BabyWhispererForums.com
EAT => Feeding Solid Food => Topic started by: michaeljacknnugg on March 07, 2016, 20:07:33 pm
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I don't want to do it ::) but it will come around very quickly so I thought I'd trundle along and get a few bits in the freezer.
I'll give him fruit and veg sticks, cheese, toast etc but want to take more of a blw approach than I did before and so am learning, and a bit unsure of what I'm doing. When in this kind of situation, I prepare!
I'd like to make up a few things we can all eat, using them as meals for us now and as a little stash for baby to supplement the easy stuff I can just pull from the fridge/cupboard.
So far I have:
Salmon bites that DS1 made and then decided he didn't like
Loaded baby potatoes (recipe from baby led feeding website)
Red pepper and goat's cheese mini quiches
I'm making some smooth pasta sauce this week and I've seen a recipe for home made baked beans.
I'd like to make something sweet, too. Do banana pancakes sound good? Is there a particularly nice mini muffin recipe somewhere? We have lots of apples that DH canned last autumn, all our own and organic etc, they would be fab and easy to plonk into a batch of something.
I also have bits of fruit from the garden still in the freezer.
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these are great, super easy, and freeze really well:
http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/turkey-mini-meatloaves-for-babies-and.html
You can make 100s of them (nearly :P) from a pack of turkey mince and then just defrost however many you need each time.
I usually serve them with some home-made tomato and veg (e.g. carrots, peppers, courgettes..) sauce and either pasta or cous cous.
she has loads of other lovely ideas too (and used to post on these forums as lemonandthyme, if you remember her?), including these muffins:
http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=+muffin
I've only tried one of her savoury ones, so can't recommend a sweet one in particular, but some do look v yummy.
Just thinking of the top of my head, what about roasting some peppers chopped into slices? They would probably freeze and reheat quite well, and would be v quick and easy to do.
How about casseroles, curries, tagines, bolognese? They are great to cook in bulk and freeze. The river cottage baby and toddler cookbook has a great lamb curry recipe. DD2 wasn't really interested in solids much until we gave her that! Then she realised that food can actually be quite tasty! Actually, the RCB&TC has loads of great recipes, for the whole family - I'd really recommend it:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/River-Cottage-Baby-Toddler-Cookbook/dp/1408807564/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457432211&sr=1-1&keywords=river+cottage+baby+and+toddler
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How does a baby eat things like curry by himself? I feel a bit clueless on blw!
That book looks fab. I need some meaty things as I don't cook much meat (usually dh's job) and it would be good to have some new dishes to offer DS1. I'll take a look!
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I didn't do BLW, just offered things like curry on a spoon/fork.
I guess really saucy things would be tricky with BLW :-\ - maybe you'd need to give him something to dip in it (naan, chapati, roti..?) to get all the sauce? With bits of meat though I guess he could pick them up with his fingers? And even rice too (although much less mess with a spoon!)?
Perhaps some one with some real BLW experience can advise!
DD2 was particularly lazy/crazy actually and didn't pick up and eat any food herself until she was 9 months! (felt like ages at the time!) :o So with finger foods, for example, I held them out for her in front of her mouth, and she'd lean forward and eat/bite them from my hand/fingers ::) (same kind of thing with a spoon for other foods too). No idea why she didn't want to pick anything up herself. Even if I left her to it for a few minutes, she still never picked up any food herself! She just waited for me to come back and offer it to her.
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Ahhh, cute! And frustrating?
I'm going to take things as they come, take what seems like a sensible approach at the time. It would be nice if he could feed himself a bit, but if he wants feeding then I'm sure DS1 will help.
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if he wants feeding then I'm sure DS1 will help.
yes, DD1 loved to feed DD2. She was so excited to be able to do that! Sometimes DD2 still asks DD1 to feed her now and usually DD1 is more than happy to oblige :) I have a really cute video of DD1 feeding DD2 when she was just starting on solids.
Ahhh, cute! And frustrating?
yeah, cute for a bit. But then just mostly frustrating! Surely the whole point of finger foods is so the parent doesn't have to do all the feeding, right? ;) :P
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Right!!
