Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #2

[VickyB20]

Had a surprise success this evening with pomegranate seeds!  (I was inspired by your stories of peas and sweetcorn!)  I thought they'd mush them around a bit and then spit out the harder middle bit, but they ate the whole thing!  With no gagging either.  They ate about 6 or 7 each, I suppose.  Not a huge quantity but a good show for a first taste!

With courgette, I slice it diagonally and then roast or boil it (depending on what else I'm cooking at the time).  Generally speaking, they get their thumb & finger through the middle and nibble round the edge!

Sweet potato 'chips' (fries?) went down well here.  Just cut into chip size pieces and roast on a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil for about 20 minutes.  The outside has enough grip to hold whilst the inside is mushy.  Brynley absolutely LOVED them!!  Kayden, however, prefer normal potato 'chips' prepared the same way.

Great pic of Alice!

Vicky
xx

[grahamsmama]

Lyn, do you leave the skin on when giving the baked apples?

I used the corer, so I had an apple "stick" and the skin was on either end, but she didn't eat it, just spit it out.  When I give her apple slices that aren't baked, though, I do the rings and just leave the skin on. 

How do you all prepare the peas?

[rob1lu2]

Pauline - I have those exact high chairs!

I have done the sweet potato "chips"/fries. It is good gripability. I think it was Vicky who suggested slicing the pears in rounds and coring them. I do that with the girls and they do well with them. I also pour dried rice cereal directly on their high chair tray so the slippery foods aren't so slippery. I know someone had suggested rolling the slippery foods in crushed cereal or the rice cereal, but I found it wasn't enough. It's a total mess, but I just rinse them off in the sink afterward - both the high chair tray and the girls!

Did papaya today. Sylvie kept putting it in her mouth, pulling it out of her m outh, looking at it, putting it back in her mouth. Pretty funny. Want to try mango fingers next.

Love the pomegrante seed idea! Still haven't offered wheat. Want to do that and tomatoes soon so they can have pasta and sauce.

Pauline - I think it's a great idea to dip the bread in some soup. At the very least she can suck the soup out! Also, I roast carrot sticks. They get very soft, and like the sweet potatoes, end up having some grip to them. Just Olive oil and a bit of salt (I know, no salt, but just a teeny bit).

Lu

[Aly Mac]

Lu I must try roasting the carrots - even now, it's so hard to get them the right consistency.  Cant' wait til she can chomp even better and just give them to her raw. that and celery! 

I must say, now that L's one, and pretty much on our food, it makes life so much easier.  Still careful with nuts, but want to try peanut paste soon.  Has had a little honey in some youghurt that I was eating, but really I odn't put honey on too much (though on cooked carrots are nice  ).  And of course she likes cake - she loved her piece of bday cake that I made (will post pics when I get time to download them!)  I want to get her eating more at the table now too.  Not that I didn't before, but we have an island bench in the kitchen and that's where we normally eat bfast and lunch.  dinner is too early for dh and I so we have ours later (in front of tv - i know, bad  )  I'm going to move bfast and lunch into the dining room and see how we go.  Just looks more like table iykwim? 

[VickyB20]

They still seem hungry... what to do?

I'm not 100% sure about this, but I often get the sense that they tire of feeding themselves before they're really satiated IYKWIM.  Sometimes, I end up offering the food to them on my fingers and they chomp through loads more.  (Not sure if that's 'allowed' in BLW, but it works for us!)  Also, they've recently started to drink more and more milk and ask for more and more breastfeeds, which is opposite to what I would have anticipated at this age (9 months).  They down a 7ozs bottle at dreamfeed and have at least one more feed (breast in the week or formula - 7ozs - from DH on weekends) before morning.  I don't think it's habit - I think they are genuinely hungry. 

They're not particularly big or anything.  They're tall, but on the 50th centile for weight, so I can't imagine they need more than other 9 months old.  But it's so hard to tell!  I know that if I was spoon feeding them mush, then they'd be eating a lot more in quantity (having gone down the mushy route with DD1) and a sneaky doubtful part of me wonders if this is the right way.  :-(  Having said that, they won't take any food other than yoghurt, and the occasional fruit puree, off a spoon so I'm not sure I have the choice!

