Baby-led Weaning Support Thread Part 3

[lyndsy_p]

  How do I know if she's choking?

Meghan hasn't choked on any foods, but she did pick a leaf up off the floor and choked on that.  I flipped her over, held her downward and hit her back.  She threw up all over the place and the leaf came out. 

I think it's easier for them if you give them rather big pieces of things so they can hold onto it and suck/chew the end.  Even now, Meghan prefers big chunks over bite size pieces.

1. LOL Lynn, this sounds like something Graesha would do. I also have used that same manouver on her when she choked on a piece of bite sized cheese, which brings me to...
2. I agree with the big chunks. I cut a banana in half then in half again, and she seems to do the best with these big wide spears. The smaller pieces she just won't put in her mouth. Ie:Cheerios

Welcome Laurie...if your LO likes crackers, try Baby Mumums. They are rice crackers that dissolve very quickly.

Lyndsy

[Cathy_D]

Hi Laurie!!  I agree about avoiding small pieces of hard things to minimise the risk of choking. But you might find you need to experiment a bit with the size and shape of squishier stuff. 

By the sound of it, some LOs are really good with big bits, but my DD has always shown little interest in anything too big to go in her mouth in one go. If I give her an 8th of a pear in a sort of segment shape she'll still stuff it all in at once rather than gum off a bit at a time.  If it REALLY won't go in, she won't have it.

I always used to give her banana pieces which were 1/3rd of a banana long, and then split into thirds down the middle (IYKWIM). She loved them. But the 1st time DH fed her instead of me, he split it into round pieces, about a fingers width thick, which were a perfectly sensible size for her to hold, and she wouldn't have them!! She's more versatile now, but I guess it just proves that you need to experiment with how you offer foods as well as what you offer, in order to work out what they like and dislike.

By far her favourite things to eat now are tiny ones that require a fine pincer grip ... peas, sweetcorn, cheerios. Obviously the complete opposite of Graesha!

I worried loads about the choking thing, but she's never done it. At least, not at mealtimes. The closest she came was coughing A LOT and then throwing up a big glitter star whilst we were at Mums & Toddlers. We'd had done Christmas crafts the week before and she must have found it on the floor and swallowed it    Which goes to prove that all the practice on the cheerios and sweetcorn is not always a good thing ....

[jaylabliss]

Hey there ellie's mama
I also have a 7 month old and am relatively new to BLW- just wanted to assure you that for my LO- the gagging only lasted a week or so, now he occasionally gags, but it doesn't even faze me now b/c I know he's just trying to get something out of his mouth- like a kiwi skin or bell pepper skin- he will suck them until all the flesh is gone and then gag/spit out the skins.
We have been so happy about this process- even my mother -in-law is hooked- and she recommends it to her friends with grandbabies now too! 
On another note- Jude has been constipated today -- but I can't figure out what it would be from- yesterday he ate a pear, a string cheese, and a couple handfuls of asparagus....So I've just been giving him water and hoping it will pass (pun intended)...he is not too happy though!

[Cathy_D]

re constipation - I think it is not just what they eat but how ripe it is. Some fruits have a more or less laxative effect depending on ripeness. Firm, unripe banana is meant to be constipating whilst ripe, squishy banana isn't. And I think pear is the same. So if it was a comparatively hard pear, maybe that contributed.  Or it could just be lack of water.
 
There is a REALLY helpful post on here somewhere (not on the BLW thread, though) by someone who really seemd to know her stuff, that explains about constipation and laxative foods, and the need for fibre, water and oils in the diet to keep things moving normally. But I can't find it now.  Anyone else read it and know the one I mean?

On that subject, I've always been a bit cynical about the BLW idea that babies choose what is good for them to eat, but the other week Anna was constipated (from having had insufficient water because I'd changed from the sippy cup to a doidy and she just doesn't seem to drink as much from it).  And for the next day and a bit she went crazy for fruit!  She normally has two pieces a day but that day she had a whole banana, some pear, some mango, a whole peach and a whole nectarine.  BMs back to normal shortly afterwards!!

