The Weaning Thread

yellow hen · 17-05-2014 7:53am

yellow hen wrote: »

I think citrus fruits can be a bit tough on their tummys (tummies?) so you (apparently) should introduce them with caution. Anyway, no major problems last night so he went off to creche with a fruit bowl of pineapple and grapes.

Spoke too soon... Constipated all day yest and when he eventually went this morning it was little golf balls

Ms2011 · 17-05-2014 8:03am

Suucee wrote: »

Am so jealous. I still cant get my 2 yr old to eat fruit. Tried her with pineapple resently too and she took it from my hand and put it down. Wouldnt even put it in her mouth. I put a piece in my mouth then put it up to hers but no. It has to be a texture thing as she loves puree fruit. We have tried so many times yo get her to try it in its proper form but nope but any concoction of fruut puree she will eat. (Current batch is strawberries, pears, apples and bananas) We dont even bother removing the skins of apples or pears.

She asked me for a banana the other morning and i was delighted. Opened it handed it to her and off she ran into the sitting room. I snook in and see her taking a bite. (Had a quiet yippee) but waited and waited and she wouldnt have anymore. She went around with it for ages in her hand. I even asked "are you eating your banana) but she didnt try anymore. But hey she tried it. I eventually had to take it away whrn it started going brown.

J is the exact same, eat any fruit puree but won't enterain it in it's whole form. He'll carry a banana around for awhile too but won't actually eat it or he'll take an apple & mimic biting it but won't actually bite it:rolleyes:

nikpmup · 17-05-2014 8:10am

My four yr old nephew absolutely refuses to eat fruit and veg (unless hidden in a smoothie/spag bol) but he saw me feeding my son an Ella's pouch - he assumed it was a smoothie so I let him finish it. Sucked it dry.

newtoboards · 20-05-2014 8:54pm

Are there any good family recipes that are baby friendly??? I've exhausted the recipes from the baby led weaning cookbook and I'm looking for any online resources or recipes that you might have used????

loubian · 20-05-2014 10:33pm

newtoboards wrote: »

Are there any good family recipes that are baby friendly??? I've exhausted the recipes from the baby led weaning cookbook and I'm looking for any online resources or recipes that you might have used????

Hoe old is your baba?

RentDayBlues · 20-05-2014 11:11pm

newtoboards wrote: »

Are there any good family recipes that are baby friendly??? I've exhausted the recipes from the baby led weaning cookbook and I'm looking for any online resources or recipes that you might have used????

If you're doing blw is the baby not eating what be family eats? With my first we always ate the same dinner, our diet became remarkably improved when I had to include her. I have that cookbook and only used it a few times, found it easier to adapt our normal meals.

I always cooked from scratch, no jars or sauces. No added salt. It got a lot tougher when I went back to work but at that stage she was getting her main meals in crèche so she had "tea" : scrambled eggs, some of our meal.

Some of the staples from the early days were roasted sweet potato with chicken/steak/pork, bolognese or lasagne, salads in the warmer weather. In fact tonight at just under 2 years, she ate smoked salmon, prawns, potato salad and Camembert as part of her dinner!

icescreamqueen · 21-05-2014 12:23am

newtoboards wrote: »

Are there any good family recipes that are baby friendly??? I've exhausted the recipes from the baby led weaning cookbook and I'm looking for any online resources or recipes that you might have used????

My baba is only 9 months but I use the Annabel Karmel recipe books. She has an app too, which is handy if you're out shopping and obviously don't wanna have to lug a book about or have to google something quick. She has her recipes well categorised and her children+family recipes look lovely and healthy. I'll definitely be using them when I get to that stage

Also, just to add that if you like 'super healthy kids' on Facebook, they have some great ideas for meals and snacks.

newtoboards · 21-05-2014 8:02am

RentDayBlues wrote: »

If you're doing blw is the baby not eating what be family eats? With my first we always ate the same dinner, our diet became remarkably improved when I had to include her. I have that cookbook and only used it a few times, found it easier to adapt our normal meals.

I always cooked from scratch, no jars or sauces. No added salt. It got a lot tougher when I went back to work but at that stage she was getting her main meals in crèche so she had "tea" : scrambled eggs, some of our meal.

