was a crazy lady!! They were of course very nice... but were sort of like- hmm... he should survive....
It's INSANE to think that only a couple of- well WEEKS ago i was really stressing about pumping milk for feeds i would miss- and the fact that i wasn't getting much- and now it's totally fine!! I can just feed him at another time- or offer somthing else till i get there!! AND in a month and a half- like 6 weeks or something- i can just give him a bottle of cows milk or something if i like!! INSANE!!
Oh- and on the BLW front- Hamish does not much like hot curry sauce... Naughty mummy!!
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Oh- and on the BLW front- Hamish does not much like hot curry sauce... Naughty mummy!!
Hehe, you'll never know if you don't try! F constantly amazes me with the level of heat she can handle....and demand more of. I don't tone down her curries nearly as much as I used to now. And I tried to dampen her enthusiasm for papad by giving her a nibble of the (pretty darn peppery) black pepper variety - nope, she was still keen.
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It was pretty hot (not hot as in thailand... but hot all the same) an indian sauce.. luckily we had the yoghurt on hand so it was ok.. i might try something a little milder!
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Hi all. I think he actually ate some yogurt this morning! There was a lot smeared all over but I think some went in. Putting my bw hat on this morning I twigged that he almost begs whenever DH or I am eating something. So I ate a few spoonfuls of his yogurt and then he reached for the spoon so I gave it to him. He's quite strong willed and independent so I think I have to get him to think that eating is HIS idea.
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Congrats!!! I've used that method before!! Works well i find!
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Hi all,
I need some encouragement pls..
We have been on blw for about two weeks. Only breakfast at the moment. Yeaterday, I thought it was time to give DS a dinner. He was playing in the garden with MIL, his uncle and grand MIL. I baked some pears since it was little hard and took it to garden to feed DS. As soon as I went out, mil n the uncle left(clear sign that they didn't like blw) n the grandmother was there watching(which I didn't like). Ds took some pears as I put them on his tray then after couple of minutes he started gagging then threw up with little bit of milk....
He didn't seem mind at all but my grandmother in law did!!!
The look she gave me was horrible and an argument came along..
We live with in-laws. Ds will start joining dinner with everyone soon. How am I going to handle the pressure????
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UGH!! Hugs to you!! That's horrible!! The comments- or even side comments are so upsetting! THe gagging realy doesn't affect them- it is a protective means for them!!BUT it is pain if he's bringing up milk with it..
I'm not sure how best to deal with your inlaws... can you speak to DH about it and get him on side?
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The comments are so disheartening! :( I got a few too at first. But if you can brave it through the first few weeks they'll be eating their words when they see how much he starts eating, and all alone! Anyone who watches sophia eat now is absolutely amazed ;). It is really important DH is on your side. Maybe for now you can feed him when its just the two of you till he gets a bit more practice and stops gagging?
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also- he doesnt really need many meals at this stage (i assume he's 6 months).. so choose meals that suit you...
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Can you get them to read the relevant chapter in the blw book so they know gagging is not dangerous?
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Thank you for all ur comments guys. Getting my confidence back and feeling relaxed a bit.
My DH is on my side and my in-laws are like silent unsupporters. They don't speak up or ask me questions. They just say things
like - no, he doesn't like chicken(hello?? That was the first time he tasted!!!), that's too big for him, he's got a big piece in his mouth..
I know they will be amazed in few month time like beckygatt said. I remember all the comments from MIL when I started easy routine - he will sleep when he wants to sleep, is he going to sleep AGAIN?? Why is he going to sleep so early tonight??
And now she is very happy with the routine and doesn't say anything about it.
I think ill just stick to the breakfast for a while. The reason I wanted DS on dinner table was that I want to introduce him all kind of food. But for breakfast I feel like its not so easy to do that. Because I wouldn't want chicken for breakfast so I don't offer him either. Or Should I just give him???
Ali- I live in south africa and I can't seem to find any blw books here. I was lucky to find one of the tracys book.
Ill just go online and let them read or print it out..
Thank you for sharing your stories and all the supports. I really appreciate it.
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I often offer veggies in the morning that I don't want to eat either but I figure he doesn't know what people typically eat for breakfast so he doesn't care.
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I totally agree Alli, and thats my argument for sweets when people pressure me to give DS some. He won't know what he's missing til someone starts giving it to him! Grrr.
Hugs Moon-dell! DH gave me a bit of a hard time at first when he saw the gagging, but has since come around. Until he did, I just avoided any challenging foods while he was around or if I was around inlaws. What about encouraging your LO to eat from a loaded spoon so you are still following BLW but the food would be soft like cereal, soups, soft fruit or something like that? Or even just offer the different foods at a family meal but smaller pieces? He will still be able to feed himself and try what he likes.
If you can get DH onside you'll find others will interfere less. I feel confident now when DS stuffs a big wad of whatever in his mouth that he can handle it. The first few weeks were fun and awkward at the same time.
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Hi moon-dell! To be honest, he can either gag now on real food and learn about how to move food to the back of his mouth safely now, or he can start gagging when you start putting lumps in puree as he learns the same lesson. Perhaps that's something the in-laws have forgotten about weaning - babies gag. It's a learning curve.
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Does your baby go off food if they're poorly? Audrey has a horrid cold. I know it can't be about appetite, because she's only eating tiny morsels of the stuff anyway, but it's like she doesn't even want to play with it, and if she brings it near her mouth she starts to cough. I'm wondering if her little body is telling her she doesn't need big people food right now.
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They can go off food sometimes. I know I do when I'm not feeling right. Has she got a blocked nose at all? Problems breathing while she has something in her mouth? Teeth?
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Ah poor Aud. Colby definitely lost his appetite when he had a cold. I think it can be hard to eat and breathe with a blocked up nose. Plus colds make you lose your sense of smell and that is half the actual taste of things gone.
We had greeny-blue poo with orange spots today. :o That'll be the blueberries and carrots. :P
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well- you'll be surprised to learn that nothing much puts hamish off his food!! BUT- in the early days there were meals where he'd not have anything- throw everything over...
Moon-dell- Well if they are silent objectors then i'd just put on your best 'face' and go with it. Even if you just offer soft things at dinner. SOme foods are soft and that's ok... i didn't always offer meats and such to start- soft cooked vegies like pumpkin and sweet potato were good. They'll come around!
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Moon-dell, hugs to you, it can be so hard dealing with the (silent or less so) disapproval of others. I have just lent my mother the BLW book as she wasn't particularly convinced. I hope things improve as your LO becomes a more proficient self-feeder.
Was pleased to see the rest of this thread as DD has just thrown her entire breakfast on the floor as soon as sitting down. She seemed to enjoy doing it though ;-)
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At the start it can be tricky to convince the doubters as they don't take much in (the babies, not the doubters...) but they do start getting more in eventually- and i would seriously doubt that if you compared Hamish to other babies that were traditionally weaned he would be eating no less than some- and much more than others!!
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At the start it can be tricky to convince the doubters as they don't take much in (the babies, not the doubters...) but they do start getting more in eventually
And these sort of doubters seem to think that babies need a certain number of "tablespoons" of food or they won't have enough, but they forget that you can measure out 2 tablespoons of baby porridge for breakfast but half of it will probably end up on the face or bib anyway! You still don't know how much went in! So I don't think it's much different. And after a month or two, my LO was an expert and was eating LOADS of just about EVERYTHING :)
Her latest discovery is olives - both black and green. Yum! Mussels are also a favourite. Seriously, my child has a more sophisticated palate at 15 months than I did at 15...
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AND- when you make a puree you often have to add water so that it's the right consistency- so where you might be getting 2 tablespoons of food- a certain percentage of that is going to be water... you can add stock- but that's not that nutitionally dense.
Hamish discovered blueberries- not as exciting as olives- but he ate them like a baby possessed! Very funny- the tomato and capsicum all hit the floor- but there was not a blueberry on the floor!
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Blueberries do seem to have that effect - baby possessed I mean. F's only had them the one week we were in Aus, where they were Grandma's special treat for her every day - no one else was allowed to sneak any from the punnet ::) Watch out for the interesting coloured poo.
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Hi ladies! I wonder if you could help me with your advice/experience.
I am a little sad and weary at the moment. DD has had over a month of one thing followed by another - and now we have two teeth. She was STTN but now we have NW and EW etc. I say this because as we are starting solids I don't feel quite 'emotionally as up beat as normal!' I am trying to work out what's best for my LO regarding solids!
We started two weeks ago when she turned 6 months. She loved pear puree with rice and also loved woofting down some banana that she held (or we held when it was too slippy!)
Since the teeth - she is on a spoon strike. Actually - she'll take calpol the cheeky lass! (Loves it.) BUT she will eat rice cakes with stuff smothered on them or any toast or try suck on veg. She even munched happily away on DH's cheesy toasty!!!
Thing is: I am SO CONFUSED with all the mix advice.
I know ladies on here keep saying 'Food before 1 is just for fun' but my HV said you NEED To start solid @ 6 months because the goodies they had (like iron etc) from the womb have run out by then and they need to get those bits and bobs from food. She also said, it's important to get to 3 meals a day quite quickly.
My sis in law's LO LOVED food and still drank v well. So I followed suit and bought Annabel K's book. Tbh, I hadn't even heard of BLW!
Now - I don't know what to do! BLW seems great for our LO because she loves to control things herself and has always been very quick to grab and suck on anything. ANYTHING. It just seems so odd and I must admit - I feel a little conscious of family who may be like "Is she actually getting much of that?!" compared to the "Homemade baby meals way"
Aghhhiehwonfoiewhrfowhfruowerh - so conflicting advice and the current spoon strike (no doubt - due to teething) has got me a little flustered. It feels like back at 3 weeks when some people were syaing 'bf on demand' others 'oooo how's her routine?' and then I was overwhelmed with what to do before I thought 'Yes, BW sounds brill to me!' So sorry for ranting. :(
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Oh no!! Look hon- there's nothing wrong with either approach- it seems that your LO is doing the choosing for you at the moment!! It is important for them to start solids at 6 months for the reasons you say above- as well as for oral skill development. Of course we have all found BLW to suit us on here- but I guess I sort of thought that if after a few weeks / month or so it wasn't working , I could always then start with more purees...
Some home visitors can get a bit gung hi with the amounts... You will be in 2 meals by 8 months or so.. The time will go fast... Also I was offering foods at pretty much every meal I was home from early on...
Basically i feel that it's important for you to look into the information available and make an informed decision- don't get flustered by what others say- you being well informed is the best way to make the choice that's right for you and your LO...
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And there's nothing wrong with mixing it up. I started with BLW with Sofia, but she wasn't any good at getting food to her mouth, and when she did she gagged so much she would vomit up all her milk...
So we back tracked, did purees for a while... Funnily enough I soon realised that actually she wasn't taking any more volume with the purees, and was happier being in control of the food. So once her gag reflex calmed down and her appetite took off about 8.5m we did much more of the BLW approach and didn't bother making any more purees (fine by me!) Now she will eat anything from a fork mashed meal of whatever we've had for dinner (me and her spooning it in) to any variety of finger foods.
I think the important thing is to follow your baby's lead with whatever works for her.
Rach. x
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THANK YOU!
I think - I googled to see about mixing it up reading some posts of a lady with similar thoughts and some of the BLW crew online were like "NOOOOOOoooooOOOooo, not while the sun rises! Do you realise that doing a bit of both is not really BLW!!?!?"
I am actually v thankful as my MIL is an older lady. Was told COMPLETELY different advice to what we were. But when she sees Autumn woofting down some cheese and giggling at us she said, "I think, why not do a bit of a combo because she looks to me like she is loving that right now!"
So maybe I will see if in a few weeks she'll take a spoon again - and if she does, eventually see if she'll use that as well as her mitts! If no spoon - then - great. We have ourselves a sophisticated food flinger.
When you guys cook a meal for family and give LO some - are you very careful about how it's cooked and what's in it? For example - if I cook a spag bol... do I need to make everything completely from scratch? (Goodbye Lloyd Grossman sauce?) and if I do a curry it has to be completely home made - even the paste used?
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Well, I would say if you do a 'bit of both', it's NOT blw - but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it! Do what suits both your LO and your family :)
The main reason for doing as much as you can from scratch is so that you can control the salt, sugar content etc. Babies under one should only have 1gr of salt per day. But of course you can use some ready-made stuff - just read the labels and be aware of what's in it, maybe choose low-salt varieties where you can. You can balance things out over the day - so if you know you're using a pasta sauce with added salt for dinner, make sure there's no salt in anything else that day. I don't add any salt to anything I cook now, and DH and I just add it at the table.
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For me, I kind of thought well - what does it matter if it's not BLW in it's strictest sense? I'm not breaking any law by offering something on a spoon... lol. :) I did traditional weaning with my son and didn't introduce finger foods til nearer 8-9m and he is still a brilliant eater, with Sofia I offered finger foods from the beginning at 6m and she is shaping up to be a similarly good eater. To be honest she didn't really get the hang of them til about 8m anyway so really, it's been no different.
The end goal is that you have a baby that eats a variety of foods, textures, tastes, and enjoys themselves while doing so.
You have to be a bit careful about the salt, but now my DD is 10m I am using premade sauces occasionally, but don't add any salt to the pasta / rice and I just make sure that everything else she eats that day is home made / no salt etc. More often than not I do make my own, but there are also lots of great baby sauces - check out Peter Rabbit organic pasta sauces (they sell them in waitrose) which you could use for all the family or just separate out a bit of mince for the baby. Not sure about curry pastes - I know annabel karmel uses them in her recipes after 1yr... Probably worth looking at the labels for the salt content and deciding from there.
R. x
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sighhhhhhhhhhh... Thanks peeps. That's really helpful.
And restoring my sanity.
I think everyone is aiming at the same things - a kid that loves food! So... sticking someone on a stake for giving them a chicken drumstick - or a spoonful of pureed sweet potato is a little tiresome. Especially when - if you zoomed ahead to the same kids at 14, you'd probably find them both tucking into a Big Mac with their pocket money!
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Personally, I have to say I agree with Nuala - if you're spoon feeding purees and also giving food for them to eat themselves, that is "traditional" weaning and offering finger foods. The whole point of BLW is "letting your baby feed themselves". If you want to do spoons, you can give loaded spoons and let LO pick it up themself and put it in their mouth (which they do pick up quite easily).
I know I posted this link http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron/ on your BF post, but feel it's worth putting it in here too for the information of others (obviously if you're FF and BLW, it doesn't apply)
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Yeah- people often don't realize that with traditional weaning you want to be starting on finger foods pretty much straight from 6 months anyway- it was when you started at 4 months or so you needed months of purée.. With BLW it is more about getting the baby take the lead- and that's harder to do if you are spoon feeding.. .
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When I first started blw my mum was a bit concerned that she wasn't getting enough down (though not in an unsupportive way). But honestly after the first few weeks the intake increases so fast. Now she just amazes me; she'll eat more than my 3 year old sometimes! So I wouldn't worry about amounts. I did pretty much pure blw and it was fine. Recently I did start giving her yoghurt on a spoon sometimes as the loaded spoon thing wasn't much of a success. She's so well established on blw and I never force the spoon into her mouth if she seems full. I am curious as to how I will be able to transition her to start using a fork or spoon herself though...?
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I've found DD will now often just point at our cutlery or moan instead of eating her food, meaning she wants some cutlery of her own. She often won't then use it, but has a little go and then gets on with the faster method!
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Someone suggested once beckygatt starting with a fork (appropriate shape etc) as its easier to control the food- you know , it stays put...
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DS tried a spoon on his own for the first time yesterday. He's been playing keep away with it lately so I helped him along. He knew what he was trying to do just didn't get very far, lol.
Especially when - if you zoomed ahead to the same kids at 14, you'd probably find them both tucking into a Big Mac with their pocket money!
Too true! ;D
lil ginge, when I get overwhelmed by all the opinions and conflicting information out there I just try to put it in perspective. There's no way every baby is ready or wants solids at 6 months...its a minimum age recomendation (I believe according to when the gut lining closes?) so its ok to just offer it right now to expose your lo to the experience and keep up the milk feeds. It seems from what I've read on the BW boards its more around 8-10 months when babies really become more into their solids. And it seems doctors are still undecided as to what they want to recomend...mine said food for fun till one. Iron is the only concern and I believe there are studies out there saying they're ok til about 1 year now. Even if you chose purees its not like you're going to tube feed her if she clamps her mouth, right? Babies are such evolved amazing little beings and seem to know what they want when they need it. Yet we adults are always in a competition to who's baby is the fastest it seems!
I do a bit of BLW and purees...at breakfast I'm too lazy to get out the highchair so I sit him on my lap and spoon feed his cereal/fruit or whatever and same if I'm in town for the day, I just don't want the mess of finger foods. I just make sure I listen to him when he's had enough and don't try to coerce him into more bites and also its immportant to let them tell you when they're ready for another spoonful. That way they are still in some control of what's in and out of thier mouth. I found after a week of starting solids that DS's poops turned solid so I knew something was getting down even though it didn't seem like much. Another thing that makes me relax about the solids intake and keep up the milk is how much undigested food comes through...so how much are they actually getting from thier food at this stage anyhow, iykwim. Even soft foods like bananas and canned fruit. I was under outside pressure to get him on solids (family and friends) early and so I tried at about 5.5 months and he had major gassy WUs, so I left it alone for a few more weeks...just goes to show! When we started again at a little over 6 mos he had no trouble. My MIL said Oh that's normal when babies start solids(meaning gas and constipation) and I'm thinking, Is it normal for you?! ::)
I am actually v thankful as my MIL is an older lady. Was told COMPLETELY different advice to what we were. But when she sees Autumn woofting down some cheese and giggling at us she said, "I think, why not do a bit of a combo because she looks to me like she is loving that right now!"
You're lucky to have her support! :) Mine was all for starting cereal and honey water after 2 months and asked if I was still BFing then. :(
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we have to be clear of the definition of that and it would seem that lil_ginge was finding that others were expressing what the nature of BLW is (i.e. not pureeing and spoon-feeding, but offering food that LO can eat themselves, unaided or experiment with). Perhaps that wasn't done in a particularly gentle way on this other forum, but I do feel that clarity is important so that we all know we're on the same page.
Apologies if my initial quote about another forum has caused upset. i should say my quote was a lady defining BLW and i did and do think it is helpful to clarify whats what.
i should have gone on to say the more rude and in my view, demoralising ways some if the mums were acting. this is a good wake up call to post what was actually offensive not allude to it.
one things for sure. it hasnt happened here and there seems a real support and genuine care for other mamas as we all seek to care for our lo's the best way we can. i havent seen a scary ''do this or u have failed At motherhood' attitude here whatsoever.
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cam's mum. did u just crawl into my iddy biddy brain and spchlurrr out what i was thinking!? :-D
sorry bout pressure from your mil. brill your Lo is going so well this way!
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Haha...I thought it was a bit of a ramble ::) ;)
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ok... this morning she did take some brekky off the spoon. But d'ya know what? She wanted to take the spoon herself and eats far better doing her own thing. This has made me somewhat excited...
So tonights din din is a jalfrezi curry. I was gonna use a pataks sauce so i figured i wanna include her stuff i am already cooking (but to go straight to a jalfrezi... maybe a bit ott!) could i just bake/steam some of the chicken amd plonk that and some rice on her tray? with some of the veg? Do u think making the rice into balls wo
would be easier?! She only just started grub 2 weeks ago and been chipping in with finger food and some of our lunches.... So excited to see what happens tonight!
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p.s. i meant pataks paste ... as a curry base. p.p.s i also meant to say take some of the chicken but do some without our yummy curry!?
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That sounds good, jarred sauces are often very high in salt
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I found rice a little hard to pick up so I always ended up loading a spoon. Wild rice cooked so they were popped open and curled worked good. I like the sound of rice balls...how would you make it stay together?
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Thanks for that link Amanda. That was very handy. I never knew that. So actually it isn't a good idea for him to eat iron-fortified cereals? I should eat them instead? We don't have a lot of meat going down yet but he loves mushrooms and sweet potato and squash.
I have offered (basmati) rice in a bowl and let him just grab handfuls. I have a pic I should post when I get on the 'puter. It is very messy. He tried some rice crispies this morning. That was messy too.
I have just taken out chicken and veg from our dinner before adding spices before. Sometimes I add a little tomato or cheese instead for colby.
He is definitely starting to eat more now and the poo proves it.
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hey guys.......Brook is also starting to eat more - she is 9 months this week and we have been doing the BLW for about 2.5 months so it really does take some time.
Needing some inspiration for lunch ideas........yesterday was toast and cream cheese. I put some sweet little yellow tomatoes on top, which she promptly picked off and them sucked the insides out! too funny!! I am making the broccoli nuggets from mamacook which are AWESOME!!
other thoughts of lunch ideas???
thanks!!
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Update: I chickened out of giving the chicken. I suddenly thought... hang on a momento - should I introduce that a bit later? We've been eating solids for 1 and a half weeks!
This leads me to ask... did you guys literally give your LO's whatever you were eating (bar anything that wouldn't be appropriate) or did you introduce some foodies in a finger food type way and work from there?
I haven't bought the book. I feel a bit dodgy about buying it as I had gone and bought the Annabel Karmel one before this revelation (dinero is not in the bazillions!) - so I don't know how one would be advised!
What I did this evening: put some of the courgettes that would have entered our curry into the oven with some parsnips. Accompanying these were 'fingers' I had squished out of rice. (Literally, squished them together Cam's Mum till they were like a finger. Thought - why am I going for a ball when she needs a finger shape?! Did actually add a tiny bit of Philadelphia soft cheese to add consistency) I'm sure they would have been awesome were they not sprawled across the floor with gusto. Courgettes were also thrown into the hemisphere.. Parsnips were sucked to bits!
