peary peary nice

Having sprouted the start of a tooth we love to chew on cold things to soothe the gums. A piece of orange pepper might not be eaten but its great when the gums are sensitive.
This week we have also discovered tinned pear. This is sucked up so quickly that arms start flapping when a new piece doesn't arrive quickly enough.
another useful tip after a few screaming drives is always have with you a suitable healthy baby snack. We have been packing rice cakes in our nappy bag as we have been caught out a couple of times when my son has decided he doesn't want to be in car seat or he is overly tired ad a distraction like a little snack bite is very useful. Now I'm not condoning giving your child a packet of sweets or crisps each time is is in a bit of a bad mood, but the odd simple snack, to me, seems harmless.

baby led weaning : teething and food

As we approach our second month we are, well he is, getting better at handling food and getting it to the right place.
We have researched a little further into foods we shouldn't have, but have found this a mind field of opinions. No gluten, dairy, egg, peanuts or salt, but then again others encourage you should feed what you eat (although of course watching the salt and sugar levels). So, we have done it like this, as advised by Gill Rappley, introduce foods which we are a little weary of slowly and watched for any reaction. We also took into consideration any allergies in the family and try to avoid these foods, just in case, till he is a little older.
We have mainly loved rice cakes and melon for our snack this week and this has also been great for the gums. I cut the melon slice in half so that he has two pieces which fit his little fists better and once he got the hang of holding them there was no stopping him chomping away. Nice and cool and a little sweet. Rice cakes are also a great alternative to the Heinz baby biscuits I bought which ended up sticky and soft and covering everything!
We've had some lovely rice meals, potato and the odd chip. He seems more put off by new textures, but he has so far not refused anything, alhamdullilah.
I am looking forward to the wintry stews.

baby led weaning: day 8, give peas a chance

Balls and bolognese. I had a go at making some beef meatballs, putting in it some olives, ketchup and cumin. Very tasty and to this added some tomato sauce covered pasta. Lets just say he had sauce on his eye lashes, in his nose and the corner of his eyes!
The meat balls were crumbly so not all that easy to eat, but he had a good go and his pincer grip is greatly improving. I think this is something that can be practiced with foods like peas, sweetcorn and raisins.

He wore this great bib which has a fab plastic pocket and caught almost all of the fallen food! Making it easier to tidy up. Thumbs up for this product.
It was finished off with a lovely bit of soya yogurt and even this went more smoothly with the spoon action (less yogurt was flung over board).

I think I would like to make some hearty muffins next. Hmmm ... maybe with apricot as he does like those.

baby led weaning: battle of the baby corn

Toys to distract and keep them happy

Food is fun! This is definitely the message baby led weaning carries.
Children today struggle with many things as they grow up that children of the past would not have even considered.
Children fight technology to get to play outside as the Internet has made their life more restricting by being very addictive and open to abuse.
Some fight with education, they either don't get the right education and this hinders them or they are put under immense pressure to perform before they are ready.
Some fight against the mould they are often taught to fit into as children ,terrible two's, early sexualisation, the media feeding them images of their idea of perfection.
This can all lead to a very stressed younger generation.
Isn't it great then that we can take the pressure and stress of eating, trying new things and conforming to society's idea of an eating schedule away from weaning?
Some children do not mind being spoon fed but so many parents battle with their children to eat up, try something, not spit it out or just to sit down for dinner. Baby led weaning makes food and time to eat more pleasurable for the child and feeder.
The pressure to eat up or eat a certain amount is taken away. No tricks of trains and aeroplanes have to be played to get baby to open up for the spoon. Baby is trusted to try what they like at the speed they are happy with. They can investigate what goes into their mouths before eating it which is very important in learning to understand and trust foods are good or not so nice. When being spoon fed this exploration is taken away and they often spit foods out to take a look which then upsets the feeder and causes stress.
Yes baby led weaning is messy, but only for a while. This doesn't mean spoon feeding is BAD, but why not give baby led a try you might like it.

We had baby corn, green beans and a slither of organic carrot cake. Guess which went down fastest!
Baby corn needs investigating more as his face screws up each time it touches his lips, but he is not giving up, he kept trying.

baby led weaning: day 7

We love biscuits! Now I know this might sound like I am turning him into a junk food baby but he really only has one every few days. At our regular sling library group he wolfed down 2 wafer biccies without me noticing. I was checking how much he had dropped and could not find a bit!
It was also good to talk to others about the weaning and was recommended broccoli and on a new facebook page I have joined I had some fabulous comforting messages explaining I should worry a little less and just trust my baby to decide what he can and cant eat. So I went for it, I gave him vege lasagna and although he didn't ingest much I think he at least had fun exploring it. I was going to try potatoes today but he fell asleep early after a long day of whinging, I think he is either growing or teething.
Some new bits recommended to me were:

• sweet potato
• steam veg till softer
• put a hole in your banana ring (like my cucumber)
• cauliflower
• mushing not always needed, just let them explore softened food (steam veg a little longer)

baby led weaning: day 6

It is going well. We ate pasta in sauce and soya yogurt. Both favourites, he gets sad when its finished which is difficult as he doesn't understand when its the end of a meal. Found a great way to give him cucumber as it was very slippery at the start. I have given him a slice instead and made a hole in the middle, like a pineapple ring. Its difficult to think of other things to give to him which he won't struggle with when he has no teeth. Will have to do some research.

baby led weaning: day 5

And We have enjoined on man (to be good) to his parents: in travail upon travail did his mother bear him and in years twain was his weaning: (hear the command) "Show gratitude to Me and to thy parents: to Me is (thy final) Goal. (surah 31, ayat 14, qur'an)

My last banana attempt today, someone suggested leaving some skin to create grip. Sounded good,but left him to eating and found him eating the skin, so I am officially giving up on my yellow challenger (for now). I thought I'd try the healthy option by introducing some veg. Green beans and baby corn. Good intentions, not so good results. He scrunched up his face even before it touched his lips. He touched the veg a few times to his mouth but they went straight onto the floor. Hmm... not what I expected. Will keep trying.

