On the Road Weaning: Week 5

I haven't bothered writing anything separate for our 4th week of weaning.  MiniMe had a horrible cold, and then a fever and then a rash.  She wasn't interested in eating or nursing or much of anything, really.  I did continue to offer her things like toast and yogurt over the week, but only once a day if she was in good spirits.  Poor thing, it really knocked her for six...and totally screwed up all the progress we had made with weaning.  And to top it all off, we had a visit from the health visitor where we found out the MiniMe had dropped down another percentile on the weight chart...ugh.

She's never been a great feeder, and although she is very active she doesn't seem to want to eat for any longer than is entirely necessary...so she already had that against her, and then when I mentioned that we had only started weaning at 6 months and were trying mostly Baby Led Weaning, the Health Visitor told us that because MiniMe's weight gain wasn't steady and because she isn't a great feeder it was important to be more aware of how much solid food she was actually ingesting.  She said that she liked Baby Led Weaning and she didn't want to discourage me, but that if I was already trying some combination feeding that I really should try to spoon feed MiniMe yogurt or soup once a day...that way we could guarantee she was taking on at least those calories. And to offer her 3 meals, instead of the 2 I was already doing. All fine with me, really.

Week 5

The day following that visit we flew down to Norfolk to spend some time with the Grandparents.  They were really onboard with the whole finger food thing and totally prepared for the mess, which was really nice for me...made meal times less stressful.  Sticking with the advice we had been given I spent some time making a batch of carrot soup to freeze in an ice cube tray so that we were prepared for MiniMe's meals, and stocked up on some yogurt, cottage cheese and some fruits.  

When we visit The Grandparents we tend to go on lots of day trips so most of the meals at home consist of nibbles for the adults.  It wasn't ideal really in terms of wanting MiniMe to eat what we were eating, but she did manage some good salad plates of veggies, hummus and cheese.  Eating out was another experience, and despite having problems with most high chairs, she managed to nibble on little bits of my meals.  I only found it difficult once to find something appropriate to share on the menu, and when I mentioned to the waitress that I had found it hard she offered to bring MiniMe some toast...which was really nice of her.  In the end, though, MiniMe ended up sucking and gnawing on the pickled cucumber that sat atop my burger! 

This week plums and kiwi fruit were a big hit.  Totally messy, but a big hit. She can easily hold a quarter of a plum or kiwi and use her gums to scrape out the flesh from the inside.  Apples and cucumber were great to gnaw on and massage her gums, and she loved sucking hummus off the ends of bread sticks. 

We introduced meat this week as well, roasted chicken thigh shredded and some lovely lemon chicken breasts shredded too.  MiniMe couldn't get the meat into her mouth so I popped pieces in for her.  I know that I have read about not putting food in a baby's mouth for fear of chocking, but she was very good at gumming the bits I helped her get into her mouth.  She also loved the bolognaise sauce in her piece of lasagne.  

I fed her yogurt or soup everyday, sometimes both in one day...MiniMe is very happy for me to spoon feed her now, and has actually become less interested in picking up the finger foods we offer her.  She is very happy to pick up plums, kiwi, bread sticks, and toast but is less interested in anything that is too wet, or gooey or sticky.  She certainly isn't interested in licking anything off her hands if they get mucky.  

I think it is safe to say we are combination feeding, and happy about that.  

Eating Out During the Early Days

MiniMe and I have been visiting The Grandparents over the past few days.  I was slightly apprehensive about coping with her meals while we were visiting, mostly because we had quite a few restaurant meals on the itinerary.  I wasn't that worried about feeding her while we were in the house, I was a little bit worried about Grandad's kitchen floor and his reaction to the food being tossed overboard all over it, but I needn't of worried about that.  We put a large towel down under the highchair and just let MiniMe do her thing.  Grandad was surprisingly cool with the mess.  I was worried about feeding her while we were out.

Two weeks ago I would have just let MiniMe play with some toys while the adults ate, but after a visit from our Health Visitor I have been advised to make sure she is getting 3 meals a day.  While I'm sure skipping lunch on the odd day wouldn't really make a difference (she's still only experimenting with food) I have noticed that she is starting to EXPECT food if everyone else is eating. 