Some of the staples from the early days were roasted sweet potato with chicken/steak/pork, bolognese or lasagne, salads in the warmer weather. In fact tonight at just under 2 years, she ate smoked salmon, prawns, potato salad and Camembert as part of her dinner!

My son is nearly 7 months. He's eating some of our meals alright and we have eaten everything from the baby led weaning cookbook. I make everything from scratch too but I eat thai and indian food mostly if I had the chance but with all the coconut milk and chillies it isn't the best for baby. He's had my chicken tikka and a bit of lamb rogan josh and a dot of mild green curry but that's about it. I have a restricted diet myself in that I don't do gluten, fish or dairy and I don't want to restrict his too for no good reason. I haven't done fish yet either with him as I am allergic and was told to avoid until he's a year old due to the severity of my allergy.

RentDayBlues · 21-05-2014 12:24pm

newtoboards wrote: »

My son is nearly 7 months. He's eating some of our meals alright and we have eaten everything from the baby led weaning cookbook. I make everything from scratch too but I eat thai and indian food mostly if I had the chance but with all the coconut milk and chillies it isn't the best for baby. He's had my chicken tikka and a bit of lamb rogan josh and a dot of mild green curry but that's about it. I have a restricted diet myself in that I don't do gluten, fish or dairy and I don't want to restrict his too for no good reason. I haven't done fish yet either with him as I am allergic and was told to avoid until he's a year old due to the severity of my allergy.

That makes it trickier, I'm a coeliac so I have to try to ensure she gets gluten and so far no issues. We eat Indian and Thai a lot too, I just make a less spicy version for her.

I find mince based dishes great at that age, mini meatballs in tomato sauce. She could feed herself, loved the texture and it's a balanced meal with some pasta. At that time we did a look of roast chicken breast with steamed veg, was a little bland for us but worked well for her. Steak was great too, if you cook it to medium well they won't actually eat the meat but get all the nutrients from the juice.

Quiche was great too, frittata worked very well as we could pack it with veg, not sure if you could make these dairy free though?

When you do try fish we found trout worked well, didn't fall apart too easily after cooking and had more flavour than cod.

kandr10 · 21-05-2014 3:46pm

newtoboards wrote: »

My son is nearly 7 months. He's eating some of our meals alright and we have eaten everything from the baby led weaning cookbook. I make everything from scratch too but I eat thai and indian food mostly if I had the chance but with all the coconut milk and chillies it isn't the best for baby. He's had my chicken tikka and a bit of lamb rogan josh and a dot of mild green curry but that's about it. I have a restricted diet myself in that I don't do gluten, fish or dairy and I don't want to restrict his too for no good reason. I haven't done fish yet either with him as I am allergic and was told to avoid until he's a year old due to the severity of my allergy.

I've just started weaning but I'm curious - when did you introduce your son to curries? I also love Indian food and would love to give it to my daughter later on. Do you use chillis at all or just restrict them? I presume other spices are fine to use are they? Why can't you use coconut milk?

newtoboards · 21-05-2014 4:11pm

kandr10 wrote: »

I've just started weaning but I'm curious - when did you introduce your son to curries? I also love Indian food and would love to give it to my daughter later on. Do you use chillis at all or just restrict them? I presume other spices are fine to use are they? Why can't you use coconut milk?

I started weaning at 21 weeks and once he hit 6 months switched to baby led weaning which means giving lots of what I have. Yes I do use chillies and I make everything from scratch myself so I just am careful about the volume. Chicken tikka and masseman curry are very mild so I do them. I consider curries with coconut milk very rich and creamy and wouldn't eat them every day myself so I won't give them to my son either. No other reason really

Chattastrophe! · 21-05-2014 5:18pm

Is it OK to start with purees before six-months and then switch to BLW when you hit the magical six-month mark?

