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Mine doesn't have a timer, I bought a digital timer to plug in between the slow cooker plug and the wall socket so I don't have to worry about over cooking stuff (It'd be on at about 7am to about 6pm otherwise - not so keen on that long a time unattended):
DH feels that way, but when I was growing up, we'd put the oven on for Sunday roast, then all go to church, and come home 2-3 hours later to a cooked dinner ...
so I'm not so fussed about a crockpot!
but DH says no.
I am coming in to share a big woohoo! My DD has started not only letting me leave a bowl on the high chair table unsupervised but also feeding herself with a spoon from it! It's amazing. I love love love baby led solids. So many of my friends are still spoon feeding purees and here's my DD eating yoghurt with her spoon like a champ. She's also started stabbing at things with a fork and can easily find her mouth, it's just the stabbing she's having a bit of trouble with. Yay!
I'm very glad your DD is having difficulty stabbing ;)
DS is working on the spoon, hasn't figured out the fork, but still very proud of him :D
but I was reading an article about feeding babies in a major baby mag, which referred to and then basically dismissed BLS as being wrong thinking with no scientific backing ... boo.
Boo indeed Peanutter!!
did they define how it was 'wrong'?
it basically said that it was getting them to run before crawling, etc.
Hi Ladies
I have been reading this thread every now and then and thought I would join in since we are just getting started with solids. I have given DS a piece of steamed broccoli and carrot a couple of times. I didn't think he was actually swallowing anything, but his nappies the next day told me otherwise :o
I had not even heard of BLS with DD, so I am excited to see how we go with it :)
Welcome Munchkin Mumma :) BLS is so fantastic and fun - you'll love it!
We had fajitas for dinner tonight. DD had a bit of everything- but left the lettuce :lol: A few nights ago, we had butter chicken with rice, pappadams with mint yogurt dip and roti bread. DD had some of everything - she loves stuff she can dip into.
She hasn't been a big fan of sandwiches but has started being more interested in them lately. they get pulled apart and examined and then eaten bit by bit.
My DD does that with sandwiches too Hoti. She pulls them apart and if it's a spread (eg hommus) she licks it off and then eats the bread. LOL
So who makes all their food from scratch, I mean like sauces, stocks and gravy's. Just reading Gill Rapley's book and it says to avoid packaged stuff of the above because it can be high in salt content. I don't make any of my own sauces and stocks. So does that mean I can't give her our meals when we have spaghetti or risotto or anything like that? What do you do with your babies?
Not me Mumof2boys. I make SOME food from scratch like vegie bake, pancakes, pikelets, fruit teething rusks etc. But I do use red sauce, stock powder and store bought pasta etc etc too :) I try and buy salt reduced things but mostly I don't stress about it because I know DH and I have a fairly healthy diet. You mentioned risotto......I just made this tonight and DD ate it. Just rice, stock powder, garlic, frozen spinach, mushrooms and some chilli sausages. All in all, I think the bit of stock powder is no big deal but that's just my personal opinion.
The thing I love most about BLS is that I can just feed DD whatever I eat. When I eat naughty foods, sometimes I won't give her some or I'll give her a tiny bit. It's all moderation. DD has had ice cream, custard and the odd chocolate biscuit. She's also eaten McDonald's hashbrown and a bit of the sausage from DH's mcmuffin. But that's on the side of her usual food which she still eats. Meh - it's just personal preference I reckon.
we don't make much from scratch.
HELP!! getting so frustrated - DS has started basically refusing to feed himself. We put his food on his tray like usual, and he just looks at it and giggles, gurgles, looks around, or whines and cries!!
If you put a spoon or fork there for you, he'll try to pass it to you.
If you load up the spoon, he won't take it.
But if you feed him, he'll eat it.
I've tried everything.
No bone.
Ideas?
Nutter, DD started doing this a few weeks back too so I just kept offering her different foods until she ate. Turns out she wanted PUREE. Can you freaking believe it? We've never given her puree in her life. And then I realised she was cutting teeth at the same time. But it's cool because we realised she could eat out of a bowl with a spoon by herself so there was a win in there. I just made her lots of mashed potato and roasted pumpkin until it was very very soft. Then she'd eat custard or rhubarb and yoghurt to finish her dinner off. She's just gotten back into her normal foods again now but we're still having to give her lots of soft stuff. Tonight she was dipping her sausage into her mash and sucking the mash off.
