Nicky - Go the gnocchi - if you are ready then she is ready!! She sounds like she has it sorted, she's just waiting for her Mum to catch up!!
Cheryl - Just keep offering lots of different types of food! You never know, you might end up with the opposite problem to most Mums who have a baby that eats everything that turns into a toddler that lives on air!! Spaghetti sounds like a good start. Do you put mince in it? Also Jett loves Carbonara and maybe that would be worth a try too? It will certainly put weight on her if she does!!
Alimoy - I remember thinking the same thing about the BM poos when Jett started solids. But I think after a month or so his poos became a good solid so they just roll of the nappy, so I prefer that to the BM poos that soak in to the nappies!
Mummytummy, good too see you in here too. We definately put mince in, but my little cheeky one pulls the mince out of her mouth then throws it on the floor. She will eventually start eating it, so I am not too worried and she does like different foods, she just fills up quite quickly. Just waiting for her to bulk up and start eating better. That too will take some time.
I made berry pancakes for breakfast last weekend, and gave DS one - he loved it! At the whole thing and was going "mmmmm" the whole time, lol. When he finds something he loves to eat, he doesn't leave a crumb!
Mmm, what else have we tried? Meatloaf was a hit, as was zucchini quiche - and were both really easy for him to pick up and feed himseld. Oh, and we gave DS some chocolate custard, and he didn't like it! Mmm, surely my child couldn't not like anything chocolate!!!
I've found pasta to be a really good food for DS - it's easy for him to pick up and eat, and I can usually make a vegie/meat sauce to go through it so he has a bit of everything.
This morning for breakfast I gave DS a vita brit crumbled up and mixed with greek style yogurt - I think you suggested it a while ago MummyTummy?
Anyway, DS ate a few bits, but was really just playing with it, until... I cut up a mango, and squeezed the stone over his bowl so all the juice mixed in with it. It made it runnier and messier, but OMG - DS ate every last little bit of his breakfast after that! It must have just needed that sweetness added .
Hi everyone - hope everyones babies are doing well with their solids!
What are thoughts on spicy food? Curry is my FAVOURITE thing in the world, haven't really offered DS anything spicy yet, but i'm making a chicken and aubergine curry for dinner tonight- do you think he'd be okay to try a bit? I won't make it too spicy, but my theory is that babies starting solids in India etc are probably okay eating spicy food right?!
I'm not going to use peanut oil, dunno if that's being paranoid coz it'd just be a tiny bit - but there's seems to be a bit of peanut-phobia in the world at the moment....
AliMoy - I have no idea, I've been wondering the same actually. I guess you could just offer a tiny bit that was very mild - then just see how he goes. I guess you'd have to watch out for if it upset their little tummies.
Sorry I'm not more help.
I've been wondering about leftovers recently. I've been hesitant to give any to DS - but it would actually be really good if I could give him leftovers, especially for lunch the next day or something. Is it just a matter of making sure you store everything correctly?
Thanks Sterla - i'll let you know how we go! we may just get an interesting nappy the next day
i would imagine that leftovers are fine, like you said, as long as everything's been stored safely i can't see any reason why not.
banana seems to be a favourite with Edward at the moment - i've worked out it;s much easier for him to eat if i just give him the whole thing as opposed to small, slippery pieces - he looks so cute munching on a big banana!
what type of reactions are ppl getting from others re baby led solids? We've had really good experiences so far, mainly it's been other mums saying "oh i never thought of giving my baby that" and then trying different things to discover their baby loves 'not-mushed-up-food' too... my mum has a bit of trouble getting her head around the idea that she doesn't have to spoon feed DS, it's funny he's really reluctant to take food offered to him on a spoon - mr independent doesn't see why he can't just do it himself with his hands!
Sterla, my DD's staple diet was leftovers! I took the same precautions with her food as I did with mine when I was pg (so stored in the fridge in an airtight container without being left out at room temp, re-heated to a higher temp and allowed to cool down before giving to her, etc). I didn't give her leftovers that were more than a day or two old to be on the safe side. She generally had for lunch what we had for dinner the night before.
Saved heaps of time, meant she was getting a good mix of foods and also made DP eat a lot healthier! If we had something that was perhaps a bit too salty/strong/whatever for her, we would put aside a small portion before adding the sauce, or something like that. You get the idea! If I needed to I would then make up some couscous (which is the quickest thing possible) to accompany any meat/vegies, or add a boiled potato cut into cubes. Rice and stir fry leftovers were easy to reheat, but I did it for everything (chops, roasts, etc).
Hi ladies, newbie here. I'm sure people regulalrly ask this but am I doing things right???