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Ginge, Audrey has been eating food for about the same length of time as your LO. She has tried so much stuff. Duck, beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cod, mushrooms, beans, spinach, egg, pasta, broccoli, beans, carrots, leeks, sweet potato, courgette, porridge, potato in different forms, orange, banana, apple, pear, kiwi - and more that I can't think of... there's no need to go slow as far as I know, as long as there's no history of allergies.
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So actually it isn't a good idea for him to eat iron-fortified cereals? I should eat them instead?
The way I read it was that there is little you can do to introduce more iron to your milk ("Note: Additional iron intake by the mother will not increase iron levels in breastmilk, even if the mother is anemic. Iron supplements taken by mom may produce constipation in baby. Anemia in the nursing mother has been associated with poor milk supply, however.") He will still be getting easily absorbed iron from your milk.
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Ginge, Audrey has been eating ...Duck, beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cod, mushrooms, beans, spinach, egg, pasta, broccoli, beans, carrots, leeks, sweet potato, courgette, porridge, potato in different forms, orange, banana, apple, pear, kiwi - and more that I can't think of... there's no need to go slow as far as I know, as long as there's no history of allergies.
Your case has been heard oh brave one. Wow. I thought I was "out there" by giving Autumn a stick of cheddar! Great. Does she mostly play at the moment or does she have a good suck/actual chew on stuff? I will just see how she enjoys a variety then and wait for a while if she looks at me in disgust with something! Thanks Anna.
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It varies from day to day. For the first wee
Ginge, Audrey has been eating ...Duck, beef, lamb, chicken, pork, cod, mushrooms, beans, spinach, egg, pasta, broccoli, beans, carrots, leeks, sweet potato, courgette, porridge, potato in different forms, orange, banana, apple, pear, kiwi - and more that I can't think of... there's no need to go slow as far as I know, as long as there's no history of allergies.
Your case has been heard oh brave one. Wow. I thought I was "out there" by giving Autumn a stick of cheddar! Great. Does she mostly play at the moment or does she have a good suck/actual chew on stuff? I will just see how she enjoys a variety then and wait for a while if she looks at me in disgust with something! Thanks Anna.
She hasn't got the hang of chewing - although she watches us chew very intently, is obviously trying to figure it out. If she breaks off little chunks, she tries to suck them into submission - some comes out again, some goes down (as evidenced by the poops). What she does varies by the day. When she is feeling fine she will have a good old go at anything I put in front of her, but she's quite clear when she's had enough. She has been a bit poorly and for a couple of days was really uninterested in even playing with anything. With meats I give her a pretty big chunk and she just sucks on it. I've found that she prefers not to have too many things on her tray at once so I will give her a piece of broccoli and then sweep up the mess a bit, and then give her a bit of omelette, then sweep up again, then a bit of pear.
(PS I haven't bought the book either, let's just muddle along together?)
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Thanks amanda.
Might you be able to get the book from your library if you want to read it but not buy it? Or you could perhaps ask your HV. I got a double-sided sheet of A4 with the basics condensed from the blw book from my HVs.
Yellow pepper is a hit here today.
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My new highchair is arriving Friday which is good news because Audrey's Bumbo makes her poop, and then of course the meal is over. She LOVED asparagus and potato wedges and breaded chicken for lunch today. I found an asparagus inside her hoodie hours later, she must have been saving it.
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Oh yes colby likes asparagus too.
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Lil-ginge- We give him prettty much whatever we're having as long as it's low salt and sugar... BUT we started weaning over the christmas period and DH was on school holidays- so our diet was... ahem... well- not so much low in salt and sugar- during the term though we try to make stuff that suits us ass- then if half/all of it goes over the side it's no big deal!
Gee- my guy is sooo not in to green vegies or carrot- never has been! Eats ANY sort of fruit just about- but most greens will be promptly tossed over the side! And he LOVES his meat... he's a massive meat man...
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Hi all
Just wanted to let u all know that things much better here. DS got us all talk over the dinner one night and we all had chance to say what we were dying to say. Well my grandmother in-law is still not quite happy about it but compare to before its nothing.
Thank you all for the suggestions n supports.
Anna- my ds makes poop on his seat 9 times out of 10!!! Does the bumbo seat make him poop??? That didn't even cross my mind..
Yesterday we had pumpkins for breakfast and it was so messy. Of course he already had made his poop. Then I was thinking.. Do I change his nappy first or wash his hands n face first??
We desperately need a high chair!!!
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Yay!!Great news!! such a good idea!!
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So pleased to hear that moon-dell. Xx
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That's great Moondell! I'd say wash hands first unless poo is leaking, otherwise you'll have food everywhere! :P
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yeah- once the poo is nice and solid it just sort of stays there... they can handle it...
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Moon-Dell so glad you are getting things sorted with the ILs. Yes the bumbo probably does make him poo because it puts them in a position where their knees are higher than their bottom and it straightened out their rectum. Maybe you should sit him on a potty that does the same thing and save on the cleanup ;)
Colby started eating more but still isn't very interested in breakfast. I have tried toast, pancakes, eggs (scrambled, fried and boiled) and also porridge but he just protests to get out the chair. The only thing he ate more than a few mouthfuls of once was some cooked carrot sticks.
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Ali - perhaps he just isn't that hungry at breakfast time? Is it right after a milk feed?
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Well what has been happening of late is he has a nf at 5.30 or 6 then goes back to sleep until 7.30ish then he isn't interested in the milk on Wu and so I offer breakfast around 8 or 8.30. Maybe he isn't hungry then I just find it easier to offer when cadan and I are eating and then we get washed and dressed so he wouldn't get to eat until 10ish otherwise which seems too long. If he doesn't have a nf close to Wu and does bf at 7.30 then I will offer BF at 8.30ish. I thought an hour after milk was ideal but maybe not for this lo. ::)
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hmm... my guy is the opposite- eats a large breakfast and is picky on dinner... It might just be that he's more alert in the morning and wants to play with his toys etc- you know more interesting things to be doing?
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I think so Katy because if I take him out the chair ans sling him on the rug with some toys he's happy as Larry.
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how many meals are you doing? I think we were only doing 2 consistent meals at that point- he may only feel like 2... and the morning might not be his time....
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After a nf at 5 he should be hungry by 8... Maybe he's just not a bfast person right now! I'd say keep offering as things will probably change sooner or later. They know what they need though! ;)
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Apparently colbs loves cucumber! He started off with 3 chunky sticks and completely devoured them :)
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My new highchair is arriving Friday which is good news because Audrey's Bumbo makes her poop, and then of course the meal is over. S
Ha ha ha ... o this has made my day! Poor Audrey! "MUM! I was enjoying this banquet... and then the poopy had to spoil it!" Classic.
Autumn ate Grandma's roast tattie, a carot baton and .......*drum roll please* a strip if roast chicken. I gave it to watch her "suck on..." we couldn't believe our eyes as she chunked it all down with excited eyes!
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Way to go Autum. I love her name btw :)
Colby has hardly eaten any solids since yesterday. I think is second top front tooth is coming too. He suck on a piece of grilled cheese on toast for brekkie.
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Hi ladies! I was wondering what meal ideas you all had. I've been lazy a out cooking lately, but want to start up again. What do you give you lo when out? I have been giving purée from pouch and puffs lol.
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I often take steamed veg sticks or or mini veg like baby corn, mange tout, mini courgettes. Or tuna, mayo and sweetcorn sandwiches. Cream crackers and cheese and tomatoes. Sometimes pancake or ricecakes. And fruit like berries he can pick up individually. It's normally lunch we're out for. Sausages aren't too messy but not too often as they are quite salty I think.
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I was *yupping* to Ali's suggestions but today i cooked a kinda omelette fritatta type bodge by mixing one egg, bit of milk, small dollop of Philadelphia chz and some mashed potato (saved from yesterdays roasty!) and wacked it in a frying pan. Chopped up she (amazingly i know - with Mummys dodgy concoction!) loved it - and cooled right down too! This sorta thing could potentially work!
Bananas are our saving 'going out' food atm too :) oops. lazy.
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Bananas are great, they come in their own packaging that you can throw away when you're done :)
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You banana ladies are brave- very messy!! I did up a whole batch of little muffins of Lemon thymes blog- so something like this: http://mamacook.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/no-added-sugar-apple-and-sultana-mini.html but is you haven't seen the blog check it out- there are HEAPS of great recipes, lots of hidden vegies...
But i'd take 3 or 4 of those out (my guy is a big eater) and he'd have those.... i figured with no sugar and salt they are probably like having a sandwich or something... But they are good as they travel well and you can freeze them- so i'd get a couple out of the freezer and by the time he needed to eat them they'd be defrosted.
I've been a lazy mummy at the moment though- so none in the freezer- but if you are wanting to get into some cooking again they are esy and make a heap!
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I find colby gets in such a mess with bananas though. They just get smeared everywhere and it is hard to deal with when out. Oh posted with Katy, you agree with me.
I forgot to say we also do cold rigatoni pasta. That's the big tubes btw ;) I've done omlette before too.
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Hamish Loves fritata- Lil ginge- you could make them and put them into muffin tins- as in make it in muffin tinns then cook them- then they'd be baby size! Freeze them for later!
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Ladies, what age did you find your babies actually started to take on significant quantities of food? Not that I'm in a hurry, just curious. Audrey still has BF poop but with just a few specs of whatever in it.
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I still wouldn't say colby eats tons now at 8mo. Only in the last few weeks has he started getting more down.
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hamish started actually getting it into his mouth at about 6 months 2 weeks.. then it was probably closer to 7 and a half months that he started being more consistent with amounts....
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I think Sophia started to eat significant amounts at around 8 months. Now she eats loads. More than dd1 sometimes. Her poo remained bf poo for ages though; after 8 months. Only became solid after 9 months I think (I forget exact timings!)
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Hamish Loves fritata- Lil ginge- you could make them and put them into muffin tins- as in make it in muffin tinns then cook them- then they'd be baby size! Freeze them for later!
Genius! This would be ok to oven bake i guess!?
Ladies... does anyone know how often babes should poop when they r on solids? i definately did two v smelly much thicker (sorry for the detaill!) poos Thursday but i dunno if Dh had one Fri because she hasnt pooed for 2 or 3 days!(if he did a sneaky change which i didnt know about)
She also been eating lots by her own hands so definately know stuff gone in just wanting it to come out so we dont have a jam!!! After childbirth this is one way to relate to dd for sure (ugh, again, tmi ... sorry)
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Anna and lil_ginge - my reply to both questions would be the same - it depends on the baby. Some start eating more sooner and some poo more often/frequently than others. Wooly answer, yes, but true also.
FWIW, I can't actually remember when DD started eating more (around 8m maybe?) but these days she tends to do 1-2 poos per day depending on what she's eaten.
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Thanks for the great ideas ladies! :). I'll check out those recipes!
One more thing- any ideas what to do to minimize waste? Once she bites the tip off the carrot, she can't eat te rest. I feel like I throw a lot of food away.
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The best way to minimise waste is to give her what you are having- but yes... there is still waste... but at least then you haven't prepared a whole meal for her....
Lil ginge- yes- i meant cook them in the oven in a muffin tin... or you could cook them in egg rings in the frying an to make individual ones...
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Dogs (or cats) and composting helps one feel better about the waste ;D
C usually has one poop a day now for the last few months but now and again he'll poop 2 or 3 times. His turned solid within the first couple weeks of starting food.
C has been similar to Hamish in the food department...didn't take him long to start getting it to his mouth (first week for sure) then maybe a month or so later he started getting more down.
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Katy - care to share your fritatta recipe? I have no idea how to make one since I'm allergic to eggs, but Sofia isn't, and Max and DH love eggs so would make a good one for them.
Anna - Sofia was also about 8/8.5m before she really started to eat much volume. Up til then it was a lot of playing and tasting.
R. x
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Does anyone have any ideas on foods or tips about getting babies to swallow? My lo is nearly 11 mo and we have been doing BLW from 6 mo. He'll bite stuff and chew but then spits it a lot of it out so very little goes in. He'll try most foods but then not swallow. His poo hasn't changed at all.
I'm working on spacing the bottles and solids, but I think he just doesn't get that eating will make him not feel hungrey.
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Cecelia - really sorry but I don't have any good ideas as we're venturing into this at 6 months! Does he do that with soft roasted veggies too that are all mushy inside?
Hmm... YAY we got two mini poops today. Boo - they seem a bit too hard for my liking (paired with the groans!) Anyone got any tips to help loosen these lil plops!?
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Cecelia- Sorry you feel like your lo is still not eating. Is he a touchy baby? They sometimes have texture issues.
Lil-ging prunes and pears usually work. If that doesn't work a little apple juice should get things going.
Lol cam's mom- our cats won't eat bananas! ;). Composting is a nice idea though!
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YEah cecelia- i was going to ask if he had any sort of hypersensitivity.. Is he touchy? How does he go with hair washing, or getting his hands messy? Is there anything that he DOES swallow? as in foods that go really smooth- such as pumpkin? or foods that dissolve away to nothing- like a crusket biscuit? Sometimes LOs can not like the sensation of swallowing lumpy solids...
Lil- ging- my friens gives her LO prune juice to drink- but i often try to mix a prune or 2 into hamish's yoghurt- some babies would just eat them whole- but he thinks they are too sweet i think...
For the fritata- I have this tupperware slicer thing- like a mandoline- anyway- i slice up using that potato, onion, then any veg you like- i often use zucchini but have used capsicum, sweet potato spinach- whatever.. sometimes i'll even pop some salmon on the top. Then i put these with a little water into a pan ( the frying pan that i;ll use to do the whole thing) and cook them till they are cooked through. THen i mix up 1-2 eggs with some sour cream if you have it, some milk, some yoghurt... basically anything you have that is white that will extend the eggs- you can use more eggs.. but you don't need to... then you pour this over the whole lot in the pan- sort of gently move the vegies around to make sure there's egg on the bottom... and cook till the base is set and the middle's not totally runny- then i put cheese on the top and put it in the griller to cook the cheese and the top of the fritata. You don't need to add the cheese if you don't want to. It's a very quick meal that easily uses up all of those vegies you have sitting in the fridge...
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lil ginge, I offer C lots of water throughout the day if his poops are too stiff and pears and prunes worked well for us too.
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Thanks for the thoughts. I hadnt thought about it like that. He's not touchy about most thing. Hates having his face wiped but that's about it. When he was 3 wks he had surgery and was on a ventalator for a while. Maybe having the tubes down his throat has made him sensitive to swallowing. The only thing that actually disappears and I know he's swallowed it are carrot puffs that dissolve into nothing.
Will mention this to the HV next week. I have a friends who is a speech pathologist so I'll ask her for her opinion. Thanks!
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When he was 3 wks he had surgery and was on a ventalator for a while
This is most probably your cause- or i'm VERY suspicious of it... i wasn't sure how to ask if there was anything in the history that would lead to this- but babies that are ventilated can get a bit hypersensitive. I'm a speech pathologist too- but it's actually the sort of thing that isn't really possible to 'treat' online... Does he like to put things in his mouth when he's playing? I reckon that although you may have doubts- that the BLW has been a great plan for your guy- in that when babies have had negative experiences they need to be in comtrol of the food to be comfortable with eating. I would wonder if you may have had MORE difficulties with food refusal if you had gone the traditional route and not given him the control.
Speak to your SP friend- does she have any paediatric feeding experience? She should have some ideas for you anyway!
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Hi Katy thanks so much! I feel like now I have a plan. I know my friend works with children, but she'll be able to tell me who I need to talk to.
He'll put just about anything in his mouth including anything I shout no about (cat litter ick) more so when he's teething. He has 3 teeth on top and bottom and will bite things including me. Ouch!!
He is very independent and likes to be in control. The couple of times I tried to spoon feed him he turnned into an octopus and I could get the spoon to his mouth and if I did get anything in his mouth he'd spit it back out at me.
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cecelia, I was just reading last night in my TP magazine about this in toddlers but maybe it would apply here especially with the ventilator history. It was saying its likely a way that LOs to experiment and practise control over food in their mouth. Does he squirrel it in his cheeks? It suggested going to smoother or softer foods until they're comfortable with it. It was just a little blurb and not likely much help but maybe will help you feel its not totally off the wall for your lo to be doing it.
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Hi everyone :)
Thought I'd join this thread if that's ok?
So, DS2 is 6-1/2months and we started with BLW 5weeks ago as he stole chips from my plate! At the time he was just sitting up, but now he's really strong he's eating almost anything! :D
Last night was mashed potato which he just scooped up and went everywhere. ::) Needed rugs everywhere for that one as what he dropped seemed to miss the splash mat! And tonight he very happily tucked into beef stew and rice! Scoffed the lot!
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Hi rebecca :) Sounds like you 2 are off to a great start!
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Thanks Cam's Mom! At lunch yesterday he ate a bit of lintel stew and be had a bit of rice last night. I think the idea of going back to softer foods will work until I see the HV. It will be messy!
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Thanks for the advice with the hard poos!
I have some questions:
Numero uno is - i dont want Autumn to only experience dry stuff! however our flat is so small that the living rm/dining rm would be coated if she was for fling spaghetti bolognese into the air. Do u think a pasta bake could b more helpful for her to pick up and still bit saucy?! Anyone have any recipes!?
Numero dos... She seems to want more than what i give her sometimes! Se is 7 months nxt wk but i didnt want to rock the boat with milk or over load her gut! Yet if she is happy downing stuff i know this is called 'baby led weaning!' Should i just go with what she sseems happy to cope with?
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P.s. Hope Hv is helpful Cecelia
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Ok0 i assume you are possibly now writing more on that post lil-ginge as it seems to stop abruptly (or i may be tired). But hamish is often like that!! Basically the advice tends to be 'offer the LO food till they stop eating'- but some days with hamish i feel that we would LITERALLY have no food left in the house if we did that !! (except for the broccoli- there'd still be plenty of broccoli)... SO i generally give hamish a few 'courses' to a meal and leave him at that- so i might give him some meat/meatball etc, vegies, some cheese or somthing and then fruit to finish. If he eats it all then great- but i figure there has to be a line!! ALSO- keep in mind that probably a lot is still going onto the floor- it might be a fair portion. So what you are serving out is not actually all getting into her...
Pasta bake sounds good! i don't have a recipe... i actually havent made one for hamish yet...
Great job cecelia at home on the rice and such...
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Amayzie - with a silly phone and chubby thumbs writing posts are doomed! I accidentally hit 'post' when i don't want too. Usually because i am trying to correct some predictive dictionary word that inserts itsslf when I am trying to write something else! Sorry!
Thanks thats helpful. Autumn and Hamish sound like 2 peas in a pod then! Did he start getting frustrated and bored on bf/bottle?!
I bodged a courgette, pepper and chicken pasta bake with cheesy white sauce. Yaaaaaaaaaaay she loved it! Though I am not sure she ate any pasta lol! Ironic...
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Lil ginge, perhaps you could try some rigatoni (the medium sized pasta tubes) and stuff some mince etc. in them. You can then give it as dry finger food but it has a little saucy filling.
We had a successful day BLW-wise today. He refused breakfast as always but for lunch ate a big splat of spaggheti with tuna, mayo and sweetcorn. And 4 sticks of cucumber and some black grape. Then after dinner he ate a huge wedge of watermelon. Typical that his favourite foods seem to be cucumber and watermelon since both probably contain less calories than he expends eating them (he gets very excited). Huh! How will I ever fill this boy up?
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HA HA!! Hamish LOVES watermelon too! I'll be jealous of all of you ladies enjoying your summer fruits soon as we head into the winter ones.. boring!
Just to give anyone who has a LO who is refusing some... well... comraderie?- Hamish threw ALL of his cheese on toast off the high chair at lunch yesterday- it's my FAVOURITE food- but apparently not Hamish's!! SO no lunch- but this was backed up by eating all of his pasta and mince sauce, plus some of daddy's!
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LIL ging- here's a recipe for a pasta bake! http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/chicken-pasta-bake-for-babies-toddlers.html
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Throwing food is Sofia's latest favourite thing to do... I find it pretty annoying, so after we've had a couple of throws and I figure she's finished actually eating I clean up pretty swiftly!
Think I'm going to remake some turkey sliders or meatballs today (after the cats ate them off the counter when I made them the other day... the cats are lucky I'm not making cat burgers!)
R. x
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LOL- cat burgers!!
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Oh no Rach. I would have been so peeved.
Colby actually ate some more watermelon for breakfast this morning.
We get a lot of throwing too. I don't mind so much at the end of the.meal, like you Rach I just clean up, but I hate it when he throws everything and doesn't even try one bite. If that happens, like he throws the chicken, carrot and pasta all one by one away, would you guys keep offering different things? Or just accept he isn't eating solids for that meal.
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I offer it a couple of times- as in i pick it back up off the floor (it's pretty clean)- and offer it- I've a few times offered more and more options- looking for the 'perfect' food.. so now i pretty much decide that lunch is over. I might offer the other part to the meal i was going to anyway- like the other day when all of the grilled cheese hit the floor he still ate his mandarin- but it didn't make another sandwich.. i figure he'll catch up later...
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I'm just wondering how many people boil water before giving it to their LO's? I've been using water from the kettle when I give DS2 his water as it's left over from making up his bottle's bit DH thinks it's unneccesary.
I do have to say that DS2 eats the floor ::) and just about everything else, whcih I'm sure is probably worse that the water from the tap?!!
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I don't and haven't for a while.... but that's me... i did for a while when he was first starting solids... but then stopped- say around 8 months or so? I saw conflicting advice as to whether it was needed or not. It may vary on where you are from.
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I don't either. We're on our own well water. I do worry during spring runoff though so I get our water elsewhere till things clear up.
They drink so little though I don't see that what you're doing is a big deal. I say if you feel better doing it then keep on keepin' on :)
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We only drink bottled water, so I don't boil. But tbh, I wouldn't boil anyway if I lived somewhere with good potable tap water.