Phew well I feel better now knowing that I am not the only one who doesn't make things completely from scratch. Peanutter I'm on my phone so can't see tickers. How old is your lo. I know my ds2 went through a stage from about 14-17 months were he barely ate anything. He just wouldn't eat at all barely. He grew out of it though and now polishes off his plate and often finishes what his brother didn't eat either lol
mumof2boys - I'm one who makes just about everything from scratch. I do buy stock powder though, but I make my own curry paste, pasta sauces, custard (out of EBM for DS), pastry, I also squash up fruit to mix in with natural yogurt instead of buying flavoured yogurts. I don't eat meat so I make a lot of different dishes with beans and legumes so I buy those dried and soak and cook them. It takes more time but I usually make up a big batch and freeze a lot so I only need to actually cook a couple of times a week.
mumof2boys - yup, DS is 14 months. looks like starangelk and you and I have all been in the same boat!
good to know it's probably a phase ...
when I was at home more, I cooked so much more ... I never got to the point of making bread, but I'd make a lot of soups and other sweet and savoury dishes from scratch, but these days, it just doesn't happen.
I don't beat myself up about it - there's 24 hours in a day and 7 days in a week, and at the moment, they're occupied!
HI everyone. well. DD2 is coming up to 6 months old, and is so interested in what we are eating, chews her tongue at the table and put EVERYTHING in her mouth....including her sisters toes this morning YUCK :) so im thinking its time to start BLS again.....i have forgoten EVERYTHING! DD1 did it and it was great, i couldnt imagine starting solids any other way, but i just cant remember where to start...i have to go back and read all this thread as im sure the answers are here.....but i have a quick question till i have time to sit down tonight and read up....
What was your babies first food using BLS.....
i think i remember dd1 enjoying cruskits with stuff on....avo/banana etc. il get some bananas and steam up some veggies i guess. look forward to getting going!!
LOL beckoes, how quickly we forget hey! I remember doing so much research with DD1 and it has totally just dissapeared from my brain!!
So, we started with some steamed carrot and beans :) Now she's also had other steamed vegies, banana, pear, kiwi fruit, avocado and toast.
MY DD is on an eating spree at the moment! It's funny cos she has never been a big eater, but the last few days she can't get enough! Must be in for a growth spurt which would be good, cos she could do with a bit more weight.
I was vegetarian for many many years, and only began eating chicken again when i was pregnant with DD. DH is a meat eater. I was hoping DD would be more inclined to go the vegie way, but she is showing a distinct preference for meat. And as i agree with the baby led principle, i am going along with it- each time hoping she will reject :lol: Initially, she was only offered meat that DHs family had grown, so we know what it is in it, but now DH has beeen offering her more of whatever he is eating. I think if she is going to eat it, i am going to have look into where i can source meat that is ethically and healthily grown.
I am still eating chicken, but this pregnancy i can only eat small amounts and find it too strong, so maybe my 2nd baby will be a vegie child.
Beckoes, some of our first foods were steamed carrot sticks, broccoli, pumpkin, beans. cucumber, watermelon, mango (it was summer). toast fingers. dry roasted potato and pumpkin slices
Hi Hoti - hope your pregnancy is progressing really well. I understand where you are coming from re: the meat thing. I am a meat eater but DH and I could easily have gone vegetarian and made a conscious effort to start eating meat again when I fell pregnant with DD.
Beckoes - our first food was spinach leaves :) But we also did lots of fruit and stick vegies.
our first foods were all meat and veggies - avacado and tomatoes and mashed potato were all faves
:)
so, so far today DD2 had mauled a slice of tomato and gummed a corn cruskit. its funny watching her face the first time...''this doesnt taste like plastic/teddy/cat/hand..''
i think il steam some brocolli with our dinner tonight, see how she goes smearing that around her face ;)
i still get terrified of the gagging but i have to get a grip! how do others go with the choking/gagging. i think il be worse this time round after dd1 had a chocking incident and dh had to litterally pull the object from her wind pipe as we couldnt shift it....she was 2yrs old. but since then ive been scared.
With the gagging I read gill Rapley's book and she explained a babies gag reflex is nowhere near as far as back as ours it's on their tongue so they will start gagging very early on as a reflex to expel food which may cause a problem. That made me feels heaps better. Dd has only been going for about 2 weeks and she is gagging less and less. What I've found is if dd gags on something she doesn't gag on it the next time she tries it. She is picking up how to move things around in her mouth super fast. Last night she had beef stroganoff with us and munched on a couple of pieces of casserole beef and didn't even gag on it at all. She stuck a whole strawberry in her mouth yesterday, moved it around, figured that wasn't going to work and spat it back out. I think it helps that she's my 3rd, I'm so more relaxed. Interestingly she has so far gagged much less than my boys ever did who started on purees
Little miss today 2 weeks after starting bls ate a whole piece of watermelon. Actually ate it and swallowed it. I was so proud.
