Oh, The Thinks You Can Think!

From Wikipedia...

 Baby-led weaning (often also referred to as BLW) is a method of gradually weaning a baby from a milk diet onto solid foods. It allows a baby to control her solid food intake by self-feeding from the very beginning of the weaning process.

Infants are offered a range of foods to provide a balanced diet from around 6 months. They often begin by picking up and licking the food, before progressing to eating. Babies typically begin self feeding around 6 months, although some will make a grab for food as early as 5 months and some will wait until 7 or 8. The beauty of this process is that it is tailored to suit each particular baby and their personal development. The 6 month guideline provided by the World Health Organisation is based on research indicating the internal digestive system matures over the period 4-6 months. It seems reasonable to posit that the gut matures in tandem with the baby's external faculties to self feed.

Initial self-feeding attempts often result in very little food ingested as the baby explores textures and tastes, but she will soon start to swallow and digest what is offered. Breastfeeding is continued in conjunction with weaning and milk should always be offered before solids in the first 12 months.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html

T is only 5.5 months, but we have already embarked.  I felt guilty about this initially, until I read...

The babies who participated in the research were allowed to begin at four months. But they were not able to feed themselves before six months. Some of the younger babies picked food up and took it to their mouths; some even chewed it, but none swallowed it. Their own development decided for them when the time was right. Part of the reason for this study was to show (based on a theory of self-feeding) that babies are not ready for solid food before six months. It seems that we have spent all these years working out that six months is the right age and babies have known it all along!

then felt happy to let T carry on the adventure he began.

It really started with him grabbing a pear out of my hand about a month ago- but he plainly wasn't ready.  He coudl sit well unassisted, and didn't seem to have the tongue-thrust that little babies have- but he was only content for me to hold the pear for him- he could hold it for himself, but only for a short time, then dropped it...then screamed, waiting for someeone to put it bnack to his mouth.

He managed to eat a fair amount of sand at Easter, and has eaten grass and newspaper as well ;0)

At 5 months, 1 week- he crawled under the table and ate a dropped pizza crust...he loved it, and  I am sure he was actually eating it.

I am going to chronicle our foray into BLW so we can look back on it.   Idonlt really liek the term, since I am not at all interested in weaning at this stage- it is all for fun, and T enjoys being more a part of mealtimes.

Day 1 We had a roast dinner for tea...T ate some parsnip (and seemed ot realyl eat it), some roast carrot, pumpkin and potato.  He also had a rusk, which he enjoyed.  He loved the roast, and he chatted away with us as we all ate dinner.

Day 2 T didn't eat anything today

Day 3  I noticed a real difference with T now...if I give him back some food he dropped- he reaches for it and puts it in his mouth (before he used to wait for me to bring it near him).  At lunch, he ate a homemade rusk, some cucumber, banana, carrot, and tomato.  We had homemade burgers for dinner, and T ate a homemade burger bun (bap). He's still not really eating anything much, but enjoying sucking on it.  Daddy gave him a homemade chip, which T loved, and seemed to eat all but the hardest skin bit.

Day 4 Daddy gave T a gingernut biscuit!  He didn't realise that wasn't quite the idea.  T managed it well, and seemed to enjoy it- but I sat down next to him with an apple.  When he reached for it, I bit off a big chunk with no skin, and swapped it for the biscuit, and he was happy enough.  Today he had more opportunties for food than ever before- mainly because he was always around when we were eating.

At dinner he ate a piece of brocolli, some steamed carrot sticks, some banana, a piece of boiled potato and a home-made rusk  He seemed to really enjoy the carrot, so I gave him some extras from Daddy's plate- but forgot that I ahd taken T's out when they were lightly steamed, whereas Dady's were actually cooked.  T choked, and was struggling to breathe- it was all rather scary, but more so for Daddy (who had never seen anything like that before).  All was well in the end, and T got to ahve his second bath in an hour!

Day 5 T had the best sleep he has had in months last night!  11:30pm, 2:30am, 5:30am, 7am...hooray!  It was too cute- at 5:30am, hewas lygin down feeding on one side ,and the other was dripping- I sort of hald it up (lol) to try to stop the drips, when suddenly T popped of fthe breast,m sat up ,adn suck ed the dripping side for a minute...then lay back down to finish on the first sided!  He has neve done that before, and I just thougth it was the cutest thing ever- sure made me a lot more confortable.

