JJ's daddy did breakfast this morning and he said JJ wasn't too interested in his cereal - he did however eat some toast and a whole pear!
For lunch he had some smoked mackerel and cream cheese pate on some little slices of toasted baguette (he was smelly all afternoon but loved it!), some nectarine and yogurt.
For tea he ate cheesy mash, veggies and turkey and apple sausages, followed by the rest of his yogurt from lunch and a biscotti. - Yum!
JJ just doesn't stop wriggling at the minute - he is non-stop - guess that's why he's eating well as he needs the energy. Come to think of it so do I!
We went camping this weekend with some family - thought we must be mad given the recent weather but we had great weather all weekend and had a fabulous time. JJ was a star and slept brilliantly in the tent and ate lots of yummy food....will try to remember!
Friday - he had some lovely chicken casserole, potatoes and veg before we left - he did quite well with this.
Friday night - After putting up the tent etc we were quite late with tea but he did well. He had some emergency ravioli from a tin - not the best food but best I could manage at the time- it was kids no-added-anything stuff so not too bad. He had it with some broccoli (lots of!), and pitta and phily.
Usual breakfast Saturday morning - he had quite a lot and over half a banana.
Saturday lunch was a picnic at Sandringham - JJ had tomatoes, pittas and cheese and some fruit but dudn't really eat that much - was a bit distracted by his Nanna, Grandad and uncle and auntie!
For tea he has some mackerel, courgette, sweet potato mash, apricot and watermelon! Quite a mixture - he loved the mackerel and the watermelon.
Sunday breakfast he ate quite a lot again of the usual. (the al fresco dining and fresh air must be good for him!) He seems to be favouring oatibix over shredded wheat at the minute. He also had some juicy apricot - yum.
For lunch (back at home) he had pancakes (i sandwiched two together with some philly and mashed pear) some pear and tomato and cucumber.
At tea time JJ turned into an eating machine! We almost didn't bother as we had lunch very late due to travelling back but I'm glad we did as he had another pancake, half a pear, a chunk of cheese, a slice of malt loaf, breadsticks, and a rusk! He ate every last thing on his tray -even all the little bits that he had broken off and rejected earlier. He was really chewing and eating well. Such a star!
I noitced this weekend that when he tries something new he puts it straight into his mouth and then often pulls it out to have a good look at it before carrying on eating it.
Anyway - a great weekend all round - he ate loads and enjoyed every last bit, and we all had a great mini-holiday. We plan to do some more camping soon.
JJ tried ready break for breakfast this morning. I spoke to the HV yesterday and she said that JJ's shredded wheat may not be enough and that the fruit he eats too doesn't count as it must be cereal. When I asked why she said it was because of the iron and vitamins added to things like wheatabix...what did the world do pre fortified cereals I ask! She also said that babies his age usually eat 1 1/2 wheatabix for breakfast - I don't think JJ usually eats that much. So I thought I would try some ready break for JJ to try like he eats yogurt. Well he hated it - and I can't blame him really. He was reaching on his tray like he wanted his usual so that's what he had (and bitesize Oatibix does have the added goodies!!).
He had his usual amount - I decided to stop worrying as I just don't think he is that hungry at breakfast - he doesn't have that much milk from me either. Gonna chill out and remind myself how well he is doing and he will eat what he needs as he has always done.
For lunch he had some potato and fish pie which we had last night and he loved it - he ate lots! He also had some nectarine but after a bowl full of pie he had no room left!
For tea he had some cheesy pasta again with some veggies. I bought some of the steamfresh packs for quick fixes and they were great - ready really quickly. Probably not as good as fresh but frozen does come pretty close nowadays (although not organic but never mind!). He enjoyed it but didn't really eat that much but he did enjoy his yogurt.