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Ooh how exciting!
Things like curry or stews I used to make them (salt free, no stock cube or just a tiny bit of one) and then when I served up for DS I took a minute to separate the various veggies into easily recognisable piles, this did a few things, it drained some of the gravy/sauce so the lumps/wedges were easier to pick up with fingers or fork, it helped him feel he recognised the food so didn't feel 'scared' or 'over faced' with lots of stuff mixed up, and it helped him to learn what each item was very quickly. Stews of various sorts was one of DS's favs, I purposely cut up larger chunks/wedges than I would have if it had just been us which made it easier to pick out the big bits once cooked and easier for him to pick up.
In the very very early days (I do only mean days though not weeks) DS kind of screamed at me to feed him. TBH I think the expectation came from me being the provider of food, ie giving him the bottle, so it took a bit of explaining that he could/would/should have a go himself. he loved solids so much, if he couldn't get the food to his mouth fast enough there could be some upset so in those cases I held a piece in front of him and he pulled my hand to his mouth to eat it, he still had control so this is "baby-led" in my book. anyway he very quickly realised self feeding was great and got stuck in. I introduced a plastic fork at about 7 months which was very handy, we didn't use a spoon until much later. I used those quick sharp small forks like you would get in an shop bought salad or fruit salad bowl (yk the lunch type stuff) rather than those chunky baby forks which didn't see to actually stab anything so seemed pointless.
The stuff I froze were loads of different types of pancake (banana, sultana or other dried or fresh fruit such as grated apple) veggie pancakes (same thing but grated carrot or any left over veg from another meal to use it up), bean or lentil burgers/patties (again added veg that needed using up), mini muffins (banana, carrot, sweet potato and sultana), and oaty chews.
There's a recipe for oaty chews (and muffins) on the recipe thread if you whizz the oats and dried fruit they turn out pretty much the same as the shop bought baby oat bars, although probably less fruit sugar tbh. We used lots of those for out and about snacks.
chick pea cupcakes is one I made when DS was much older, very tasty, mainly chickpeas and lots of eggs...hmmm, the recipe might have honey in it so you wouldn’t want to add that, perhaps switch for banana to sweeten and add some wetness.
If there is a baby first aid course you can go to before you start you may feel more confident, or perhaps you've already done one. I only managed to attend half of mine as DS didn’t settle in the creche but in that short time I learned how to handle a choke which made me feel more confident.
Oh, also in terms of 'how do they eat things like...' with mashed potato you can roll it into balls or lumps to pick up. I did this with baby muesli so he could have cereal but self feed, very easy to pick up.
I probably wouldn't freeze or prep too much in advance as you'll find LO is eating your family meals very quickly, if not right away. Things you might need separately will be out and about foods and snacks. For a good while I took additional pieces of food if we went to a restaurant so that DS's veg was steamed salt free but we'd give him a bit of our meal too.
:)
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Thanks creations :)
I think having lunch and breakfast stuff I can pull out of the freezer is good, plus I do love my batch cooking and therefore avoidance of cooking on other nights!
Pasta sauce done, I'm tempted by your veg pancake idea too. Grated veggies, eggs and flour? Cottage cheese might be nice, too.
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Grated veggies, eggs and flour?
Basically yes. All our pancakes were the American/Scotch type, little and fat, yk? More substantial for picking up. I don't really know which recipe I used to get going but in the end I just threw stuff together. Mama cook has a recipe here for apple pancakes with quantities:
http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/pancakes-and-toys-returned-to-pram.html
(I'm sure there are recipes on our own recipe threads too) some milk, baking powder. you could use grated veggies as you said or use up pre-cooked veggies by whizzing them through the batter - or both for double hit veg :)
Breakfast ideas - muffins, oat chews etc of course, also...
Do you eat porridge? there's a recipe for porridge fingers which was very popular for a time, basically oats cooked in the microwave then sliced into bars/fingers for finger food. Never tried it myself but sounds good.