My poor son, he's going to be my little experiment!

newtoboards · 21-05-2014 5:24pm

That's what I did chattastrophe. I only pureed for about a week and then mashed from then on. I didn't introduce meat until he was 6 months but he gets it most days now.

kandr10 · 21-05-2014 5:41pm

newtoboards wrote: »

I started weaning at 21 weeks and once he hit 6 months switched to baby led weaning which means giving lots of what I have. Yes I do use chillies and I make everything from scratch myself so I just am careful about the volume. Chicken tikka and masseman curry are very mild so I do them. I consider curries with coconut milk very rich and creamy and wouldn't eat them every day myself so I won't give them to my son either. No other reason really

ThAnks for that! Very excited to start giving part of what we eat :-) I thought maybe coconut milk might be on the list of foods to avoid or something. It's not an ingredient I use often either. Good to know though

Roesy · 21-05-2014 6:17pm

Chattastrophe! wrote: »

Is it OK to start with purees before six-months and then switch to BLW when you hit the magical six-month mark?

My poor son, he's going to be my little experiment!

You can, I did. To be honest I wish I'd just gone with the baby led weaning even though she's flying with the food now. We still give some food by spoon but she feeds herself with a pre-loaded spoon most of the time. If you haven't read/got the Baby led weaning book it might be worth getting the Baby led weaning cookbook instead as it gives most of the theory at the start as well as the recipes. The baby led weaning(starting solids in Ireland) Facebook group is worth joining too.

RentDayBlues · 21-05-2014 7:47pm

Baby led weaning really is so worth it, they just love exploring and self feeding. We went on holidays when she was 10 months and didn't have to bring any food or bottles! It also gives into my lazier side, not sure I could do all that puréeing

The only thing I didn't give before 1 year was nuts, everything else was ok. I think it's because of this she'll eat anything, we never made an issue of having to eat the food, it was always her decision.

loubian · 23-05-2014 2:06pm

I'm making a bean stew - chick peas, green lentils, kidney beans, butter beans, a few others, 2 tins of tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, lea & perins, herbs and spices - would it be safe to blitz that and give it to bubs? She's had chicken with spices on it before, has had pasta in tin of tomatoes but nothing else I don't think. She's 10 months next week!

How Strange · 23-05-2014 2:22pm

I'd roughly fork mash the beans and chick peas as they may be a choking hazard but otherwise I'd leave it with lots of lumps. Do a little bit of baby led weaning and put some directly on her tray and let her mess it around, pick it up and maybe even eat whatever doesn't land on the floor

It's messy but great fun and you'll get a good laugh out of how much she enjoys it.

loubian · 23-05-2014 6:13pm

How Strange wrote: »

I'd roughly fork mash the beans and chick peas as they may be a choking hazard but otherwise I'd leave it with lots of lumps. Do a little bit of baby led weaning and put some directly on her tray and let her mess it around, pick it up and maybe even eat whatever doesn't land on the floor

It's messy but great fun and you'll get a good laugh out of how much she enjoys it.

Oh she can pick up beans; peas, blueberries etc! She's very good at eating and feeding herself! I just wasn't sure about the ingredients!

red fraggle · 23-05-2014 9:57pm

this may sound stupid but how do you go about baby led weaning?? little man is 6 months. wasnt impressed when i gave him some lumpier food. loved a finger of toast but gagged when a big bit got stuck in his mouth and roared at me when i took it out. he was annoyed it got stuck. with chicken and stuff how do you give it to him doing baby led weaning???

newtoboards · 23-05-2014 10:01pm

I've given chicken drumsticks and then chip shaped vegetables, slices of toast, whole apples and pears, bananas halved and skin on with a tiny bit of banana peeking through etc...

I cannot recommend the baby led weaning cookbook enough for the confidence boost in trusting your instincts and describing the difference between gagging and choking. I usually sit on my hands and count to ten and intervene if necessary. So far I haven't had to remove food from his mouth; he's managed to either chew the offending food more or to spit out whatever it is.

red fraggle · 23-05-2014 10:33pm

newtoboards wrote: »

I've given chicken drumsticks and then chip shaped vegetables, slices of toast, whole apples and pears, bananas halved and skin on with a tiny bit of banana peeking through etc...