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Rebecca we don't boil water. The UK recs are only to boil water before 6mo and it isn't necessary after that. It is no more likely to cause problems than raw veg and the bowls etc you would wash in tap water. Obviously that doesn't apply to when you use it to make formula when it does need to be boiled to sterilize the formula.
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Why does it need to beboiled to sterilize the formula? You generally don't make the formula up WITH the boiled water? Wehaven't used formula- i'm just interested...
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Well we don't actually use formula here either but yes Katy the water you use to make formula is supposed to be over 70 degrees C to kill the bugs. You are then supposed to cool the made-up formula down before giving it to bubs of course. I know a lot of people cut corners and don't follow the guidelines or perhaps the guidelines are different in some countries but that is what most formula packets say to do here in the UK and what gov guidelines here say.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/making-up-infant-formula.aspx
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Interesting- i just looked at ours- this is from a reputable public hospital:
http://kidshealth.chw.edu.au/fact-sheets/how-make-infant-formula
It suggests boiling the water- AND LETTING IT COOL before making up the formula! So interesting how these things vary!
Again- this whole discussion is purely acedemic as neither of us use formula ::) this is why i love it here- people with the same interest in knowing things as I have!!
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ANd ali- DH said you probably would find the walking dead too scaary! He's been watching a few on his own- and there was a particularly scary one...
And I know you like post apocolyptic movies- so I thought i'd share that i'm currently watching '12 monkeys'!
Now- back to your discussion about BLW! ;D
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I have made up formula for my.nephew when his mum was in hospital before which is why I knew that was our recs. These things always vary from country to country. That is one thing I have found using this site. Drives me batty actually. The UK recs always seem more strict too. ::)
Do you guys get told to sterilize the equipment like spoons and bowls for feeding? I believe we used to but not anymore now the age rec has changed to 6mo for weaning. Thank goodness. How do you sterilize a highchair tray? I do of course wash it with antibacterial surface cleanser.
Colby likes raw apple. He really gives it a good munch.
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Hamish also loves raw apple- we will grate it up for him- but he gives it a very good munch with his little teeth!
I think it's suggested you sterilize the spoons if you're feeding before 6 months- but not after- just use proper kitchen hygeine after that... not crazy clean...
I think it is good to be mindful of the different recs as there are different factors in different countries.. like water quality... other things... dunno... still- confusing!
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Yes, recs are to use boiled water over 70deg due to the fact that formula is not sterile and can contain various contaminates (anything from bacteria to, in some cases live (or dead) insects). When I was mixed feeding DS I always just used the water straight out of the kettle and then cooled it down before feeding to him (or filled a metal thermos flask with boiling water if I was going out so it hadn't cooled too much before making up).
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I never sterlize the highchair tray!! But I do wash it after every use in hot soapy water...
Neve is having issues with eating. I think it must be teeth because she's hungry and grabbing for food but cries and cries when she's eating... this seems to have started about 4 days ago I think. And a spoon with yogurt or applesauce? Forget it. SHe turns her head and cries. I'm still BFing so she won't starve but I feel bad for her :(
Ali, does Colby have teeth? I haven't tried raw apple yet- just applesauce and steamed apple pieces. Neve's favourite is avacado. But she chowed down on mango recently and loves strawberries and hummus.
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Haha stef, no I don't sterilize the highchair tray either. I just meant it is just as well we aren't told to sterilize all the feeding equipment because I imagine a lot of us just plonk the food straight on it and it would be impossible. I don't sterilize anything except bottles and the pump when I use them, which isn't often enough opps!
Colby only has the bottom two front teeth which are halfway up height-wise and the top ones are just cutting through the gums now. He sucks on it and gums it I think.
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Teeth are a luxury ;)
D has eaten all sorts without having any (or just the one she has currently) :)
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Neve too- though the bottom 2 look to be popping through any time now. Chicken went over well yesterday. I was amazed at the quantity she consumed!
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Well- adventures in baby led weaning- Hamish went to the creche at the gym yesterday- and i left him with 2 crusketts to eat. So he had them fine! But i peeked in to the creche to see him going through some other kid's bag and lunch box!! I saw him with the drink bottle trying to work out how to get to it!! I didn't look for too long- so they possibly grabbed it off him!
Oh- and have you ladies tried this? http://mamacook.blogspot.com.au/2012/01/easy-chicken-tikka-for-babies-and.html
It's sooo simple and we LOVE it! Hamish loves it too! THe boy almost ate a whole thigh fillet! (almost because that was all i gave him- i decided daddy could have 2, hamish could have 3/4 of one and mummy could have 1 and 1/4.... hamish would have eaten daddy's protion i'm sure!!)
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Saw the HV and she's referred us to a speech path for Js swallowing. Will see what she says. Had a small joy, he took two bites of biscuit and ate them! No spitting out or gagging!!!
I've been trying to give more purée consistency foods. I've done mashed potatoes, avacado, and yogurts. I'm going to get some apple sause tomorrow at the store. Does any one have purée like things that their LO likes? I need some more ideas.
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Keep us posted on what the speech path says, Cecelia.
I put some steamed spinich and a dab of cream cheese or plain yogurt in with mashed potatoes and C LOVES it.
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Not sure if I should post this here, but it is sort of BLW related. I do a dreamfeed with my LO & she used to feed well - approx 180mls and then taking a similar amount in the morning at approx 7am. Recently she has been refusing milk in the morning, or drinking only about 50/60mls. I would be thinking that it might be time to drop the DF, but all the notes say to do this only if the baby is taking three established meals a day. Obviously at 6.5 months, she's not doing that yet so I wondered what others have done?
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Hi Buttonbobs- If i'm reading your question correctly you are asking about your LO choosing to have less milk? Are you doing baby led solids- as in offering whole foods rather than purees?
In relation to dropping the dream feed- we BF our little guy and dropped it at just after the 6 month growth spurt- so probably at about 6.5 months or so... No problems!
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Hi Amayzie, yes I was asking that and yes we are doing BLW for solids. Thanks, I might start thinking about dropping the DF then. DD has def had her growth spurt and is taking less milk during the day. She's definitely swallowing solids from what I can see in her nappy, but I was worried about dropping milk too early. I guess she might take more during the day if we drop the DF. Thanks
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FWIW, we also dropped the DF before we were offering three solid meals, also around this age, no probs :) She did feed for longer in the morning after that, so pretty sure her overall milk intake didn't drop.
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Ok- if you want FUN FUN FUN- give your LO fettucini if you haven't already!! He was a little off colour so didn't eat it- but oh my god!! IT was the MOST FUN FOOD EVER!!! I'm not sure he trusted it... but i'm willing to give it another go!
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Haha Katy, I can imagine that's like pad thai in our house! In fact, noodles in general rank VERY highly on Felicity's favourite food list. She goes nuts anytime we walk past a stand selling (cooked or uncooked, rice or egg, wide or narrow) noodles in the market. "Noo noo noo noo NOO!"
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Neve had noodles th eother day. She kinda freaked a bit when she touched them but they disappeared really fast!
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E loves all things wormlike too. Tonight though she had some lasagne that I made for a party yesterday & she loved it - she was sucking the mince & sauce from the sheets of pasta - she made quite a noise and a good mess. Mess was made worse as we also tried yoghurt for the first time tonight. I figured in for a penny in for a pound as I was going to have to mop the floor anyway :-)
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LOL!
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LOL!! We decided that yoghurt was a spoon food- I had a photo of it, but can't find it at the moment... on one of the threads! Very messy!
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So I've gotten myself in a bit of a pickle here. I've been lazy and giving dd a good bit of purée lately, and now she is turning her nose up at solids. :(. Do you think I should go to all solids, and just bf when she doesn't eat anything? She is quite content eating lots of purée, but won't eat the same foods in whole form- so it's not the taste that is bugging her. Yesterday she got a bit of food in her mouth and seemed p***** that she had to chew it up. She refused the rest and fussed until I gave her some purée,which she gobbled up.
Thoughts?
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Not sure if you mean only BF her if she doesn't eat anything or if you mean an extra BF if she doens't eat anything... If you mean it the first way, don't do it, imo. She needs the milk!!! Not sure how many times/day she's doing but 4-5 iswhat she needs. Can you just try to make the purees chunkier for now so she gets some texture? Is she teething or tired at meal time? Or maybe try BF and then waiting 30-60 minutes so she's hungrier when you give her the solids and more likely to try the finger food? Neve when through a week where she cried at most meals and barely ate a thing (mostly at lunch) and I figured out she was super tired and not at all happy about solids. It got better.
Another idea that I used for Aiden is to make a mashed potato or sweet potatoa dn then mix in grated carrot, or zucchini or whatever, add egg yolk or whole egg and make patties I would then bake in the oven until firm so he could hold them but they practically fell apart when he ate them. He really liked those around 7/8 months and they froze decently. I added all kinds of stuff the more I mde them- cooked broccoli bits, otameal, ground flax, hamburger, peas, etc. Eventually I stopped using the potato as the base and used meat instead and made little meat patties.
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Stef,
The potato patty sounds yummy- I'll give it a try! Just reread my post and I didn't word it well! I bf, then offer solids an hour later. I am wondering if she doesn't eat if I should do an extra bf. up until now, I've been doing some purée if she doesn't eat the finger foods.
Yes, I was thinking about doing chunkier puree's too. Your post made me think about why she isn't eating the solids, as she was trying bits before. Her mouth may still be sore as she had hand mouth and foot not too long ago. She likes the little rice puffs you can buy at the store. I think she isn't liking the rather mushy sweet potatoes and bananas I've been giving her. She doesn't seem to want to hold it. If that makes sense. Maybe some other drier foods she would like. I've been avoiding dairy and wheat, what else could I give her that is dry that doesn't have wheat?
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Ah, that makes more sense! IMO, I would probably go with the purees too if Neve wasn't into finger foods but if she wouldn't go for those I would do an extra BF if she seemed hungry. And for sure she could be nervous about the solids even if she isn't sore any more from the H, M & F...
Ok- ideas... Neve loves avacado at the moment, but that could be mushy too? Have you tried rolling the banana in baby cereal before giving it to her? It worked really well for Aiden as it was easier to hold. Steamed carrot sticks can be pretty 'dry' compared to some stuff. Hmmm... so much stuff gets kinda mushy when steamed or cooked so I guess you would need to experiment a bit with veggies. Cauliflour florets? Cooked beans, like kidney beans because they're a bit bigger? Rice cakes with hummus? Neve likes peas too and tonight she had grilled zucchini and eggplant slices (not such a fan of the grilled peppers, but I tried). HTH!
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Thanks for the great ideas Stef! I never thought about the baby cereal on a banana- brilliant! She started eating solids again, so I guess we are fine. I'm going to save purée for when we are out. Those little pouches of purée are so nice and she'll suck down the whole thing. DS is addicted to them too and always asks for a squeezie. Hard to say no when they are organic fruits and veggies mixed.
I wonder if she might have been tired of the same old stuff ya know. I bought some Cantalope and she is loving that- sucking the juice right out of it lol. She ate some egg this morning for the first time as she has tossed it in the past. I have some broccoli I could steam for later, she has eaten that a few times and it is similar to cauliflower! I've been offering the avacodo and sometimes she likes it other times, not so much. DS and I love it though! I like that it doesn't need to be cooked! :) She is also eating some rice pasta. She still seemed annoyed that she has to chew, but I've found it's the only time she babbles lol!
She is turning down pear, baked apple, banana, cucumber, sweet potato.
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Pear?! Really? I'm surprised. At least she's trying some food again, though! Keep at it!
I like that it doesn't need to be cooked!
Me too!! I buy some every week just for that reason. Then if I don't have something for her at a meal out it comes :)
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Keep offering- i found hamish would turn something down one say and accept it on another day!! At the moment he'll toss something and eat it both in the one meal!!
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Amy, Neve is refusing solids now!!! I think it's her teeth because one showed up this morning. She just sits and cries... and drops the food on the floor...
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Oh no Stef! I was just going to post that Emily is eating again! Guess you'll have to take your own advice, keep offering and if she doesn't eat, try purée. I hope her teeth come in soon. Poor Neve. :(
I rolled her mushy food in baby rice cereal. Don't know if that was it, but she went to town at lunch today. She ate an half of banana, 2 slices of pear, and a hunk of avacado. It is by far the
most she has ever eaten. And they were all mushy foods she was resisting earlier.
Thanks for all the support!!
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Glad to hear, Amy! Neve won't take the spoon either. So we'll see how supper goes. We have company coming so it could be interesting!
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Miss D is back to eating peas and sweetcorn! Woohoo! She's been ignoring them for so long now, but ate a whole portion at lunch today ;D
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Any tips for teaching her how to use a sippy? I think she needs a bit of water with her meals she has been a wee bit bunged up. We have a valved cup which she just chews on, and a free flow one which she just lets the water flow out of her mouth...
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We started with a free-flow sippy and A LOT did go down her chin for ages but I knew a little was going in each time...is A swallowing at all?
Have you tried a straw cup? We got one of those a little later on and I thought it might take F a while to get it, but it took all of about 5 seconds and she was drinking away ;) They're meant to be easier for bf babies.
In the meantime, maybe you could offer her some watermelon or cucumber, or something else with a high water content.
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I just gave the sippy if water with each meal and yes he did let it run out of his mouth to start with, I found a scoop bib handy for collecting the spillage, but he soon realised he had to keep the mouth closed. Now he drinks tonnes.
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I found the same thing with the sippy- even with the valve out to make it free flow- he had no idea. So i taught him to use a straw cup at around 6/7 months- he picked it up VERY quickly- I help a little water in the bottom of the straw and then put it in his mouth so he knew what the straw was about- then with a little trial and error got it. They don't drink very much to start as the milk gives them enough fluid- but hamish will drink if needed. I also have him use an open cup sometimes- he thinks it's a fnger bowl... I've now introduced a sspout cup for milk as i didn't fancy cleaning milk out of the straw...
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Have you tried the Doidy cup Anna? Apparently it is similar to the mouth action used to BF. Colby likes that too.
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I just gave D a free flowing Tommee Tippee one (the classic one with the little flip up spout) and a fair amount spilled out to start with. She's a pro with it now and chooses deliberately to let it fall out of her mouth, from time to time. Cheeky minx!
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yes- hamis thinks it's quite fun to have it fall out i think!!
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So I'm looking to start LO on solids this weekend (6 months tomorrow) & want to follow the BLW approach. I have read through some books but I'm not quite clear about how often I offer solids to start. Do I just start with once a day for the first week & build it up or do I start straight away with offering her something at each of our 3 meals?
Thanks
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Just do it whenever's convenient. For the first few days we did once a day but after that we just gave her bits of what we were having, whenever we were eating - if she was napping, she missed out!
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I would agree. Start with one and then see how that goes. We also did about 1x/day for a week and then did 2x/day for another week and then 3x/day. it just worked out well byt then because of how she was napping.
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Remember shw probably won't eat much to start- so that's why offering every meal is a good idea- she might get SOMETHING!! But i found too at this age (6 mo) if you are busy and can't manage it then it's fine to skip it.
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We started with 1-2 times a day, depending on what was convenient and how keen she was! It wasn't until after 7 months that I was consistently offering 3x a day.
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OK I won't be the first BLW mummy to have said this but... I'm worried that Audrey is hungry!?
Last night at tea we had cauliflower soup, she was really tired and crabby in her highchair so sat on my lap, and every time a spoonful of soup headed for my mouth she was leaning forward to nab it, so I fed her a few spoonfuls. She was just gobbling it down, leaning forward with her mouth open for the next bite like a hungry little baby bird.
She doesn't usually get desert but Stan had a home-made custard and again I gave her some of that on a spoon (it was only sweetened very slightly with maple syrup) and again she wolfed it down. She definitely ate loads loads loads more than she usually does at ANY meal with BLW.
And I do definitely see that it could be coincidence, but we did have a slightly better night last night - yes she still woke but there were no 1.5hr long wakings etc.
I dunno.
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Aiden was ALWAYS hungry, Anna. He coudl finish off half a chicken breast in one sitting when he was 9 months old plus veggies! How many times/day are you gving milk? BF or FF (I can't remember- sorry!)
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Hamish is also always hungry- you know how they suggest you keep offerring food till the baby stops eating- well i often think we'd run out of food first ::) She should still be getting most of her nutrition from the milk- and may have been eating the soup because it was tasty and easy to eat- not because she is starving...
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She's still getting BF 4 x per day plus 2 at night... But I don't think my supply is that great.
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I would think that she is eating because it's 'fun' rather than hunger- that's still plenty of feeds.
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I think that sounds good, Anna. Maybe it's GS? Some days Neve is all about solids and others she's all about the mommy juice. Keep an eye on her poops and pees and make sure all is well there and if it is, and she's still BFing that much I think even if she's eating a lot on a regular basis that could be her new 'normal'.
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So our first few days on BLW seem to have been quite successful. LO has been practicing with an empty spoon for a while now & was so excited when she discovered some creamy Greek yoghurt on it yesterday.
She loves strawberries, carrots & pear went down ok but she wasn't especially interested in green beans or chicken. Tried some banana too.
Just one question though; DD is getting quite frustrated because a lot of foods are a bit slimy & she's having difficulty picking them up (I ended up putting mushy strawberry on her spoon & letting her spoonfeed herself). Any advice on making these foods easier to handle or do I just have to stick to non slippery foods?
Thanks ladies. X
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Certainly with bananas, I've known people crush up something like Cheerios (or a non-Nestle alternative) and dip the banana in it so that there's a bit more to get hold of.
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Rolling items in baby cereal worked well for us! And sometimes the bigger the piece, the easier it is to hold, even when slippery. But it's really mostly about practice. Neve can finally hold onto the slipperiest avacado now!
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Hey,
Been away for a bit but hope all is going well with blw.
LJ's doing well but still not eating loads - depends what it is most days. Loves pasta and rice!
Question to you all - I want to give LJ sausages but not sure which type to give her as a bit wary about what's in them. Does anyone already do this? Which sausages? Bought Walls skinless the other day as lower in salt but then later realised only 66% pork! We won't eat those so not giving them to LJ lol.
Any ideas would be much appreciated. Xxx
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DD loves sausages. I usually get the Sainsbury's (or wherever) Butcher's Choice ones, but have no idea on the meat %s. Most sausages have stuff in that aren't meat (breadcrumbs, water etc) not even thinking about any other "additions" :-\
I try not to think about it too much and am aware that she doesn't have them all that often, so it probably balances out down the line somewhere.
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I buy them at a butcher so I know what's in them. I haven't done sausages for Neve yet but Aiden has had 'regular' sausages and hotdogs on occasion. Any reason you really want to give sausages? Just curious!
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I worry abput the salt in sausages- at 1 it's not AS MUCH of an issue= but they can only manage like 2 g of salt per day, so about 800mg sodium...
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Any reason you really want to give sausages? Just curious!
I know the Q wasn't directed at me but... if BLW is about eating what the family eat... I make sausages for our family dinner quite regularly, Stan loves them, they're quick and easy.
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Yes Anna - that's the reason exactly. We have adjusted our meals for the last 8 months and I miss sausages lol! Not that we ate them much, but used to have a delicious spicy sausage pasta I know LJ would love too (not so spicy though).
Yes - we usually have Tesco's finest or other store equivalent and they're something like 88%. Taking into consideration the added water etc, I think that's ok. Just the salt in them that concerns me.
xxx
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check the salt content- there may be ones with less salt- perhaps the butcher ones? I actually haven't looked at them... I've waited till after one when they are able to tolerate more salt...
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Colby has just started eating more the last week or so. I have realised that if I give him to put straight into his mouth he will eat more than if I give a finger to take bites of himself. So I'm talking things like chicken meat or tuna and sweetcorn sandwiches :) He'll still eat carrots and cucumber and watermelon in big chunks but the other things seem to just end up on the floor. Is there any reason not to do this now he is able to pick it up and eat from his hand this way? I have given Colby a sausage cut in half lenthways and he just sucked it. Sausage casserole cooked in tinned tomatoes are nice and soft and you can just pull the skin off once cooked.
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I gave E a sausage the other day as we were at a barbecue & she wanted mine. They were butchers ones so I know they were good on the meat front but no idea about the salt. I just gave her fruit & veg the rest of the day to ensure her salt levels didn't get too high.
Some meals she eats loads & other times she just blows raspberries at me! We also still have mostly formula milk poo but with occasional days where they're more solid. I guess this goes with her sporadic eating pattern. Also, E is still having 5 Milk feeds a day (including DF) & seems to be taking a similar amount as always with some days slightly lower. I'm just focussing on trying to keep the experience varied for her. Have needed to get my cookbooks out for inspiration.
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ali- once they can pick it up themselves it's fine to offer it in bits. /you just wnt to make sure of xourse that the bits aren't too hard- but they won't be...
how okd is she again buttonbobs? m guy did this all the time!
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No the hard stuff he is happy to hold and bite it is the squashy stuff that just gets squished.
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Amayzie, E is 7 1/2 months. She's also started doing this cute/weird thing of leaning over to her left side while in her high chair. It's like she's putting her head to her shoulder as if to say "aren't I adorable" IYKWIM. I think it's all probably developmental although it can be frustrating at times.
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at 7.5 months we totally had big eating days/meals and NO eating days/meals- i's offer a range of stuff- all to end on the floor!! The milk really does give them the total nutrition... and some days they just arent up for more!
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Buttonbobs yes that is cute and apparently it is developmental. Do you follow wonder weeks? They talk about that in there.
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Yes amayzie, that's what I keep telling myself. I'm pulling my hair put far less than friends who are spending hours making purées though, thank goodness I'm not doing that! I've not read the wonder weeks but have just bought in from amazon so will have something to read on my holiday next week. Thanks for the tip Ali x
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On the WW topic- is there much to read in it after 12 months? I'd not really heard of it at the start so haven't got it.. is there much point trying to read it now- or just wait and get it with #2?
