Baby-led Weaning Support Thread Part 3

[Bryony]

Julzmom - we did fish and minced beef - I found that chicken is quite dry and Katie finds it more difficult to eat even now. But I know others have had success with chicken

Bryony

[Lippy Chick]

We've done chicken, lamb, beef, pork and tuna.  We tend to do a lot of casseroles, so the meat will be in small pieces.  Sometimes though she hasn't liked the sauces and so I've washed that off and she's ate the meat.  She's been fine with meat actually and really likes tuna.  Initially it needs to be in good size chunks, or put it in her mouth for her if it becomes troublesome.  Now Alice can pick up fairly small bits and put them in her mouth, so tuna is a real favourite at the moment.

She ate bucket loads tonight for dinner.  We were at our music group at lunch time, so she had a banana muffin.  Finished that off and was asking for more (signing), poor wee thing, I didn't have any more for her.  So for dinner tonight she ate two huge chunks of tuna, about 12 pieces of pasta (swirls) and about 8 small florets of broccoli, didn't finish her milk, but we can forgive her that.

Jaylabliss, don't know if I'm being stupid, what's tahini, I haven't heard of it.  You might want to post that in the recipe section.

Pauline

[Freya'sMum]

Some meats (chicken, beef, pork, lamb) are tricky for los without teeth in their natural state - they can't bite them or chew them even if some does break off when gnawed! The famous sausage recipe in the recipes section offers an easier alternative and can be created using any of these meats!

Fish is easier to chew with just gums, but more tricky to self feed as it doesn't easily stay in chip shapes to gnaw on. Tinned salmon or tuna can be used to create fish/potato sausages!

Scrambled egg yolk (under 12 months), sliced cooked ham, baked beans (or other kinds) are also good protein sources for those with a pincer grip!

Ax

[Lippy Chick]

Alison, I give Alice scrambled eggs all the time.  Did you mean that under 12 months they shouldn't have egg whites, because I've been told she can basically have everything I ate during pregnancy.  As long as the eggs are fully cooked it's not a problem.  Alice also didn't have a problem with meat without any teeth, her teeth have only come through in the past month and she gummed it all fine.  It's all trial and error and you have to do what works for you.  Why can't they have egg whites?

Pauline

[~*Sugar*~]

I was reading and saw the question of what is tahini and thought i would answer,hope its ok....

Tahini and sesame paste are ground sesame seeds used in cooking. The Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds; the East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds.

Tahini is a major ingredient in hummus and other Middle Eastern foods. It is sold fresh or dehydrated.

[MJMom]

Alison, I give Alice scrambled eggs all the time.  Did you mean that under 12 months they shouldn't have egg whites, because I've been told she can basically have everything I ate during pregnancy.  As long as the eggs are fully cooked it's not a problem.  Alice also didn't have a problem with meat without any teeth, her teeth have only come through in the past month and she gummed it all fine.  It's all trial and error and you have to do what works for you.  Why can't they have egg whites?

it is a VERY common allergan.  not in all infants, but it is so common it is on the don't list.  Supposedly it's OK when mixed in say pancakes as a secondary or tertiary ingredient, as the flour breaks down the proteins causing the allergan.
Apparently, in quiche, not so OK as I found out the hard way.    

[Freya'sMum]

In the UK they don't specify not to give egg whites, but having spent nearly a year on this forum, it seems to be a food that many babies under 12 months have a bad reaction to, and many other countries recommend it as a food for 12 months+, so there is nothing intrinsically wrong with giving egg whites, but it would be one of those foods I'd caution folk to be extra vigilant about monitoring for reactions when introduced

Ax

[Lippy Chick]

I see.  It is interesting the difference between countries and the dos and don'ts of each.

Also thanks for the explanation on tahini.  I think I'd heard of it, but didn't know what it was.

Alice is having her 8-12 month health check tomorrow.  Thankfully the nursery nurse doing it has been behind me with the BLW, so we should have a good catch up too about that.

Pauline

[Bryony]

Yes it is interesting how different it is, isn't it!  We have done eggs since the begginning too...

Well so much for BLW supposed to encourage LOs not to be fussy eaters!  KAtie used to eat pretty much everything, but for the last 3 weeks all she will eat is Special K breakfast cereal, and minced beef.       Given that DH and I do not want to eat red meat EVERY  meal, this means that she is getting a lot of Special K. Which is higher in salt and sugar than I would like but hey ho what can I do!  I end up offering it to her in the evenings when she's eaten absolutely nothing of what we have for tea, becuase I don't want her waking up hungry at 4am.

Has anyone else had similar problems?

Oh and she ate half of DH's takeaway curry the other day - but I can't give her that very often either!

Bryony

[Cathy_D]

How frustrating for you, Bryony ... Anna is starting to realise that she can express preferences for some foods over others, too - I liked it better when she still believed that whatever was in your bowl, you ate it!

How is Katie on other cereals?  Just wondering if it is especially the taste that she wants, or if there is something satisfying about the shape/texture/grabability of Special K that she likes, and whether there might be another cereal that is similar, but lower in salt and sugar? Not that this is a long term solution, I admit!  But hoping that it is just a phase that won't last anyway ...