Any thoughts or tips?  I have thought about offering them more snacks - perhaps after each bf, but I don't want to set up bad snacking habits either!!

Hope you're all having a good day.

Vicky
xx

[Bryony]

Lyn - peas - I just boil the frozen ones 

Aleesa - Katie eats all her meals with me at the dining room table too.  We don't have a table in the kitchen, and as her high chair does not have a tray it makes most sense. I really like having her sit there with me!  We eat our breakfast and lunch together, and then I have a cup of tea and some fruit while she has her tea - then DH and I eat dinner after she's in bed.  We go out for lunch quite often either to cafes / restaurants, or to friends' houses, and it's so lovely having Katie joining in and having whatever we're having!

Vicky - wow, sounds as if you have two hungry boys!  I am afraid I don't have any suggestions - Katie is not a big eater. I am sure others will have some thoughts for you.

Katie is still not back on solids but I am reading along getting ideas for when she gets her appetite back! 

Bryony x

[Aly Mac]

Vicky, my lo went thru a similar thing about that age (I think  ).  It's like she got tired, but if I gave her some spoon food (we do youghurt and puree fruit, and cereal) she ate more. I still sometimes *help* her by putting a little in her mouth or in her hand.  Maybe it's a growth spurt? I thought at the time, it was about timing and ability.  It worried me that she was hungrier than she was able to feed herself, so I went thru a mushed stage for a couple of weeks, and tried to time dinner better (she was going thru short naps at the time, so bedtime was early) it helped us. again, not sure if pure BLW, but I figured it worked and she was leading me to help her!  Them wanting more milk is better than giving too much solids at their age too.

I hope that helps you a little.

[Lippy Chick]

Lu, how funny you have the same chairs.  She looks so tiny in it.  We roasted the carrots, sweet potatoes and courgettes and I think the only thing that was the right consistency was the courgette.  I guess we have to assume we're starting from scratch with the BLW because of her tummy bug.  So we have to go back to really soft foods.  Have loads of ideas from everyone.

Lyn, the peas are just the frozen variety and boiled.  She was actually using the pincer grip to pick them up, but couldn't manage to put them in her mouth.

Anne, thanks.  I've noticed you lurking from time to time, are you thinking about BLW?  I know you're back at work and so it might not be practical for you.

Has anyone else noticed that web links seem to be disappearing?  I've noticed it in a few other posts too.  I put a link in my post about the beaba freezer trays so you could see what I was talking about and the link isn't there.  I thought I'd put it there "illegally" and it had been taken off.

Vicky, glad you had great success with the pomegranate seeds.  What a good idea, will probably try that when she's eating properly.  Again, Alice isn't a big eater (just below the 25th centile) and so we don't really have the same issues.

Aleesa, we eat every meal together at the dinner table, her obviously in her chair.  It will be great when she is actually eating good amounts rather than just playing with it.

Bryony, really hope Katie is much better soon and you can move forward with her feeding.  I think you'll find she doesn't go back to square one but maybe not quite where she was.  Should pick it up fairly quickly though.

Again today Alice finished her petit filous, but not her courgette.  I didn't have it on the table today, so she would think she wasn't getting any.  I think she's starting to hold out for the petit filous.  It's like she's looking for it and then when I brought it out she smiled at it.  Wee tinker.  Might go a few days without giving her any at all.  I would like her to eat other stuff first.

Hope you're all having good days.

Pauline

[grahamsmama]

I'd noticed it yesterday, but if you type in the address rather than just copy/paste it will work.  It was doing it when I was linking to otehr BW topics, so I don't think it's an "illegal" thing.

[MJMom]

Vicky- Marina only eats so much with BLW as well.  I offer a combo of finger foods and purees.  If she doesn't eat enough solids in the day, she will wake up earlier in the night.  We dont' like that.  I think the fundamental of BLW is that you follow your child's readiness signs.  And if that means puree to top them off, it means puree.  JMO FWIW.