I know that gagging and choking can be the scariest thing for some people when giving their LO's finger foods. It can be a bit scary but isn't a BLW issue as such - it will happen whenever children first experience lumps etc, even if they have had purees first, as it is a learning thing. Anyway....JJ hardly ever gags anymore - can't remember the last time he did till now and it is usually when he is getting tired. Well I caught it on camera and it shows really well how babies usually naturally deal with gagging themselves. Choking is different as they really can't get the food back up and need help. But gagging is part of the learning process. It can be hard not to panic at first but I soon found JJ was able to deal with it without any fuss. I usually thought I would count to ten before intervening to give him the chance to deal with it and so as not to scare him. I never got past three or four. Anyway - I thought I'd post the video - might help someone. He does a really cute little shiver afterwards.
For lunch he had some broccoli (oh how he loves broccoli!) pork and carrot and baked apple wedges with cinnamon - he seemed to enjoy his lunch.
For tea I made a cheese sauce and JJ had it with pasta - wow - he gobbled it up sooo fast! He loved it! I also gave him some banana and he ate a lot of that too, and most of a yogurt. A very successful tea!
Other news - JJ has taken to babbling this week and sounds sooo cute.
JJ had his usual for breakfast but wasn't really interested.
Lunch wasn't too bad - I made some lentil burgers for him which were nice and he quite liked them but he managed to trap his foot in his high chair when wriggling about and this put him off his lunch! He also had some turkey from our stir fry last night (enjoyed this) and some pear. He gagged a bit on the pear - I think because was a bit overtired and it was after the foot incident at the end of the meal. I actually got it on video - its pretty minor really but I know a lot of people worry about gagging so I will put it in a separate post so people can see how babies can easily deal with it themselves most of the time. See the video of him putting too much in his mouth!
For tea I defrosted some fish patties but over cooked them when I was heating them up and they were very dry because of it and he quite understandably threw them on the floor! So he ended up having some philly on toast, yogurt and fruit.
Does anyone know how I can get a recipes section set up in blogger - have tried to figure it out and can't. If anyone can help I would appreciate it! Thanks x
JJ had shredded wheat, melon and blueberries for breakfast today. He is getting good at picking up blueberries!
For lunch I cooked some rice which I then whizzed briefly in my mini blender (the ones that attach onto a hand blender - sooo useful) and I rolled it into logs. It held together brilliantly but JJ turned his nose up - I don't think he likes bland things!
I mixed the other half with some mashed mango but this was a bit sloppy so I added some dessicated coconut and baby rice to firm it up. I put it in the fridge and forgot about it - its still sat there!
So he had his rice logs, some cheese and some mango (lots of mango!). I was eating some left over shepherds pie for my lunch and he seemed rather interested (I hadn't given it to him as I didn't think he'd manage it) so I gave him some and he gobbled it up.
SO for tea tonight I gave JJ some shepherd's pie of his own - well he wouldn't even touch it. We had been into town and he just wanted to play so I let him and tried him again a bit later. He half heartedly had a bit (he loved it at lunch!). So I gave him some yogurt which he practically begged for then decided he did want his shepherds pie, and the rest of his yogurt and an Organix rusk! In the end he had quite a bit to eat.
We had breakfast and lunch at JJ's Uncle Adam's house today. He had shredded wheat for breakfast, and for lunch had some fruit (mango, melon, pineapple), crusty bread, chicken and yogurt. It was pretty messy as we had no high chair and had to use his Bumbo.
For tea he had some broccoli and cheese nuggets which I defrosted, some melon and breadsticks (oh and he chased a few blueberries around again. He is getting so good at the pincer grip!
JJ had shredded wheat and dried fig for breakfast.
For lunch he had some cucumber, nectarine and bits and bobs as we went out for lunch and had to take a packed lunch for JJ. He was pretty well behaved in the restaurant and didn't make too much mess!
For his tea I made some blueberry and banana pancakes which he enjoyed. He also had some cheese and banana (which he seemed to enjoy today more than before as I had cut it into batons).