Mine liked omelete, I used the little one-egg pan, brilliant, once I folded the omelet in half and let it 'set' (I cooked a bit longer than I would for an adult) it made a decent thickness of egg to slice into fingers or big chunks for picking up without falling apart.
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I wonder if fritata freezes well? mamacook had a fritata type recipe my DS liked so much he ate all his then mine! she did individual portions in ramekins which cooked quickly.
savoury scones? spinach and feta?
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I do love a cheese scone!
Meaty things, could I whizz up some cooked chicken or something to go into a pancake? Actually that sounds revolving!!!
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lol I don't think I like the sound of whizzed chicken pancake myself!
What about mini pasties? probably very messy to eat though, ok for at home but perhaps not out and about.
Those little turkey meat loaves cath linked are a good idea though. I used to make similar with beans and lentils rather than meat but did make some meat balls a few times. DS wasn't a big meat fan tbh. He liked sausages because they are smoother than ground meat - butchers real butchers will some times make you a batch of sausages to your spec so you can ask for no salt, what sort of meat etc. I did whizz some raw chicken breast once or twice and made those into patties.
DS chomped down on a big hunk of roast beef in a restaurant at 6 months there was pretty much nothing left by the time he put it down, no need for teeth! He likes slow cooked meats, pulled pork, lamb shank the really soft stuff. Chicken breast is very soft if boiled and takes very little time, those little mini fillets might be worth a look as you could freeze them individually?
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"How do they eat it?" With their hands, generally. Look on YouTube for BLW lasagne!
Honestly keep it all v simple. It's nice to have special things for him but you don't have to. Simple unprocessed fruit, veg etc might even be best as he can readily identify what it is he is eating. Just don't feel under pressure to prepare lots of things just for him. Fine if you want to but one of the nice thibgs about BLW is that the whole family can eat the same meal.
River Cottage baby and toddler book is very good, great introduction, strong on BLW. And seasonal so I think would suit your way of cooking and eating.
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Thanks, I feel like I have no clue here! Sure it will all become clear in time.
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Look on YouTube for BLW lasagne!
I ended up having home-movie-fest last night, watching some of DS's first meals. I was laughing hard!! Also astonished at just how much food I served and how much he ate, there was no playing or tasting for my boy he had serious plans on *eating*.
It's a good idea though to watch some videos, get you in the spirit. The spaghetti films are often worth a laugh. I didn't/couldn't serve DS spag because it was too difficult to pick up and eat, as I said he was a serious eater, I used spiralli or other shaped pasta for it's gripability. I did try spaghetti of course, for the amusement factor, it just turned out not to be amusing because DS was screaming in frustration that he wanted proper dinner, in his mouth, NOW.
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Meaty things, could I whizz up some cooked chicken or something to go into a pancake?
There is an Annabel Karmel recipe for chicken sausages that are actually really good and when my DS was a baby it was quite popular on the BW boards. It is basically whizzed up chicken, but it's done when it is raw. There is a handful of grated apple and some spices (sage and thyme I think). You basically use your food processor to whizz up some raw chicken breast (I liked using half breast and half thigh for the extra iron and moisture), grate the apple, squeeze out the juice of the apple with your hand, and stir the apple into the chicken mixture. It's pretty disgusting and it's raw chicken so I hated making them because I fear the germs from raw chicken, but I got over it. Roll them up into sausages the size of your thumb, roll them in egg and flour and then fry them. You could also use breadcrumbs and try baking them instead as well.
They are really good and we did not just make them for DS, we used them as a family meal as my picky DH liked them as well. But they freeze really easily and are still good after thawed and gently warmed. We do still make them from time to time!
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Ooh, these look easy! I'm making lasagne tonight so I might do a few on the side.
http://babyledfeeding.com/recipes/little-baby-lasagne-with-egg-and-dairy-free-option/
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They look fabulous but honestly for me too much work all that prep for them to just shove it in their mouths ;)
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Oh my word I can't believe he is that old already!!!!
