Yolk first is recommended I think but then again, so is serving pureees - yukkko!
For snacks we do:
Dates
Cheese cubes
Rice crackers with various toppings
Pikelets/pancakes
Fruit
Bread pieces and toppings
Pretty much anything in the house - LOL
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Yolk first is recommended I think but then again, so is serving pureees - yukkko!
For snacks we do:
Dates
Cheese cubes
Rice crackers with various toppings
Pikelets/pancakes
Fruit
Bread pieces and toppings
Pretty much anything in the house - LOL
Hi ladies,
I am new here.
I have a 6mo DD who is just starting solids. I have given her apple and pear sticks, which she loves sucking and running over her gums, and I have given her sweet potato and avocado, but she didn't think much of those. I have also given her a little bit of puree as I would like her to have options on the nights I don't want her to eat what we are having. We tend to have a lot of spicey food, and I won't do that to her yet.
One of my concerns is that we don't really eat together, except on weekends, as we eat dinner after she has gone to bed due to DH work. She and I have lunch together but not breakfast, so I guess we would be "part-time BLW" and part-time traditional.
Question - when can I introduce hard cheese?
thanks!
We were out today and my LO had some of a plain inari for lunch and she tried some of my vegie hand rolls. So cute!
Kate that IS so cute.............gorgeous.
Welcome Milly5. We don't always eat meals together either, in fact DD eats about half her dinners by herself and we eat later on. I still give her BLS style foods, sometimes I will just freeze small portions of DD friendly food and give her whatever I pull out of the freezer. It's like potluck :) I will always sit with her while she eats though and munch on something like a rice cracker or fruit. We introduced hard cheese early on, I didn't have much regard for timelines to introduce dairy etc etc, the only ones I worried about were eggs and peanuts.
Jman loves sushi too :)
Been ages since I posted in here. Still very much up and down with DD. She's one very soon and I've not seen any magical breakthrough with her eating.
Still plodding along though.
She can eat yoghurt herself with a spoon now, so that is pretty amazing to watch. Scoops it really effectively and gets it all in her mouth. She's very coordinated in that way!
Similar things going on here, Sue. Some days she will eat alot (for her) and others day back to nothing and she just plays.
A friend's DD who is another April bub only has 2 breastfeeds a day and eats in a day what my LO would eat in a week or two. They are both still growing & developing well so i guess they know what they need and want.
Are you having a party? We are. The majority of the food will be stuff i am happy for her to eat. Probably too much excitement for eating anyway!
Hi :) I've found that the whole BLS thing brings an audience and my family like to sit around and STARE at Dd eating. When this happens, she doesn't eat much (fair enough.) We've now got her eating Bfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner and tbh it's still really hard to tell how much she is eating. She' great with fruits and omelette but there's still a fair bit of waste, thank goodness I have dogs! We are down to 3 milk feeds a day here (no longer BFing) so I'm a bit worried about what she is taking in.
Kate, your comment about most of the food at your DD's party being stuff you are happy to eat made me realise that DD has started trying bits of food that I never ever thought I would let my almost 10 month old eat. Yesterday I was eating a biscuit, orange poppy seed with a chocolate base and found myself giving her a bit of it which she devoured. The other day I had a cup next to my bed that I thought was water, she picked it up and I helped her with it to drink before realising it was juice.
MammaSue - How gorgeous about your DD eating yoghurt with a spoon. Did you just get her to do this by loading the spoon and giving it to her and then putting yoghurt in the bowl?
Hi all, Rose will be 6 months old soon and is just starting to grab at things so I guess its time for us to start BLS. I didn't do it with my boys but am keen to try it with Rose so lok forward to all your tips :)
hi girls! sorry have been MIA! havent been posting to my usual rigour of late lol! (holidays and all that jazz :)).
Welcome fellow baby buddy Milly!!
I guess with Marta being a second kid, she eats with us and pretty much all of our food...'cause we seem to only eat at kid friendly times now lol! she has become a fan of pesto pasta, apricot chicken and toast soliders with a light smearing of good ol' vegemite (much to my italian DHs chagrin lol).
we already do hard cheeses :hide: she also has the incidental milk stuff if i have cooked with it or with some cereal that she has decided to eat, or in a baked good (like scones for example, omg does the girl like scones :o).
marta is eating with us as i said before so that is brekky, lunch and dinner with some incidental snacks in between like a bit of fruit or a rusk and of course booby! but because of the boob i'm not too worried about what is going in her tummy or what is going in the dogs (who LOVES to sit under her chair for some reason :think:), but i can imagine as they start to stop feeds that it might get a bit more worrying....watch this space lol.