For the links, there is a post on the glitches forum.  When you paste in your URL type [ur l] before it and [/u rl] after it (without the spaces).  Or when you are in Preview mode, use the hyperlink button and it will give you prompts to add the URL and what you want to name the URL.

[evanskimberley]

We are having great sucess with plums at the moment , all that was left was the skin at lunch today! And tomatoes seem to be a hit too and are great for the poos!

[rob1lu2]

Vicky,

I think you get to do whatever you want. There is no BLW police here that is going to come to your house and bust you for feeding some purees on a spoon to your boys. Or putting food in their mouths for them. Even if we had some super hard core members that were diametrically opposed to helping them, you still get to do what you want. So, I say, if they are still hungry, feed them!

I totally help the girls because I don't want them to get frustrated at meal time. I want them to enjoy eating and I want them to eat. So I put food on their spoon for them, and give them the spoon. Sometimes they eat the handle end, and the food ends up on the tray, sometimes they get it right. Slippery food gets the cereal on the tray treatment, but if they are just chasing it and chasing it and chasing it, I cut them a break, pick it up and put it in their hands. Some times I even put it in their mouths!!!    There I said it! I put food in my daughters' mouths for them. And I don't think I'm a terrible person for it! 

When we first started BLW they would tire very easily, of trying to feed themselves. They are much better about it now, and getting more practice and more skilled at it. When they drop the food ontheir laps, I pick it up for them. I think the fact that they already know how tofeed themselves, and that they are used to food in it's natural state (not exclusively purees) is what's most important.

But that's just me. What do I know?

Lu

[evanskimberley]

I agree - you are teaching them how to eat and part of that process is how to use a spoon. And I totoally agree with tiredness thing, i even have to feed Holly sometimes till cos she just can't be bothered and she's three!

[VickyB20]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions - and for the support.  Perhaps if I was absolutely always totally 100% able to follow their cues (i.e. be a complete super woman!), it would be different because if they wanted to breastfeed all night, then I'd be able to oblige!!!  But I can't do that, so I have to find a balance somewhere.

We had a good day with solids today though.  I brought lunch and dinner forward by half an hour.  I think that helped - firstly, they were less tired for the meal time and secondly they were less full at their next milk feed.  Perhaps tonight will be the night that they sleep through!!  (Not too hopeful though!)

They had risotto for lunch... mostly off my fingers!  They ate all that I had put aside for them AND what I had in a bowl for their sister!  It's fab because it had all sorts of veggies in it and beans for protein and obviously the rice for carbs.  I think I might be making lots and lots of risottos over the next few months!  And it's sticky too so it just sticks to their fingers! 

They had cream cheese and lentil sandwiches for dinner, which they devoured with (nearly) no help from me!

So lots of food today.  But then Brynley also breastfed before their am nap (he was tugging at my top) AND afterwards.  They were BOTH pulling at my top before their pm nap and when they woke up, Brynley had 6ozs of formula and Kayden had 7ozs.  Totally crazy.  Must be a growth spurt or something.  I hope my milk supply hasn't dropped.

Anyhow, now I'm ranting so I'd better stop!

Vicky
xx

[rob1lu2]

Rant away, Vicky, we are happy to hear it.

So I got inspired by the plums and gave a half to each girl. First of all, they LOVED it. But I was so nervous about the skin, the whole choking thing. So my Mom is there, and she had to leave the kitchen she was so freaked out about Inez choking on the skin. Then DH was there helping with dinner and he was ready to stick his finger in there to get it out, which worried me b/c I was sure he was just going to ram it down her throat. So he didn't do that. But I'm watching anxiously, praying, and sure enough she's suck suck sucking and slowly I can see the skin creeping out of her mouth. So I used my fingernails to pull it out.

I don't know if I'm brave enough to go through that again!   

I gave Sylvie her piece and held it in my fingers so she wouldn't choke. Or maybe I did it so *I* wouldn't choke!

So, anyway, PLUMS a raging success!

Lu