The things that worried me about offering MiniMe good while we were out were firstly, the mess and secondly having to choose my meal based on what I could share with her. Ok, maybe the second one is a little bit selfish of me, but it is actually really difficult some times, for example one meal I ordered a roast lunch thinking she would be able to have some of huge veg only for it all to be cut super small and cooked very al dente.  She did, however, manage to eat her way through a very soft roast potato on that occasion.  On anotther visit she gnawed away on some courgette rounds, basically sucking the juice out of hone, and when we stopped at a coffee shop for a break she had some of my teacake with  butter. 

The mess, actually, wasn't too much of an issue.  I did pick up all the bits off the floor when she was done, to help the poor servers.  I only offered her one bit of food at a time and handed it to her so that it wasn't sitting on the tray.  And I made sure to wipe the tray before and after eating with some wet wipes. Don't know if any of that really made a difference to anyone else, but it did to me.  

What was most difficult, and what I didn't expect, was how awful some of the highchairs are in some restaurants.  I know they can't all have the highchair we are used to, but some of them are just awful and I've had to bring a tea towel with me in our diaper bag to help prop MiniMe up!!!! 

Recipe: Porridge Bites

I have been scouring Pinterest for links to recipes for MiniMe.  I've looked at Baby Led Weaning Boards, Toddler Food Boards, and boards for Kids' Food. One of the nice things about going down the Baby Led Weaning path is that I can make things for MiniMe that older babies and children might eat. 

I found a lovely food blog called What's On The Menu and have been drooling over all the baby led weaning-friendly recipes, especially this recipe for porridge cakes. 

Banana Porridge Bites

When I tried to offer MiniMe some porridge in Week 2 she was extremely underwhelmed by it.  I don't know if it was the texture, or the taste, or the squishy sound it made...but there was something about it that she just wasn't interested in.  I think it was the feeling of oats she didn't like...remember she avoids most slimy, squishy foods (bananas, avocados, weetabix).  So when I saw the recipe for porridge cakes I was really keen to try them out. 

They are super simple. 

To make 6 mini porridge bites you need 3 TBSP OATS and 3 TBSP of milk (whole milk, breast milk, formula).  Mix those together and let them sit for a bit, and then add in some chopped fruits, squished berries, mashed banana, maybe some grated apple, carrot or courgette and then spoon into your mini muffin tin and bake at 180C for about 15-20 mins.  

The outside bakes together to form a crust, while the inside stays soft, making it easy for little hands to pick up and gum.  Even though they are MINI I've been ripping the bites in half for MiniMe so that she can "bite" into them more easily.  

These are super easy to make and keep well stored in an air tight container for a couple of days.  I've just been making 6 at a time since we are still in the early days of weaning but I'll double the recipe to make a larger batch once MiniMe gets the hang of the swallowing thing.  

1 step forward, 2 steps back: Week 3

Weaning is such an experiment, isn't it? We are experimenting, as parents, trying to figure out what would foods are "right" for MiniMe and she is experimenting with tastes, textures, and that thing called gravity.  All this trail and error has left us continuing to bumble through week 3. 

At the end of last week I thought that we had really made a break through.  MiniMe was happily putting everything in her mouth (or near her mouth) at least once before discarding it on the floor and I'm pretty sure a little bit of toast, peach and pizza crust was actually swallowed.  The pre-loaded spoon was also getting into her mouth before being banged around...PROGRESS!! 

And then MiniMe was floored by a horrible snotty nose and teething as well! Week 3 really has been a week of "Look Look, she's actually chomping on it" and complete avoidance of anything put on her tray. Ups and Downs.  

week 3

We had a lot of soup and yogurt this week.  Surprisingly, one of the big steps forward was on the spoon front.  MiniMe is now letting us feed her a couple of spoonfuls of soup or yogurt.  We show her how we use the spoon to scoop out some soup, then we offer it to her and this week she has been putting her hand on the spoon and helping us guide it into her mouth.  We usually get 3 or 4 spoonfuls in before she starts keeping that little mouth clamped shut.  