Oh- and BTW- Hamish had his 12 month check up the other day and is at the 75th% for weight- that's with waiting till 6 months to start solids and by the book BLW- no purees and letting him do it all himself. SO- try not to stress out- he was EXACTLY the same as some of you are describing at 6-8 months, not eating much AT ALL- it took him a good 2 weeks to get anything in his mouth at all!
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The wonder weeks book does go up past 1yo, possibly to 2 off the top of my head but I probably wouldn't buy the book at such a late stage as there will only be a couple topics that apply. If you're planning on buying it for no. 2 anyway though... You can get the main info about what to expect when off the website.
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hmm.. i'll check it out! i figure if there are books etc that i've missed this time around i'll wait till i'm pregnant again to buy other things.. there's go to be something else to buy!!
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I just received my wonder weeks book, thanks for the recommendations - what an interesting read!
just out of interest, how long does it generally take your LOs to eat a meal. Mine (nearly 8 months) is just starting to really eat quite a bit & it's taking her about 45 mins sometimes an hour if she's really enjoying it. I don't mind it taking a while but does it speed up a little eventually?
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Colby often sits for an hour bit cadan is much quicker so it must speed up eventually.
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Hi all
I haven't been on this thread in a while but thought I'd pop back in to let you all know that DS is now using a spoon and fork ON HIS OWN.
Not every meal and not always successful but he's been attempting to stab with the fork for a while and I have let him have a go on his own and then assisted (hand over hand) to avoid the inevitable frustration. I've also increased loading for him when he looks like he wants to eat more from the fork than with his fingers - basically following his cues. He is now 17 months and more frequently his stabs are successful and the food gets to his mouth. It's lovely watching him. He still eats the majority of his food with his hands but more and more wants to use the fork, he doesn't like his hands being messy (he does get them very messy whilst cramming food in his mouth but once the initial hunger has abated he realises his hands are messy and gets a bit fussy about it. Mid meal hand washing is sometimes helpful).
With the spoon it is really just his morning muesli which I used to roll into balls for finger food. I now make it thick but spoonable. This way when he digs the spoon in some sticks and when he puts it towards his mouth and turns the spoon upside down it doesn't all fall off down his front. I'll gradually make it sloppier as his skill improves.
I know some BLW sceptics think that LOs don't learn to use cutlery by being given finger food, so thought this update might be useful. Use of cutlery doesn't happen on it's own of course, it's a skill that is taught and learned over time.
He also now prefers his food to be cut up smaller, rather than finger food it's become more fork-food sized. He has his own knife set at the table and occasionally I help him cut something up hand over hand but not every item and not at every meal, just enough for him to have a go at it. Sometimes I use hand over hand to help him spread his own pate on crackers too.
Buttonbobs my DS used to take 45 mins over a meal too. It really eats into the A time doesn't it? It does get quicker though. Now he is finished eating before me and I extend his table time a little with fruit whilst I finish my meal but inevitably he still finishes before I do and after a short wait I let him down from the table to avoid frustration. My plan is that as be gets a bit older and becomes verbal I'll keep him at the table longer, with conversation, so that it is a real family time together.
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Lovely to hear an update Creations! I'm just popping in and out at this stage too :) We are in a very similar position - F has been using a spoon quite confidently for the past couple of months and can now eat quite runny things like custard or yoghurt with only a little mess around the mouth. But she wasn't interested in a fork until about 10 days ago, when she suddenly seemed to notice that I always had one, and therefore she should too. She ate three pancakes this morning entirely with her fork - I cut them up and she stabbed them :)They were a good texture for independent fork use - soft enough to stab and they don't fall apart!
Sometimes I use hand over hand to help him spread his own pate on crackers too.
Now this is impressive! Well done Creations LO!
Yes, our early meals were 45 mins - I quite liked it actually, as I found that age a bit difficult to think of interesting things to do during A time ;) Just eating was a chance to practice lots of skills and conversation!
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And with BLW the long meal times can be used for things like- well you eating- or i would do a little tidy up in the kitchen at times... supervising for choking of course....
FYI- I have started working with a dietitian 1 day a week (i work more... she is only with me one day)- so stay tuned for more dietetics tid bits... Today's tip- We need at least 35ml per KG of body weight of fluid to stay hydrated. So if hamish is about 10 kg he needs about 350ml in a day- so about a cup and a half. For us that means that with the BF or 2, plus the fluid in the fruit he eats (fruit monster) and then the small amount of water he then wants he definitely gets enough. I just thought this was good to keep in mind- as hamish is not a big drinker so sometimes i worry- but that's not actually an overly large amount!
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Interesting Katy - do you know what temperature range that's assuming? I presume it's more in hot weather...?
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Yeah- she said that's the minimum- so i'd assume that if it was hot and she was sweating more that she;d need more.
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Nuala sounds like your LO is doing GREAT with cutlery - more proof that BLW doesn't hold them back at all (why would it? But I know some people think it could.) I like the idea of pancakes it does sound like just the right consistency for fork use.
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Pancake was the first food cadan ate with a fork at 14mo (silly mama hadn't even thought to offer him one before that) and he was good at it after a very short time. Fried agg was another favourite.
Colby is off his food right now as he's sick with a virus or teething.
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Hi, been slowly reading through this thread for information before I start blw. DS2 is 5.5 months and has sat in his highchair for a while watching us eat. I occasionally put something in front of him to play with and today he picked up a piece of cucumber and put it in his mouth. He gave a good chomp, but then to my surprise swallowed it whole. Is this common? I'm really worried it's going to give him an upset stomach. I thought it would have made him choke before he swallowed, I feel terrible.
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I wouldn't worry about it. It's likely to come out whole the other end though, but many foods do in the early stages. It might give him some gas too. It was probably quite gummed up and slimy by the time he swallowed it, but even if not they have an amazing ability to regurgitate foods that have been swallowed too big. My DS did this quite a few times (more when he was older though and decided to do as little chewing as possible) and would hack up the whole piece of whatever foodstuff it was without any gagging or choking taking place.
Taking an infant first aid course (if you haven't already) can help to reduce the worry because you know what to do in case of a choke - although I always think they are more likely to choke on a toy or other household item they manage to get their hands on rather than food.
Sounds like he's eager to get started :)
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Thank you for the reassurance. Do u think I should wait til 6 months if he is going to swallow without chewing? Should I cut smaller or will that increase chance of choking. Even though I am well trained on first aid due to job it still worries me, although I have been reassured a little by reading through. What size is best to chop things. I've done battons so he can hold it
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If you do stuff too small, you'll probably find that he can't pick it up to put it in anyway, thus decreasing the choking risk. I just started with stick shaped pieces for her to pick up and chew on :)
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you're almost there anyway... we started at 5 months 3 weeks.. and you're close to that. Just give him whole sticks of things to gum on. We gave soft cooked sticks of pumpkin and sweet potato to start.. they were good. He'll probably do a lot of exploring to start...
Size wise you just want enough so he can hold it and have a few CM out the top of his hand. At this age they can't manipulate food in their hand.
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Adult finger size, or regular 'wedges' are a good size. So I would continue to cut the size you are cutting.
I wouldn't go small, as Amanda has said if they can't pick it up they can't choke on it but being unable to pick up isn't the aim is it :)
I once saw a small button that had fallen off DS's cardigan. It was right next to him and I saw it just before he did so I got to it first. it frightened the hell out of me. It was right then that I realised I'd rather he had a plastic plate in his mouth than a plastic button iyswim. Bit of a drastic exaggeration for an example but bigger is better IMO.
One thing I did which you might find easier to begin with, is not offer 'hard' foods. So I didn't give cucumber, raw apple, raw carrot, toast or bread sticks. Anything that could snap off and not mush in his mouth I avoided for the first few weeks. Toast was a worry for me but went in and down very well when I tried it a couple of weeks in. But raw apple he still has a problem with even now at 17 months! He has just recently been able to eat raw carrot.
Like Katy said, you're almost at the 6 month mark, waiting another couple of weeks isn't really going to stop him swallowing things whole. We started at 5.5 months (really was no option) and your DS is showing readiness by the simple fact he is putting food to his mouth and chewing it.
Steamed veg sticks or backed wedges are a good place to start as they are firm enough to be picked up but the inside is soft and mushes in the mouth without denying LO the pleasure of discovering the real texture (in the way that purees all have the same sloppy consistency).
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It's so individual, isn't it? My friend started BLW with her DS when he literally took her pear from her hand and took a bite out of it. Whole fruit was something she often gave him, taking a small bite from it herself first so he could access the flesh and he could hold it easily and sucked the juice out of it. I guess it all depends how brave you're feeling ;) (FWIW, I've never been brave enough to give a whole apple/pear - figure you get quite a lot of waste that way too)
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We often do a whole apple but he gets more from it if I cut it into big slices.
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Just remembered I he did get a whole apple once when he was about 7 or 8 months which I was happier about than a wedge of raw apple because his two front teeth kind of grated the apple off in little bits as he gnawed rather than biting off a chunk.
I did give DS raw pear because they are softer than apples but that's when I found out it made him refluxy so avoided it for ages.
He gets lots of whole fruit now though, and no waste :) I have to tell him to spit out the stone from nectarines as he sucks every last morsel off.
But, yes it is very individual and depends what you feel happy about. I know when I gave toast I wondered what I'd been so worried about and why I'd delayed.
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You HAVE to supervise everything anyway- it's not like you aren't there= so if you avoid the no brainer hard things- you know, raw carrot sticks, nuts, popcorn... they can usually manage the others. The gagging isn't that major an issue...
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Hi guys! Been awhile since I have been on the boards here. B is almost 1 year and eating lots! I am heading back to work soon and need some suggestions for lunch/snack ideas that is easy for my hubby and the grandparents to do when I am at work. Any suggestions for ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! She is not good with spoons yet as she tries to grab them whenever they go near her!!!
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Lots of our snack/lunches are things I make in advance and freeze because we are often out at this time of day and it's handy to have things that are really easy to offer and non-messy;
American/scotch pancakes - variety of fruit/veg in them (today's were carrot and prune)
lentil or bean burgers - again a variety of beans and added veg, herbs, spices etc and I either cook in little patties or in a mini muffin tray
sandwich with range of filling - home made salt free chicken liver pate for example or mushroom and leek pate (I find sandwiches a bit messier but fine for at home), or a smoked salmon mouse, or canned tuna/mackerel & mayo, or humus, cream cheese.
oaty chews (bit like a flapjack but no honey, syrup, sugar etc) - variety of fruit in them, very handy for snacks
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Have you tried her on sandwiches? We eat banana sandwiches exclusively here!! Sour cream sandwiches used to be popular, and sandwiches made from toast were often nice early on... They don't go as gluggy. We also would make lots of little muffins with cheese and vegies... These went down a treat and were easy to take and brush off...
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So Katy, did you do those muffins for lunch? Been thinking about baking savoury muffins from my BLW recipe book, but never thought about lunch before. Always struggle with ideas for lunch - usually sandwiches (ham/beef/cheese/philidelphia) with bread/croissants/bagels. Sometimes we have pizza toast or cheese on toast. Occasionally an omelette but LJ not interested. Always wondering if I should be doing more and giving her a proper mini meal. Do give her cucumber and/tomatoes as well and then fruit.
Xxx
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yeah muffins for lunch... i havent done it for a while, but i'd make up a big batch and freeze them. Then if i was heading out i'd just put a couple in a bag or lunch box or something and they'd be defrosted by the time e wanted them. and dont worry about doing a mini meal!! too much effort!
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I am finding with baby 2 that I have so much LESS time for cooking in advance. So struggling for meal ideas sometimes :/ I do need to get better at meal planning for ALL of us, and then factoring in leftovers for Audrey's lunch the following day etc.
All of a sudden she is eating way more. It's always looked like she was eating a lot, but then after the meal most of it would fall out of the highchair/bib/in her thighs etc. All of a sudden, it's really going in, and she is eating LOADS, and enjoying it so much complete with 'nom nom mmmmmmmm' slurp munch sound effects.
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Great Anna!! Hamish was the same- and once he started he just didn't stop!! ANd I havent' made muffins for ages..
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BF and BLW - Audrey's only feeding once at night now at about 5am, so then obviously isn't hungry when she first wakes up, so feeds are normally say 5am, 8.30am, 1pm, 4.30pm (if she will take it, sometimes she just bites me), and before bed at 6.30pm.
I've got a feeling the 4.30pm feed is on the way out, but 3 feeds in 24 hours doesn't seem like enough??
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we were on 4 at her age and went to 3 at about 10 months i think- hamish was the same- biting at the feed he didn't want- that was usually the BT feed- I want to keep this one till last, so i cut one earlier in the day. It's probably not UNHEARD of though to go to 3 feeds at 9 months. You could keep offerring the feed every couple of days. Again- i always figured if he wasn't eating enough he'd wake at night to have it then...
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We are trying to get 4 feeds in but tbh only one of them (5am) is a good long feed - sometimes bedtime - but the others are a bit of a struggle. Re the solids, sometimes she will be quite clear when she is finished (she rubs her eyes as if she was tired, basically), but other times it seems like she would never stop eating! I run out of things to give to her (or run out of time) and have to just cut her off. Still about worried about the BFing, worrying about my supply too... oh well, she's big, sleeping well, wet/dirty nappies, guess there's nothing really to worry about... but I'm a mum, it's my job...
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D's the same about seeming to want to eat until she would pop! I just cut her off like you've been doing with Audrey. There are only so many hours in the day, after all. If you stopped the solids earlier and offered a BF, do you think she'd take it? Even if it wasn't a massively long one?
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Anna- Hamish is JUST the same!! We run out of food! And anna- you might have covered this elsewhere.. but do you think if you cut out a BF that she might eat more at the others? Is that what you mean- you are on 5 feeds or so?
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Hi guys, E has really suddenly got the hang of eating, she is 9 months old on Friday. Yesterday for breakfast she ate two homemade drop scones and a nectarine and then asked for some of my yoghurt. She then ate two mini babybel cheeses at lunch with rice cakes & a whole banana, before finishing off lots of pasta twists and bolognaise and watermelon for tea - I don't know where she puts it all :-)
But this is leading to a similar question about milk intake - although we're bottle feeding. In the las week her overall intake has dropped by a good few ounces a day. I'm not worried about that as she's still getting plenty. However, I'm still doing five milk feeds including a dream feed & these are spaced at about 7.30am, 11.30/12, 4ish & then 6.30/7 before bed, DF is at 10.30 & she usually takes more at this feed than the others.
In your opinions should I drop the DF first or try to reduce daytime feeds to 3 and space them something like:
Milk 7.30am
Solids 8.30
?snack - solids
Solids 12
Milk on wake up from nap - 3/3.30 ish
Solids - 5.30
Milk - 6.30/7
What do you think? I know there's no right answer and I have checked all the bottle feeding pages but it seems different for the BLW babies (to me anyway).
Thanks x
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I'd suggest dropping the DF as it's generally suggested that can go at 7 months, and they should be able to get through ithout it from 9 months... As far as day feeds- not REALLY sure either! I know my friend that was bottle feeding dropped to 3 bottles and 3 meals (solids) at about 9 months... but that was traditional weaning. BUT- if he;s eating that much he might be ready for a bit more food/less milk.. 2 babybel cheeses!!! That's awesome!!
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I'd suggest dropping the DF
I would too. I don't see the point in keeping a night feed and reducing day milk. I was really scared when I dropped the DF and it went a lot faster and more smoothly than I expected. Most of these things are more scary to think of than in reality of getting down to it. If he needs the milk he'll take more in the day or will eat more dairy solids. If he needs the calories but not necessarily in milk, he'll up his solids with a range of foods.
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I was really scared when I dropped the DF and it went a lot faster and more smoothly than I expected. Most of these things are more scary to think of than in reality of getting down to it.
This was soo true for us too! Basically my laziness won out- he woke up at DF time, i couldnt be bothered jumping up as i was already in my warm bed, and he resettled himself- that was it!!
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I didn't mean THAT easy Katy :)
For use there was some actual weaning involved but nothing he ever noticed or got upset about. I really did have to ensure his day milk increased though.
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Ok- so i actually made it sound a little easier than it was.. That night of laziness was then followed by the 6 month MASSIVE growth spurt!! WORST timing of dropping the DF EVER!! So we kept it for another week before dropping it!
In other news- I thought i'd share that hamish is now anopen cup PRO!! No more finger bowl action, very little tipping and not too much water all over his face!! My tip- instead of offerring a full or half full cup i gave him one with about a cm of water in the bottom of it. I had given him fuller ones before so he didn't have to tip as far. Well now he's an expert tipper- so the tipping wasn't the issue. I tell you this not to brag- (only a little ;D ) but to tell you that it can be done!! I still mainly use a sippy or more ideally a straw cup when we're out!
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Thanks ladies. I agree that it seems weird to drop a daytime feed while maintaining and unnecessary night feed. I was just becoming a little worried that with E's massive increase in solid intake she is showing an interest in dropping a day bottle & if I dropped the DF too, she would be down two in a very short space of time.
Amayzie - yay for the cup tipping! It's very reassuring as my HV keeps telling me I need to get E to drink from a sippy cup or she won't be able to help herself. She won't currently drink from a sippy but will happily guzzle water from a doidy cup it open cup, with a bit of help at the moment. Well done Hamish :-)
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She won't currently drink from a sippy but will happily guzzle water from a doidy cup
It's a bit daft your HV is saying she should have a sippy. A doidy cup is great. The whole point of moving from bottles/breast to cup is that one day there won't be a bottle, not because sippy cups are the end goal.
You might find she takes to her milk more in the day if the DF goes. I have found they have an amazing way of monitoring their intake. Part of the BLW approach is about trusting your child to know what they need, tbh I didn't really 'go' for that aspect, more the independent finger food eating and monitoring the amount themselves aspect iyswim, BUT my guy had a very low milk intake (about half the guidance quantity) and one of the tips is to increase solids dairy. However I found that every time I increased solids dairy he decreased his milk even more! It was a worrying time for me. I took a risk and stopped giving dairy solids and voila milk intake increased (back to half the guidance, he never was bug on milk, I have to just accept that). So...if you drop the DF and she needs the milk I reckon she will take the milk or dairy solids in the day.
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She won't currently drink from a sippy but will happily guzzle water from a doidy cup it open cup, with a bit of help at the moment.
Um- Isn't this what the eventual aim is!! I found that hamish was pretty hopeless with a sippy to start- no idea, but was better with a straw cup and me helping him with an open cup. But closer to 12 months he was able to use a sippy easily.
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And anna- you might have covered this elsewhere.. but do you think if you cut out a BF that she might eat more at the others? Is that what you mean- you are on 5 feeds or so?
I wish 5 feeds! No. I try for four - 5am, mid morning, early afternoon and bedtime - but quite often she'll refuse one of those. I'm trying to play it by ear and just not worry.
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Yes weird indeed, she and I are both happy with the doidy cup. I think the dropping milk thing is a fear factor for the mummy, I'm sure E will be fine if I just go with it. I try so hard to just follow her, but I'm naturally run by my brain & thinking so if I can put it into a logical routine I feel unsettled. E on the other hand will no doubt not even notice :-) Anna, I'll try to be more like you & go with it!
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Anna- I think that at about 9 months or so (i might look back over my posts and see) that hamish started refusing the evening feed. We had some days where i'd do 4 and some days 3 as we transitioned between..
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hi!i was pointed in this direction for some tips on good finger foods to start with my almost 7MO...this is her 5th wk on soilds now & i've been giving her everything pureed so far but am thinking of introducing texture soon....any advice?
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Sorry, we never went through a "finger foods" following puree with DD as she was BLW so it was all things she could hold from day 1.
I think with DS I started giving him something like toast, perhaps? Or rice cakes/breadsticks. 5 years is a long time ago!!
You could try mashing instead of pureeing if you want a few more lumps, too.
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thanks fiver...unfortunately i was super organised & went on a pureeing frenzy,so i have a freezer full of smooth fruit&veg now!!!maybe i could add in something lumpier with them?
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Might be worth a go. I remember breaking up rusks into quite tiny pieces to add texture to fruit/yoghurt when weaning DS!
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rusks!that's a good idea....i need to go shopping!!!
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Personally I would just give hunks of finger food alongside purees. Rusks have a lot of sugar in, you'd be just as well giving some steamed carrot, courgette, toast fingers, green beans, a bit of omlette - anything she can hold!
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toast scares me!!!!does it melt or do they have to chew?do you give finger food at room temp ya?
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Well, you're on the BLW thread - so I'm thinking you might want to do a bit of BLW? That means just giving them proper food and let them get on with it! Basically yes they gum it and suck it. Sometimes they break off a bit and either spit it out or gag a little bit and then spit it out. They learn to chew pretty quick. Food can be room temp or warm or chilled just obviously not hot.
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i'm not actually doing the BLW (i'm a bit of a control freak im afraid!) but one of the others suggested i pop over here for advice on this topic.
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Hm, probably not the best place since we're all doing BLW. How about this? http://www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/new-finger-foods
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aw,thank you!!!perfect!!!!
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Happy, you could use some of that frozen puree as a spread on toast or in sandwiches, or mixed through pasta, either now for finger food or when you decide to give finger foods. Or use the puree fruit in a muffin recipe or something similar.
Also even with traditional weaning it is suggested you offer finger foods alongside the puree/mash/lumps from 6 months on.
There's a big list of finger foods here:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=95978.0
And if you wanted more there is a BLW recipe thread too (on the same board) which you could browse through.
hth
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thank you so much!!!!that's so helpful!!!!i'd really like to start some finger foods...x
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Hey ladies!
Is there a BLW intro or FAQ anywhere? Can't seem to find one and I figured I'd check it out first before bombarding you all with my questions, lol. Maybe I'll just google.
But if you have any websites or something like that you can recommend I'd appreciate it. Our fourth child is nearing the age of starting solids and I was thinking about trying something different this time around!!!
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http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=92560.0 Try that for a starter!