He pooped 6 times today!  (4-6 more times than in an ordinary day- one included carrots) I was hoping ot give solids a rest today, but he seemed ravenous when I held him near lunchtime.  I made him a toasted sandwich with a smear of baked beans (cut in to 4 triangles), which he absolutely loved, and a kiwifruit (whole, peeled).  He looked super-hungry around dinner time, but I didn't give him anything and he fell sleep...he is feeding every 45 minutes though...and my bosoms are sore- form overuse, and also his teeth look veyr close to coming through.

Day 6 T ate pizza for dinner, homemade with a smear of tomato sauce on top, and a few homemade potato chips.  He slept another 3 hours, then 2.5 hours last night!  Horray!

Day 7 Today T breastfed, then started eating grass when I was hanging washing- so I figured he must be hungry!  I made him a porridge pancake (porridge with a bit of flour and a dash of honey), which he loved.  he also ate some banana (cut in half and peeled...liek a mini-banana).  We didn't get 3 hours last night, but stil better sleeps than before he began eating solid food.

For dinner he had a few homemade chips, some brocolli for the frst time (see picture above), mashed pumpkin and carrots.

Day 1 T ate a porridge pancake for breakfast (or rather mushed it in to the highchair tray), and ate a golden kiwifruit- seemed to really enjoy that.  For dinner he ate some pizza  I made just for him- with a smear of tomato sauce on it.  He lvoed it.

Day 2 T ate lunch with us- some pizza slices from last night.  At dinner he ate a piece of potato, some mashed pumpkin (grabbing handfuls), some steamed carrot and courgette sticks.

Day 3 T ate a banana (cut in half and hten unwrapped)- he seemd ot enjoy the skin as much as the banana.  He sucked off big chunks of the banana, then sucked them and spit out the excess.  later he ate a porridge pancake ,adn still late some more pizza slices.

Day 4 T ate a golden kiwifruit, and then a half banana.  For dinner he ate a sweetcorn fritter.

Day 5 T ate a Corn Thin (corn, teeny amount of salt), and several potato chips (with no salt added)...not sure that he actually ate anything ,but he semeed to enjoy squishing them. Instead of dinner he had a late snack of steamed carrot, kumara and courgette sticks, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Day 6 T ate a corn thin, and half a banana.  He had some frozen bread, with the rest of the banana smeared on it.  When we were out, he had some lettuce from my kebab (firs ttime), and a slice of tomato.

Day 7 T ate half a banana at breakfast time.  At lunch he had a few home-made chips.  At dinnertime we had a roast...he had roast potato, parsnip, pumpkin and some roasted corgette sticks.  he lvoed it, and didn't seem to wan tot stop, so  I gave him some peach slices (out of a can, in natural juice- which I rinsed).  he is not having any less breastfeeds, which of course, I don't want him to (apart fro mayeb the odd nigth-time one!)

Day 1 T ate a toast with a smear of marmite on it for breakfast.  When the kids had afternoon tea, he ate apple slices and half a Corn-Thin.  For dinner he ate meat for the first time- pork steak.  He seemed to thoroughly enjoy sucking it..he also ate some coleslaw, lettuce and potato, followed by a pear (from a can).

Day 2 T ate some gold kiwifruit, banana, fresh pear (too hard for him though- just the way I like them!).  I am leaving him off wheat since he has a runny nose.

Day 3 T ate some banana, gold kiwifruit and some rice crackers (no salt) for breakfast.  At lunchtime we were at Wendy's...he had the time of is life...lots of chippies iwt hhe salt sucked off (by me), some lettuce, and a wee bit of chicken (which ended up on the floor).  He loved being in the highchair.  I had to clean up quickly when I put him on the floor, because he haeded staight for all the dropped food.

He had a better night, waking eveyr 2 hours like usual...rather than every 30-60 minutes like the last 2 nights.

T was in a terrible state today- little teeth so close to arriving, and he was very sad.  He ate some golden kiwfruit and pawpaw (first time) around lunchtime.  He also ate some more in the afternoon (in the bath).

He ate a couple of beans for dinner (we were having Thai Green Curry).  Then, he ate birthday cake!  I made a wheat-free (and sugar free) honey cake, which was going to be reasonably innocuous... I planned to scrape off the butter icing...but Daddy plonked it in front of him- and T grabbed handfuls of icing.  He ate quite a lot, then spewed it all up.  First time he's done that.  I gave him a bit of the actual cake next ,and he seemed to like it.