I introduced a few new foods this week and stuck with toast, pita, peaches, pizza crust, peppers and broccoli.  Scrambled egg was one of the new ones.  We had tried some omelette before so I wasn't too concerned about any allergic reaction, but I made sure not to offer any new foods that day...just incase.  In the end I don't think any egg actually made it into MiniMe's mouth...it was too bitty for her.  But she had a good time squishing it around her tray.  

Mango was another new food, but it wasn't very well received.  I kept the skin on (washed) to help her hold onto the pieces, but they were quickly tossed overboard.  Dad and I enjoyed eating what was left though, so that's a plus.  

Because MiniMe has been happy to have yogurt already I decided to buy fruit yogurt this week to see if she liked any of the flavours.  I bought tubs of Yeo Valley Organic Blueberry and Peach & Apricot. I love Yeo Valley yogurt anyway, it is thick and not sweet at all.  MiniMe wasn't too keen on the Peach & Apricot, which I thought was surprising since she has been happily sucking on peach slices, but she couldn't get enough of the Blueberry one! 

Finally, we eat a lot of pasta in this house.  It is a really easy, quick weekday meal for me to make and I tend to make sauces with loads of veggies.  We tried MiniMe with some plain penne pasta (easy for her to pick up) and she happily munched away on it.  Next week I am going to try some with sauce on it, but I suspect it will be too slippery for her to pick up.  

I noticed this week that at breakfast time MiniMe is still pretty dopey. She's not quite with it until after her morning nap so I stopped offering her breakfast from Tuesday and gave her what we think of as breakfast foods at lunch time instead...yogurt, toast, fruit and porridge bites.  Since she's still just exploring (and I think she will be for a while) it is ok for her to only be offered food 1 or 2 times a day, anyway.  

The snotty nose turned into a full blown cold by Thursday...putting a temporary halt to the weaning. 

Slowly Slowly: Week 2

Week 2 saw MiniMe showing much more interest in the food we offered her.  Almost everything made its way into her mouth...very little was gnawed on, but it was all given a try.  

The big hits this week were grilled pepper strips (we were having fajitas).  Dad thinks it is because I rubbed a little bit of olive oil on them before I grilled them so when placed before MiniMe they were nice and shiny...like plastic.

Tinned peach slices have also been a big hit. They are the perfect size for hands and oh so juicy! I figure, even if she isn't CHOMPING on them she's getting loads of the juice.  I have no problems with tinned fruit, especially at this time of the year. I'd love to have fresh peaches for MiniMe to try NOW but they are so expensive and...rock hard.  We've tried tinned pears, apricots and peaches and the peaches have been the firm favourite so far (as in she's actually picked it up and put it in her mouth).  It is a bit tricky finding fruit in JUICE rather than SYRUP but there is enough choice out there.  PLUS for £1 I can offer MiniMe peaches for a week.  Oh...yes, the peaches are a little bit slimy, but I just pat them dry with kitchen roll.

Finally, I didn't bother taking a photo of our FrIday night dinner...PIZZA.  Every Friday we have homemade pizza in front of the TV in our pyjamas.  Since we started weaning, however, we've been a bit more civilized and have been eating up at the table in our regular clothes but I can't wait until we can get back to our Friday Night Pizza Party.  This week when I made the dough I omitted the salt and then once baked cut off one of my crusts for MiniMe.  She LOVED it.  She happily sat there gumming away at her dough stick.

I am amazed on a daily basis when MiniMe puts the food from her tray into her mouth.  She has definitely become more curious about it.  She is in love with her spoon, but after 2 or 3 accidental tastings it becomes something to bang on the tray rather than put in her mouth.  She is trying MOST things and her shocked face is more and more precious.

Slowly slowly is our motto.  We are still reminding each other that it is OK if nothing reaches her mouth, that she is happy and chatty and enjoying sitting up at the table.  She IS making progress and this is all new and weird to her.