Hello girls! I thought I'd pop in and have a read. We have just started BLS with the twins - double the mess! I think it's going well, considering we have only been doing it for a couple of days. I was quite hesitant to start them on solids - they have just turned 6 months but were 5 weeks prem so I wasn't sure of the go with that, but DD1 solved my dilemma by grabbing DS's sandwich and having a munch :D. She is a lot more ready than DD2 who is the smaller of the two. We have tried apple, banana, Cruskits, carrot and toast with varying success. My BLS book turned up yesterday , thank goodness, because I'd done 2 days of rice cereal and pureed apple for DD2 because she didn't seem very interested. After skimming the book, I realised it's nothing to panic about. She happily munched on a piece of toast this morning so we were both happy! I am so glad the book turned up because I never considered checking their mouths for leftover food - both had big chunks of toast stuck to the top of their mouths this morning - eek!
I think my big problem will be reassuring myself that 'food is fun' and they don't really need it for hunger at this stage. I shudder to think of how much I used to shovel into DS's mouth when he was a bub.. He is crap eater now - getting better, but still solids were not enjoyable at all with him.
Is there any foods besides nuts etc, and honey that you you stayed away from? I know with DS there was a certain amount of food that books said not to try until certain ages. A friend of mine borrowed all my books on puree's and I am resisting the urge to ask for them back because I know I will start reading them and confuse myself, and probably get out my blender to start mushing stuff up.
I put some photos on Facebook yesterday and recieved 3 private messages off people suggesting that it was dangerous to feed them big chunks of food :rolleyes:. Ahhh well, DH and I are happy with how it is going so I'm fine with it!
Awesome work doing BLS with twins. It might be messier but less work on your wrists spoon feeding them when they are fine doing it themselves! I held off on nuts, honey and eggs but i think this was more from info from my MCHN.
have fun!
My DD will eat almost anything but has always been a grazer. Recently she must have been preparing for a growth spurt, she just ate and ate for 2 weeks! She ate almost as much pasta as DH one night, and then fruit and yoghurt! Breakfast was 3 vita brits plus toast. She then went back to grazing again, but yesterday was hungry again so maybe she has more growing to do.
Hey everyone :) Thought I'd join in here as we're planning to do BLW with DD. She's four months on Sunday so we're not planning on starting yet, but wanted to join to get ideas and info to back up what we're doing - the solids pressure has started already!
There's a local GP telling the girls in my mother's group that new studies say babies should start solids at four months to avoid allergies, and almost all of them are Tizzie Hall followers, so they're following the feeding schedule in her book - starting with rice cereal at 4 months. Then there's MIL, who calls DD 'fatty' and thinks she's too hungry and needs to start rice cereal. I've had good comebacks for all of these so far (just facts etc) but it's getting really annoying!!
At the moment DD is really interested in what we're eating - she watches very intently. She can sit ok, but not for long periods on her own, she needs to be propped up. And while she can grab things, she's not too precise and doesn't do the pincer grip yet.
Reckon I might go back through the thread, but has anyone got any tips as to how we'll know she's definitely ready?
Thanks :)
Hi kaytee
I remember reading somewhere that when the child is able to get the food with precision, purpose and intent from in front of them into their mouth, then they are ready :dunno: I guess the with purpose part really sums it up, not like when the jam a toy in their mouth iykwim.
HTH
My baby is nearly five months old and I just started by putting some rice cereal in one bottle, then gave him some another feed, ex gave him choccie ice cream! lol, I gave him yoghurt, and just then some egg.
I'm just giving him a wee amount of what I am eating basically. The very first time he grabbed the spoon, and he did actually try and feed himself a bit, but was also using it on his gums. Today again I gave him the spoon, I have to watch him though as that is something he can choke on.
Kaytee - we waited until the girls were 6 months before we started, mainly due to the fact the girls were premmie and totally not ready before then, but also in the Gil Rapley BLW book, there is some really interesting points on when to start, and why babies were always started on solids (or puree) early (4 months). It is worth grabbing a copy if you can. It basically says that the 'true' sign of readiness (as opposed to people saying stuff like they need food if they wake at night, are big babies, small babies etc) is if they can sit up with little or no support, can grab things and accurately bring them to their mouth, and if they are munching on their toys and chewing, rather than just sucking on them.
BLS with twins is an interesting journey so far. C is a total 'whole' food girl - could not get a spoon past her lips if I tried, so thankgod BLS seems to work for her. I would of freaked out if she was DS and tried to ram food down her throat. She is a complete mess monster - Weetbix on the wall, avocado sandwich under the fat rolls on her chin :), most food chucked over the side of the highchair. M is a different story - she is our little baby and like to be fed from a spoon first, and when she has had enough, she will have a try of something she can grip onto. It's all very cute. I do feel like I spend my day revolved around food and sitting down with the kids eating!