Happy 6 month Birthday Gorgeous!

Sun: T ate golden kiwfruit, mandarin, pineapple and 2 grapes- peeled and seeded (loved those!).

Mon: T ate golden kiwifruit again (lvoes it) and apple.  At dinner time we had a roast- I offered him roast beef (a big hunk to suck), roast potato, roast pumpkin, roast kumara, roast capsicum, roast carrot and beans.  The carrot was too soft- he bit a piece off, which made him choke.  He had a small suck of a bean, then didn't want to be in there anymore (for the first time so far).

Tues: T ate lunch with us- he had golden kiwfruit, feijoa, banana, apple and a rice cake.  (of this he probably swallowed a very little of everything but the apple)...his first 2 teeth are nearly here, still.  He drank (water) from his cup unaided for the first time.

He had Roast Pumpkin Pasta with us for dinner (unsalted, with bacon and onion)...he also had some frozen peas in it to cool it down- he seemed to thorughly enjoy the meal...afterward though, he did (sorry!) a forest green-coloured poo in the potty!  I am imagining it must have been from the feijoa this morning, or possibly he ate more bean than I relaised last night...I  have been very careful today to empty each breast, so he is not getting too much foremilk.

Wed: T ate some banana, apple and a rice cake/wafer around lunch time.  In the afternoon he took one of J's pear quarters, and enjoyed that.  At dinner, T ate a lamb-chop (just sucking it, but did so for ages), potato chips, steamed carrot sticks, and brocolli.  He also had his best sleep in ages (1.5 hrs at a time, and a 3 hr one in the evening- before I went to bed).

Thurs: I wsan't planning to give T any food when we ate breakfast but A insisted...so I gave him stuff I thought wouldn't be messy (since he had just had a bath and was all clean)- apple slices, rice wafer, and plain toast.  He didn't make any mess!

At dinner, he had a chicken enchilada, corn on the cob (which he totally loved), steamed carrot and courgette sticks.

Friday  T ate apple in the morning (peeled and quartered).  At night, he ate homemade Pea & Ham soup smeared on homemade bread, and loved it.  He also ate some lettuce, but choked on it- so I don't think I'll try that again before he gets teeth.

Saturday  T went out with Daddy and the kids for 5 hours, with *no* breastfeeding!  He ate lots of apple, some chips, and drank loads of water from his sipper cup.  He slept through dinner.

Sunday  I gave T a pancake when we were eating them, with a bit of lemon juice on it...it made him choke, so I took it away.  He ate some banana and mandarin.  ~~~~His L eardrum burst today, and he is a lot happier since the pressure is gone~~~~~~~

For dinner he ate a piece of chicken breast,which he seemed ot throughly enjoy, and some rice- not sure how much of that actually got in!  He finished off with some banana and mandarin.

Monday  T ate some banana and a Corn Thin at breakfast time.

For dinner he ate a big piece of a chop, whole beans, pumpkin and potato.

Tuesday T ate a Corn Cruskit with Marmite, some banana, and a mandarin for brakfast.  At lunchtime, he ate a corn thin, and an apple (whole, peeled and partially-cored).

T ate brocolli, carrot and potatoes.

Wednesday T ate a bit of apple while I got the other kids ready to elave the hosue early.  We had lunch at the Mall- he ate roast chicken, and a few Thai noodles, and drank lots of water.

T slept through dinner, so he only ate some apple.

Thursday (We have decided to go Wheat-Free and Dair -Free to see if that helps T)...for breakfast I gave him some banana, kiwifruit, and a cruskit with marmite.

At lunch, he ate a rice wafer and some banana.  For dinner he ate nachos without the chips- just chilli, spread on to corn thins...he loved it!  He finished off with a kiwifruit.

Friday For breakfast, T ate kiwfruit, apple, banana, and some cornflakes (just plain on his tray).

Lunch was a rice wafer and a mandarin.  Dinner was steak (a big hunk) and potatoes...he *loved* the meat.

Saturday For breakfast, T ate banana and a cruskit with marmite.  For lunch he had a Verkerks bierstick (no nasties) and a whole apple (that is- an apple that was whole, I bit some so he could get some off...but he only ate a small amount- his 2 new teeth help, but he still doesn't actually eat a lot).