This ebsite is ok http://www.babyledweaning.com/
and although this isn't a BLW site as such- it was still my BIBLE!! I had the site on 'speed dial'! http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/
Others will have more i'm sure!
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Thank you Katy - I'll check those out:) :-*
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Hi all,
We started BLW in earnest about 3 weeks ago with 6 month old DS and it's going brilliantly. I am delighted with the progress he has made, his fine motor skills seem to be on a projectile of improvement, along with his hand eye co-ordination, and this week he appears to be 'eating' more than just testing out the different 'toys' on his tray. (Nappy contents would concur with that impression :o )
He is now having solids at lunch and dinner, at times when he is not hungry per se as he has had a BF somewhere in the previous 30 - 90 mins.
I'm just wondering what the likely progression is with BF as he does start to eat more? I am completely relaxed about how much he eats. My mantra is "food is for fun until you're one!" and I know that his BF are what's important nutritionally. I'm just curious if there is a pattern of increasing solids resulting in decreasing BF with BLW?
We seem to be in the middle of some growth spurt/teething/wonderweek BF frenzy at the moment where previously 4/24 feeds have been replaced by 2-3 hourly demands 24/7. Fingers crossed that will be short lived and we will be back to a more sustainable schedule for Mummy!
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maggie, I think Katy has already given the websites I used for background info. I didn't read the BLW book, but I did do some reading around. The main things I 'armed' myself with were:
- basic first aid (I did a short course for infants, tbh my LO wouldn't settle in the creche provided so I missed most of it, but saw the demo on what to do in a choke situation. They are just as likely to choke on a button or some other object they shouldn't be getting their hands on, but it does help you relax into the whole process if you know the difference between a choke and a gag and the procedure for a choke if you ever needed it)
- the list of foods that shouldn't be given prior to 12 months
- finger food suggestions and recipes (lots on the BW recipes threads even without going further afield)
Although the idea is that baby eats what you eat I found I was suddenly cooking half a dozen times per day and searching for suitable foods. It would have been handy to have had a few things in the freezer that I could have just lifted out but I hadn't prepare that way. Even just a batch of mini fruit pancakes or sweet potato min-muffins would have been a great back up in the early days. it took me a while to get on top of things that way because I just hadn't expected my LO to eat so much so early.
Sue, there's a big growth spurt around 6 months I think, could be you are in the midst of that. I also found the first weeks of BLW my LO took lots of extra milk feeds (bottle fed so I could see exactly how much as well as knowing the frequency increase), rather than the usual 4 he had about 7 or 8 in a day, needing a bottle feed directly after a solids feed even though he had had his fill of milk only an hour before. It did calm down though.
WRT dropping or reducing milk feeds, I think it will become apparent when LO is taking less and it may be time to drop one of the milk feeds (many people drop the afternoon feed first, we dropped the mid morning feed first though as it worked out better that way for us) but that won't be for some time yet. There really isn't a need to purposely increase solids or purposely reduce milk, if LO is offered solids to their fill they will naturally reduce their milk intake over time. You might find this helpful:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=67569.0
A reminder too that LOs should be offered water (in a cup) with solids meals as solids don't provide the balance of fluid that milk does.
Have fun - I SO enjoyed our BLW.
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We found like creations that we didn't really need to really 'drop' any feeds as such- or we didn't have to worry about the timing as hamish just started not being interested in a feed. SO after about 6 months we were on 4 feeds a day (about) this was after he was on 2 naps- morning, after nap 1, after nap 2, bed.. thenat about 9 months or so he started refusing the bed time feed- so i worked on moving his feeds to more of a morning, after nap one (this was usually for us at atround mid day or 1pm or so) then bed time. There was a bit of time when i needed the 3rd feed to be more like 5pm or 6 rather than bed time at 7. Then at probably 12 months or so (it's hard to remember!!) he started AGAIN refusing the BT feed, and i was back at work more and more, so again we started dropping the mid day feed. SO although i did need to do some work moving the feeds- i just followed his cues as to when he wanted to drop a feed.
You wil find as he moves towards 9 months he'll eat more and more. By 9 months i think he was on 3 meals and one or 2 snacks?
Also- we did pure BLW (no purees, no feeding him) and waited till 6 months to start- EBF also.. and at the 12 month check up was in the 75th percentile for weight- so even though it seems like they don't always eat much it all sort of evens up in the end.
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We carried on with 4xBF during the day up until around 12m doing wake up, around 10.30am, 2.30pm, BT and then (usually) a feed in the early hours somewhere too. Just treated the BFs as a snack.
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Thank you Amanda, Katy & creations!
Really interesting to hear about the increased nursing when you started solids, and thanks for the tip on the water. I have offered DS water, he thinks it's a great lark. Very cleverly drinks from an egg/medicine cup and then pulls a face & spits it all out! Maybe that's a reason for the increased nursing, keeping his fluids up.
And thanks for the information on how they decrease feeds. I'm happy to let him take the lead so I guess he will let me know when the time is right. He's only a little dot (5th percentiles for height and weight) so I'm definitely in no rush for him to reduce his milk intake, although if he could take more of it during the day than overnight I wouldn't argue with that ;)
We had a rather curious episode today. I offered grapes to DS for the first time. He pushed them around his tray while he scoffed down his avocado toast. I thought he was struggling to pick them up because he had smeared them in avocado so I picked up a piece and he took it from me & ate it, seemingly enjoying it.
Forward a couple of hours & he woke from his pm nap quite distressed & ended up vomiting up his lunch. He went from pale & lethargic to his perky self almost immediately the offending contents were ejected. I can only assume it was the grape as he has had avocado toast multiple times with no ill effect.
Certainly makes me more interested in the theories that babies will instinctively avoid foods that won't agree with them. I would never put something in his mouth, but I fear I made an error in assuming he wasn't eating the grapes because they were tricky for him to pick up. If I'd thought more about it I would have realised that he has previously been very stubborn about getting something to his mouth if he was keen on it. I'm now thinking he wasn't pursuing them because he didn't want to eat them. Silly Mummy!!
Anyone else experienced something like this?
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Oh poor bubba! I haven't experienced the poor reaction as such- but they can be very particular.
With the water- i found that while hamish was having 4 and to a degree even 3 breastfeeds he wasn't really drinking ANY water- LOTS of spitting out!! FUn fun fun!! I figured that he actually didn't really need it- especially as he's always been a big fan of fruit, so gets some fluid through this. It's only recently that he's been drinking more.
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No I haven't experienced that sort of reaction to food.
There are many foods which DS has asked me to check for him, esp as he has become older and more aware, if he sees something he isn't sure of he will ask what it is (in his own way) and may want me to try a piece before he will. I generally think of it as 'checking for poison', after he sees me eat it he will try it and with 95% of things will swallow the mouthful even if he doesn't really like it and won't take more of it (the other 5% tends to be meat and fish which he is more reluctant to eat but even then often tries a taste - sometimes spitting it back out).
I've read about the theory of LOs instinctively not eating something they may be intolerant of but tbh I don't go for it. Stick a red berry in front of my DS and he WILL eat it, poison or not. Equally he'd have no idea not to put raw eggs or chicken in his mouth. Some foods I had to restrict because of reactions for example sweet potato and carrot (amongst others) gave him bum burn the moment he pooed, awful red contact reaction which would blister and bleed during periods when he had too many of these contacts (and I don't mean from sitting in a dirty nappy - he was changed immediately) and some foods because he has silent reflux and they were too acidic, any sort of orange, satsuma would make him reflux and give him diarrhoea but if he saw those foods he would scream with wanting them and be so angry with me for not letting him them.
That's why I don't really go for the theory. I respect different opinions on it though, maybe it's just my LO that can't gauge for himself.
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suemsm - if it's any comfort, before starting BLW DD was either 2nd or 9th centile and was up to 50th by her 1y check :)
As for the reaction, could he maybe just have eaten a little bit too much for him rather than it being some sort of "reaction" to the grapes? I've not had anything like that with DD, though.
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Can't believe it but my DS is going to be 26wks tomorrow (6 months on Wed) so it's time for weaning to start - not sure how it is possible, but it is!
I did (pure) BLW with DD and want to do the same with DS so I thought I would join the thread as I had so much fun sharing our BLW journey with other BLW Mums on here last time.
The only problem is I can't remember for the life of me what we started with . . . so I've got to try and fit in some cramming tonight!
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Wow, doesn't time fly! :)
I think we gave a slice of apple and a slice of melon. The melon was almost as big as DD! :D
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Hi guys, just wondering if someone can give me some clarification. DS is 5.5mths been watching us eat and opening his mouth for about 3 weeks. Has great hand/eye/mouth coordination - everything, but everything goes in there.
I've started trying him on purees in the last week or so, and at first he would open but now wont have a bar of it. The other day I was eating a banana and he was all - where the heck is my banana, so I held it out for him and he gave it a lick and a chew, but I was worried he might bite a big chunk off and choke so I mashed some up and tried it with the spoon, but again not keen. He seems to always want what we have.
I'm wondering if the BLW might be the way to go for him, but I'm not sure what finger type foods to start with? I've seen a few posts where mums have used those mesh bags with success and I have one but haven't used it yet.
I'd appreciate any ideas to move forward since he seems so keen, but isn't into the spoons and puree route.
Cheers
Chrissy
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Wow, doesn't time fly! :)
Yes, too fast . . . I'm not happy about it either :'(
I feel a bit silly even asking the question - but when you gave the slice of apple did you soften it at all? I can't believe how little I remember :-[
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Actually, I didn't soften it and she didn't eat a whole lot of it (no teeth!) but you can bake a whole apple and offer slices of it. That said, she didn't have teeth for a good while and managed steak without, so the apple with practice shouldn't have been an issue :)
Chrissy, most LOs don't actually choke on food, but gag instead. There's a great FAQ about it here - http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=241398.0 Like mumofalice you could try some baked apple or some toast or steamed vegetable fingers. Really you can offer (almost) anything you're having so you're not cooking two meals. If it's too small for LO to get hold of to get to his mouth then that's fine. It just means his development hasn't got that far yet and at some point he'll be able to.
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Thanks Amanda :-*
I can't believe how little I remember - Mum-nesia is very cruel, isn't it?! ;)
I was pretty sure that I just gave Alice pretty much what we were eating as long as it was in strips/chips - and I do remember cooking (steaming / roasting / lightly boiling) lots of veg which I froze and took out a couple a day . . . but it seems like a lifetime ago now.
I thought it would be easier this time as I've already BTDT but I haven't refreshed my (non-existent) memory because (a) I don't seem to have the time to do anything! and (b) I'm in denial that my 'baby' is old enough to start eating.
I did offer banana today - and DS sucked it right in! He ended up with a fair sized chunk in there but it came back out once it hit the gag reflex :P Still he seemed to really enjoy it. Once I get my head round it again I think we're going to have lots of fun ;D
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We had a rather curious episode today. I offered grapes to DS for the first time. He pushed them around his tray while he scoffed down his avocado toast. I thought he was struggling to pick them up because he had smeared them in avocado so I picked up a piece and he took it from me & ate it, seemingly enjoying it.
Forward a couple of hours & he woke from his pm nap quite distressed & ended up vomiting up his lunch. He went from pale & lethargic to his perky self almost immediately the offending contents were ejected. I can only assume it was the grape as he has had avocado toast multiple times with no ill effect.
I've experienced something like that before but it's unlikely your lo has the same thing my dd does... but just in case.. take note if it happens again / is worse next time you give the avocado toast (sounds like you have decided to avoid grapes for the time being...) it happens with foods once they've been offered several times - not on the first trial.
It sounds an awful lot like a condition my dd has - it's pretty rare though so you probably don't have to worry (and even so it's a very manageable thing once you know the foods to avoid)). It's called food protein intolerance enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) - just keep it in the back of your head if it happens again!
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Hi all, I haven't been on here in a while but I have a question and I hope you can help reassure me or provide some advice. DD is 11 months old & has been BLWing since 6 months. She has always eaten a fair amount but a few weeks ago she had a sickness bug & since them hasn't been willing to eat much at all except cereals, marmite sandwiches, cheese, yoghurt & fromage frais, & pasta with cream cheese, although she lOves fruit & will eat loads of that too. She just seems to nOT be willing to eat as much as she used to or the variety of things. Should I worry?
She is still on 3 milk feeds a day & drinks about 7/8oz at each feed. She also drinks loads of water. I've started only offering her water once she's eaten most of her meal - but it doesn't seem too make any difference. Do you think I should cut down on milk yet?
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Guidance milk intake for a 1 yr old is 12-20oz per day so I wouldn't think that you need to reduce the milk as there is yet another month before she's 1 and she isn't taking a lot over that guidance anyway (although dairy solids counts too, I would look at how much cheese and fromage frais she is having on top of the milk - but honestly I don't think you have any need to worry at this stage).
wrt the illness and a reduced solid intake BTDT. My DS was admitted to hospital for 4 days at 10 months and it had a huge impact on his eating for a long time. He went right back to milk only, like a new born (including NB style night feeds) and even when he started taking a little solids it was really limited for longer than I would have expected. Just be patient and keep offering what she will take alongside what she is less willing to try. Try not to worry about it, easy for me to say having come through the other side I know. My DS has returned to being an enthusiastic eater and will try most things. Illness can effect them for much longer than we anticipate, don't let your concern show though xx
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Thanks creations! I think I knew this but there's always that niggling worry isn't there. I'll just keep going as I am then :-)
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Hi everyone! :)
I'm new to BLW... my DS is 10.5 months old and has had lots of digestive issues, so we're just starting solids again now. He's refusing spoon feeding so I'm going the BLW route with him now. He's taking to it great (he has always refused in the past!) and is eating chicken, green beans and asparagus. We're on a very limited diet because of his digestive issues.
So I was wondering... DS is constantly yawning when he's eating, and it's not because he's tired, kwim? As if the chewing motion makes him yawn, it looks like a total physiological thing. Did anyone else experience that? I should add that he had a severe posterior tongue tie that got fixed at 7 months only so he has not learned to use his tongue in a 'normal' way up until then.
Also, I saw some pieces of undigested food in his poop today, is that normal?
TIA :)
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Hey Elise. Wow it is SO good to hear your boy is taking some solids :)
The undigested food in poop is totally normal. It happens for quite a long time (in my experience) so I wouldn't worry. Even after most of the food is digested and the poop looks pretty normal you'll still find the odd bit, esp things like fruit seeds (eg kiwi seeds that look like bits of black grit on his bum).
I don't know know about the yawning, sorry. I know for sure my DS yawned quite a bit at solid meals but he was younger and he found eating really tiring - basically it took a lot of effort physically (controlling his hand movements to get the food in his mouth, and taking up to 45 mins for one meal) plus I also believe it is high stimulation (new experiences, new tastes, new skills) which is tiring. I wonder if in your DS's case it might be something similar even though he is older and wouldn't usually be tired then?? Hope someone else has some experience to share.
xx
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Wow it is SO good to hear your boy is taking some solids
;D ;D ;D ;D
I wonder if in your DS's case it might be something similar even though he is older and wouldn't usually be tired then??
You're totally right, it is tiring... so maybe that's just it. A lot of effort for him, especially since he's starting out later than most. New stuff, new muscles working out, stimulation because he's holding and chewing different stuff. The thing that threw me off was that as soon as the meal is over, he's playing and all happy. So not looking tired anymore, not yawning anymore. But maybe 'in the moment' it does tire him out a lot. Anyway, it's nothing to worry about I guess but I was curious! ;)
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Could it be that he's not yawning but having a little silent gag where he's manipulating food that's gone a little too far back in his mouth back to the front? And yes, the poo is normal, as creations said. :)
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Could it be that he's not yawning but having a little silent gag where he's manipulating food that's gone a little too far back in his mouth back to the front?
It definitely could be... but it seems to be almost non-stop. Maybe he gets some food in the back of his mouth and is not able to bring it back so it keeps silently gagging him?
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Possibly, I guess, or something's getting stuck on the roof of his mouth and he's trying to dislodge it. I presume he seems happy enough while he's doing it?
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Absolutely - he does not seem bothered at all. When he eats, he's very relaxed but very concentrated. ;)
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I would probably been inclined to keep an eye on it, but not worry for now. He's probably getting used to the new textures and whatnot
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Hi ladies, glad to hear things are progressing. My DD has been going through a fussy phase, which I understand is quite normal for 12 months, but in the last few days has begun chewing on foods she usually likes and spitting out any remnants rather than swallowing everything iyswim. It's not just the skins of fruit which is understandable, but things like the last bits of porridge in her mouth after swallowing some of each mouthful. Has anyone had this before? E has her two bottom teeth which came through in the last month & I think the top middle two are on their way, I don't know if that's likely to cause this.
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Hi there popping in to hopefully get some ideas. I am not very creative when it comes to cooking and to be completly honest I kind of suck at it :P DH usually does most of the cooking (yay for him) B is just 9 months and MSPI and has reflux so I'm finding it a bit challenging to feed him. He's also very picky but getting a bit better now. He's seems to prefer what we are eating and really hates most of the purees out there besides the baby gourmet brand purees. He once almost ate my entire turkey dinner (the things I thought were safe for him to eat). I feel like he would eat anything I gave him off my fork. He is starting to tolerate touching his food now. Prior to that he would gag just touching things if they were slimy. He's a bit sensitive to say the least lol. If I hand him things he will take them and put them in his mouth now which is good. Sorry for blathering on lol. So I would love to be able to make a meal that we all could eat together so hopefully I can find some ideas here.
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Sounds like BLW is a really great option for you amanda!! The gagging at touching the food is very sensitive! A very discerning young man clearly!! This will really give him an opportunity to touch and get used to the foods before he eats them.
Basically with BLW you can offer anything you are eating- but you ensure you prepare it with no added sugars and no salt or sodium. They can only tolerate a small amount of sodium in the day. When you are preparing foods make sure they are soft cooked or if they are hard (like meats) that they can sort of gum away at but that bits won't breal off. So something like a raw carrot is going to be too hard.
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Yeah a Katy says you can pretty much just feed him whatever you eat. So any meat, (slow cooked is easy to gum), softish veg, pasta shapes or fruit are all great. Just give him bits to try while you are eating it. I would put a few bits straight on the highchair tray to start and offer more when he had finished with that. If I put too much all at once he got overwhelmed and just squished it round.
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Thanks ladies looking forward to our BLW adventure lol.
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I'm new to BLW myself but I have a few meals we can all eat and are easy for LO to hold and self-feed, not sure about DS's allergies though.
Roast chicken thighs with rosemary potatoes, apple and pumpkin - this one is great because you season and then just stick all the ingredients together in a oven dish and go do something more interesting than cooking;)
Fish baked in tin foil with cauliflower cheese
Spaghetti Bol - but here I'd be careful about the tomatoes, maybe use other veg that are less acidic instead. The pasta makes a crazy mess but DD loved it
French toast for breakfast
Pumpkin fritters (2 cups mashed pumpkin, 2 cups flour, 2 eggs, 3 tsp baking powder, curry or cinnamon, bit of salt - drop them in a pan with olive oil and fry till golden brown) DD had them plain, we put garlic sauce on ours. They are supposed to be a but mushy inside so don't worry that they are not cooked through. I think you could probably substitute the pumpkin for zucchini and it should work too.
Beef burgers - DD got a bit of bun, a bit of the burger, some cheese, cucumber and mashed them all up on her tray herself;)
Rice noodles with chicken, zucchini, carrot and green bean stir-fry (added soy sauce after taking out DD's portion
That's all we've tried so far. I'm trying to introduce food more or less in the order suggested by the wholsomebabyfood site just in case, so our ingredients are still pretty limited.
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That's an awesome site hey!
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I love that site!!!!!! I went through a bunch of printer ink printing off different charts etc ( I love charts and checklists)
Eva- can you come to my house and cook? It all sounds so yummy. I'm going to make DH read your recipe ideas and make them lol. Kidding I will try them.
We had chicken breasts, broccoli and cauliflower and creamed corn tonight for dinner. B literally shoved the food in his mouth in fist fulls. I only gave him a couple of pieces at a time but he does this sweeping motion and in the fist full of food goes. He is very difficult to slow down. If I give him one piece at a time he shovels that in and starts to grunt and bang his fists to say more now. Its like every meal is his last and then he ends up with this mouthful of food which he apparently swallows just fine. He hates his food to go cold too. What a little prince he is lol. He's going to want caviar and duck L'orange for his first birthday. LOL Who's child is this anyways???????
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What a little prince he is lol. He's going to want caviar and duck L'orange for his first birthday. LOL Who's child is this anyways???????
lol, you are in for it;)
DD is a typical girl, quite dainty (for a baby) when she eats but is soo picky. She refuses to eat the same thing 2x in a row, even 2 days in a row so to be safe I have to have 3 days of different meals for her.
We only do BLW once a day before bath time though.
She gets cereal and fruit off the spoon for breakfast and lunch is some kind of chunky puree. If she refuses it I smear it on bread and she feeds herself.
I'm wondering if she isn't eating too many carbs though? Bread and pasta are the easiest to self feed though:/
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So I think we are definately reacting to something. The other night after the broccoli,cauliflower and corn we had a horrible night. Within an hour and a half B was up screaming, his nose was stuffed up and his reflux was way worse. I have had afternoons like this but to be honest with B's regular gut problems its hard to tell whether its the food or not but that night I was sure. The other interesting thing is that he can't do prunes reacts terribly to those too. Peaches are also bad. So will have to look into that with the allergist. Hmmm
Is it terrible if LO's have the same thing every day as long as they are still on formula? Our list of choices is quickly diminishing.
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Sorry to hear that Amanda:( I'm no expert but I think that as milk is priority till they are 1yo, they should be getting most of what they need from that?
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So sorry to hear there was a bad reaction Amanda.