[Cathy_D]

The post I was thinking of is actually 2 .... they are Elvira's last ones on the Laxative Foods sticky in the Feeding solid Food boards. I found it really helpful to get beyond just thinking 'is it this food or that one' when trying to solve a problem, and think about how they all work together.

HTH

[Lippy Chick]

I agree on the constipation front, that it can be a lack of water, because they are taking on solid food (although full of water), they need to take on more fluids to ensure loose stools.  So my HV tells me anyway.

Alice had a bit of a gagging moment earlier today.  She was having crumpet and put too much into her mouth at once.  I was at the point of the harness being half way off and she coughed it all out.  She had a wee whimper, I hugged her, put the harness back on and she picked up what she'd just spat out and ate it all.  Then proceeded to eat the rest of the crumpet but in smaller pieces (I'd ripped them into smaller pieces, but she was actually chomping them into smaller pieces too).  So all was fine.  We're the ones who worry about gagging and choking, they just get on with it.

Pauline

[lovedtodeath]

I think it is easier for lo to get constipated with BLW b/c purees are mixed with lots of liquid. and one time jake was constipated and when he went it was very difficult...out came a big piece of perfectly undigested peach! So something to look out for.

[lilmonkey]

Cathy, do you mean the posts from Elvira in the Laxative Foods thread?  I found her replies to be very helpful in getting things moving along. 

Is it too early to give pancakes to ds?  I gave him a little bit of mine this morning and he seemed ok with it.  Also if it is ok, where might I find some good recipes that uses veggie purees?

[lovedtodeath]

Mimi,

About the pancakes: Some of us are a little hesitant to introduce highly allergenic foods such as milk, eggwhites and wheat, and have waited on them. I made Jake's first pancakes with different flour (millet, barley) and substituted formula or purees for the milk and tapioca flour for the eggs. I introduced wheat and eggs at 8 months, though it was still a little early by some standards but the wheat makes my life easier, as he is allergic to oats, and I am waiting on milk, since he tested allergic to it when he was 2 months old, though he seems to tolerate small amounts in my diet now. So really it is up to your discretion keeping in mind family allergies.

You can add veggie purees to lots of stuff. Their are some ideas here http://www.oprah.com/foodhome/food/jseinfeld/recipes/jseinfeld_recipes_main.jhtml to get you started. Cawliflower works well with eggs and potatoes. Sweet potatoes and pumpkin are good subs for milk in recipes. If you have a specific veggie that is hard, let us know. Have fun!


Someone mentioned peanut butter. When I had daycare, some of the moms mixed it with yogurt and dipped apples in it. It wasn't so sticky that way and really yummy!!

[elliesmama]

Thanks so much for all your great replies!  I feel so much less nervous and so much more excited to get started on this!  I boiled some sweet potatoes today and will try them tomorrow morning. 

[Cathy_D]

About the pancakes: Some of us are a little hesitant to introduce highly allergenic foods such as milk, eggwhites and wheat, and have waited on them.

And some of us are extremely cavalier about it      (No history of allergies in our family, and the guidance here (UK) tends towards not avoiding things unless you have reason to suspect that there will be a problem). So pick whichever approach you feel more comfortable with.

I make pancakes with regular flour, egg and full-fat milk and roll a filling up inside (a particular favourite is spinach in cheesy sauce).  American pancakes seem to have all the yummy things in the mixture itself, which is new to me. But will check out some of those recipes next time we fancy something a bit different!

[Lippy Chick]

I was going to say the same thing as Cathy.  As long as there are no allergies in your family, you have no reason to suspect there will be a problem.  However, it is always better to be safe than sorry.  We have allergies in our family (hayfever, dermatitis etc.) and we give eggs, flour and milk seem to have no problems with them.  I know what Cathy means about the difference in UK and US pancakes.  Alice loves pancake, we literally put nothing on it and she eats the lot.