We discovered another GREAT BLW food today that has minimal preparation time and mess (always the kind of thing I like!)  Swedish meatballs - much nicer texture that 'real' minced beef meatballs for gumming. And they are ready-cooked so she can have them straight from the packet out of the fridge.  I think they will prove an ideal picnic food (which is just as well since there's a limit to the number of times I can give her cream cheese and ham sandwiches for lunch in the church creche before someone decides shes in danger of being malnourished!)

Anyone got any suggestions about other things to put in sandwiches that stick the bread together as well as cream cheese does, and are equally mess free?  I suppose I could try peanut butter (much as I detest the stuff and have never had it in the house!) but I'm not sure how long I should be avoiding peanuts for?

Also tried grapes for the first time today. Bad mistake!! Very nasty explosive poo nappies this evening.  Are grapes a common thing babies react to? (I seem to remember lots of people telling me I shouldn't eat grapes in the early days of breastfeeing but I always ignored them and it never seemed to upset her then).   Will have to add them to the LONG list of fruits that make her tummy funny.

[Freya'sMum]

Cathy, I think grapes do that to most babies, it might not be a 'funny tummy' reaction just for Anna

Bryony, I wonder whether Katie has learned that if she doesn't eat her dinner, you'll give her the preferred Special K? They're bright kiddies! If so, she has no incentive to eat her dinner, so while you might be reluctant to risk a 4am waking, unless you make it clear to her that if she doesn't eat what you offer her at mealtime she's gonna go hungry, why would she eat it when she knows she'll get cereal if she doesn't?

I know that BLW is about trusting los' instincts and giving them control over feeding, but I think this has to be balanced with not letting them dictate every aspect of mealtimes - you are in charge, she can only choose from what you offer within the boundaries you set - I think she might be testing those boundaries

Ax

[grahamsmama]

Meghan has started getting picky too.  So, I've decided it's time to teach her to use a fork by herself.  She is delighted by the new "toy" and she's eating things that she had been refusing.  Right now I'm just putting the fork in her hand, helping her stab the food and then she puts it in her mouth, with varying degrees of success.  She does enjoy it though!

[Lippy Chick]

Good for you Lyn.  I've been thinking about introducing a fork. 

I think Alison makes a good point about Katie eating Special K.  I wouldn't have thought of that.

Alice had her health check yesterday.  The nursery nurse was really pleased with her progress and said that her pincer grip is fantastic and her eating is great.  I asked about her being sick so much and she suggested starting to really reduce the 4pm milk feed and give her a drink of cows' milk instead, so therefore becomes a snack to see her through to dinner.  She said at this age we expect them to be drinking 18oz of milk a day.  Alice is drinking 29oz.  Her food intake this week has really increased (not sure if it's a growth spurt, we'll see) and her weight gain as increased slightly, which I'm happy about because she has hovered just below the 25th and she's moving back up towards it again.  We think it might be time to move to solids first because of her being sick after milk feeds, she's also been crying a  bit during her milk feeds and gets really bored after a while, she seems like she just doesn't want it.  So it feels right, so hubby and I are going to think through it this weekend and see how we can do all of that and maybe start next weekend.

Also the nursery nurse said that at this age she can have drinks of cows' milk, but not only cows' milk because it doesn't have enough nutrients in it.  So it might be a good way to get her drinking from the cup to give that 4pm feed in the cup with cows' milk.  We'll see.

Lovedtodeath hasn't been around much recently, wonder if they're OK?

Pauline

[Cathy_D]

Funny you should mention forks ... Hadn't thought about introducing cutlery until this week, and then had a friend's daughter (without the friend) for lunch. She's 20 months and as I put lunch in front of her I suddenly thought 'Hmmm .... how will she expect to eat this?! ' And of course she couldn't really tell me (she said 'Fork' a lot but I wasnt sure if that was 'I recognise that thing is a fork' or 'I always eat my lunch with a fork'!! )  So I realised I had no idea at what age LOs get good at cutlery or when to start introducing Anna to it!  We muddled through with a fork and fingers, however, and she did a great job at feeding herself yoghurt with her spoon.

Until that point, hadn't even considered giving Anna cutlery, and suddenly had a vivd picture of her in a high chair, eating with her fingers, reading board books, and playing with shape sorters at the age of 12, because I'm clueless about what age they move onto the 'next step' in so many areas    So, maybe now is the time to introduce eating implements alongside fingers.

Any thoughts on whether a fork or spoon is the easier thing to introduce first, or whether to give her both and see what she prefers?  Was just enjoying the fact that we are starting to get much neater at eating, with less mess on the floor/table/high chair. But introducing cutlery will, I imagine, rather undo that!

Glad that Alice did so well at her health check.

[Bryony]

Alison - yes I had been wondering that too - but I also really really don't want her to wake up hungry at 4am cos I haven't fed her at night since she was 4 months old and don't want to get back into the habit now. Tricky one      I have now bought some mini shredded wheats which are lower in salt and sugar, and will try her on those later.   I will have to think about whether or not to withhold the cereal or keep it as a plan B!   On the positive side we are getting a lot less food throwing though...

Cathy - sandwich fillings - hummous, peanut butter (yes I hate the stuff too, but Katie likes it and it's pretty nutrituous! I think if there is no history of allergies in the family it's OK from about 9 months - but do check the recommendations as I tend to ignore them!), brie, ham, cream cheese, tuna mayo.....     Grapes are fine for Katie - it's the only fruit she will eat  

Lyn - good idea about a fork, I will try that!

Bryony