RORY! welcome!! (sorry didnt see your post earlier!!!)
Yeah, we're having a really small gathering of people who she knows really well. We're making food that we are happy for her to eat too - sandwiches and other finger foods and I've got a friend making her an Ollie cake (from NickJr - Sing along with Ollie - she loves that little dude :) ):
Yeah, that's exactly how we've done it. I used to load up the spoon for her and she'd guide it into her mouth. Now she wants the spoon herself and just gets on with it. We give her a bowl now and she just works on it herself! She doesn't even try and throw the bowl away. It's awesome!:
DD still has loads of feeds in the day time. Although, some days more than others. She is horribly constipated at the moment though so I am also giving her water to make sure she's hydrated as she just refuses boobie at times. She's developing at a crazy rate though, so I'm not worried. I'm taking her to be weighed next week (for her baby book) and don't think I'll be taking her again. The nurses always have something to say about BLS and forcing her to reduce feeds which I am not prepared to do.
Welcome RoryRory!! BLS is soooo much fun! Do you have the Baby Led Weaning book? It's an awesome read. xxx
I'm taking her to be weighed next week (for her baby book) and don't think I'll be taking her again. The nurses always have something to say about BLS and forcing her to reduce feeds which I am not prepared to do.
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I am getting this too with our nurse. she already doesnt really care about us that much anyway (she noticed the amber necklace, asked us about the immunisations after seeing it, then asked about feeding lol...i guess she thinks she has us 'pegged' lol)
I'm usually pretty happy with our nurse, she's old school but nice. But she won't open her mind to BLS and told me that babies need to "experience the sensation of purees". Apparently she'd just been to a seminar where a dietician was talking about this. I almost asked her who she thought was paying the dietician (ie, formula companies or heinz or someone like that) but I didn't. It's a fight I am over fighting to be honest, but I can see that a lot more people are aware of BLS as time goes on. I'm the last of a certain group of friends to have a baby and they've all gone down the puree route and love that we're doing BLS and all now say they'll do it this way next time.:
But yeah, I know what you mean about being "pegged". I'm pretty sure my mother thinks I've turned into some sort of breast feeding, co-sleeping hippy who doesn't feed my child properly. :ROFL:
I also had to educate our MCHN about BLS but she had heard a bit about it and was quite pro. That said, we haven't had DD weighed since 6 months! We'll get her weighed at her 12 month appointment and maybe before but as long as she is eating and meeting all of her developmental milestones (within time) I am not too worried either. As DD gets older I find that people are less and less weirded out by the BLS as most of the other kids are now starting finger foods, DD just seems super good at the finger foods. An absolute win is at daycare though, the daycare girls are so supportive and impressed and sing the praises of BLS to all the other parents at every opportunity they get. Goooo daycare!!
Sue, have you tried an 'unbelieve-a-bowl? THey have the suction pad that sticks to the table, and then the bowl can click in and out. THey are great cos the bowl doesn't move and bub can pick the food up without having to hold or chase the bowl. My bub is getting pretty handy with her spoon now, but also loves using her fingers to get the yogurt and then slurps it off her fingers. She can use a little fork on pasta too.
I've got a Tommee Tippee suction bowl, are the unbelivable ones more suctiony?
I find neither bowl (Tommee Tippee or Heinz) to suction well to our table or high chair tray, so I gave up. We just hover while she uses a plastic bowl in case she decides to send it flying. Maybe I'm using the suction bowl wrong somehow? Although the heinz one is more suctiony I think.
She loves to spoon feed herself, but once we load it and place it on the table in front of her for her to pick up. She dipped it into the bowl once herself and DH and I got so excited and cheered and I think we freaked her out and hasn't done it since lol
She's going through a really fussy stage, and throwing almost everything, unless it's a bread product, grape or sultana. And I don't want to just resort to those all the time just because I know she'll eat them. Anyone with older bubs, did yours go through this stage? I'm assuming it will pass but as everyone comments how slim she is I can't help but worry that maybe she's not getting enough.....
DD figured out how to unscrew the unbelievabowl things, so we just use a regular bowl, like our soup bowls. She doesn't ever try and throw it, doesn't even pick it up. We're always there with her anyway and find that she eats better if she thinks she has the same as us. So she gets a flat side plate too with her dinner on it.:
She's a funny bunny!