Baby led weaning: day 4

So after our first food shop where we actually had to consider little man and get nice healthy food I was very excited to give him something new today. Another lovely mama gave me some great food ideas, yogurt, green beans and baby corn (not mixed together) We went for soya yogurt (daddy has dairy allergy) today and I was a little worried about him stuffing the spoon down his throat, but was told to trust my baby so I did. I dipped the spoon and passed it to him,it went straight past his mouth and almost in his ear! I dipped it again and slowly he found that it was tasty and I had to keep it coming. He was doing it! Eating his yogurt,with a spoon! I'm such a proud mama. It ended up everywhere hair,nose,bib,face and the surrounding area incl daddy. He loved it,but it did call for a good scrub in the bath. Soya yogurt is a HIT!

baby led weaning: day 3

All morning little man was practicing his chewing on.... well nothing but it definitely shows me he is adapting to food. SO on today's menu was a bit of pitta bread,penne pasta coated in a little sauce (from my lunch) and our challenger,the slippery banana, but today I cut it into chunks to see if that would help. The pitta went in first but bread is not the easiest to chew AND swallow so I took it of the tray as the fact that it sticks inside the mouth still unnerves me a little. He kept trying the banana,even using the tray as a scooping device,but to no avail. The pasta was a huge HIT. The penne is great as it has the air flow through the centre so that it doesn't get sucked down so quickly and it holds the yummy sauce. Every time I thought he was done he'd pick up another bit,chewed and swallowed. Yay for pasta!
The chair is also fantastic! I can clean the tray in the sink as it comes off!

Baby led weaning diary

My little man was a good size when he was born and has always received lovely comments such as wow he's big and he MUST be bottle fed from the start. No wonder I worried a lot about how I fed him. Even so, I (proudly smiling) have managed to breast feed full time and will continue to do so for as long as I can, god willing. We are now at the point where he looks longingly at my dinner and I can no longer put it off, my little man wants to try more!
All for trying new things which might be better for him and me I heard about baby led weaning which although new to me isn't actually new.

Baby led weaning is a great and natural way of introducing your little one to real food at his (I will be using he but of course it can apply to she too) own pace. I'm still new to this but it definitely seems like the best and easiest way for me to get little man to try real food. Its fun, easy and I can keep breast feeding full time until he is ready to eat more solids. It is not recommended for babies to eat solid food before 6 months (la leche league,nhs)

Mothers may breastfeed their children two complete years for whoever wishes to complete the nursing [period]. Upon the father is the mothers' provision and their clothing according to what is acceptable. No person is charged with more than his capacity. No mother should be harmed through her child, and no father through his child. And upon the [father's] heir is [a duty] like that [of the father]. And if they both desire weaning through mutual consent from both of them and consultation, there is no blame upon either of them. And if you wish to have your children nursed by a substitute, there is no blame upon you as long as you give payment according to what is acceptable. And fear Allah and know that Allah is Seeing of what you do. (surah baqarah, ayat 233, Qur'an)

I've started reading a great book by Gill Rapley&Tracey Murkett called baby-led weaning and so far very useful. Will post what ever new info I learn. My baby is 25 weeks old and so I thought it was time I found out what signs I should look for to find out if he could start to try something other than my full-fat mama milk. He has been taking baby sips from my glass so I was very excited (if a little nervous) about the idea of  letting him explore food.
The book explained very clearly what is and isn't a sign:
Not a sign if:

• baby wakes at night
• weight gain slows
• baby watches parents eat (little man stares at all my food and pretends to chew)
• making lip smacking noises
• not falling asleep straight after milk feed
• if baby is small or big

Good signs to spot are:

• sitting up with little or no support
• reaching and grabbing things with accuracy
• gnawing on toys
• making chewing movements

Checking this we were ready.
Day 1: We bought a fabulous high chair from babies r us. Plastic seat so easy wipe as we expect this will be a messy journey. So excited to set it up and try it out. I downloaded (from netmums)  this list of finger foods to make sure I got something appropriate.

• chunks or slices of carrot, broccoli, potato, butternut squash etc (cooked until soft)
• pieces of banana or melon
• strips of lightly buttered toast
• plain rice cakes
• unsalted bread sticks
• pieces of cheese
• chunks of apple, peach or pear
• slices of avocado or cucumber
• soldiers of eggy bread (but be sure it’s cooked all the way through)
• strips of pancake or omelet
• mini sandwiches with mashed avocado, humus, cream cheese or banana in them
• cooked pasta shapes
• pieces of cooked meat, fish or well-cooked egg
  We sat little man in the seat, bibbed and ready. Our chosen food was cucumber and banana. Banana was this first to be tried but it was so slimy that he soon gave up. The cucumber was a bigger hit. It was sucked til it was floppy. He chewed a little but mainly sucked it. He was sad when it was all gone. (when I thought it was the end of the dead cucumber). A definite success.
  Day 2: Lunch time presented little man with bread soldiers, plum and again some banana. The bread was brill.easy to hold and swallow even if this new sensation can make them gag a little to start. The plum was in pieces but this nearly slid down his throat to I gave him half and this was a huge HIT. It was all over the place but most of it was eaten. Even the banana was partially consumed. Yay!