I really like the BLW cookbook and the river cottage toddler cookbook. My little one is OBSESSED with pasta bolognaise - he likes fusilli and I just plonk it on his tray and he crams it in! Meatballs are also popular, sausages, French toast, pancakes, muffins, those oaty bars from the BLW website. Cheese on toast, hummus wraps cut into pin wheels. Loads of fruit. Porridge and rice pudding made really thick and plonked on his tray. He likes those mini shredded wheats with apricots in - soaked in milk. He loves picking up Cheerios and has amazing fine motor skills for his age. He just basically eats what the twins eat! He also likes gumming on bits of roast chicken or steak.
For yoghurt etc if I have time I (or a twin) feeds him, otherwise I load up some spoons and let him get on with it. He will tolerate spoon feeding if its something he really likes which is nice as the twins point blank refused. He makes it clear if he wants it by grabbing the spoon and guiding it in so I am happy I'm not force feeding him.
I think I'm the only person who likes weaning!!
Oh, lentil and cheese wedges. Sooooooooo nice!!!
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That's a very cute recipe, and I can sort of see the value in having a baby potion but TBH both of mine just ate what we were having or a slightly simplified version.
I do like the sound of lentil and cheese wedges - recipe please?
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They are lush! http://www.babyledweaning.com/blw-recipes/alisons-lentil-and-cheese-wedges-2/ This is the original recipe but I add a squirt of garlic purée and I do it all in one pan - sauté onion, add lentils and garlic and water, then when the lentils are soft add the breadcrumbs and egg and cheese. I've made it in little individual silicone cupcake cases too but it's not as nice.
Mmmmmmm that's supper tomorrow!!
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Yum yum. We <3 red lentils.
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We do too!!! Slightly off topic as it is prob a bit salty for a baby.....but this soup is one of our staples http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2155646/lentil-and-bacon-soup but with more veg (whatever needs using up!) and without the stock cubes as it is salty already from the pancetta. Mmmmmmmm
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Sounds lovely!
Soooo, can you give me an idea of how I'd feed this week's family dinners to a baby, please?
Monday - wraps. Dip, fried veggies, cheese, bacon bits for the boys.
Tuesday - lasagne
Wednesday- soup and sandwich
Thursday - pizza (bought marguerites with toppings thrown on)
Friday - cheese omelette, baked beans
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If it was me I would
dip the veggies and give to him to hold. Small bits of cheese to pick up
Lasagna - maybe just put on his tray and let him dig in with his hands
Sandwich - he can hold and you could dip into soup for him and spoon feed a bit
Pizza - cut a strip and let him hold
Omelette - cut into strips.
I think they say to go easy on cheese though as it's quite salty. Same with bread.
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I agree with lolsy! I would give him:
Cut up veg and maybe a wrap with a bit of the dip on it rolled up (for him to play with!)
Plonk lasagne on his tray
Dunk some bits of bread in your soup and give them to him
Nice bit of pizza to gum on
Cheesey omelette is basically what the twins were weaned onto! I would squish the beans before I gave them to him as I would worry about choking, and I would use reduced sugar and salt ones.
So much fun!!!
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Yes, this week is quite cheese heavy isn't it? I was thinking I'd have to pull out an alternative for him on the soup and pizza nights, at least at first.
I don't think I love weaning as much as, say, cooking with kids. But we'll see!
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If it was a home made vegi soup I would make it with some larger chunks of veg when cooking, then remove them before whizzing the soup into soup, so in effect it's boiled veg wedges/batons. Mine loved stews but I always chopped things larger than I would have otherwise to make sure that there were some big chunks to fish out when serving. Mine also like to have his foods separated so although he loved stew it wasn't all mixed up on his plate it was in little mountains of carrots in one place, peppers another, courgettes another etc.
Wraps can be made into a baby friendly quesedila, I'd put the cheese in a wrap, fold in half and dry fry to melt the cheese so it sticks the wrap to it. Let cool and cut to fingers. I used to do this with wraps or pitta bread as it makes a sandwich which is less likely to fall apart.
lasagne, if you make your own I'd put aside a small portion of the sauce to serve separately. It depends what kind you're making too, I sometimes make with slices of chargrilled aubergine and courgette so I would keep aside a couple of pieces of each to serve as a side to DS and a bit of the main lasagne too (I still do this as DS gets an additional veg portion that way).
omelet I make for DS in a one egg pan as it's so neat for a single egg and half way through cooking I fold in half whilst the inside is still wet so that the two halves stick together and cook it just a little longer (I make it firmer than an adult one). That way it is thick enough to cut into decent sized pieces for picking up.