JJ is still stuffing lots in his mouth at first (I think because he likes the taste) and then crying as he has a mouth full of food and doesn't know what to do with it. He has done this a few times recently and I worry he will choke as he is crying. Today when he started doing this I ate some pancake and made really exaggerated chewing movements and kept doing this. Eventually he started to copy me and he managed to chew and swallow it all and after that was eating really well. It goes to show how much they learn from eating with us.
Yesterday JJ's daddy was in charge as I was at a wedding. JJ had his usual breakfast. For lunch he had philly on toast with some berry sauce (raspberries, blackberries and blueberries) - which was a big hit. He also had some melon and nectarine.
For dinner daddy cooked gnocchi with cheese sauce but had underestimated how long it can take to make dinner with a grumpy JJ to deal with alone and so it was very late and not very well received (plus I was out and JJ refused any milk that wasn't from me and so was probably over-hungry). I had to come home to feed JJ (BF) before the profiteroles were served!!!!
I got adventurous for breakfast today and tried to make a ready brek pancake in the porridge pancake style from Aith's blog - basically just thick readybrek nuked and allowed to set. JJ didn't even entertain it and I can't blame him as it was gross! So he had some of my toast and some nectarine.
Daddy was in charge at lunch as I was out so JJ had everything that was in the fridge!! I think he had some of the leftover pancakes, some leftover turkey sausages, breastick and yogurt - ate a little bit of each bt the dog had most of it!
For tea JJ had some of our tuna pasta - he loved it! I had used a mix of round and spirally pasta and it was so funny to see JJ chasing the spirals round the tray as they were his favourite! He also had some nectarine for pud.
He is getting really good at drinking from his doidy cup which we got yesterday - much less spillage - I din't have to change his clothes today (oh - maybe coz we srtripped him for each feed!)
Check out this video of JJ letting us know he has had enough of his tea - never done this before...
Same stuff for breakfast again with the addition of dried figs - JJ liked these a lot but sneezed it out after sucking on it for ages!
I got adventurous with panckaes for lunch (got the idea from this cool blog www.myblwexperiences.blogspot.com) and did spinach and ricotta pancakes and berry and creme fraiche pancakes - JJ gobbled them up so quickly it was great to watch! He really enjoyed them but made much less mess than usual - guess he didn't play with it as much as he was enjoying eating it! I enjoyed them too!
For tea I made some turkey and apple mini sausages (got the idea from Aitch's blog) and he had them with avocado and necarine. He seemed to enjoy them but tea was a bit late and he was tired so prefered to rub them in his eyes.
I will try to set up a recipes section and post my versions of the recipes there.
Same old same old for breakie - shredded wheat and oatibix.
Lunch was avocado (he has never had this before but seemed to quite like it), philly on toast and some blackberries and blueberries. He seemed to like the blackberries but seemed to enjoy the feel of them and dropping on the floor better! The blueberries were a little bit sour but he had a couple - he found them easier to chew if I squished them a bit first.
I was very excited about tea - fish patties - yum. I whizzed a slice of bread into breadcrumbs, them whizzed some parsley and some cod, mixed it all together with an egg white and made little patties. I fried them till they were golden each side and then put them in the oven for 10 mins. I could have eaten all of them but only had my one to check they were edible.
JJ started well and kept stuffing it in - but once again with a hugely full mouth he just cried. I think he doesn't like having so much in his mouth. Anyway after some banana yogurt he kept going back for some more so I think he must have liked them. He also had some more blueberries. He ate the whole pot of yogurt which he has never done before - and there was less on his face etc than usual. I think I will have to ration his food at the start of a meal so he doesn't attempt to put it all in at once and see if this helps.
Meals are taking sooo long - by the time I have prepared, cooked, fed, cleaned it is at least an hour often a lot more. Good job I enjoy cooking and feeding (just not the cleaning bit!)
Breakfast was same old shredded wheat and some banana (not much)
For lunch I made some mini pancakes. I added some apple puree to the mix and to half of it I also added some grated cheese. The apple ones didn't taste of apple at all but the cheesey ones were nice. JJ gobbled them up! He also had some melon.