My DD is 6.5mths old, we started her on the old baby rice at 5mths & then some puree veg etc,m things were going well & then all of sudden she just refused to take anything solid wise. I kind of stuck to formula for a while but she just isn't interested....unless its on our plate, if we are eating in front of her she tries to grab it & will try anything we offer her from our plate but if its on a spoon in the highchair, nah she just clamps her mouth shut. I was directed here after mentioning it in the prem forum. So, we have been doing this for a few days now, I just offer her some carrot sticks, or pureed veg with a bread stick, she loves to suck on toast or a biscuit, yoghurt is a fav but we had a slight issue with runny poo after 1 of those so we have laid off them a little. I just feel a little nervous & bit confused as to what I should give her & how (like size wise). I've read alot of your posts but your LO's are older & of course have teeth!
So what should I be giving & in what sized pieces. I don't think alot of it is being swallowed & I know I have to be patient for her to get the hang of it but it does get frustrating when I prepare all this stuff & then just chuck it all away! She will taste most stuff, generally licks it but thats about it. Actually I'm not sure I don't just have a puppy in disguise, she licks everything & I also have to get her head out of the bowl most days, she is quite intent on chewing the side of the bowl (we are teething tho). after 10 mins or so the feeding session normally ends with both of us covered in food & she lifts the bowl upside & disposes of the contents.
Hi CAH!
my DS is only 6.5mths too and no teeth either - so we're pretty much at the same stage...
I think the general concensus is don't worry too much about foods at all... BLS is all about letting baby decided what and how much etc - i can't remember who wrote it previously, but just bare in mind that "until they're one food is just for fun"... so don't worry if she doesn't want anything one day then eats everything you give her the next day.
Edward sucks on most things, squashes stuff on his head, squishes it in his fingers, sticks stuff in his mouth, spits it out and sometimes even swallows some! My advice would be to accept that it's going to get messy (we eat outside as much as possible!) and make sure food time is always a fun, shared time...
I find that bigger pieces of food are easier for DS to hold on to and get into his mouth... as a beginner too here's some things we've found quite successful so far:
Brocilli
zuchinni (steamed and cut into big 'chips')
pears (DSlikes to hold the whole thing, so i just bit some skin off and he'll suck the juice out, then i'll bite off more skin and give it back etc)
cucumber
anything meaty/chicken/fish DS will suck on for ages
avocado
banana - again i just give him half a banana at a time - easier than slippery little bits
cruscuits
toast with vegemite
mango
i can't think what else - but he'll try pretty much everything! hope that helps - this is a great place to come bounce ideas off others too and let us know if you find anything that is an absolute winner!!!
Thats kind of reassuring Alimoy, thanks! I think I've perhaps been going wrong with the sizes, maybe too small, I'll try bigger bits & see what happens! The thing is though I don't think she actually eats anything its more just lick it, sometimes move it around the mouth then spit it out. I was thinking that maybe she hasn't got rid of that tongue pushing out thing (she was a month prem so we could be more like 5.5mths) but we did have a few weeks when she would happily eat puree stuff so i'm not sure. I just tried some cous cous which she seemed pretty keen to try but I think she actually only swallowed a tiny bit then she'd had enough & was more interested in the light fitment above us Of course we ended up with the traditional head in the bowl. To be honest I think the real prob is her teeth, think she just sees everything as a teething stick at the mo. I shall keep trying though, keep telling her she can't stay on the bottles for ever!
Hi Everyone, another newbie here
CAH, I am at a similar stage to you, DD is just over 6 months and was born 5 weeks early!
I unfortunately don't think that my MCHN is on board for BLS (I mentioned that we gave DD wheat bix yesterday and she was horrified - is it too early for wheat bix???), and the people in my MG seem to like following the 'rules', so thought I would find you guys for support, advise, & guidance
Cheers!
CAH, I offered my DD all of the same stuff being discussed on here since she was just over six months - well before she had teeth. She was a bit slow in the teeth dept, but not in the food dept! She could gum things to death and never had any choking episodes as a baby.
Well I dunno if its all the experimenting we've been doing but this morning madam didn't want a bottle for brekkie, she promply tucked into some pear & yoghurt - all spoon fed by me which is a miracle!! I have put some bits aside from last nights roast dinner for her to try later on, nice piece of "handle" sized beef, some potato & roast veg. We shall see!!!!
Elliskirsty I am not surprised the MCHN had a fit, I have no plans to mention it, they are so old school about stuff its ridiculous, I was told to introduce 1 food at a time for 3 days blah blah, I mean come on baby is bored stupid of pureed pear after 3-4 days!! Unless there are allergies in the family I think you can be a bit more adventurous. As for the weetbix I'm not sure whats in it, I mean in terms of does it possibly contain nuts, I looked at Special K yesterday just out of interest & that def states it may contain nuts so guess we need to be careful of stuff like that. I have tried DD on organic porridge which she liked for a couple days & then completely went off it, lol, lil minx! If your DD liked it then go with it.