I cannot recommend the baby led weaning cookbook enough for the confidence boost in trusting your instincts and describing the difference between gagging and choking. I usually sit on my hands and count to ten and intervene if necessary. So far I haven't had to remove food from his mouth; he's managed to either chew the offending food more or to spit out whatever it is.

thanks. i might try that. yeh i knew he wasnt anywhere near choking as i could see the bit of food on the back of his tongue but after several gagging attempts he couldnt move it and it was stressin him so i moved it. my little man is very particular and seems to like his comfort. my now 2 year old would gag and gag and it never bothered her in the slightest. tasting new foods never bothered her lumpier food never bothered her but this little man is different

monkey

newtoboards · 24-05-2014 7:56am

I keep being told you can't overfeed a baby and that they will regulate their intake. Is this true? Yesterday my son had a couple of tablespoons of readybrek for breakfast, then almost 2 scrambled eggs and cheese mixed in for lunch and a big bowl of wholegrain pasta and some sauce I made myself (passata, chilli, garlic, oregano and pepper). I didn't give him all the pasta as I was horrified with the sheer volume but he would have had more given half the chance. Is he being overfed or do I need to relax and let him eat what he wants?

RentDayBlues · 24-05-2014 8:25am

newtoboards wrote: »

I keep being told you can't overfeed a baby and that they will regulate their intake. Is this true? Yesterday my son had a couple of tablespoons of readybrek for breakfast, then almost 2 scrambled eggs and cheese mixed in for lunch and a big bowl of wholegrain pasta and some sauce I made myself (passata, chilli, garlic, oregano and pepper). I didn't give him all the pasta as I was horrified with the sheer volume but he would have had more given half the chance. Is he being overfed or do I need to relax and let him eat what he wants?

I am still shocked by the amount my first can eat in a day but then somedays she eats very little, it's just like breastfeeding, rely on the baby to know their own appetite

newtoboards · 24-05-2014 9:41am

RentDayBlues wrote: »

I am still shocked by the amount my first can eat in a day but then somedays she eats very little, it's just like breastfeeding, rely on the baby to know their own appetite

Thanks - I have been relying on him but my gosh he's a hungry baby. He's dropping ounces now but he's still polishing off over 20 ounces in a day from his milk bottles.

Roesy · 24-05-2014 11:19am

newtoboards wrote: »

I keep being told you can't overfeed a baby and that they will regulate their intake. Is this true? Yesterday my son had a couple of tablespoons of readybrek for breakfast, then almost 2 scrambled eggs and cheese mixed in for lunch and a big bowl of wholegrain pasta and some sauce I made myself (passata, chilli, garlic, oregano and pepper). I didn't give him all the pasta as I was horrified with the sheer volume but he would have had more given half the chance. Is he being overfed or do I need to relax and let him eat what he wants?

My lady wouldn't eat quite as much solids as that but she puts away a good bit and still takes 34-36oz of milk a day at 6 and a half months. This morning she had a couple of porridge fingers spread with pear and apple purée. She'll have some rice cakes and avocado and a yogurt for lunch and this evening she'll probably have some pasta and some roasted veggies. We are mainly doing blw now and she's very co-ordinated but it varies as to how much she actually ingests. We'd still give the odd bit of mashed food as the grandparents aren't as comfortable with her feeding herself.

newtoboards · 24-05-2014 4:48pm

Roesy wrote: »

My lady wouldn't eat quite as much solids as that but she puts away a good bit and still takes 34-36oz of milk a day at 6 and a half months. This morning she had a couple of porridge fingers spread with pear and apple purée. She'll have some rice cakes and avocado and a yogurt for lunch and this evening she'll probably have some pasta and some roasted veggies. We are mainly doing blw now and she's very co-ordinated but it varies as to how much she actually ingests. We'd still give the odd bit of mashed food as the grandparents aren't as comfortable with her feeding herself.

Thanks for this - it's really reassuring!!! I freaked out about milk volume but you know what it's all relative. I should focus on the fact he's healthy and thriving and forget about getting a dressing down for someone telling me he's on the road to childhood obesity - he's a long long weed baby.

red fraggle · 25-05-2014 9:32pm

Roesy wrote: »

My lady wouldn't eat quite as much solids as that but she puts away a good bit and still takes 34-36oz of milk a day at 6 and a half months. This morning she had a couple of porridge fingers spread with pear and apple purée. She'll have some rice cakes and avocado and a yogurt for lunch and this evening she'll probably have some pasta and some roasted veggies. We are mainly doing blw now and she's very co-ordinated but it varies as to how much she actually ingests. We'd still give the odd bit of mashed food as the grandparents aren't as comfortable with her feeding herself.

hiya im wanting to try some baby led weaning. did your little one eat chunks of roast veg? was it a little hard?was it pasta spirals? how did you give the avacado. sorry for all the questions but my little man is 6 months and gives out to me with some new flavours or lumpier food. with a finger of toast or bit of rusk he loves it or loves eatin with the net you put food in. just looking for ideas/help!!! oh one last question how many bottles? i know all are different and my man seems to be flying it but just wondering!