It's dine for LOs to have the same thing to eat each day so long as there is a decent amount of milk too. Of course there is a wider variety of nutrients and vitamins in a wider variety of food but that isn't possible for everyone. If the milk intake is good I wouldn't worry at all as formula has a stack of vitamins in. If the milk is low or you feel concerned then you could supplement with infant vitamin drops. In the UK they are advised up to age 5 but not everyone uses them. I did (and still do) because my silent refluxer took so little milk so wasn't getting the level of vitamins that another LO would get from their formula. hope that helps a little.
My LO also shovelled the food in, right from 6 months, it was like he'd been starved for the first 6 months of life and was intent on making up for it. I found we needed at least 1.5hr between solid feed and BT to avoid reflux or gas pain after BT if that's any help to you too.
xx
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Thanks :( Yes we definately try to do mealtimes early enough before bt. He too eats like its his last meal and will never eat again. He's usually fussy and bloated by the evenings so its so hard to tell whether its the food or just his crappy digestion. Meh hopefully we'll figure it out soon. In the meantime onwards we go. I think we will avoid broccoli and corn for a bit though lol. He is loving feeding himself right now which is fun. He's starting to figue out those pincers so hopefully he'll stop shovelling in the handfuls lol and be a bit more polite hahahaha.
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Hooray ;D Pleased to see some more Mummies and LOs have joined the thread!
DS is 8 months today - so we've been on the BLW journey for a couple of months now. He seems to have really got into it the last couple of weeks though and his pincer grip is coming along nicely - just introduced blueberries and he's loving rolling them around the tray ::)
Amanda - I think you said you were going to try oranges with DS . . . forgot to warn you the downside to oranges (DS LOVES them!) is that they stain really bad :P If anyone has a tip on how to get orange juice out I would really appreciate it as most of DS's clothes now have hints of orange all over them - despite being covered in a dress bib and pelican bib when he's eating LOL!
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I'm kind of a half BLW because we still do at least 1 meal where she is spoon fed.
hmm I've just realised I've been going too far with giving DD exaclty the same as we eat. Too much salt I think.
Sunday and yesterday she got what we were eating in the restaurant so roast potato, carrots with melted cheese and grilled chicken in goats cheese sauce.
Maybe a good idea to cook things separately for her in a little sauce pan and not add any salt because I've just been adding less salt to our food and giving DD that.
She also gets bread, cheese, cream cheese and ham to munch on so that is prob too much salt anyway.
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Eva, if she's only having little tastes and not eating much then the salt is probably not as bad as you think, however if she has really started eating and is munching down on everything you're giving I really would cut right back and alter the way you cook as much as possible. An under 1 should have 1g or less of salt per day which is really really small amount.
My DS was such a keen eater I had to really watch his intake, half a slice of bread and spoonful of canned tuna and that's it for the day, therefore no second slice of bread for another meal, no cheese or sauces or baked bean etc on top of that. I even had to work out how many home made fruit/veg muffins and pancakes he would be 'allowed' in one day because of the sodium levels in flour. Pre-cooked cold meats, canned fish, and any pre-prepared foods are danger areas. Your bread is likely not as bad as the UK bread, we have extra high salt in our shop bought bread.
I stopped using salt in my cooking, it isn't too hard. For example I steam all the veg, don't add any salt to cooking water for pasta or potatoes etc. Things like potato wedges or sweet pot wedges I sprinkled herbs or spices on rather than salt so there was still seasoning. If you are salt lovers you could cook all in one pan, take out a little to cool down for DD then add salt to the pan which is for the adult food? I sometimes do this with gravy, make a very very low salt gravy, take some out to cool for DS then hike up the flavour and seasoning for the rest of the family.
It's no bother once you get into the swing of it.
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That's what I was doing, then she started loving every thing so I started giving her whatever we ate when we were out etc and kind of went too far.
I'll go back to cooking without salt and separating out her portion, like you said.
As to giving her ham/cheese/bread etc. You you think that if I only do one meal like that it should be ok? No clue how much salt we have in our bread. I try get "healthy" bread in a bakery but it doesn't have a list of ingredients.
She does manage to eat quite a lot. Swallows things whole, judging by her nappies:/
We do breakfast/supper of cereal + fruit - spoon feed
Lunch of meat, veg, fruit, pasta/potato
Breakfast/supper of bread with cream cheese, hard cheese, ham, veg/fruit, egg
I was thinking of adding cheese sauce to to the veg and meat she has for lunch because she loved it, but that would be too much reviewing the amount of salt she already gets.
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As to giving her ham/cheese/bread etc. You you think that if I only do one meal like that it should be ok? No clue how much salt we have in our bread. I try get "healthy" bread in a bakery but it doesn't have a list of ingredients.
Well, it's all about balance. I worked out (looking at the pack list) how much of a can of this (ie beans, tuna) or a slice of that (ie cooked meats, pate, bread, a crumpet) would be ok and once I'd decided I never needed to work stuff out on a daily basis (too much hassle!). Some hard cheeses are higher in salt than others. I found a shop's own extra mature cheddar which DS loves with a lot less salt than a branded cheddar for example, and I checked which brand of cream cheese had the lowest salt level. Then always bought that one. My DS was offered and did eat little bits of other cheeses for variety and to develop his tastes but his bog standard every day cheese was the same day in day out so, the lower salt one.
For me, sometimes I purposely wanted to keep the rest of his day bread free, cheese free etc because maybe my mum was needed to cook a meal for him, and that allowed her to make something really easy like beans on toast to use up his entire days allowance of salt in one go! So on a day like that I used baby cereal rather than toast, plain steamed veg, plain boiled pasta with unsalted butter and tom puree mixed through for example, only fruit for snacks rather than crackers or bread sticks. I also did this on a day I knew we'd be eating out at a restaurant, or I'd steam some veg to take with us so I knew he had salt free veg and let him have pieces of the other more interesting restaurant food without worrying at all about the salt.
Sometimes the bakery can tell you how much salt or sodium there is per 100g of mix and you can work out roughly how much a loaf weighs, how many slices etc. if you can be bothered. I tried to do this but my baker didn't know the difference between salt and sodium (vast difference) so I just went by how much was in a slice of the sort of pre-pack bread that has listed nutritional value per slice. You don't have to be too anal about it.
I think ham can be quite salty so perhaps check that out before deciding if you want her to eat some every day. There may be other cooked meats that have lower salt levels?
I started making my own chicken liver pate, mushroom pate, smoked salmon pate because DS likes them so much. He still had a little shop bought though if I hadn't made a batch yk?
I would imagine that now you have the salt levels in mind you will naturally be inclined to limit them even without working it all out. The danger is LO who are fed meals with lots of added salt or lots of pre-pack foods, canned baked beans in sauce every day, salted crisps etc.
And just in case you're interested. A cheese sauce can be made with plain flour, unsalted butter, full fat milk, and a little MUSTARD, then a little grated cheese. The mustard makes the cheese taste much cheesier so you don't need to add as much. Plus don't add salt to the sauce then the only salt is what comes from the cheese.
Or make a herb sauce like parsley sauce or garlic. The milk and butter content can be really good for LOs without necessarily having cheese.
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great tips on the sauces, they are on the menu for tomorrow:)
What do you guys think about frying food in a bit of olive oil - healthy or unhealthy?
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Sounds ok to me :)
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Hey quick queston. Has anyone tried hummus. Is it ok to try hummus? Looking for another protein source for my picky LO. How about semi-frozen blueberries? That should be ok right?
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Hummus is great! For dipping, spread on bread, or just stick a pile on the tray and let him go for it. If it's store bought, check the salt content - or you can easily make your own without salt :) I think the blueberries should be fine too - my LO had fresh blueberries at around the same age and loved them.
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THanks :)
So oranges. Do you remove the skin or is ok to give little peices with skin on. Sorry if silly question.
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With fresh blueberries I always squashed them slightly when DD was smaller as she didn't have any teeth.
As for oranges, I've been taking off the skin, but have just handed DD a small orange (or satsuma or something like that) and she's had a little go at trying to peel it, but she's a bit bigger than your guy now
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I don't know that I'd give frozen blueberries at that age as they may be a choking hazard. I would give them fresh though with close supervision (as always).
Oranges I would definitely take the skin off and maybe even cut the segments out of the cell wall too. We give oranges on the skin now in little semi-circles cut across the segments and he just scrapes the nice bit out with his teeth.
We do houmous but like Nuala says check salt if they are going to be eating a fair bit. Pitta bread lightly toasted and cut in strips were great to serve alongside it.
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I don't know that I'd give frozen blueberries at that age as they may be a choking hazard. I would give them fresh though with close supervision (as always).
Yes I agree I meant mostly thawed and easily squishable just really really cold. Oh my what a lovely mess they make.
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Hummus is great!
My DS couldn't get enough of it when I first served it up (about 6 or 7 months). however he will only eat shop bought, my own home made is clearly sub-standard!
Amanda my DS is kind of picky with protein. I make chicken liver pate so that there is no salt (or only what is found in cream cheese or cheese which you can add in the recipe), there are lots of recipes on-line, just ignore any mention of salt and alcohol, the recipe will still be fine. Spread on toast, or pitta or tortilla.
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Happy New Year BLW threaders :)
I've been lurking on this thread for a while as I have been weaning using BLW techniques, and things have gone pretty smoothly.
My question is this - did your LOs have blips/periods when they went off savoury foods? Did it get better again on its own or did you withhold the sweeter stuff?
Joe started well and soon started eating both savoury and sweeter foods (sweet foods - mainly fruits, the occasional fromage frais). As we progressed lunch & dinner mealtimes usually went protein + veg, then some fruit for afters. However, increasingly Joe is totally rejecting the savoury bit, but he then will scoff loads of fruit - clearly hungry.
Any advice? Should I not offer fruits for a while? (am worried that I'm encouraging a sweet tooth)
Thanks
and we were getting into a routine of savoury food (usually a bit of what we were eating) followed by fruit but recently (he's now 8.5 months) he's
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Hi following along as well we definately have this issue as well. We are also finding textures extremely challenging when it comes to both touching and tasting. Anything slimey or wet seems to be a problem so like pasta, most fresh fruits and cooked veggies. I finally got him to pick up kiwi but previously was getting him to take bites of a whole kiwi. Banana finally went ok the other day but previously was a no no. I've even tried cooking things al dente?
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My LO did go through phases of not wanting much other than fruit and tbh I think it was often when she was teething. Fruits seem to be her comfort foods: familiar, soft, often cold from the fridge. So I've never really restricted fruit (unless we run out ::) ), even when the rest of the meal wasn't eaten, and she's always come back to eating a good balance of things. BUT if I thought it were getting to be a problem, I probably would be firmer about only offering a small portion.
Amanda, is it that he doesn't like to get those things on his hands? Or in his mouth? Or both? For a time, my LO didn't like to get her hands messy, but she would eat things off a loaded fork/spoon.
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lol Amanda, he has come a long way from gagging when just touching ickiy things, sensitive boy.
I'm also finding pickiness a problem. Sometimes I end up going through 4 different options before DD finds something she'll eat. Also not sure if I should be giving her so many choices or if she refuses the first 2 just not give any more.?
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Lovely - thanks for the advice - I can't see any teeth coming but he is the right stage for a wonder week, so maybe it's that. We're having a little phase of NWs so that would fit in too...I had a bit of success with risotto balls in breadcrumbs last night, but when he got a crunchy bit he seemed to not like that so much. Will keep going with fruit then and try not worry too much about restricting at this stage. With the NWs and a recent drop in the DF am getting a bit obsessed with trying to pack him with calories!
Hi Amanda - Joe's finds pasta texture weird too, but he loves slippery fruit ::) He's very picky about Proteins except for pulses whizzed up into patties and vegetables are pretty much no go. He'll gum a bit of carrot or green bean, pull a face then out it comes! So his diet is mainly carbs, fruit and dairy at the moment but will keep offering everything else.
Don't know if you mums also have dogs around - ours has gained about a kilo since we began BLW!
Angela x
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Angela, have you tried making mini pancakes and omelettes? You can put all kinds of stuff in to make them sweet or savoy and they are easy to hold too.
Our whole family enjoys them. If you are not giving egg yet I found a great recipe for eggless pancakes I can send you if you'd like. Although they don't taste as good if you have them the next day.
I was actually considering giving all DD's food in pancake/omelette form because they were all she'd eat for a while, lol
Another thing that worked well for us when we started doing meat is mini burgers. Also easy to hold and easier the chew than pieces of meat.
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Thanks for the suggestion - I thought pancakes and omelettes would be popular with him too, but unfortunately he doesn't agree! I tried all in one omelette again today with some squished up peas and sweetcorn mixed in but no go.
Thinking more generally he seems to be less willing to try what I offer, and also less content in his high chair. He's on EASY, and he has milk as soon as he gets up, then 30mins-1hour later I offer solids. If he's not eaten much I tend to do 10 mins A time then offer a bit more milk - which he usually takes. His going off savoury solids matches up with dropping BF and moving to formula - wonder if that might have anything to do with it?
Am wondering whether to offer solids after he wakes rather than milk so he's a bit hungrier, or possibly halving the amount of milk he has at wake up in case that's it...
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Milk is still the principle source of nutrition until 12m. Just keep offering and one day he msy just surprise you.
As sor the slippery stuff, you can try leaving skin on fruit, cutting bananas length ways rather than across or again still in the skin and also dipping slippery things in crushed cereal. It might just make it a less slimy texture so he might be more happy to handle it
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thanks everyone.
Had a slightly better day today, will just try and go with the flow a bit more. ;D
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Hi everyone, I'm new to this thread and was hoping you lovely people could help me out with some BLW questions I have.
My LO is nearly 7 months and so far he has been on purées plus basic finger foods - he eats brilliantly and loves a bit of flavour. I put off finger foods for a while for fear of choking, but realised the sooner I gave him stuff the better and so far he's enjoyed it (if somewhat frustrated at times!) - it also gives me time to eat my food before it gets cold!
So after making some chicken purée last week and deciding I wouldn't eat that so why should he, I decided to look into doing more self-feeding than purées. In addition i'm so tired of all the extra cooking, and my husband rightly commented that LO is eating better than we are because that's where all my energy goes! I don't want to stop spoon feeding altogether as he enjoys it and especially loves his porridge, soups, and yoghurt, so this more about us all eating the same healthy meals together, whether that's with fingers or occasionally a spoon.
So I'm a little confused about how to offer some of my favourite meals to him, and whether some things should be avoided. When you're making meals like risotto, lasagna or casseroles, how do you actually serve them up to your LO? I'm presuming the lasagna sheets need cutting up? Also he's not got very good pincer grip yet, so I don't think he'd manage to pick up grains of risotto rice - can I make it into balls, or could this be something I offer on a spoon? Other people have said O-shaped cereals are good, but again should I wait until his pincer grip improves?
Also, as he's got no teeth yet do I need to avoid foods that he can bite off in solid lumps? I tried cucumber but he just broke a big bit off and then got upset as he couldn't chew it. Should I stick with softer foods that break up easier? I think because he's teething he chomps down on things and only starts sucking/nibbling if it holds together well and he can get bits off gradually like cheese, toast, roasted veg, etc.
Finally, sorry of this is a silly question but is pesto ok with whole pine nuts in? I've heard people say you shouldn't give bread with grains in as it's a choking hazard, so is the same true for pesto?
Sorry if these are silly questions but there is so much contradicting info out there and I don't know anyone else who tried BLW.
Thanks - I appreciate any guidance you can give.
Carren :D
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Part of the idea of BLW is that it gives LOs a chance to learn and develop new skills, so I used to offer things that DD may not necessarily be able to pick up in a pincer grip, but she could experiment with. I've heard of people doing rice balls with risotto rice, so that's probably a good one to try.
As for lasagne and casseroles, to start with I tried to prepare the contents in an age friendly sort of way, so meat/veg in strips to start with (no reason adults can't have strips/batons for a little while) and the same with lasagne. If they can get hold of something, they will learn how to manipulate it and get it into their mouth.
As for the spoons, what you can do with that is load the spoon up with the porridge (or whatever) and place it either in LOs dish/plate or on the tray and allow them to pick it up and get it to their mouth themselves. It can get a bit messy, but again they're having a chance to learn a new skill.
My DD didn't get her first tooth until 15m, but that didn't stop her having carrot, cucumber, steak, chicken, etc etc from 6m. As with any form of weaning, you just stay with them so that if something starts to go down the 'wrong way' you can take action should you need to (if they're choking - gagging is usually resolved by LO). I would (and still do) avoid any sort of whole nut, though.
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And salt is important to limit too. Maybe add it at the table if you wish rather than in the dish you will be serving the LO.
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Thanks so much, that's really helpful ;) I love the idea of putting food on the spoon for him to feed himself.
I gave him cucumber again tonight and he was brilliant with it - not much got swallowed but he was quite happy chewing it then spitting out the lumps as they came off, then he demolished a pear. I guess I need to stop worrying and let him get on with it!
So another quick question - I use quite a lot of chopped tomatoes in my cooking but have seen mixed opinions on whether LO's can have them. Is there an opinion in BLW? I could reduce the quantities and add a little yoghurt to balance it maybe?
Salt isn't a problem most of the time as I cook from scratch, but we occasionally have things like ready made fresh tortellini, which I'm guessing has more salt than homemade versions - is this ok once in a while?
Thanks x
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I never worried about chopped tomatoes....
And once in a while I'd say was ok :)
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You're aiming for no more than 1g of salt a day for a LO under 1yo. I'm sure mine had a bit more than that once in a while too. It also depends how much she eats. If she's having 1 piece of pasta that obviously makes a difference to her having a dozen pieces yk? It was any stock in things like casseroles I was thinking to be mindful off.
I hadn't heard about chopped tomatoes. What is the issue with those? Do you mean tinned or fresh? Mine had both anyway.
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Ali, I think it's about how acidic they are more than anything else. It can play up the tummies of some LOs and also a common eczema trigger.
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we occasionally have things like ready made fresh tortellini
The 'fresh' filled pasta like tortellini and ravioli was one of my LOs fav meals. he totally loved it! I was very mindful of salt at that age and looked at his entire day of salt intake so for example if he was going to have one of those pasta meals I would not give him bread/toast, or pate (unless it was home made with zero salt), or canned baked beans or fish etc in the same day. I also cook almost everything from fresh produce so really it was a case of only one packaged food per day. My LO would eat loads of those filled pastas, I just worked out his max allowance from the pack details on salt contents.
I'll also add that things like that are really slippery to pick up. I sometimes cut them in half or prodded each one with my finger which then gave him a better grip on it. Other slippery things, fruit wedges etc can be easier to pick up if you cut in a crescent moon shape rather than a straight baton, or if you finger prod each one to make a place to grip. Pasta twists for example are easier to pick up than penne which is straight. There is no necessity to make things easier to pick up other than a hungry LO can get quite frustrated if everything shoots out of their hands.
I introduced a fork (rather than a spoon) at 6 months. I pre-loaded and just held the fork for him to take. I never forced it into his hand or made him hold it. Initially I kept hold of the fork not to 'spoon feed' him but at a safety precaution so he didn't prod himself in the face, he did all the self feeding though. It was handy for melon or nectarine chunks which are very slippery. A fork is a much easier tool to learn to use because it doesn't require the same wrist twist action which doesn't develop until later.
I've also never heard anything about not giving tomatoes, only that some LOs might have an allergy or intolerance like with any food. If there is no history of allergy in your family I see no other reason not to give them. Fresh cherry toms and grapes I sliced in half or quarter to avoid the whole round choke shape.
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Ah right. We did sometimes get a red patch round the mouth with fresh tomatoes but it was always gone an hour or so later. They are both fine now I think.
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Hi everyone, thanks so much for all of the helpful info - we went out for lunch today and I just gave him some salad and a bit of my toastie and he was a very happy chappy! Much easier than trying to organise purees and it kept him nice and occupied.
I'll make sure I stay aware of his salt amounts then - most stuff I make from scratch but I didn't think about things like bread etc.
Also, is it ok to leave the skin on fruits and veg? He had a quartered pear and gripped it really well with the skin on, and he spat most of the skin back out, but the AK recipes I was using before insisted on peeling everything.
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Peel is fine and as you've already discovered it does help with grip. Some LOs just eat it, other spit it out. Things like melon skin I just told DS which part to eat and which part we don't eat, a combination of being told and being unable to eat it meant he learned about that sort of thing really quickly. I really like that the process of learning such things was gradual and started naturally rather than the puree route. He now (2yo) eats an apple, leaves the core, eats a nectarine or plum, takes the pip to the bin himself etc. Even learning how to peel a clementine is great for learning about foods, fine motor skill etc.
With regards the salt. At 1yo the salt allowance recommendation increases, and again at 2yo etc so it it isn't all that long that you have to be super cautious. I was told by my hv that there was quite a problem in the UK from LOs having too many beans on toast meals, salt in bread, butter and canned baked beans. Otherwise the meal itself isn't unhealthy, it's just very easy to give too much salt on packed foods that's all. I cooked everything with unsalted butter when he was little too.
You can use lots of other herbs and spices to season food instead of salt which is better for the whole family really.
There's lots of recipes on the board too. I made (and still do) little pancakes with fruit and veg in them to take out and about for snacks, sugar free mini muffins, bean burgers. All handy and can be batch frozen for convenience.
hey, sounds like he was very pleased to get some of your lunch :)
Weaning is one of the things that filled me with joy and amazement, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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A lot of the AK recipes are coming from the "traditional" puree weaning perspective, but there are also lots that you can use for finger foods, like rissoles and sweetcorn pancakes (they're in the fussy eaters book) and so are great for BLW. I don't really bother adding salt to my cooking anyway and use unsalted butter for the whole family.
Glad you had a good lunch. It is less stressful if everyone can have a meal at the same time and correct temperature :)
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Those recipes sound great - I'll have a look around and see if I can find them on the board.