Baked beans I wouldn't serve or a very small portion and very rarely (like one tablespoon). The salt content in baked beans (even the reduced salt ones) is quite high. Thing is if your LO is happy to only have a small serving that's fine, it's when they enjoy something and want to eat loads of it that there will be a problem. I sometimes used pre-cooked canned beans such as borloti or pinto beans (in water, no salt or sugar) but not in sauce or made my own sauce (not very often).
For alternatives when you feel your meal is not suitable I'd just steam some batons of veg, do enough on day 1 for day 2 too and just serve cold. Or if you were going to have the oven on anyway then do some roast batons of veg, parsnip, turnip, carrot chips.
If you serve side veggies or a salad then there are likely bits of that baby can have without having the pizza, batons of cucumber, toms. There's always fruit too.
in the very early days I always had back up portions of steamed/baked/roast apple, pear, carrots, green beans, asparagus, mange tout - not all of those all at once but just giving and example of what I might throw in the steamer for a couple of days worth of bits and pieces I knew he'd be ok with.
I often had a batch of pancakes on the go too so I could grab a few of those out of the fridge to add to a baby buffet.
I'm sure you'll enjoy the weaning once he is eating :)
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Thanks, lots of good ideas! I'm going to try homemade baked beans as DS1 thinks he'd like them.
I've made the little lasagnes, veggie ones, and they look fab! Great for my lunches, too.
I have realised today that it's not weaning per se that has got to me. It's giving up our exclusive feeding relationship; I've so enjoyed it this time and it's a big milestone. I had tubal ligation at c section so he is very definitely our last, and his babyhood is going far too fast.
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Sorry to hear you're feeling a bit sad about the exclusive feeding coming to an end, hopefully though you will enjoy the next stage too. I have film of DS when he started eating which I sometimes watch back now with great fondness, it amazes me he was so little, ate so much and so well, and he was also so so funny, I end up in stitches watching and reminiscing.
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Following with interest. DD has been on solids for 3 or 4 weeks now, we started with purées and mash on loaded spoons with DD self feeding, just because I get worried about choking in the early days. She's now refusing any spoons now so we're moving to full BLW & finger foods.
I too feel sad about moving on to the next stage. Oddly I miss BF nappies and feel a bit sad every time her nappy is a bit thicker & more solid! But pleased too that something must be going in!
I am lazy and can't be bothered making separate baby meals so she tends to have what we're having & I adapt our meals to be baby friendly. Our meals look like this:
Breakfast: pieces of fruit and either porridge or wheetabix made with less than normal milk so it's thick and claggy for her to pick up.
Lunch- we tend to have sandwiches or stuff on toast, so giving DD toast crusts dipped in one of the purées I'd prepared before, or I make thick smooth soup to dip toast. Thinking of trying scrambled egg or strips of omelette soon.
Tea: We have pasta and sauce so I give her easy to grab pasta dipped in sauce, or we have fish/chicken, potatoes & veg so she has strips of that stuff to try.
She had her first taste of roast dinner today - roast parsnip sticks were a particular success
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Sounds good SM!
I've just read most of the BLW book so have got a better idea of what we are in for now. Hoping the messy stage doesn't last too long, and wondering how I can persuade my sugar monster boys to tone it down so that baby doesn't want their food and get denied it.
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When baby is still little it might not be too hard to do sugar-eating in a different room or during baby's nap time. I think there are a few of us who have done "secret junk eating" out of sight of the LOs :)
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wondering how I can persuade my sugar monster boys to tone it down so that baby doesn't want their food and get denied it.
While he's still little I would think you'd be able to offer an alternative. (I'd try that first anyway).