Roesy · 25-05-2014 10:17pm

red fraggle wrote: »

hiya im wanting to try some baby led weaning. did your little one eat chunks of roast veg? was it a little hard?was it pasta spirals? how did you give the avacado. sorry for all the questions but my little man is 6 months and gives out to me with some new flavours or lumpier food. with a finger of toast or bit of rusk he loves it or loves eatin with the net you put food in. just looking for ideas/help!!! oh one last question how many bottles? i know all are different and my man seems to be flying it but just wondering!

Hey, the veggies were cut into finger/sticks, rubbed in oil and cooked in the oven. She had red pepper and carrot because I was using those anyway. When we started first I used to steam the veggies because I thought she'd manage them better but she seems to prefer the roasted. I cook them a little longer for her but not too long that they get too overdone and fall apart when she picks them up. She didn't have pasta as granny decided to give her two Ella's pouches when she was over for a visit!! I had intended giving her some large rigatoni with a small bit of the pasta sauce to see how she fared with it. She had about a third of an avocado. Most of it was spread on the mini rice cakes. She enjoyed that. I also gave her a couple of slices of it but they were a bit slippy. Avocado might work well in that net thingy? She takes 5 bottles and will leave an oz or two here and there. She sleeps through the night but doesn't really make the four hours between feeds a lot. The blw cookbook is quite good because it has all the info at the start about the size of pieces of food, gagging vs choking etc. it's been mentioned a couple of times in this thread I think but the baby led weaning(starting solids) in Ireland Facebook group is good too.

kandr10 · 26-05-2014 12:32am

I've tried giving bits of finger food to my 6month old. So far I've tried toast and banana still with a bit of skin on to help grip. She eats them no problem when we hold them to her mouth but she won't hold them herself. And yet when I'm spoon feeding her she grabs the spoon and jams it in her mouth or else sticks her hands in and sucks food off her fingers! How do you guys manage it? Is it just a case of practice and patience?

Also for anyone spoon feeding, what's the best way to start introducing lumps? I've been fork mashing softer veg but the likes if broccoli or spinach that go kinda stringy I'm still blending. Should the lumps be large enough for them to hold or just enough to give a bit of texture?

Roesy · 26-05-2014 7:31am

kandr10 wrote: »

I've tried giving bits of finger food to my 6month old. So far I've tried toast and banana still with a bit of skin on to help grip. She eats them no problem when we hold them to her mouth but she won't hold them herself. And yet when I'm spoon feeding her she grabs the spoon and jams it in her mouth or else sticks her hands in and sucks food off her fingers! How do you guys manage it? Is it just a case of practice and patience?

Also for anyone spoon feeding, what's the best way to start introducing lumps? I've been fork mashing softer veg but the likes if broccoli or spinach that go kinda stringy I'm still blending. Should the lumps be large enough for them to hold or just enough to give a bit of texture?

To be honest I just give her little florets of brocolli now and she eats away. Sometimes she uses the stem as a handle, other times she turns them over and sucks/gnaws at the stem. With regards to the lumps I'd say just enough to give texture to start with. The holding the food will come with practice just keep giving her some on her tray.

red fraggle · 26-05-2014 8:09pm

Roesy wrote: »

Hey, the veggies were cut into finger/sticks, rubbed in oil and cooked in the oven. She had red pepper and carrot because I was using those anyway. When we started first I used to steam the veggies because I thought she'd manage them better but she seems to prefer the roasted. I cook them a little longer for her but not too long that they get too overdone and fall apart when she picks them up. She didn't have pasta as granny decided to give her two Ella's pouches when she was over for a visit!! I had intended giving her some large rigatoni with a small bit of the pasta sauce to see how she fared with it. She had about a third of an avocado. Most of it was spread on the mini rice cakes. She enjoyed that. I also gave her a couple of slices of it but they were a bit slippy. Avocado might work well in that net thingy? She takes 5 bottles and will leave an oz or two here and there. She sleeps through the night but doesn't really make the four hours between feeds a lot. The blw cookbook is quite good because it has all the info at the start about the size of pieces of food, gagging vs choking etc. it's been mentioned a couple of times in this thread I think but the baby led weaning(starting solids) in Ireland Facebook group is good too.