CAH, it's very common in the early days that they eat very little. It's all about experimenting and learning textures, taste and for them to control what is going in. For the first week or so DS couldn't figure out how to even get the food near his mouth! If I had food in my hand, he would push my hand to his mouth, but didn't understand that he could do it himself! lol needless to say, there wasn't much going in! About 6 weeks later and we're going really well. He eats similar to what AliMoy listed above. His favourite would be avocado spread on toast, and he is just polished off a whole slice of toast with vegemite.
Have you tried just putting the food on her high chair tray? I don't use a plate or bowl because he just plays with it or tries to throw it on the ground.
Elliskirsty, I give DS weetbix and he loves it. I have bought the kids weetbix which has a lot less salt. I'm not sure why the MCHN was horrified (something to do with wheat possibly), but I am following the guidelines in the ABA solids booklet which has a big focus on family foods. I don't make any separate meals for DS. He has what we're having every day. We don't have a history of allergies at all in our family, so he is having a big variety of foods quickly rather than introducing everything slowly. Everyone in my mothers group were feeding by the "rules" too as advised by their MCHN (most see the same one). They had no idea at all about BLS and when I explained it to them were all very interested. There is probably half our group now doing BLS.
Hi all, I'm new to this thread. I have a bub who is nearly 6 months and I am going to introduce solids as BLS, when she hits 6 months. Any suggestions as to what the first foods I should give her should be? I have heard that vegies are better first rather than fruits so they don't develop a 'sweet tooth'. Is this true? Cause at this time of year with mangoes around, mmm yum, wouldn't that be nice! Other than that, I was thinking steamed pumpkin, steamed potato and bananas? What else?
Joey - First foods can be anything you want. The idea of vegies before fruit for the sweet tooth thing is really a kind of false economy. Babies naturally have a sweet tooth, BM is sweet, so yes they will prefer fruit, but denying them fruit first is not going to help them not develop a sweet tooth. So the important thing at this stage is a variety of tastes and textures and let your baby choose what they want to eat. They just might surprise you!! We started with steamed carrot sticks and very quickly moved to whatever we were having for dinner!
CAH - Sounds like you are doing a great job - and yes there is definitely hope for you!! Mess is all part of the fun, just enjoy it. It has to happen at some stage or another, so the earlier they get to experiment the quicker they will learn about the effects of force and velocity and gravity on food! We didn't get too concerned about the foods containing nut products. The only thing I wouldn't give (and still don't) is actually nuts themselves. Smooth peanut butter is such a treat around here!! But in saying that it does depend on what school of thought you come from - do you think that the introduction of these foods too early is the cause of allergy or do you think the introduction of these foods earlier may prevent these allergies? Only you know what you are comfortable with... but it is school for thought.
On that note a friend told me the other day that she heard on the radio that the research is now showing that the later introduction of all these allergy trigger foods is not actually preventing any allergies, and so the recommendation is now changing again back to introducing the allergy triggers from 6 months.
EK - Nope not too early for weetbix..... just some MCHN are not familiar with BLS so therefore it is 'wrong'! I am lucky, the nurses in my area are quite forward thinking and up with the latest research, but I know the one 2 suburbs over is very old school and her instructions are strict and firm "Follow the rules or you will harm your baby" more or less anyway! Don't worry about it, stick in here and get lots of advice and support from everyone in here and offer no extra information at your next appointment!
Well, I'm not sure what's going on with DS, but he has been really off his food recently. Whatever I give him, he has two mouthfuls, then starts just playing with his food or throwing it on the floor. Sometimes he'll even take a bit, just to spit it straight back out. I know I shouldn't worry about how much or how little food he's getting - but he's really not getting much at all, and I just feel like we're going backwards. He used to eat so well, now it's as if he can't be bothered.
For those of you who have been doing BLS for a while - is this normal? Is it just a phase that will pass? What can I do to encourage him to try a bit more with his food?
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Cheryl! Good to see you in here!
Mummytummy, good too see you in here too. We definately put mince in, but my little cheeky one pulls the mince out of her mouth then throws it on the floor.
She will eventually start eating it, so I am not too worried and she does like different foods, she just fills up quite quickly. Just waiting for her to bulk up and start eating better. That too will take some time.
I took the same precautions with her food as I did with mine when I was pg (so stored in the fridge in an airtight container without being left out at room temp, re-heated to a higher temp and allowed to cool down before giving to her, etc). I didn't give her leftovers that were more than a day or two old to be on the safe side. She generally had for lunch what we had for dinner the night before.
Of course we ended up with the traditional head in the bowl. To be honest I think the real prob is her teeth, think she just sees everything as a teething stick at the mo. I shall keep trying though, keep telling her she can't stay on the bottles for ever!
back to introducing the allergy triggers from 6 months.
Don't worry about it, stick in here and get lots of advice and support from everyone in here and offer no extra information at your next appointment!
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