That's what I'm getting excited about too - watching him learn by himself and gradually understand what he's eating and how to eat it. I love cooking/baking and where I can everything is from scratch but I stopped doing so much since LO was born, but this is the incentive I need to get back to it. I've been going through my recipes to make them baby friendly and it doesn't seem too difficult as we eat well anyway, and now my freezer has a bit more room without all of those purée cubes I can start making batches so I have emergency food rather than resorting to store products - winner!
I've seen AK has some finger food recipe books too, I'll check those out once we've exhausted my current list of meals :-)
You're right, it really is less stressful! Although he ate purées well he would get distracted easily and rub his face a lot, but blw keeps his attention on the food (so mum can have a chat!) and I think it's better when he's teething as he can get pressure on the gums too. It's funny because I was so anti-BLW initially, but I guess it was ignorance, and now I'm just so excited every time I think of yet another meal we can all have together.
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:)
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It's funny because I was so anti-BLW initially
I think it all depends on what you've read or heard and if you've dreamed of making lovely healthy purees for LO. There are so many great little gadgets and tips and hints for puree weaning and it can look like BLW is somehow 'lacking' in the parental input, you know that desire to feed our children, to nourish them, like it is love. Then with more information or with experience you discover it is every bit as loving and bonding as spoon feeding (or IMHO more so) - it is joyous!
Here's a link to the recipe board
Baby Food Recipes
There's a finger food thread and a BLW thread, also browse through the recipes for the older LOs because there is no age restriction with BLW (other than the general stuff, honey, whole nuts etc).
If you have any purees left in the freezer use them as spread on toast or as a sauce on pasta twists, no need to waste them :)
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it can look like BLW is somehow 'lacking' in the parental input, you know that desire to feed our children, to nourish them, like it is love. Then with more information or with experience you discover it is every bit as loving and bonding as spoon feeding (or IMHO more so) - it is joyous!
Totally agree with this. A Burmese friend related to us how he was telling his parents about watching F (then around 8 months) eat, and they were absolutely horrified - "that poor child, don't her parents love her, they don't even feed her!!!" And he laughed and laughed and said they wouldn't ask that if they could see how absolutely delighted she was with herself, and with us, and with her food, he had never seen another child so happy with her parents at mealtime.
I always thought I would give F purees as I'd never heard of anyone doing anything else - I had even already started preparing lovely home-made purees and freezing them - then when she was just short of 6 months old I happened to read an article about BLW and it just made SO much sense to me, I couldn't imagine why I hadn't thought of it myself ;) So all of my cubes of frozen fruit were made into sorbet.
FWIW, my LO's pincer grip went from non-existent to proficient after about 3 weeks of BLW. I totally credit it with huge developments in her fine-motor skills at that age.
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Thanks for the links, and great idea for using up the purees.
I'd say in just a few days I've seen a massive improvement in LO's grip and dexterity (and aim!) with the food. His great grandma came over for lunch and she was fascinated to watch him feed himself :-)
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It really does help develop their fine motor skills. I've also been told it it a great help to language development because of the muscle development and mouth motor (if there is such a term) skills, they certainly do learn to manipulate the food in their mouths very quickly as though they were just born to it. I had no idea about that before I started it was a play group worker that told me about the language skills.
Lovely story Nuala :)
There were a few times (in the very early days) when my DS was very frustrated about not getting enough food into his mouth fast enough (he was very ready for solids and very hungry!) and I did help him a little because the process isn't about forcing him to do something and getting frustrated or unhappy. I still help occasionally now but I always ask first if he wants help of wait for him to ask, these days it's help using his knife to chop up foods and sometimes help loading his fork, sometimes when you stab food it still comes off the fork so that's where he asks for help. The fascination of watching him self feed hasn't really reduced because now we see his cutlery skill developments and all the other social norms of eating together (which amazes people when he eats in public).
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Hi!
M has just this weekend started BLW! I did it with my daughter and looking forward to it this time. I'm hoping I will be a lot less worried than I was with her.
He's sitting unaided so I popped a banana on the highchair tray to see what he would do and he was away! So far he has had banana sticks, pear, carrot, cucumber and houmous and a juicy piece of steak which he loved!
Am i right in thinking its not a good idea to introduce wheat before 6 months?
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Bec, I was so sure I wouldn't give DS solids at all before 6 months, he had other ideas, screaming when he saw food like I was starving him. I gave in at 5.5 months and he started solids, I was still determined to wait until 6 months before giving bread but, well, an unscheduled stop in a restaurant led to him eating garlic bread under 6 months (it was either that or he scream the place down). But yes it's advised to wait.
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Ah yes M does this too, we've been sitting him in the highchair at mealtimes to play with toys,
so I could eat twohanded to get him used to joining in at mealtimes and now he screams at us if we don't give him food. He seems to like everything so far, and I've got some great videos!
Thanks for the info re wheat.
I'm so conscious to get him to try as many different things as humanly possible!! L was such a fussy eater but I think a lot of that was around my nervousness so I really to just go with the flow this time.
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My DS ate a huge range of things when he was tiny but has still managed to develop his own variety of fussiness. Nothing mashed, nothing liquid (soup) unless it is just a spoonful used as a dip, very limited on protein, and won't eat any cereal other than baby muesli made into balls (so no cereal with milk) ::)
The videos are wonderful to look back on! I almost pee myself laughing at some I have ;D
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Ha! Yes the videos are awesome! I didn't get enough with Lucy.
Ok serious question....
We are a couple weeks in now with the BLW and Miles was 6 months old yesterday. He is a good eater. And I mean good to the point where I'm starting to worry that he is going too fast. He eats (or at least tries to eat) everything I put in front of him and stuff he can manage he is actually eating properly. So things like banana, carrot, etc he chews and swallows. Things like chicken too and I gave him some pizza on toast just now for lunch and he has taken, chewed and swallowed nearly half a slice of bread. (With Tom puree and grated cheese on - crusts cut off cause I burnt them). He is now crying for more. He ate and swallowed a massive piece of chicken the other day, I was just expecting him to gum it and get the juices out.
When people said "he's a hungry baby" I always though "yeah yeah" but this boy doesn't want to stop! He's still getting plenty of breastmilk, and I'm purely BLW no spoons and he is literally feeding himself. But the guidelines say give as much food as he will take, but really my boy would keep going all day?!
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DD was a bit like that. I just cut her off when I ran out of whatever I'd prepared!
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DS was like that too. It's quite a common worry for mums - we either worry they are eating too much or worry they are not eating enough, never satisfied are we? We always have to worry about something!
I would just keep offering until you run out of food. I gave as much as I had (or as much as I had worked out was allowable based on salt content because something with both cheese and bread like you describe has higher salt content than say steamed carrots) and if he was still looking for food would offer something else, usually fruit or if I had any pancakes left over in the fridge give him those.
So long as the milk intake continues everything is fine.
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I want to start DS2 but haven't a clue what to start with. DS1 we started with singleton purees so BLW is new for me. I did give him avacado and sweet potatoe cubes. Figured cant go wrong with soft. But now I'm stuck. Is there anything I shouldn't give? What's the best way to serve? Cubes? Sticks?
He is loving this whole eating thing. He isn't very dexterous yet. I would put a chunk on my palm for him to try picking up and instead he would just grab my hand and pull it towards his mouth. DS1 nearly fell out his seat laughing. This will be fun!
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Sticks/spears are easiest at the beginning. Or just a big chunk of something like a hunk of meat. I think you can give anything as long as you've no reason to suspect any particular allergies.
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He had green beans and blueberries for lunch and actually got a few bites in. I'll try leaving the beans whole next time so it'll be easier for him. What about spoon able foods like yogurt? Should I just feed it to him or encourage him to dip his fingers?
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With blueberries, just make sure you squash them a bit first to reduce the risk of choking :)
Yoghurts, you can put on a spoon and let him pick that up and put it in his own mouth (or try to!) Or you could give him something to dip in it or just let him get on with his hands :)
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I sliced them in half. They were still tricky for him so will try squishing them. He gagged on them more often then the other foods he has had. He would also spit out the skins. Not sure if it was intentional or not. :P
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yoghurt can definitely be a finger food ;D
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Hello mamas!!
I'm new to BLW and will be starting next week with DD2 when she turns 6month old :)
With DD1 we did regular purees and I had such a hard time afterwards since she was very picky (still is at her 2,5yo) so I'm willing to try something different this time.
I've been reading a bit, to be honest I'm terrified of risk of choking LOL!!...I know I know, but still terrifies me.
Which foods did you introduce first?? I've read that now they recommend meat as the iron in it is very important at this age, but tbh I think meat will be too much as is hard to chew.
Thanks and I'll look forward to learn more from you :)
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In the beginning they don't chew meat they just sortof suck the juices out until it is a husk LOL. Audrey's very first food was a spear of broccoli, closely followed by a hunk of roast beef.
If you're scared of choking you could always do an infant CPR course? We did one when Stan was tiny, they were run for free by our local hospital.
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I also did an infant first aid course, DS wasn't happy in the creche provided so I missed most of it but the instructor made sure to do the infant choking part whilst I was in the room (with DS 'rescued' from the creche and snuggled in a sling). The only choke incident I had whilst feeding him was when I licked a piece of kiwi off my finger, size of a grain of rice, and then choked on it myself! Lots of coughing, struggling to breath, and DS looking a bit worried...we survived.
The very first foods were a bit of banana and then some garlic bread - not really what I'd planned at all it just turned out like that. Then baked apple and pear wedges, baked potato wedges, and quickly onto a full roast dinner including a piece of beef which he sucked and gnawed at until just a thin string of fat remained. At that age he would try just about anything, becoming a bit more picky around 1yo and more adventurous around 2yr 4months when he suddenly decided he liked lots of new things. I avoided peas, blueberries a similar for the choke hazard reason.
Enjoy it - it was one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting for me, so much fun!
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I think F's first food was rambutan, but that wasn't planned either! We started properly with steamed carrot sticks, then banana (bit slippery though!), baked potato, pumpkin or apple wedges etc. She had rice from very early on too, smushed into balls so she could try to pick it up. And meat in the first or second week I think. My LO LOVED LOVED LOVED her roast beef ;D We didn't wait 3-4 days between each food, it was more like one a day at the start, but if you have any concerns about allergies you can choose to follow the same guidelines for waiting as you would for purees. Basically I tried as soon as possible to give her an appropriate variant of whatever I was preparing for us and I always ate something at the same time as her even if we weren't all having a proper meal together.
We had plenty of gagging at the start, which can admittedly have your heart in your mouth, but the only thing F ever choked on was her sippy cup of water!
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the only thing F ever choked on was her sippy cup of water!
Oh we had that too! Eat anything then choke on water or milk! And we have the same now with an open cup too ::)
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I found E choked a lot less than many friends' LOs who were weaned the traditional way. I'm very panicked by things like choking but didn't really have any problems during the weaning process, sometimes coughing when gulping too much water but no real chokes. Good luck - I had fun weaningE, I hope you love it too x
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Hi Guys
Anyone got any good ideas for quick breakfasts - I am not very chefy and we are short of time. Don't want to end up giving toast everyday! DS is 9 months next week.
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I used to make (and still do because he likes them!) muesli balls using baby muesli (it's labeled from 10 months but obviously with BLW you give whatever you feel ok with, I gave it from about 7 months) but only mixing in a tiny amount of milk so it looks like it wont' mix but it does. Then wait a minute for it to thicken and use a teaspoon to portion it and roll each portion into a ball. What I like about the baby one is it has a whole mix of grains and is fortified with vits.
Pancakes (sugar free) are great, you can put in fruit or veg and they don't take too long to make but you can also make a batch and freeze, lift a few out the night before to defrost.
Sugar free mini muffins are great too, again make up a batch and freeze.
I also make omelet (cooked right through rather than a soft one you might make for an adult) which doesn't take long at all but needs to cool so I make it then we get washed and dressed then it's cool enough to eat.
Hard boiled eggs, again you can make the night before.
Wheetabix or porridge is good if you don't mind mess, takes longer to clear up though. You can load spoons for LO to take and self feed.
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Porridge fingers. Recipe here - Re: 3hr A time and 4hrly BF schedule This works for an 800w microwave, so if you've got a different wattage you may need to adjust slightly.
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I second the porridge fingers - I made mine with a banana mashed in, and water rather than milk (F was MPI and I wasn't giving her any other milk at that stage, other than breast milk....and I ate the porridge fingers too...) Really yummy! Bear in mind that they need cooling time though, so make 10 mins before bringing LO to the table.
PS: that link above looks odd, but does lead to the right place!
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PS: that link above looks odd, but does lead to the right place!
For some reason we were talking about things you could feed your LO on a BF thread, hence the strange link! I'm fairly sure Katy (Amayzie) posted the recipe somewhere too, but that was the 'original' (unceremoniously stolen from the BLW cookbook!)
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Thanks guys - gonna give the fingers a try as he likes porridge so should work well!
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DS2 is nearly 9 months. If I give him a common allergy food like whole eggs and he has no reaction to it would that mean it is okay for him to have it again? He had grain free pizza for dinner and the crust is made with eggs. I hope he isn't allergic! I use a lot of eggs in cooking for DS1.
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I offered eggs in baking and on their own from 6 months. Unless there is a known allergy (in the family) you don't need to avoid them based on UK guides, however egg guidance is different in different countries, but I would think if your LO already ate egg and didn't react then it's fine.
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Actually the IgE antibodies are created after the initial exposure to the allergen and the strong allergic reaction may not be evident until the second exposure when the antibodies react with the allergen. As Creations says though unless you have reason to believe he may be allergic then there is no reason to avoid after 6mo.
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Thank you Ali :)
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Hi!
I would please like to know how to increase the amount of solids my baby boy eats.
This is his eating routine:
(We live in Spain so everything is done later...)
Wake up at 9 (recently at 7...)
9-10am BF and BLW (whenever I say BLW he just eats a few bites, swallowing practically nothing.. Although he is quite curious about tasting many foods.)
11am 30 min nap
Activity
2pm BF and BLW
4pm nap (which I am going to try and start at 2,30-3pm)
5,30/6pm BF
9pm BF
Used to sleep until 6am where he BF, but lately he wakes at 3 or 4 and then at 7, very hungry.
I definitely must give him more solids during the day...
If I wait for an hour after BF to give him solids, it would be time to nap...
What would be the normal quantities of solids and BF he should eat? Please could you give me an example schedule of BF and BLW?
Thank you!!!
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Forgot to say my LO is 10 months old!! Turning 11 the 18th August
Thank you!!
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How old is your LO? At first glance it looks like your routine could be a bit off as there isn't a lot of nap time, but it does depend on age and your LOs needs.
When we first started BLW it seemed like eating was all we did all day as it took up almost all our activity time (he took up to 45 mins on solids) and ran right up to nap but we still managed to wait an hour after milk feeds before offering the solids meal. There isn't really an amount because it is all "baby led" (like the name suggests) so it is whatever baby wants (within reason, safe food obviously) and some babies take to solids rapidly whilst others have very little interest for a few weeks or months. Playing with and exploring the food tastes and texture is far more important in the early days rather than eating a lot. It's important to remember that milk is the primary food until 12 months old and it is milk which will see your LO through the night with fewer night feeds, increasing solids won't give you a longer night. It's also very normal for a baby of say 6 months to have a night feed (or dream feed) and breast fed babies often have more than one night feed, esp during a growth spurt.
hope this helps some
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Oh just saw your baby is 10 months. LOs can have quite varied routines at this age depending on their sleep needs. I would think 2 hrs A time in the morning is rather short really at 10 months many would do 3 or 4hrs or even longer. Here is an example but for specific help on your EASY maybe post on the EASY board because it looks like you are doing short morning nap and long afternoon nap? (EW could indicate need to tweak routine too if morning WU has changed form 9am to 7am)
E 9
E BLW 10
A 3hr
S 12.00 - 1.30
E 1.30
E BLW 2.30
A 3hr
S 4.30 - 6.00
E 6.00
E BLW 7.00
A 3hr
E 8.45
S BT 9.00
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Thanks for the quick reply!
Yes, I am also working on reorganising his sleep and activity times as something is going wrong lately...
I will try to apply your tips.
Thanks very much!!!
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Could be early stages of the 2-1 (dropping to one nap), your LO will likely need to stay on 2 naps for a good while yet but some show serious dropping signs now and the routine needs to adapt. We dropped to 1 nap at 11-12 months which is on the early side. There are some stickies and a support thread on the sleep boards.
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Can someone direct me on how to start - what foods, how much, etc? My LO is not tolerating puréed well and is 7 months old today! Thanks
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You might find this site helpful
http://www.babyledweaning.com/
The general idea is that you cook your regular (healthy) meals for the whole family and give baby just the same as you have (there are a few restrictions, low salt, no sugar or honey, no whole nuts). In reality I changed my cooking quite a lot based on what he would find easier to pick up, what I discovered he liked, and batch cooked healthy snacks and easy to pack foods for going out and about. I ate with him at least twice and usually three times per day whether I felt like it was my regular meal time or not (we had some odd lunch and dinner times because I followed the times he ate well rather than making him wait to eat at my time). With BLW you do not feed baby however in the early days he had some great frustration of being unable to get food to his mouth fast enough so I helped a few times, I saw this as him leading the way as it was very clear he wanted help. holding a piece of food and letting LO pull it to their mouth is not quite the same as spoon feeding where you put it in their mouth. As for amount, it is clear when they have finished, the baby leads the way and that's when it is enough.
You can begin by just offering something from your own plate and go from there.
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I guess I am just having a hard time with the fear of choking. My type A self just really needs some ideas - I looked through that website and it is not specific enough for me...
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Have you seen this?
Information on choking and gagging
Can you sign up to an infant first aid course in your area? They can cover how to respond to a choke incident and although you are unlikely to have increased risk of choking by following BLW (as opposed to purees) it may increase your confidence. For what it's worth the only near-choke incident we had was when I was whilst my LO ate chunks of kiwi and I licked the smallest slither off my own finger (about the size of a grain of rice) and it was me that started to choke. Very scary and I barely found enough breath to force some hard coughs out to clear my airway, it reminded me just how small a piece need be to make breathing more difficult (if not a full on choke), easily the size offered in pureed, mashed and lumpy foods. My DS had a good number of coughing fits whilst trying to drink water but no chokes during eating solid food.
I would avoid all small round foods, cherry toms, grapes, blueberries etc until your LO is a bit older an you feel more confident, likewise I would avoid chopping things into circles which produce more of a choke hazard, so carrots cut into batons not circles, sausages cut lengthwise into a long finger, don't cut into rounds. Offer large sticks of food (the size of your finger) for instance steamed green beans, asparagus, carrot batons, roasted sweet potato chips, baked apple wedges, large chunks of meat, toast 'soldiers'...although the point is to offer foods that are normal for your own family so that baby can join in with regular meals and learns to accept those flavours and textures more readily. When a piece of food is large they can hold it in a fist and gum or chomp on the exposed end, they know when they take a bite where the food is in their mouth, there is no surprise of texture, taste or size like there might sometimes be with mashed foods.
One other experience I had which made me stop and think...a button fell off my LO's cardigan, I saw it by him on the floor and quickly took it away, I went almost cold with the thought of what might have happened, I was so glad he didn't put it in his mouth. Contrast to a large plate by the side of him which I do not mind if he puts it in his mouth. I have no fear of him choking. Larger pieces of food do not increase the risk of choking.
You must do what you feel comfortable with though as LO will pick up on any stresses you have and this could lead to a negative association with his food, also if you respond in an inappropriate way (for instance slapping on the back when he gags) this could actually cause a choke rather than avoid one. Weaning and BLW is a wonderfully enjoyable experience. Ease yourself in xx
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What creations has already said. Most of what you might experience would be gagging, which isn't pleasant to watch, but it does mean your LO is learning how to move things around their mouth rather than having that reflex bypassed by a spoon which then means LO almost has to relearn how to eat when you introduce more lumpy/solid food.
Yes, choking is scary, but mercifully rare. The only time we had a choking incident was when we were out and DD was eating a piece of sausage. I wondered why she'd gone quiet, looked at her and could see immediately. A swift bang on the back and it flew out. If you're worried about choking, get on a first aid course to learn how to deal with it and then you're good to go and don't need to worry about it.
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I know creations and fiver have really said it all, but I just wanted to add my support really. The gagging can be unpleasant, but I only had choking experiences with E when she was drinking too fast. With food it never really happened. I know this is anecdotal but my friends who weaned via purées seemed to have far more incidences of choking than me and my one other friend whose LOs were weaned with BLW. It may seem scarier but it worked for us. ((Hugs))
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So I started today and V choked - I hit her on the back, it flew out and she threw up everywhere. I don't think she is ready for it after all. Well at least I am not...
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Are you sure it wasn't a gag reflex? From reading lots of BLW information and my own experiences plus knowing people IRL it seems extremely unusual to have a full on choke episode the first time you offer finger foods. Weaning needs to be what you are comfortable with of course and if pureed food is your preference then you should go for that, it's worth noting that it is advised to give babies finger foods from 6 months alongside pureed foods, also that puree would normally move on pretty quickly to mashed, roughly mashed and lumps - the days of giving nothing but smooth puree for months and months on end is no more because weaning doesn't start now until baby is 6 months and the times when smooth puree went on for much longer was when weaning began much earlier (like 8 or 12 weeks old which is no longer recommended). Finger foods help your baby's development for speech and language and also fine motor skills, so it's worth taking a first aid course and preparing yourself for what's to come. If you don't introduce finger foods you *may* find difficulty transitioning to lumps and family food later on.
Hugs, it must have been a very scary experience for you. I enjoyed our weaning journey so much, I hope you can find some of that enjoyment too.
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Yes - I have CPR and AED training for my job so it was not the first time I've seen someone choke or had to respond - she has gagged several times on water - it definitely got lodged in there and she stopped breathing - very scary. I was really hoping it would work because it sounds wonderful. I'll check back in with you guys in a couple months when I think she is a little more ready - I thought being 7 months old she would've been...
