BLW Question: At what age did you give baby a hunk of meat? I'm scared

[Peek-a-boo]

So yesterday I made chicken broth, which involved simmering a chicken for about 10 hours.  By the end of 10 hours the meat was falling off the bone and incredibley tender. 

I'm thinking of giving a chunk to DD who is 7.5 months old.  I put some in my mouth and was able to mush it pretty well with just my tongue against the roof of my mouth. 

She's doing great with spears of banana--mushing them up and swallowing them.  I think she's getting the hang of some basic chewing as teh banans are not going straight through her like other foods have.

I'm feeling nervous about this though.  Experienced BLWers, what do you think?

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I waited a bit longer, but like you, I was nervous!  I'd be inclined to give it a try, but with a really small piece - small enough that if it DOES go down whole for some reason, it won't run the risk of choking.  Let me know how it goes!

[Peek-a-boo]

Hmmm, I was thinking of going the other way and giving her a big chunk so that she could grab it in her fist and gnaw off little (I hope) bits from edge. 

[debo620]

Bethany, I give Cohen small chunks of chicken often.
If I give him a big spear he'll chew off a very large amount, which scares me more.

[Mimi 2]

I think I waited till about 8 mos for the chicken.  I started off with little bits that's already mashed with my fingers then I just gave him a drumstick with bits of meat still attached.  Shortly after I gave him ribs.

Good luck!

[Samuel's mum]

Josie had pieces of meat as you describe from the beginning. I usually followed the BLW advice of giving a larger piece she could hold and take piece off herself. She also started by just licking and nibbling. We've never had any difficulties.

[*Nicola*]

Callie's tried meat lots of times but still can't seem to manage it!

Not sure if it's the texture or the lack of teeth.  We give large chunks and let her do what she want's with it x

[Peek-a-boo]

Well, I gave her a large chunk.  She picked it up, popped it in her mouth, and immediately ripped off a much larger piece than I was comfortable with (it was soooo very soft)--it was quite funny thougha she ripped it off with such flair, like a man tearing into a piece of jerky.  So then I put a bunch of smaller pieces on her tray.  She proceeded to stuff  a bunch of those into her mouth.

She was rolling them around, chewing, packing the meat into her cheeks and not swallowing.  I ended up sweeping a lot of out of her mouth because she didn't seem to want to swallow it and I was worried.    I'm a nervous nelly about choking though; I probably should have let it run its course and see how it went . . . she hasn't choked on anything yet. 

So, overall, not a big success.  I have more chicken left--not sure if I should try again or not. 

[*Nicola*]

Just what Callie does.  I think the meat just goes into shreds in their mouths and they don't quite know what to do with it!

Can you do some home made chicken nuggets with dip and see how she goes?

Or dip some bread/toast into the soup for her to eat.  Callie loves that x

[Samuel's mum]

You can make a great chicken nugget with minced chicken and apple puree.

Josie has never come close to choking but I have swept out occasionally - it's usually smaller pieces that cause the stuffing problem here.
It sounds like you had some success to me. She experienced different flavours and textures!

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I found the chicken nugget/sausages worked fairly well - I would make them long enough to hold in her fist and since the chicken was pureed, it wasn't chunks.

[Mimi 2]

Nuggets work really well too.  Maybe try giving her some seasoned chicken?  Just plain chicken/meat wouldn't be very appealing, kwim?

[debo620]

anyone want to share these nugget recipes?

Bethany, I also find that when I od give chicken--Cohen does seem to need some water to wash it down..so he has 1-2oz water in a sippy.

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Here's the one I used:
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=102407.0

[Peek-a-boo]

It sounds like you had some success to me. She experienced different flavours and textures!

That's a good way to look at it! 

Just what Callie does.  I think the meat just goes into shreds in their mouths and they don't quite know what to do with it!

Yes, she's being doing so great with banana, chewing it and moving it that I thought she'd be okay, but realizing that chicken isn't nearly so slippery, lol.

She has allergy issues (dairy/soy intolerance for sure), so I've been trying to hold off on wheat for sure, and really most grains.  I did giver her a bit of millet.  Maybe I can grind some millet and use it in place of the bread in that sausage recipe.  I used to make those for DS and he LOVED them!