For dinner he had steak again (while the others had macaroni cheese), garlic potato chips, and fried mushrooms...with banana for dessert.  Day 3 of WF/DF, and T is so happy!  He is smiling more, giggling more, and just seesm happier...hooray!

Sunday T ate brunch with me, while the rest of the family ate pancakes.  He had Bacon, with grilled tomatoes and mushrooms (whole), and some WF toast with Olivani, and some banana.

Later in the day he ate some granny smith apple (peeled and quartered).  For dinner he ate Sushi (first time)...chicken, carrot, capsium and cucumber, with a little bit of soy sauce!  For dessert he ate a WF/DF raspberry and chocoalte cake.

Monday T ate banana, apple and a corn cruskit with Marmite in the late morning, after we had been out.  This is the first time he has used his teeny teeth to actually eat the apple...there are so many little bite marks on it- too cute!

At a birthday party he ate 2 bits of pineapple, and tried to get at some biscuits inside his cellophane party bag (but i had to takr them away so he doesn't eat wheat).

For dinner he ate WF Corn Fritters, apple, banana, and another corn cruskit, spread with avocado and garlic WF/DF dressing.

Tuesday T ate some apple in the mid morning (peeled and quartered).  For lunch he ate a rice cake (cooked rice/onion/carrot fried with egg, soy sauce, peas and garlic, then baked in the oven), a corn cruskit, more apple, and a banana.  He slept through dinner.

Wednesday T ate some apple for breakfast, and a piece of WF toast with honey.

For lunch he had some kiwifruit, and a WF corn fritter.  He also ate some pear, and some canned peach slices- though he had trouble holding on to them.

For dinner, he ate a piece of boneless chicken, some steamed brocolli, cauliflower, carrots, and boiled potato.

Thursday T ate WF toast with a smear of Anathoth's (all natural Plum Jam)- he wasn;t really interested i nthat.  He also had some banana, and bits of apple.  Apples are a big fave now that he can actually bite/scrape bits off.

For lunch he ate a corn thin, some mandarin and more apple.  He slept through dinner.

***He is still really not eating that much...it looks like he'seating heaps, but that is simply what is being offered...what is actually eaten is a lot less, almsot neglible.  He really nejoys eting though.  I find he is really keen on breastmilk afterward- I htink mostly i is because he doscovered he is really hungry and would liek ot eat- but can;t get as much in as he wants.  DSJ and DDA were fed puree's/mush so at  this age they were eating a lot...it will be interesting to see how much weight DST has put on at his 7 month check.  He still breastfeeds jus tas much as before.

Friday For breakfast T ate some apple, mandarin and a corn cruskit with Marmite, and a few rice bubbles (not sure if he got any in).

For lunch, he ate a WF corn fritter, some apple, some slices of cucumber and tomato.

For dinner, he ate some chilli con carne on a corn thin...he did not want to sit in his highchair.  We were all eating on the floor, so he got down there too- what a mess!  He kept grabbing stuff off my plate, particularly lettuce, but then chilli as well...he was shoving it in his mouth, and really enjoying it.  He also ate some persimon for hte first time, though probably didn't actually get any in.

Saturday  He ate some persimmon and apple for breakfast.  At lunch he ate banana, a rice wafer with chilli (leftover from last night), and some tomato.  For dinner we had Beef Stroganoff...I gave him a big hunk of steak cooked with ours, which he loved.  He also ate a few big chunks of mushroom (or sucked the juice off at least) and had some boiled potato, a steamed carrot and some steamed baby beans.  I agve him a bit of silverbeet too, which I thought he might choke on- but he was only interested in throwing it on the floor.  The first thing he does with his bowl, is tip everything out on to the highchair tray then try to get the bowl off the tray.

Sunday T ate persimmon, apple, and natural corn chips (salt licked off) mid-morning.  He snatched my spoon with sorbet on it when we were out ,and enjoyed that.  That was the first time he has used a spoon and did so with ease.  For dinner, he had a grilled chicken drumstick (skin removed), curried veges- cauliflower, potato, pumpkin, brocolli, capisum, courgette, and lettuce.  He wasn't at all interested in the curried veges- I agve him some kiwifruit, mandarin and more corn chips, and lots of water.  Then I realised he was probably tired, so took him out for a BF, then he fell asleep.

Monday T ate apple, some cornflakes, and banana for breakfast.  For lunch he ate some cucumber slices, a piece of potato (leftover from last night), more apple and some green kiwifruit.  For dinner he ate some roast chicken, potato, pumpkin and 2 whole baby beans.