DH's parents came around the other night and freaked out at the sight of the girls eating stalk of broccoli. MIL said they would choke to death and any food should be mashed up and mix with custard. Hmmm.. I really don't love her 'helpful' advice.
Definitely I agree with Gil Rapley.
I don't give bubs much in the way of solids, more that I just decided it wasn't worth the ongoing conversations with my Mum and my ex (and hearing ex's family comments 3rd hand). So I decided it doesn't hurt for him to have the odd spoonful of puree in the next month or so, when he's not with me. lol.
Of course my ex gave him his first taste of chocolate ice cream!
It's the same with his nappies, I am using 50-50 MCN's and Flats, my Mum uses Flats, and my ex uses sposies but just for fun sometimes I only pack flats for him lololololol.
Hi katee I have doneBLS with all mine. I too wait for them to be able to sit unaided and feed themselves. This means my girls were 9 months and son 7 months.
Best advice, enjoy the process
Thanks for the welcome and tips everyone :) I've ordered Gill Rapley's book, it looks really interesting. Based on what you guys have said I'm pretty sure she's not ready for solids yet. She can sit for short periods, and she grabs a lot of things. She does want to grab food if I have it, but she wants everything I'm holding - phone, keys, remote, whatever. And all of it would go in her mouth, so I'm not sure that she's specifically trying to eat food you know? She still has a very strong tongue thrust reflex, everything gets chewed on, sucked and spat out - she can't even suck on a dummy properly - so I'm pretty sure she couldn't actually swallow any food anyway.
I'll definitely keep an eye on this thread for ideas when we start :)
Enjoy the bls journey kaytee :)
This thread hS been quiet.....I was thinking this morning dd is now at the age where most kids are eating finger foods and no longer eating purees so no more bls? What's everyone elses take on that?
we started DS with CLS at 6 months, and he picked and played and sometimes ate loads, other times just chewed and played and didn't eat anything ...
He only got his first teeth a little shy of 12 months, and now (at almost 17 months) still only has 5!! But he eats like a horse most of the time :)
We just popped him in the high chair, sat there with our food, and let him watch and try and play, and figure it all out ... as soon as he seemed to "get" that food could be eaten, and made him full, all bets were off!!
It's just so great watching that whole process - and now he's recently learned to use a spoon/fork - but he will eat such a broader variety than the kids who started on purees, because he's been eating all the different things we've been eating over the past 11 months! He's used to different flavours and textures and temperatures, etc, and it's just awesome.
He has his favourite things of course (he loves slow cooked casseroles and pastas and noodle based stirfries and yoghurt and grapes) but he'll try basically anythying.
DD is 6 months today, which means we are now ready to start introducing solids, and I am very excited to be doing BLS again! We did BLS with DS (not from day one, I didn't even know about it then), and it was so easy and lots of fun watching him learn to eat.
I am in the process of re-reading Baby-led Weaning by Gill Ripley, and once DD has recovered from her cold we'll introduce some food. Probably an assortment of steamed veggies to begin with. DD is more than ready to start solids - I have a feeling she's going to be a very good eater!
Looking forward to chatting with you all :).
yay and good luck, sterla!!
we have found DS becoming somewhat fussy over the past few weeks - no idea whether it's teething or what, but he will totally reject different veggies on different days.
sometimes he'll just shake his head, or put them to the side (and then back in his bowl when he's finished all the bits he likes) but other times he'll sweep them all right off his plate, or slouch down into his high chair, or fling them right across the room!!
le sigh.
Hi all
DS is a way off starting solids yet, but I'm already reading into BLS and I really want to give it a go. Can anyone help me with a few things?
So... first is know when to start. I wait until he's showing interest in food, grabbing and holding things, and sitting upright unassisted, is that right? Do I worry about how old he is, so wait until he is six months even of he's showing signs of being ready earlier? Or wait longer than six months if he doesn't seem ready?
Also, what to feed him. I know about chip-sized foods he can chew on, but what about wet foods? Can I give him things like weetbix or mashed potato, and will he just suck it off his fingers? And when you're out and about or over someone's house, so you still do BLS, even though it might be messy? Or do you just do purees etc from a spoon in more social circumstances?
Look forward to chatting with everyone! Thanks for your help!
timing depends on your child, but we found DS was good to go at 6 months.
grab a copy of Gill Rapley's book - it's only about $14 including postage from the book depository.
as for wet foods, we served them onto his tray (a bowl would have gone flying within seconds!) and let him grab a hand full at a time, or moosh it onto his hand and suck it off.
as he got a bit older, we introduced bowls and forks and spoons, which he uses now.
and as for eating out - we still do it. we just take LOTS of terry flats and wipes and an empty plastic bag, to be sure we can clean up after him :)