Eg with DD2 she was happy to have a plain rice cake when she was little at times when DD1 had a treat like, e.g., a biscuit or cake. As she's got older though of course she wants the same thing but she was happy to have an alternative when she was younger.
When do you think you'll start? (I've lost track of how old your DS2 is!)
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I think there are a few of us who have done "secret junk eating" out of sight of the LOs :)
Chomping on surreptitious chocolate as I type!
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He's nearly five and a half months Cath (my baby is growing up too fast, sob)!
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The other thing I think is that esp with BLW they don't get much in, at least to start with. So I let my baby try anything the others are eating (except crisps and honey!). He has had tastes of ice cream, chocolate, cakes.....I have a close relative with an eating disorder and I am desperate for them to grow up thinking about food in a normal or relaxed way. In general we all eat the same things, and they are healthy, so I am relaxed about a bit of sharing. Esp as the twins give it with so much love, I never get tired of seeing them break a biscuit in half and hand it over!!
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He's nearly five and a half months Cath (my baby is growing up too fast, sob)!
Gosh, he is isn't he!
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I have more questions, please bear with me....
How often did you eat outside? It seems a real faff trying to sort a clean area for him in the garden but we are out a lot in the summer. Considering an ikea high chair just for outside.
What do you have in your change bag for BLW? The book says no bib, just strip them off, but surely not in a restaurant? I will take dettol wipes or similar, and a few bits of 'safe' food. Little cup? Cutlery, or not?
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Never used dettol wipes, but could be good for cleaning a high chair in a café, I suppose. I am not an anti-bac fan, but like Bentley's organic hand sanitiser. We had little cutlery but it didn't get much use til maybe 10 mos.
I always used a bib, and almost never stripped them off, unless it was high summer. 9 times out of 10 they could eat something I was having or from the menu, but you can easily carry a banana, some rice cakes, some chunks of roasted veg, cubes of cheese if you've got that far. Just food, yk? We often ate outside but it was just a question of carrying the chair outside. I don't get what you mean by a 'clean area', we would also often just sit on a blanket on the grass, easy peasy. We had the Ikea antilop for both of them and it is still going strong for visitors, and hands down the best high chair going IMHO, so easy to clean, move, use, comfortable. everything. Definitely worth £10 I paid!
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We ate out a lot because it was summer when DS turned 6 months so I often threw a picnic in a bag to whizz us out between sleeps. Also ate in cafes and restaurants too. Actually I think his first piece of solid was in a pub for lunch, I had not planned for him to eat but that's how it turned out - a case of hand him some food or I'd have to leave because he'd scream the place down. In my head I'd imagined some perfect planning on solids introduction, just didn't turn out like that.
For picnic out door eating I took a picnic blanket, some food, water, a wet face cloth in a zip-lock bag for his hands and face and a small pack of hand wipes for emergencies, usually a muslin for a bib. He didn't really drop his food but if he did it would be onto a muslin I suppose so I'd consider it clean enough to be picked up again.
I always travelled very light so if it was just taking food for him (ie not a full picnic for me too) it would be literally be a couple of tubs thrown into my hand bag and a wet cloth.
We went out for Sunday roast when he was only just 6 months, I steamed some veggies to take so I had something similar to our meal but prepared salt free and in finger sized batons. He was given a few bits from our plates too (hunk of beef off my mum with a dab of gravy on it, that would have been salty but just a tiny amount) a roast potato, bit of yorkshire pud etc. Steaming the veggies for him only took about 10 mins and just put them in a small tub, probably another tub of fruit knowing me and maybe a tub of bread sticks or pancakes too (I always made sure he had something to eat whilst we waited for our order or he'd get impatient).
I sometimes asked in a cafe or restaurant for them to clean the high chair tray (some of them are gross) and sometimes used my emergency wipes to clean it down or wipe the table if the chair had no tray and if I had no plate. When he was a little older I carried a plastic plate, plastic sippy cup, kids fork in a zip lock bag and I did take a bib (the waterproof sort), and still put a muslin around his waist which covered his legs and clothes and also prevented some food dropping to the floor. Some places washed the fork and plate up for me and returned them to us, others didn't and I just popped them back into the bag dirty, no problem.