Thanks for that. Are they the mini rice cakes u buy in a packet? They can come in different flavours??

Roesy · 26-05-2014 8:15pm

red fraggle wrote: »

Thanks for that. Are they the mini rice cakes u buy in a packet? They can come in different flavours??

Yep, the plain ones I have are Boots organics and I can't remember what brand the apple ones I have are. Threw out the packaging when I opened them.

nikpmup · 27-05-2014 10:37am

Aldi do baby plain baby rice cakes as well

livinsane · 28-05-2014 9:57pm

kandr10 wrote: »

I've tried giving bits of finger food to my 6month old. So far I've tried toast and banana still with a bit of skin on to help grip. She eats them no problem when we hold them to her mouth but she won't hold them herself. And yet when I'm spoon feeding her she grabs the spoon and jams it in her mouth or else sticks her hands in and sucks food off her fingers! How do you guys manage it? Is it just a case of practice and patience?

Sounds totally normal to me. It wasn't till the 7 month mark that my son mastered the pincer grip properly. Before that he couldn't really hold food himself. He's 7.5 months now and flying it feeding himself. It really pays off to encourage them to self feed and it doesn't take long to see results. I hadn't even planned on it, had just assumed I'd be feeding him off the spoon for the foreseeable future but Im so glad that I encouraged him. He used to grab the spoon like crazy too, and I left him have it generally. He's happy to take food off the spoon now, and I think it's because he gets his fun from the finger food.

kandr10 wrote: »

Also for anyone spoon feeding, what's the best way to start introducing lumps? I've been fork mashing softer veg but the likes if broccoli or spinach that go kinda stringy I'm still blending. Should the lumps be large enough for them to hold or just enough to give a bit of texture?

How about trying something like baby pasta shells? You can cook them as soft as you like but they have a good texture.

kandr10 · 28-05-2014 10:44pm

livinsane wrote: »

Sounds totally normal to me. It wasn't till the 7 month mark that my son mastered the pincer grip properly. Before that he couldn't really hold food himself. He's 7.5 months now and flying it feeding himself. It really pays off to encourage them to self feed and it doesn't take long to see results. I hadn't even planned on it, had just assumed I'd be feeding him off the spoon for the foreseeable future but Im so glad that I encouraged him. He used to grab the spoon like crazy too, and I left him have it generally. He's happy to take food off the spoon now, and I think it's because he gets his fun from the finger food.

How about trying something like baby pasta shells? You can cook them as soft as you like but they have a good texture.

Thanks so much for your reply. I wasn't worried or anything but it is still reassuring to know its normal

It's funny, on week 2or3 my husband made the purées and they were quite thick. We gave her a pouch for the first time last week and it was so runny in comparison. Once she's happy to eat it I don't mind. I'm losing the run of myself a bit with the whole thing. Need to stop over thinking it!

livinsane · 29-05-2014 10:18am

kandr10 wrote: »

Thanks so much for your reply. I wasn't worried or anything but it is still reassuring to know its normal
It's funny, on week 2or3 my husband made the purées and they were quite thick. We gave her a pouch for the first time last week and it was so runny in comparison. Once she's happy to eat it I don't mind. I'm losing the run of myself a bit with the whole thing. Need to stop over thinking it!

I was exactly the same, had myself up to ninety about it. How can so little food cause such anxiety! Its get so much easier so quickly.

red fraggle · 29-05-2014 9:12pm

kandr10 wrote: »

Thanks so much for your reply. I wasn't worried or anything but it is still reassuring to know its normal
It's funny, on week 2or3 my husband made the purées and they were quite thick. We gave her a pouch for the first time last week and it was so runny in comparison. Once she's happy to eat it I don't mind. I'm losing the run of myself a bit with the whole thing. Need to stop over thinking it!