We're starting BLS now
Did I freak you out?
DD sits at the table with us and is watching with interest. This is her first introduction to solids :)
I got some of those suction bowls, can't remember the brand, but it took about 5 minutes for DS to figure out how to get them off.
Bean, I would just keep offering. She'll eat if she's hungry. They go through phases and some days/weeks they eat heaps and some they don't. It's all ok.
ETA - sue, DS was the same. He was happy if he had what we had
i only had a tommee tippee suction bowl and it never stuck arghh! i want a super duper one that has blackhole kinda suction haha! marta likes to pick up her bowl for close inspection/lick/throw down to the dog for a laugh...
I must have got a super sucky suction bottom cos i have trouble getting it off!
I think second kids must get an earlier, more natural intro to food and eating cos by then you have learnt it's easier to work with your kids, meal times are kid friendly times, and you are more relaxed. (this is from my inexperienced view)
Perfect MadB!
our nurse sort of mentioned BLS in passing, but it was in a new mothers group, after talking for an hour on introducing solids, stage foods, the order to introduce foods (which I have now since disregarded!), etc, and said at the end... "or there's BLS" and that was it.
Cass - hello! That's so funny what you say about the nurse noticing Marta's amber necklace, and "having you pegged" because our nurse was the same. And so just to really stick it to her, I also told her we were using cloth nappies and doing EC! (which of course she had "never heard of") :rofl: yep, pegged here too!
we have the unbeleiveabowl, but it only works if I put it in the EXACT spot on the tray, as the tray has a small circular ridge in the centre of it (fromt he plastic mould I think) and the suction has to sit exactly over the middle of that to work, but it sticks!
Of course, it is now completely superfluous, as DD will NOT eat any purees / cereal / yoghurt whatsoever now. I think the fact that we had to "force feed" her antibiotics twice a day for 10 days has her now scared of the spoon. I do let her do it herself (a bit anyway), but it is far more appealing to use as a drumstick and see if the food will hit the fridge or the window (well, at least that's what it seems like she is thinking! LOL!). She was previously letting us help her with the spoon, but not since those antibiotics. Although I wanted to do mostly BLS, I did still want her to take some cerals and yoghurt, as well as some traditional-type baby food for when we are out / visiting etc (not everyone appreciates the "decorating" DD does when she eats!
I am amazed at how variable her appetite is - some days she will barely taste, and then another day she will devour the food, at two "meals" in a row, but then will only taste for the next day or so. Do your LO's do this?
HotI ours were the same, they were so difficult to remove, apart from when we put them on the dining table, then they just slid about everywhere. Once DD stuck the base to the marble floor then had a tantrum because I couldn't get it off!
Very much so Milly5, even now and DD is one next week. Some days she just throws, squishes and squashes the food, other days she eats loads!:
we also have our day of variables. where i swear the only thing she has eaten (apart from boob of course) is air lol. somedays she reckons its more fun to just suck on the table :rofl:
but then we get nights like last night where she ate 2 bowls! (mebbe she just likes curry?? i did crave it constantly when i was pregnant lol).
a quick question...do/did your kids have issues with chewing pear skin? marta seems to just keep it in her mouth for AAAAGGGESSS.
milly - absolutely. one day he'll eat a whole banana, a whole avacado, a whole pile of pasta bake and some curry (plus all his bottles) other days he'll just chew play with and spit out his food ... our dogs like those days!
cass - yup. same with tomato skin and fried egg, interestingly. sometimes he swallows, sometimes he doesn't.
being pegged - I think I fried our MHCN's brain ... she thought she had me pegged (exclusively breastfeeding, followed by BLS, clothbummed bubba, etc) and then she found out I'm a full time career lady who went back to work when DS was 9 weeks old ... she looked like she was going to have an aneurysm, due to being unable to match up her different prejudices ...
DS is currently loving curry and plums. sometimes together.
Love it!:
haha! i love this! DD1 (who is 3.5 STILL likes to eat a spoon of flavoured yoghurt followed by a dinner chaser...it grosses me out no end haha):
I am back again, thanks for the info :)
DD1 is over 6 months now, we have tried some sticks of sweet potato, she ate 3 peas that I kinda squished a bit, but she isn't reaching or grabbing anything or actually showing any interest in it. Our GP would be keen for her to get onto solids sooner as it will help with her reflux as she is now on the max of Losec and Gaviscon every feed, but I can't force her and he admitted that she might not be ready and that some babies are ready at four months others take longer, as long as she is still gaining weight on milk it is ok
She has been sick with croup so haven't worried the last few days, but just wondering how often do you try, give it a week, or every few days and if she isn't grabbing at anything is it worth me holding it near her mouth for her to suck on?