The only reason I took a fork to a restaurant is because he used a fork often at home, he started with it pretty early, to begin with a small plastic fork then a kids metal fork. He did find some adult forks quite heavy and hard to use properly. I later took the full set, knife, fork, spoon.
I really didn't find BLW all that messy tbh. I think the only time he ever ate in just a nappy was when we had a heat wave and he was not dressed anyway, I never stripped him for meals otherwise.
The ikea antiplop is certain the best high chair ever! We used it out on our roof terrace and in the kitchen at home (we have the baby dan at the dining table), it certainly provides an instant clean area to place food but then a plastic plate does that too if it's just a place for food you need. If you're home and going into the garden to sit on grass you could use a large tray (set of 3 from the £ shop comes to mind, yk just tea trays) to place in front of him, easy to carry and clean. I wouldn't bother taking anything 'special' out to cafe's though cos it just adds to the amount of stuff you've got to carry.
I have a vague memory of having a fold up plastic change mat (very thin though, not a comfy change mat, a thin cheap thing that folded up tiny) which could act like a waterproof picnic blanket for DS if I needed him to sit on someone's carpet to eat. I think it was something I just had in the car rather than something I carried all around.
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I mean sitting at our wooden garden table, certainly not clean enough to eat from! It would be a real faff getting the chair down there too, so perhaps a grass picnic might work.
I like the muslin as bib idea, I have loads of those!
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I think the Ikea chair would last relatively well if left out doors, you could just tip it over to keep the rain off or let it drain off yk like regular garden furniture. I mean the plastic would perish eventually in a very hot country but I think a Summer in the UK it would be totally fine.
Otherwise where would LO sit? on your knee at the table? If so then a plastic plate or tea tray is fine to put food on. Or like you said sit on a blanket on the grass.
Or if your outside chairs are stable enough then maybe one of those travel type safety thingies which harness LO onto a regular chair. I wouldn't do it with ours though, they tip too easily.
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Well we have started and he is loving it! Tonight's home made baked beans (mashed, with chips to dip into them) were a particularly messy success.
Glad I have lots in the freezer to offer him different tastes.
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Have you see Close pop-in bibs? They are amazing! They are made from soft PUL (like they make washable nappy shells from) rather than plastic, but are waterproof and washable. Not the cheapest - but they are the best I have ever found. I am heading towards needing to buy some stage 4 ones as Thomas is just outgrowing the stage 3, but he has worn these from 6 months.
http://www.babipur.co.uk/feeding-teething-bpa-free/coverall-bibs-baby-led-weaning/pop-in-stage-3-coverall-bibs-2016-prints.html
You can sometimes find last seasons prints cheaper ::).
They wash and dry super fast so you only need 2 even if using full time.
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Ooh, good to know! I need one for the change bag.
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Oh aren't those adorable!!!!! Really lovely design!
You know me, always the bargain hunter, not as pretty as the bibs above but I got very similar (flexible plastic not PUL) bib from the £ shop, they were great. I'd totally forgotten about it until I saw that link.
Great to hear he's enjoying his first tastes - isn't it exciting :)
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Well we have started and he is loving it!
yay :D
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I got similar bibs from John Lewis for DD2 and they were great.
Like this, but a different design:
http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-baby's-noah's-ark-terry-bibs-pack-of-two-multi/p1837413
(They are selling a few different designs ATM).
When she outgrew then we switch to one of those scoopy bibs.
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Thanks Cath, I'll look out for that.
It's amazing to watch, it really is. Tonight I made sweet corn fritters (pulsed everything, bit leery of big bits atm) and he was just picking up bits, chewing and swallowing. I didn't expect chewing to come so quickly. Granted I'm giving him soft stuff for now, but wow, I'm blown away. All this fuss about lumpy food when you go down the purée route and bingo, with BLW all you do is hand them a mini pancake. Job done.
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haha! yes it really IS amazing isn't it?