For tea I made some puff pastry tarts using some of the veg sauce from yesterday, cheese and tomato and apple and cinnamon. He couldn't get them in quick enough but at one point he had so much in his mouth he didn't know what to do with it and just cried! He always stuffs more and more in when he likes something - I guess he'll learn. He also had some more melon as he loves it!
He was in such a mess after tea (partly due to enthusiastic munching and partly because he pulled off his bib and wrestled me off when I tried to put it back on!) that I had had to shower him off! He did quite like that though.
Breakfast was a non starter today. DH gave JJ some shredded wheat but he just ate one, squished 2 and then stopped.
After a morning out with his daddy JJ wolfed down 3 of the veggie nuggets from the other day which I had defrosted and would have eaten more had I had them ready! He also had an Organix rusk but this generally went on the floor and not in his mouth! He seemed to really enjoy his lunch.
For tea I did him giant pasta shells and a sauce with tomato, carrot, peas onion and garlic. He got cross straight away as he found it too slippy. He had such a strop that I had to take him out of his chair and cuddle him. He munched a breadstick on my lap and I put him back in and he was much happier. I spread some of the sauce on some bread and he ate some of that. I also baked some slices of apple with some Cinnamon. He threw 3 on the floor, then loved the last 3 and would have eaten more but there wasn't any (I ate 2 thinking he wouldn't eat them!!) Ah well 2 lessons learnt.....don't give him giant pasta and make more cinnamon apples!
Breakfast was some wheatabix today which I mushed up with milk and let him feed him self like I do with yogurts. He managed ok but wasn't too impressed and when I put some shredded wheat on his tray he gobbled them up so I guess he prefers them. He also had some banana which as always had a mediocre reception.
Lunch was some steamed carrot, courgette and potato which he really wasn't interested in but did eat some. He had hiccoughs which didn't help and he has a horrid cold so I out it down to this. He has a habit at the minute of squishing food repeatedly in his hand and watching himself do it (all learning I guess) which is what happened to most of lunch.
Tea was a big success. JJ had some of our spiced butternut squash casserole which was flavoured with cumin, coriander and turmeric and he loved it (me and his dad thought the squash was a bit bland!). He also had a yogurt for pudding and had almost the whole pot (well not counting what was smeared over him and his highchair!).
He was also very close to eating some squash out of his palm.
As is getting quite a pattern, JJ had his usual cereals and fruit for breakfast today - might try something more exciting soon!
His dad sorted lunch and he had pittas and smoked mackerel and cream cheese again from yesterday (this was lovely and also good on breadsticks). I was glad he liked the fish as it is great for him - the only downside is that his hands stink of it all day and his favourite hobby ATM is to shove them up mummy's nose!
At tea time JJ had some tomato pasta that I had frozen from a previous meal. He didn't get on too well with this though as freezing the pasta seemed to make it a bit tougher and chewy - might not bother any more. He had a full breadstick and only dropped the last tiny bit, and some nectarine.
Other news: JJ spent aaaages in B&Q whilst we chose garden furniture and was so good! I had more tantrums than he did as it was boring! He is getting such a grown up boy recently. In the past few days he has started to pull his legs up to try and crawl, bounce up and down on his bottom whilst he is playing and when he sees us, and he will happily sit and play with his toys on his own for quite a while before he gets bored. He has had the same toys for a while and has all of a sudden found different ways to play with them. He is sooooo cute!
Yesterday we ate out at lunch and JJ had some food from home (usual packed lunch of breadsticks, cheese, date, fruit) - he was very good and didn't throw too much on the floor. It has been a real battle to get milk into him for a couple of days but he seemed better today.
Today JJ had his usual oatibix and shredded wheat for brekkie. I noticed that he has got really good at picking back up the halves that stay in his palm till he drops them on the tray. He ate much more than he dropped today which was great.
