Wean on me..

Hello!

Sorry for my absence, Ryan has been away at interviews this week so I have been playing at being a single mum for a couple of days!

Finn is doing well with his blw and has now tried;

Cheesy pitta fingers//petit filous//cheese sticks//rice cakes//bread sticks//melon/clementines//chicken/panini//sweet potato//parsnip//hummus//carrot//sweetcorn fritters//pancakes//pasta//tomato's//pan fried apple//crumpets/jam on toast/philly on toast//porridge pancakes//banana//

Today he managed to gag on a bit of cheese and bring most of his feed up which was a bit scary but it didn't faze him and he stuck the rest of the cheese stick back into his mouth, gross child!

As I'm not evangelical about this blw lark I have tried spoon feeding him sometimes however he point blank refused to open his mouth, but give him a stick of something and he'll happily snaffle it down. The boy knows what he wants!

In the oven I have cheesy lentil wedges for his tea tonight hopefully he'll enjoy them.

Days 3 & 4

Day 3

Breakfast - Toast with low sugar jam & a petit flious

Dinner - Roast Veggies (again but he does seem to love them!), some spread on toast as they were too mushy, with hummus

Day 4

Just one meal today as I didn't get breakfast in as I had to go to the doctors, and Ryan took him to baby sign this afternoon.

Dinner - Sweet potato wedges, maybe with hummus, and cheese sticks.

I must master my roast veggies as they are either too soft and squish everywhere, or are too hard and he struggles to gum them, bad mummy.

Some times he is interest in his meals and will pick all the food up and study it, other times he'll sit there wanting it but only when I post it in his mouth will he take it.

If you have an Ikea Antilop Highchair please see Emma's post here about them being recalled.

Day 1 & 2 of Blw

I've started Finn on two 'meals' a day, I'm happy for these to chop and change each day as long as he is feeding himself twice, until he drops his milk feeds and I know he is getting some food in then we will up to to three feeds.

Day 1

Lunch - Eggy bread, we have no known allergies in our family and Finn didn't react to the eggs so we know then are fine!

Dinner - Roasted Veggies and pan fried apples. Bit of jabbing himself in the eye with these veggie sticks.

I thought on his first proper day of blw there might be some gagging which is to be expect but he didn't gag at all, he did cough up a bit of apple which went flying out on to the waiting dogs head though, I'm suprised at how well he handled everything to be honest.

Day 2.

Breakfast - Pre loaded spoons of petits filous

Dinner - Butternut squash spread on toast and some left over veggies sticks from last night.

I was amazed at how well Finn did with the pre loaded spoon. I dipped his spoon for him and then put it on the table and he pick it up and it went straight in his ear, then his cheek, then finally his mouth and each spoon after when directly in his mouth. He must of polished off nearly a whole petits filous and a little bit of my omelet too!

The start of things to come

I couldn't tell you how I discovered Baby Led Wean but I would hazard a guess that it was whilst browsing the multitude of baby books on amazon.

With Finn being premature and the current guidelines of not weaning your baby until 6 months, I was happy to wait until he was 6 months correct before either spooning slop into his mouth or giving him fingers foods.

Given that I had read on various forums that baby rice has the nutritional value of wall paper paste, that blw greatly enhances development and that I didn't much fancy steaming, chopping, mashing and blending, blw seemed the natural route for us to go down.

Gill Rapey is the lady behind the science with much research and experiments with babies from 18 weeks. It is suggested that your baby should be able to sit unaided so that if they gag, which is likely,

the food will be thrust out.

To start with Rapey suggests chip shaped finger foods as at 6 months most babies can't purposely open their palms to eat what is inside, that said there is no reason why their first meal can't be spaghetti and meatballs.

As we had a break through with Finn today, he stole my rich tea biscuit out of  my hand and shovelled it in his mouth, tomorrow I shall be going full team ahead with the weaning, with the mantra that 'food before one is just for fun' ringing in my ears.

Yes it will be messy, yes he might gag, much food will go on the floor, but he will be eating what we eat, at the table with us, controlling the amount he eats by himself, I just can't wait to start.