I saw a good few LOs struggling with lumps or mashed food when DS was a toddler, they were still on puree beyond 12 months, it was such a struggle for the parents. And yes, hand them a bit of finger food and they just eat it :)
I'm so pleased to hear you sounding so positive and enjoying this experience.
I just noticed on another thread you mentioned meat, not sure if anyone covered that here or not, so I wanted to say chicken breast (maybe those mini fillets as you could freeze raw in individual bags then defrost one at a time when needed) boiled is nice and soft. I know boiled doesn't sound all that appetising but it stays so moist, we cook it this way for the grown ups too as it is so moist. If you used a full chicken fillet I would suggest slicing into strips before cooking as that helps to ensure it is cooked all the way through - it is super fast too, much quicker than other methods.
I think your DH eats meat, if I'm right, then so long as it is not highly processed and salty it is fine to offer LO some. My DS had roast beef in a pub lunch place at 6 months. I took steamed veggies with us so that I wasn't giving him veg cooked with salt etc but he got the meat from my mum and very happily gummed at it until there was just a strip of gristly fatty stuff remaining.
Slow cooked lamb shank was another big hit with DS, very soft but pieces big enough to pick up and get to his mouth.
In fact mine was not a meat lover and still isn't really, but certain things he does enjoy. I use beans and lentils to up his protein.
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Therein lies the problem; I think we have too much processed/quick meaty stuff as we tend to do a main that's common and meat on the side. I could do chicken and look up some lamb shank stuff, thanks. Maybe a roast chicken, too.
DH has promised to make him fish cakes!
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Sounds like he's doing great- could you share your recipe for homemade baked beans?
Fish is a good protein stand by. I buy frozen white fish or salmon fillets which cook in the microwave in 3-4 mins. I give DD a chunk and she'll happily gum it. It is soft, moist and flakes off nicely for her.
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How do you check for bones, SM? And that it's properly cooked? Without eating/tasting it yourself, that is.
Here's the recipe: http://babyledfeeding.com/recipes/baked-beans-refined-sugar-free-salt-free/
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I buy boneless fillets and trust the supermarket! (Perhaps naively!)
I usually cut a piece off the fillet to give to her and then can see whether it looks properly cooked. It should be a solid colour- if it's at all translucent I give it a bit longer.
DD loves it & gets a good amount too, more than she does from chicken pieces,
Thanks for bean recipe, will give it a try
Xxx
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I've fallen in love with my microwave steamer today!
Baby had strips of steamed organic chicken for dinner and it was SO quick. The others tried it too and pronounced it good, so another idea for non-processed meat-on-the-side family meals. I'm using BLW as a learning process.
But oh, the mess atm! And every meal takes so long!!!
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I also found every meal took a long time. Initially it was all we did in A time!! Around 45-60 min eating so there wasn't much time for anything else really once you've done the milk, nappy, got the food out, then clearing away...at times mine was so tired I had to whizz him straight to bed for his nap.
I remember a point where I realised thought that although we had very little play time he was still learning a huge amount about the world by exploring his food.
The chicken sounds lovely :) I don't use a microwave but do find boiled or steamed on the hob is very nice too. And thumbs up to non-processed meats :)
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although we had very little play time he was still learning a huge amount about the world by exploring his food
indeed - and to LOs at this age, and especially with BLW, they probably don't see the distinction between "play time" and "meal time" as much as older kids and adults do, or even at all! It's just a new kind of "play" which happens to involve putting things in your mouth :D
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Yes, totally understand that. As we have a separate dining room and I can't leave him, it means I am kinda tied to the dining table. Unless someone else is with him, of course.
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I made these today, really nice.
http://www.feedingfinn.com/carrot-apple-muffins-no-added-sugar/
Baby ate about half an adult-sized muffin, in the middle of the afternoon!
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they look really good :) I might try them.
Did you make apple puree specifically for the recipe or did you have some already?
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We have loads of stewed apples from our garden - DH did a marvellous job with them last year :).
You can buy it though, I think.
I might try them again and use more apple and a few whizzed-up dates, to see what that's like.