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Can I just ask what it was that she choked on and if she put it in her own mouth, or did she get some help?
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((Hugs)) hon, that must have been scary. I'm surprised she was able to bite off enough and pass it backwards in her mouth far enough on the first attempt to choke, really bad luck. What was it?
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I gave her half a banana and she was doing really good with it - just kinda sucking on it - but then must've "gummed" off too big a piece.
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Aww, bless her. I bet she wouldn't do that again, though.
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Hello everyone! Can I join you? Just starting on blw with my son who will be 6 months next week. We tentatively started a week or so ago cos he was starting to grab food off our plates on top of all the other things to look out for (good hand eye coordination, able to sit up etc). He's already got the hang of biting bits off, chewing and swallowing cos the last couple of days there's been bits of food in his nappy. His favourites so far are baby corn, carrots, mango and apple (dried or raw). I can't wait til he's 6 months though and just give him bits of whatever we're having, within reason! That's what I'm doing it for really - easy family meal times and to stop myself trying to persuade him to eat more than he wants!
Anyway, enough rambling from me. Looking forward to hearing how everyone else is getting on and getting ideas for things to try....
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My LO also started a bit early, I just couldn't hold him off any longer, he was so furious any time I ate anything and it became silly the way I was making excuses to leave the room so I could run to the kitchen to get a mouthful of something without him knowing. He had his first tastes at 5.5 months despite my determination to hold off until 6 months.
I hope you enjoy your LO's weaning journey as much as I did...and don't forget to get some videos!
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Yeah I was planning on waiting too but also happy to go with when he was ready and I could just suddenly see he was. Plus he just moved to 2 naps and his routine sort of aligned with mealtimes. I know that isn't a sign but it just sort of made sense suddenly rather than having to force it iykwim? I'm not sitting him up at every meal or anything - we're starting very slowly - but when he's 6 months in a few days I'll put a bit more thought and effort into it!
Good thought on the videos - will charge up the camcorder!
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Hi LL :)
I hope your journey starts well. I agree that I wouldn't worry about waiting I go for it any longer. It sounds fab and meant to be if sleep is fitting in well around mealtimes now. Enjoy!
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Hi!
My LO will be 1 year old next week. He is very low in weight and size so I am worried he is not getting enough to eat. I have been doing BLW since he was 6 month old but always after breastfeeding so he ate very little solids. Actually he breastfeeds just twice a day: wake up feed and before bed.
The rest of the meals are solids. When I give him puréed foods he eats big quantities, but when I give him a bit more solid textures or finger foods he is getting the habit of spitting it out of his mouth. He eats a few bites when he puts it in his mouth himself, but eventually he spits it out as well and sashes the food with his hands, drops it on the floor.. Help!
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Hi Vio. When did you start giving purées? Just wondering as BLW is really than absence of purées.
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Hi Vio. I was wondering the same as Ali. I think if your LO has been eating puree since 6 months your question may be better positioned out on the main board so you can get some advice about transitioning from puree to regular meals from mums who have done traditional weaning with purees.
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Hi,
At 6 months he started with BLW. When he was 11 months I was planning to remove 2 breastfeeds and leave only breakfast and dinner. Since he had been eating very little quantites of solids and is low weight and size, I was worried he wouldnt eat enough.... so I tried with purees which he eat very well. Now, it seems to me he only fills with purees. With finger foods, he gives 3 bites and then starts playing with it or dropping it on the floor. He also bites for example a piece of meat or fish and then spits it out. If i try to help him and put a bit in his mouth, he spits it too....
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It's not unusual for some babies to not take that much by 12mo. I would just keep offering and eventually I'm sure he will take more. My nephew was similar in that he did BLW for 4 months and hardly ate anything. Then my sister started doing mashed food or purées with bits and spoon feeding him and he took a lot more that way. Then she just carried on giving finger foods and leaving ever increasing lumps in his food and by about 18mo he was eating the same as the rest of the family.
What you could do it set aside some of the food you purée and leave it whole for finger food. If he has the taste from the purée he may try some in its more natural form.
Is the meat you are giving him cooked so it is tender? Some meat can be chewy and hard especially if they only have a few or even no teeth. Slow cooked meat that falls apart is easily gummed and steamed fish with no crispy top (like you would get in a grill or frying pan) is also easier.
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Thank you very much!!! :)
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Hi ladies, I am joining in because I started dd2 on blw this week. I originally started her on purees, but shes a very independent little girl, so blw is working out much better for her ;D
So far she has eaten banana and toast. I was going to wait a bit longer before I introduced wheat, but she was throwing a fit while dd1 and I were eating toast one day, so I gave her some and she loved it! I am finding it difficult to stick to the 3 day rule, because whatever we are eating she wants. I steamed some carrot sticks, and baked some apple and pear slices for her, hopefully that helps keep her occupied and distracted from the food that we have so I can stick to the 3 days rule!
She is actually really good at , moving food around in her mouth. She has a very strong gag reflex so hopefully that will keep her from choking on anything, lol.
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Hooray! Welcome to the lovely journey :)
Honestly, I didn't bother with the 3 day thing. Just gave DD whatever.
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I didn't bother with the 3 day thing either. The current UK guidance on weaning doesn't suggest it unless there is a known allergy with LO or in the family, different places have different guides though. Here they can have just about anything from 6 months.
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We haven't done the 3 day thing except with wheat (I left it 3 days after introducing that before adding anything else people are commonly allergic to) cos we have a gluten intolerance in the family. Otherwise he's had everything we have.
I have a question about highchairs. Not sure if it's really blw related or if I should post elsewhere but jack doesn't seem to like staying in his highchair for long. It's a wooden one with very little support and I think he gets tired. After a while he starts pulling his ear and whining and doesn't eat any more but if I get him out and put him on my lap he carries on eating. Is that ok to do or should I not allow him any more food once he's out of his highchair? I don't really feel right being that strict on it so early in his food career (!) but don't want to teach him that he can move to my lap whenever he fancies it cos that will start being a problem at some point!
Also, completely unrelated but can I just say how much I'm loving blw?! Jack is loving it and it's so much easier! I love the variety of food he's had already and seeing how enthusiastic he is about it all. The only slight issue is that he's already cutting down on milk cos he loves eating so much but he's still getting plenty so it's all good :)
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LL - dd2 wasnt really keen on her wooden high chair either. I ended up getting a plastic one that attaches to a chair and will convert to a booster seat when she is sitting at the table to eat. Its made life so much easier :)
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I think we must have a similar chair to Tinkerbell! The tray on the standard highchair we have was just too high for DD to reach and she loves her booster (although she's starting to be ready to move to a normal chair now, even if she's a bit short still!)
And glad Jack's enjoying himself :)
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I love both our high chairs. We have a baby dan wooden chair which also has little support. And an IKEA antilop, again no support. With both I stuffed a folded towel behind him to wedge him in. He could sit unaided but yes it's tiring and if you can make it a little more comfortable you might find he is happier there. Just don't make it so that he is leaning back on the towel because obviously they need to be upright. The towel rarely needed washing either, the food never reached that far behind him so I just used the same one over and over.
I also found that DS just got really tired when eating (Jack's ear pulling and whining sound like tiredness don't they). If you think about the level of stimulation it must be sky high - all those smells, textures in hand and textures in mouth, flavours, colours, muscles they haven't used this way before...it's a mental and physical work out. I think DS became OS/OT quite often in the early days of BLW, and I think his dreams were filled with food too, processing all that new information! I reduced our A time a couple of times and put him to nap straight after a meal he was so exhausted by it. It's pretty amazing really, what an experience to have all these foods after an entire life of just milk!
Great to hear you and Jack are having fun :)
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Same as Creations - I found my LO was tired out after a meal for the first couple of weeks! All that chasing elusive bits of food around the tray was hard work ;) It is a lot of new stuff for them to concentrate on.
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Yeah it does seem to be tiring him out. He's just dropped his cat nap too so it doesn't take much at the moment! Good idea with the towel, creations. I'll try that I think. I guess it is a lot for them to get used to. I always forget how stimulating every day things can be when you're only 6 months old!
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I'm back! Giving it another go. Vi has really liked eating vegi straws and organic rice rusk which dissolve pretty easily so she gags a little but no choking. Do you think these are good or bad things to give a baby if you are trying BLW? Also, I'm going to try pears because she seems to like them (sucked on them in the net- used to get her used to flavors) - should I peel them before I steam them slightly? Thanks ladies!
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A ripe pear shouldn't need steaming - but yes the peel can be a bit 'chokey'
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I agree with anna regarding the pear. I did used to steam or bake pears a little but mainly because they were all so hard. I left the skin on as it offered a better grip to pick up, but I did watch him with the skin, sometimes he just ate around it and left the skin, if a long bit of skin went in sometimes I helped by holding it so he could discard it more easily, if that makes sense.
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You could just give it to him as a whole fruit if you wanted. That was my friend's little boy's first taste of BLW when he swiped her pear out of her hand and took a bite/suck :)
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Yeah that would be pretty crazy! Trying them for dinner tonight - tried sweet potato fries, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots to no avail. What would you ladies recommend next? And what kind of bread should I get for toast(white, wheat)? We eat those sandwich thins so I don't think that will work.
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When DD was starting out, we were buying 50/50 bread, so white, but with some wholemeal.
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I would go with white. Wholemeal has a lot of fibre and can fill them up and also mean some nutrients aren't absorbed. Here we are recommended to give white versions (even if you give whole meal sometimes) until 5yo. http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/baby-food-questions.aspx#close
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I agree on going for white (esp for the reasons Ali gives), however for regular bread I just gave DS my bread which is wholemeal, mainly because I didn't have space in the freezer to store a loaf for him (too many other things in there for him!) and there's no way we could get through a whole white loaf. I found on the rare occasion that I did buy a white loaf he loved it but became quickly constipated. A good balance for us was whole meal bread for a regular sliced loaf, but white for pitta, tortilla, crumpets, english muffins, bread sticks etc.
Have you tried any type of pasta yet? The pasta twists are nice for picking up as the twist gives a bit of a grip (where as penne can sometimes shoot out of their hand, amusing but frustrating), You can try it without sauce (more grip) or with any sauce stirred through. I think most kids tend to like some sort of pasta.
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Thanks for the suggestions ladies - I'll check back in if I have any other questions - you've been very helpful!
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So DD2 LOVES toast, I honestly cannot believe that my 6 month old baby is able to eat toast, lol. Problem is, I have been giving her whole wheat because that is what we eat and only giving it once a day thinking she should have some variety, etc. But she gets really angry without her toast at meal times, and I have just realized that giving her a piece of toast to gum on and swallow a bit of isnt as bad as shovelling tablespoons of rice cereal into her every meal so I will probably let her have some toast 3x a day when we eat...but should I switch her to white bread or whole wheat like shes been having once a day but try other breads ??? Thanks for the tip on the pasta creations, Im going to buy some next grocery shop :)
Other than wanting toast all the time, shes actually really happy :) I have even convinced DH to relax a bit, and we ended up just giving her a slice of ham lastnight because she was so angry that it was on our plates but not her tray. Obviously she couldnt eat it, but she put it in her mouth and is getting used to new textures I suppose! Of the things she can eat, she has been managing to eat a little bit of banana and sweet potato and I have been putting purees on a spoon for her to feed herself which she actually manages quite well with :)
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Hi I need advise on blw. I am a ftm and baby has been refusing me to feed her. Used to love her solid so much. Started feeding at 5 mth as per paed advise due to reflux. At 8.5 mths stop allowing me to feed her and would just clamp her mouth shut. I have no choice but start blw and also reduce feed to 3 times a day. It has improved at lot but I am still struggling. How do u get protein or cereal in baby with blw. She refuse me to spoon feed her cereal and would sometimes take pouch food with meat otherwise how do I giver her meat. Dinner is terrible she won't eat much, a bit cheese and crackers.
Wu 0600
0645 milk 170ml
0830 breakie half a slice of toast with avocado and 50ml of milk
1200 lunch one food pouch 130g or 2 zuzzhini frittata, few pieces of sweet potatoes/broccoli
1345 milk 200ml
1630 dinner cheese bits and crackers or banana plus 60ml of milk
1820 milk 200ml
Is this enough? How do I get her to eat more.. Pls help.
She is 9 month 1 week now. Her reflux is gone now.stopped meds since 5 mths. She has two bottom teeth can't feel or see anymore coming out. Pls help.
TIA
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Welcome Miraclelim!
I think what I love about blw is that baby will take what they need from their milk feeds, and will regulate on their own how much solids they take. She will eat more when she needs more :) I feel like all i can do is offer my LO lots of variety and let her lead the way!
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If you add a tiny bit of milk to baby musli you can roll it into balls for her to self feed. You can make porridge fingers with a tiny bit of milk and then microwave too. If it is cereal like Cheerios try just giving them dry or with a splash of milk quickly drained off before you give it to her to just eat with her fingers. Scrambled eggs are good for protein. You can just give a big chunk of meat and she will gum it and spit it out eventually when she has taken what she can from it. Or meatballs are good.
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There's a recipe on the allergie4s board for oaty chews, like flap jacks but without all the sugar and honey.
Bean burgers/fritters, falafel, omelet cut into strips (I make it small and fat and fully cooked through so the strips are chunkier)
dips/spreads on toast or to dip veg in or just shovel fist fulls in - humus, red kidney bean dip, pate, fish paste - all high in protein
If you choose fish that isn't overly bony and remove any you find, a salmon fillet or tuna steak you can just give it cooked and let her get on with it.
Tinkerbell I would prob try to mix up the breads a bit for the toast. Wholemeal at every meal might fill her up too much to allow her to eat a variety of other foods but I found giving white bread too often made my LO constipated. Bread freezes ok and can be put in the toaster straight from the freezer so maybe freeze a white loaf so you can mix it up a bit? Or expand the types of bread/toast she has. You could put some different spreads on it too (the puree you have, cream cheese or pate for example). Mine liked toast pitta sandwiches which I made like pizza with a spread of tom puree and some cheese and a few other bits inside then I dry fried it to toast the pitta and melt the cheese. If you squash it down a bit as it cools the cheese sticks the whole thing together and it's easier to slice into fingers for LO to pick up without the whole thing falling apart. (works with tortilla wraps folded in half too).
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Hi Ali, how do I make porridge fingers?? TIA thanks creation I will check out the board.
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Hi creations, where is the allergy board? I can't find it. TIA
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I like the pate and sandwich ideas creations! Yes, I think I need to get her trying different carbs, going to have to get creative...she is lactose intolerant though so I will have to experiment with non dairy things I can put on breads :-\ I am going to make a big batch of hummus so that will be one thing I can let her try!
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Sorry I was wrong, the recipe on the allergy board is for white bean cup cakes (which is great as a protein cake as it's basically just beans and eggs, sounds awful but super tasty, only problem is they have honey which under 1yo can't have. You could always try it with banana or prunes to sweeten instead though) - sorry.
OK the oaty chews recipe is on the recipes for babies 9 months plus here
Recipes for babies and toddlers aged nine months plus
the original recipe is for cookies and there is an external link at reply #16
but if you read on I made some myself, discovered they didn't work as cookies for us and made them more flap jack like instead which my DS LOVED and I made these a LOT with variations to the recipe. See replies #18 and 20. I eventually started to make them in mini muffin trays as they made perfect single servings but I would say the flapjack type square/rectangle is easier for young hands and little mouths, the mini muffin shape ends up quite thick and difficult to eat with a small mouth. They are a nice tidy food for taking out and about too. You can also make them smoother by whizzing the oats or half the oats for a different texture. If your LO likes them then just experiment.
If you scroll down from there I give some pate recipes too which are good for protein.
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Had to share - Couldn't help myself... Only my LO would put the wrong side in her mouth haha. At least she put SOMETHING in her mouth.
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bean cupcake recipe here at reply #123 BUT a reminder not to use honey for under 1yo, sweeten with some fruit instead as an experiment.
Dairy, soy and/or gluten free recipes & menu plans
Tinkerbell this link might be useful for you too if you haven't already seen it and there's a chicken liver pate on the previous link I gave (baby recipes for 9 months plus thread). It's ever so simple, freezes well too. And the oaty chew recipe is a free from recipe if you want other carbs to try.
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Porridge fingers (again) :) Re: 3hr A time and 4hrly BF schedule
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Thanks Creations, I meant to check out the dairy free recipes just havent had a chance yet, I am glad you reminded me that they are there! Oats are out for now too, she had very loose mucusy poops after eating oatmeal so I am going to give it a little bit longer and try again :(
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Thanks Amanda. I think it was your recipe for porridge fingers I nicked to begin with :-*
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It was the BLW cookbook recipe that I keep quoting ;)
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Can the porridge finger be done in the oven instead? Also can I use instant baby cereal/oat? TIA
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Sorry another question. BLW is very new to be still struggling to cope. My bb is 9 mth, do u just keep giving until she push it away? Not sure how much portion to give. Because I also need to give milk 1.5 hr after solid otherwise she won't eat any solid. Pls advice. Thank you
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So long as milk intake doesn't drop too low you can just keep offering solids until she is full, when she pushes food away or shows other signs of fullness. For many it's when they stop picking the food up and eating it or begin to drop it onto the floor (which you can quickly prevent by taking the food from them and doing 'tidy up' onto a plate or bowl and encourage/ask her to help).
Milk intake - what you can expect between 6 months to 12months +
Dairy food used in cooking also counts towards the milk intake, so blocks of cheese or yoghurt, although if everything seems fine then you don't have to count everything accurately which is a bit tricky anyway.
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Oh and I never made those porridge fingers which are popular but I used baby cereal (muesli) with very little milk added to make it very thick then rolled balls of it to offer as finger food. This doesn't work with regular muesli only the baby one. I use the one for 10 months+ even before LO was 10 months as with BLW you don't go by ages .
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My bb always chucks food on the floor but whrn I pick it up she will eat again. When she doesn't want it she will use her hand to push my hand away when I offer her food. But she often had a bite then chuck on the floor. How do I stop her chucking food on the floor?
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Oh yah how do u give yoghurt BLW when she doesn't like it n won't take from a spoon??
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I'm not sure you can stop them throwing food on the floor.... I've never managed it anyway!
Will your lo feed himself with a spoon? I load a spoon for jack and hold it in front of him. If he wants it he grabs it and puts it in his mouth but if he doesn't he just ignores it and I put it away again. Not sure how you'd do it otherwise except maybe dip fruit in it for her?
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Dropping food on the floor - personally I chose to ignore any food that reached the floor, responding and picking up during the meal (IMO) can lead to more dropping as LO learns the reaction and to play with you as you keep returning the food. This learned behaviour (dropping to get back) is very similar to learning to roll or throw a ball with a parent or play mate (giving to receive) but one of them drives us crazy and dirties the floor whilst the other thrills us and makes us smile.
Mine rarely managed to actually get much food to the floor, I offered very few pieces if he was in a dropping phase (moved the plate out of reach and put only one or two bits in front of him) and reacted quickly to stop his hand from dropping it if I saw it about to happen and just popped it back on his plate/tray, or even better I got the plate under the food item as he dropped it and said 'tidy up please. Thank you' and encouraged him to tidy all his bits onto a plate or bowl at the end of each meal.
Yoghurt - is there a reason she needs to have yoghurt if she doesn't like it? In general we keep offering foods so that LO becomes familiar with it and eventually tries a taste, but you can't force them to eat it and I found some dislikes are long lasting. Mine still doesn't like cauliflower and broccoli I see them as true dislikes because he has been offered them so many times and otherwise eats well, I still offer time to time but always make sure his meal has plenty of things he does like to provide a balanced diet.
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So u are saying if she drops anything on the floor I leave it n don't pick up so I don't create a reaction. Then I offer something else n put on her plate? Correct? Yoghurt hmmm bcos she reduces her milk intake to 3 times a day so I thought its good for her to have it. I try giving her a spoon 2/10 she will try to put it in her mouth but mostly it ends up on the floor.
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if she drops anything on the floor I leave it n don't pick up so I don't create a reaction. Then I offer something else n put on her plate? Correct?
That's what I did yes. Once he was finished eating I did the clear up (which wasn't much anyway as I'd caught most of it) so meal time was clearly over. Even now I don't usually pick up if he drops his cutlery, if he really needs his cutlery and it was clearly an accident then yes I pick up or get a fresh fork or spoon, otherwise it stays on the floor whilst we all eat our dinner (he will use any cutlery he has left or fingers if he has tossed his fork) and gets cleared up at the end.
If your LO is really into dropping things I'd set up an activity away from eating time where it is acceptable to drop items (and for you to pick up as part of the game) because this sort of exploration is totally natural - it's just really frustrating for parents at meal times if it becomes a game for LO.
Mine has never had any proper amount of yoghurt, it makes him refluxy so I only give him a yoghurt dip occasionally. If her milk intake is low then I can see the need for increasing dairy solids but if her milk is fine (over 24hr) I wouldn't worry. Cheese and milk puddings also count.
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Thank you so much for your advise.
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Can I give porridge fingers to my 8 month old beginner? I feel like the oats I got at the store are so big! Thanks.
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Are they whole oats? We used steel cut ones. Do you have a food processor you could blitz them in a bit first?
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Yup, porridge fingers are great from 6m (although they might not eat all of it then). Use normal porridge oats (not quick cook/instant or milled oats), like Quaker ones (maybe only available in the UK ???)
I'm sure the BLW cookbook says they can be done in the oven if you don't have a microwave, but can't remember timings or temperature, but will try to remember to have a look the next time I pass the kitchen.
The great thing with them is that you can up the quantity when they get bigger too, so for each level tablespoon of oats you add a tablespoon of milk. Now that DD is a lot bigger, I cut it into wedges rather than fingers and DS loves them like that too (he likes his with chocolate sprinkles) :)
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I'm going to lock this thread as it's reached 30 pages. Please carry on the conversation and support here: Baby Led Weaning support thread #12