Lunch was very exciting! I made some lovely broccoli and cheese nuggets from a recipe from Aitch's blog (www.babyledweaning.com) and they were sooo yummy I could have eaten a lot. But me and JJ's granny had a couple, JJ had 3 and we froze the rest. I even took a photo! JJ loved them. He was chewing like such a big boy so I took a video which I will try to link.
For tea JJ had some philedelphia whizzed up with some smoked mackrel spread on wholemeal pitta bread - again he loved it.
JJ had some oatibix bitesize for breakfast today for a change from Shreded Wheat and he seemed to enjoy them but not so much as the old favourite. I was also surprised to see (after I bought them) that they contain sugar - I thought the 100% whole grain oats on the front of the box meant that that's all it contained - silly me!
For lunch he enjoyed some Pasta carbonara which I had cooked the night before. I made sure I used no salt in cooking and JJ had just the pasta not the 'bits' and he loved it - sucked and sucked!
He also had a new taste at tea time - smoked mackrel and broccoli. He loved the mackrel but smooshed the broccoli all over his tray!
Other news:
JJ went swimming for the first time today with me, his dad and his granny who is over to stay. He really enjoyed it and looked so cute!
JJ had his usual shredded wheat for breakfast with nectarine and plum - he's loving plums at the minute.
Lunch was a bit rushed as we travelled back from our parents this morning and the cupboards were bare! So he had a little bit of fresh baked croissant, some cheese (which was dropped and eaten by the dog after one nibble!), and yogurt and mango. He seemed to enjoy it as usual! Didn't manage tea today as he was soooo sleepy by the time we got back from shopping that he had to go to bed early.
JJ had a yummy breakfast of shredded wheat, and new foods plum and grapes. He was very funny with the plum as he popped a quarter into his mouth and a few mins later spat out the skin in one piece! Not sure how he does it. The grapes were tricky for him but managed to get a couple in (cut in half) and he bit one in two very cleanly with his gums - cool.
Lunch was Sunday roast beef - he enjoyed sucking on this with green beans, carrots, cauli, and roast potatoes but he was tired and didn't manage much so he finished it of for tea instead along with some melon, nectarine, rusk and breadsticks!!! He just kept eating!
Naughty Daddy (but JJ did pull it into his mouth!) I promise he doesn't usually have icecream!
Me and JJ
JJ and his daddy
We were still unpacking hence the mess but it didn't put JJ off his veggies Yummy yogurt
JJ's first pint......only joking!
We are back from our holidays in very rainy Devon and had a lovely time despite the weather. JJ's routine was a little disturbed and lunch was often at a different time to what he is used to. He was great all holiday and enjoyed all his food. Breakfasts consisted of yogurts (always go down well), melon, toast, etc due to me forgetting his shredded wheat. Lunches were a mixture (and we missed a couple!) I often took food with us for JJ to munch on if needs be such as dates, bread sticks, rice cakes and some nifty cheese I found called Little Moos organic mini cheese portions individually wrapped so perfect for packed lunches. JJ also ate out with us and we gave him bit from our meals (he had some veggies and roasties and some bread and soup).
Hope to keep up to date now and I am planning on introducing a third meal next week as JJ seems to be eating more of his food and seems to be milk feeding more (at night - arggghhhhh!) so I think he may be hungry for more!
In this blog I record our experiences of weaning our son (born December 2006) using the baby led weaning method.
This is where babies are offered finger foods from the start and self-feedrather than being spoon-fed purees.
I am not saying this is the best or right way to do things, but it feels right for us.
I have included lots of photos and video clips - mainly because I think my boy looks soooo cute covered in food but also because it might help those of you out there trying or thinking about BLW. If you are interested in finding out more about this approach there are some links and info near the start of the blog.
Please feel free to leave comments or ask questions. Enjoy x
I am mum to Jacob, 2; soon-to-be mum of twins, due April; wife to Johnny - a triathlon obsessed firefighter; primary school teacher. We lead a busy life looking after our family, tending our allotment, and squeezing in our hobbies. Family, food, fun and friends are very important to us. Life is for the living!
