Baby Led Weaning Support Thread - Part 8

[hjrmom01]

Aimee, can you still cut it into sticks and steam that way, or even roast it? 

What do you do for a lo who can't really grab anything? I still have to hold things out in front of C and help her grab on...and the whole getting it to her mouth is pretty hit and miss....probably more hit the cheek or eye instead of the mouth  So far she loves to gnaw on celery, carrots, and cucumber. And we've done frozen peach in the mesh baggie thing. 

[aimeeL]

Yes - sorry - I wasn't clear earlier...I *haven't* pureed it yet.. it's still sitting in all its glory on my kitchen table.. So maybe I'll do as you suggested, Erin - cut it into sticks and steam it...?  Hmm.. I don't do much with squash, so I'm not even sure how I'm going to do *that*.. but I guess I'll figure it out.. =P

As for grabbing, Erin - K was like that just a wk or so ago, but she's gotten better quite quickly.. so maybe C will surprise you soon.. just give her a bit more time..

[~Sarah~]

Roasting it in long chunks makes it really sweet tasting..so I cut the skin off before roasting and cut into the sticks I want..dribble with EVOO and roast for about 20min at 375 (I think that is the temp I use) just keep checking so it does not get to mushy

[hjrmom01]

mmm, now I'm hungry for squash!!! 

We gave C some fingers of watermelon today...she liked that...until she got a huge chunk and Dh fished it out of her mouth 

[Hedgehog17]

Hi everyone,

I'm jumping on here now as we started DS (one week away from 6 mo) on solids BLW-style today! I'm not sure we got it right though..

Decided to start with carrot, after his lunchtime milk. Peeled the carrot, chopped it in half then quartered the two halves lengthways to give sticks. Steamed the sticks for 10 mins. Left them to cool until just warm.

DS happily took an offered stick and jammed it straight into his mouth, no problem  Sucked at it a bit, then dropped it. Offered another stick which he took and again jammed into mouth, only this time he managed to bite a chunk off (about the size of a pea) and must have swallowed it, as he started crying then vomited it up  Tried again and he swallowed a larger piece which also had him crying and then up it came - poor boy 

At that point I mashed up the remaining carrot with a little water, and put some on a spoon. He was very happy to take the spoon and put that in his own mouth, although the carrot bits dropped out. Did this for a while and think he may have sucessfully swallowed a couple of little bits! The rest was everywhere else 

So, a few questions: Did I cook the carrots for too long because they were able to break off in his mouth? Would he have been better off with them harder so he could only suck them? Is it ok to give him raw carrot sticks instead?

We're doing butternut squash next (in 2 days time) and I'm not sure how much I should cook that for either in terms of how hard / soft it should be?

Apologies for being so clueless - can anybody advise?

Huge thanks in advance 

[AliG]

Hi everyone,

I just started BLW today after my 6mth old little boy refused the spoon - I first tried when he was around 5mths and persevered a few days before deciding to stop and start again at 6mths. But a few days in again, I've come to the conclusion that he wants to do it all himself. He'll look at the spoon and immediately try and take it off me, but will turn his head away if I try and put it to his mouth. A headstrong thing!

I love the concept of BLW, but it's obviously a bit daunting at first and there are the inevitable worries about choking and gagging.

I know it's best to offer stick shape pieces at first, but how big is too big if he manages to suck off a chunk and therefore will be  risk for choking and similarly how much is too small?

Would be interested to hear about anyone's experiences with steaming carrots too, as per the question above. I might try carrots tomorrow.

Anyway, any tips and advice for a first timer would be lovely! Thanks in advance...

[*Amy*]

So yesterday CAssie had for breakfast
Yogurt (she has the spoon won't open her mouth for me!)
Cucumber
Cheese
Pear (a whole one, she ate about a quarter)

Lunch
Strawberry (a HUGE one)
Sweet potato chunks

Dinner
Left over yogurt from breakfast
Mashed potato (she used her fingers for this!)

[AliG]

p.s. am I right in thinking there is no need to peel (or lightly cook) fruits like apples and pears?

[Hedgehog17]

Carrots day 2:

This time I only steamed the sticks for 5 min 

Again DS had no trouble grabbing and stuffing them into his mouth  This time when he broke a piece off he managed to spit it out  Got through one carrot just stuffing it in, sucking and chewing, then dropping out the bits. A small bit did go down and he got slightly upset, but I gave him water and the carrot stayed down this time!

I'm wondering if the upset is just because he's not used to feeling solids going down his oesophagus?

I don't think he digested any of yesterday's carrot judging by today's nappy, so I hope he's able to break down what he swallowed today or it could be an effort to get out tomorrow 

So far no adverse reactions, so at least that's one food he can have  More carrot tomorrow, then we move on to squash sticks. I'll have to take a guess how long to cook it though... unless anyone can advise?

Thanks!

[*Amy*]

I didn't do one veg each day - I just started with giving her what I was eating - like the veg I prepared for dinner - I think with BLW there isn't a need to do a veg every three days - but please correct me if I am wrong

[aimeeL]

Hedgehog - I'm actually doing squash sticks as I type - they're in the oven! - so will let you know how they turn out, but I have a whole trayful and I'm going for 375 for maybe 20-30 min...

So with purees, I'd do big batches at a time, throw them into ice cube trays to freeze, and then pick and choose cubes to give DD1 at each meal.... with BLW, do you lose out on that convenience?  I mean, sure - there's the ease of feeding them what you're feeding the rest of the family - but at this early stage, I'd still like to give her time and exposure to the "basics" - "stage 1" fruits and veggies, if you will... and those are NOT things that my family eats on a regular basis.  Like squash for instance - every once in awhile, I do a squash casserole... but not often!  So is there any way to do BLW with "make-in-advance" stuff?  Or do you just steam/bake/roast before each meal?

[Hedgehog17]

Hi Amy,

I'm doing 3 days per new food as DS is MPI, has eczema & there is a family history of allergies & intolerance. Otherwise I wouldn't have to be so careful 

Hi aimeeL, yes I'd love to know how your squash sticks turned out please! Did you put oil on them before roasting?

I needn't have worried about the swallowed bit of carrot - it appeared 3.5 hours later in his nappy, still looking like it did when he ate it  When do they actually start digesting stuff rather than just transiting it through? 

[Mama Kate]

p.s. am I right in thinking there is no need to peel (or lightly cook) fruits like apples and pears?

I peel apples and I used tinned sliced pears as the pears here are tiny.  My LO doesn't have any teeth though.  Perhaps with teeth they can handle the skin more easily.  I don't cook either.

[aimeeL]

The squash sticks turned out FABULOUSLY!  I even had a couple and I'm not a big fan of squash!!    And I did just that - baked them at 375 for 25 min...I drizzled olive oil over half of them because my plan is to freeze most of the sticks and I wasn't sure how they'd do with the olive oil on them... anyways - they turned out great.  K gobbled down two of them tonight!

[*Amy*]

Will have to try the squash sticks! - I did sweet potato and she loved that!
Did you peel the squash or leave the skin on ?
Yesterday Cassie had Pork! we were having chops so I cut a big finger of it and she happily sucked on it!
This morning I dipped a weetabix in her left over milk from her bottle (story for another board!)
and she gobbled that up too!
ETA - I am doing bread sticks with hummous today - I know she likes hummous so will see how the bread sticks go!
she had some cheese on toast fingers this morning and they were a hit!