TIA :)
I think try often Beema, we just basically offered her food whenever we ate and did it that way.
Okay, I've decided we are going to try BLS... (read as: DS doesn't have the patience for mum with her probiotic and flax seed oil laced mushy stuff and has been chucking tanties). So where do I start, what are the rules, where could I hide the probiotics (a-retentive much!), what are the best foods? You get the idea.
BLS n00b in training....
Let bub eat from your plate, the foods that you and your family eat.
Bigger pieces are easier for bub cos they can grab them and manipulate them more easily. They can't release their grip very well when they start, so the bit that is in their hand they can't get into their mouth.
Either put food on bub's tray or hand them pieces of food, but don't put it in their mouth.
You want bub to be sitting up - this way if they can't get the food down, it falls to the front of their mouth and out. Gagging is ok, even though it can sound scary.
Trust your baby- trust they will eat what they need.
Early fav foods here were potato / pumpkin slices dry roasted in the oven, cucumber sticks, watermelon, mango, pasta, strawberry, toast.
Other favs orange, mandarin, nectarine, pastizzi
My LO is pretty handy with a spoon now but can also eat a surprising amount of yogurt and other wet foods just using her fingers.
OOhhh Yeddi, it's so exciting :) I give DD probiotics - we use the powder type and just mix it in with whatever. I'd start with vegetables, long ones steamed with a handle like broccoli, carrot and maybe some beans? It's heaps of fun and the best part is, there are hardly any rules. Just don't spoon feed or try and help your baby and let them do the learning.
Okay, I know this is going to be a weird question but... do you see big chunks of partially digested food in their poo or do they soggy it up enough gumming it? I guess I'm worried about vitamin deficiency if 1. He's not eating as much as he has been, and 2. What he does eat passes through without being fully digested because he's swallowing chunks because he has no teeth. Also, are we meant to take more vitamins like iron and vitamin C to pass through the milk?
Beema, I was also told that solids would help with my DD's reflux and I found the opposite. By doing BLS, you're letting your baby instinctively do what is right for them. My GP told me that I had to be more "forceful" with DD - ie shoving a spoon in her gob but I am so happy that I've stuck to my guns and continued with true BLS. DD's reflux went away of its own accord with the help of some chiro and we were able to reduce the losec slowly. For me, I found that solids helping reflux was a myth.:
Babies' gag reflex is stronger and closer to the front of the mouth than adults. Just becasue you are giving them chunks of food doesn't mean they swallow it as chunks. Has your bub ever bitten you with his gums? there is a fair bit of force in there without teeth and they get pretty good at breaking down the food.:
Breastmilk provides all that baby needs at this stage. eating solids is more about learning how their mouth and hands work and experimenting with different tastes.
Yeddi that's an interesting question - DD has just started eating blueberries, and I have discovered that they are obviously going in whole and coming out whole!! She mushes up some of them but she's definitely swallowing some whole and they don't get digested. I too am wondering if she's getting any nutrition from them (after all, blueberries are $$ so why buy them if she doesn't get any benefit? though she does love them!).
We recently had our 8 mth check up with the CHN, it was a relief CHN not our normal one. She asked "Is she doing well with solids" and I said "Yes!". Then I mentioned BLS, which she had not heard of, but pleasingly she thought it sounded good! I was surprised, had expected the opposite. She did tell me that I could "feed her up" as bit as she is on the 50% for height and the 25% for weight - she wasn't concerned, just said we could give her a bit more more, more dairy and snacks etc. Which I had just started doing anyway, so all good :)
I wonder if you squished them first, a bit like how you have to crack a snail shell so the chickens eat them (bad analogy I know), then it might work out better...
Mrs P - that's fab news, I love hearing positive BLS/MCHN stories :)
Yeddi - we don't see big chunks anymore but in the early days we did. We'll see corn these days but that's pretty much it.
I totally agree with Hoti - it's really the babies learning about their mouths and hands and tastes first and then the eating comes after that. I <3 BLS as it seems like a natural process to me...........figure it out first and then do it.
DS ate more dinner than me tonight - an entire tub of vegies and pasta! :o
and then 3 strawberries, and a whole bottle 1/2 an hour later ... my mega boffa boy :D so proud.