I think we're in desperate need of a few interesting and yet not too messy recipes.  I think I'm going to attempt some sausages at some point and try to put some veggies in it too.  Not sure what yet.  Does anyone have any good tried and tested recipes?  We think Alice is getting a bit bored with our repertoire at the moment.

Pauline

[Cathy_D]

We're stuck in a bit of a rut, too.

Our current (reasonably clean) regular things are
 - The Famous Sausage recipe (in our house, that means chicken or pork, leeks, breadcrumbs, herbs all whizzed in the food processor. Squiged into sausages and friend),
 - egg and potato cakes (left-over, cooked potato in small chunks, beaten egg and enough flour to make it stick together. Can add veggies. squiged into patties and fried)
 - Pancake with spinach and cheese sauce mixture spread inside
 - Beef or pork mini-meatballs, grilled or fried
 - Most kinds of quiche/tart providing the filling isn't too squidgy
 - Also frozen mixed veg (peas, sweetcorn, carrot sticks all mixed up). She likes to pick out all of one thing for a while, then change colour!Very little goes on the floor at all.

Pretty much everything else we like is still very messy!!

In an attempt to conquer the rut, I've just gone back to planning mine and DH's meals week by week instead of a daily scramble to do something based on whatever is in the fridge/freezer!  And that has made me think more about broadening the range of things we eat and making sure that what I cook for us is suitable for Anna the next day, too.

So, from now on she will mostly be getting 1 meal a day which is 'shared' with us (only she gets it the next day). I prefer to think of it as delayed sharing, rather than leftovers    So, this week, we will be trying mild lamb curry, pesto rissotto cake, chicken and veggies in a creme fraiche sauce, parsnip and onion tart, vegetable lasagne and homemade pizza.  Not sure if any of these will prove to be not too  messy. But if any of them make it into the 'we should have this again' list, according to DH, and the 'more eaten then thrown on the floor' category, according to DD, then I'll post the recipes!

[Bryony]

I prefer to think of it as delayed sharing, rather than leftovers   

I like it!!  In future I will call it delayed sharing in our household too 

[Lippy Chick]

Cathy, thanks muchly.  I haven't really made a lot for Alice, she tends to have pasta plain with no sauce, or whatever bolognese has stuck to it or roasted veggies or bits of meat that we're having.  We are concerned about the salt intake though and so really need to start making stuff for her.  I got the Jenny Maizels book, but I have to say I'm not overly impressed with it.  I'm still toying with the idea of a book of recipes for BLW for 6-12 month olds.  That book doesn't cover a lot for younger babies.  I'm not too keen on the recipes and am certainly not keen on the cream cheese recipes she suggests, which makes me think it's more for over ones.  However, I don't have any recipes at the mo, so must get cooking. 

Bryony, I was thinking about you today.  I spoke to my HV today, only she's on a secondment for 6 months and so is no longer my HV.  Anyway, I was asking her about the next step in the weaning process.  She has suggested giving Alice her normal morning milk feed, then breakfast an hour and a quarter later.  Then skipping the mid morning milk and giving lunch about 12 and about 12.45 giving milk in a cup to reduce that amount.  Then at 4 skip that milk feed too and give a snack of yoghurt and a drink of milk in a cup.  Then dinner at 5.30 and bottle at bed as normal.  So the routine would look like.

7.30 wake and milk 8oz
8.45 breakfast
12 lunch
12.45 milk in a cup
4pm yoghurt and milk in a cup
5.30 dinner
6.40 milk 8oz bottle and bed.

She was very strong on the idea of milk being the main source of nutrition until 1 and so not reducing it too much.  She said to try that and see how we get on for a while.  Alice has started being sick about 5pm every night for about 2 weeks and so she said it just may be that she needs to reduce her milk intake at that time of night.  Also that Alice's morning sleep may become a thing of the past soon too.  She is kind of pushing it later and later by not going down and not really staying asleep either.  So wondering if it's time to wean her off that too, however, not an issue for here.

What do people think about this?

Pauline