Tuesday T ate some apple mid-morning, and later had lunch- a WF corn fritter, and some apple.  I put some raisins on his tray, but he couldn't pick them up with his finger and thumb...so he grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth.  For dinner he ate Family Chow Mein- mince cooked with cabbage, peas, carrot sticks, and rice, with potato. he ate persimmon for dessert.

Wednesday He ate a Rice Wafer with Marmite (or more accurately scrunched it in to a hundred pieces), some banana, and mandarin. In the afternoon he ate some corn chips (no salt), and bits of apple with his siblings.  For dinner he ate a piece of steak (absoutely loves it), potato, and sticks of steamed carrot, cauliflower and brocolli.

Thursday T ate some banana and apple slices for breakfast.  He ate a rice cake (fried rice fritter) for lunch, and had some pear an gold kiwifruit.  For dinner he ate a piece of steak that had been cooked in a tomato sauce, whole mushroom, steamed courgette and carrot sticks.

Friday T ate a few conrnflakes (on his tray), some WF bread with DF spread and marmite, some banana and apple.  In the afternoon he ate some corn chips, apple and his first bit of DF chocolate (which went down a treat!).  For dinner he ate WF (corn) pasta, with bacon, mushrooms and cocnut cream.  He loved it, and then ate some banana for dessert.

Saturday T ate a new type WF (multi grain) bread, with Olivani and Marmite. He also ate some banana and madairn.  When I was out, Ben gave him more mandarin, banana and some apple.  For dinner he ate grilled steak, steamed cauliflower and carrots, silverbeet and kumara in homemade orange sauce.

Sunday T ate some apple before we went out for the day.  At lucnh he ate a falafel, some potato chips and mandarin.  We went to Burger King after we'd been out and he had a few chips.  For dinner he ate a taco with mince/chillibeans, etc.

Monday (7 months today) For breakfast T ate a piece of wF toast with Marmite, a mandarin, some bana, apple and a few cornflakes.  He learned how to do his pincer-grip, and 2 or 3 raisins too- but spat them out eventually.

In the afternoon he ate a rice wafer (in the sling) and some peices of apple.  For dinner he ate roast chicken, potato, pumpkin, steamed green and butter beans, and kumara in orange sauce. 

***

I think now there is little reason to chronicle what he eats eac hday...he just easts what we are having, and seess to enjoy everything so far.  He particularly likes meat (sucking on it), and mandarins.  There isn't anything he hasn't been willing to try.

As far as how much he is eating goes, well- it is still relatively little.  He no longer gags in the slightest, and is veyr good at feeding himself.  I would like to try him with a spoon, but currently he still likes to throw his bowl over the side at every meal.

This morning he was looking at my egg on toast, so I gave him a bit on my fork, but he just laughed- he is so unused to having me put something in his mouth.

I found we only really thought a lot about Baby-Led Weaning before we started, and until DST was around 7 months old...since then it has been a non-event.

When he had his Plunket visit this week, she asked if he has some lumps in his food...and I was surrpised, because DS8 and DD4 were eating ordinary food by this age.  I said he had never had anything without lumps...he has never been spoon-fed anything.

I'm so glad we followed this approach to infant feeding- it really was simple (apart from the mess in the hightchair, lol), but it made so much sense to me.

Nowadays, really just as always, DST9mo eats what we eat.  He still has heaps of breastfeeds, which is brilliant, because I want that to continue as long as he likes, but hopefully at least 2 years.  He pretty much feeds 2 hr'ly round the clock.

Today he ate Crispix cereal (dry) for breakfast, some mandarin (his absolute favourite food), a piece of (no nasties) bacon, and some banana.

At morning tea, he ate a rice cracker and a few half-grapes.

For lunch, he ate some homemade chips, and most of a whole soft, peeled pear.

In the afternoon he ate a quarter of an apple (peeled), another rice cracker, and most of a packet of raisins.

For dinner he ate chicken and vege stirfry, and some orange.

He will try anything at all, but won't accept a spoon anywhere near him- he has to do it himself- though not normally with a spoon...hands only.  DH thinks we need to try to spoon-feed him so he gets the idea a spoon is sometimes used.  At the moment, he likes to throw his plate or bowl- so we tend to leave his food just on the highchair tray.

He weighs just slightly more than his big brother did at the same age, and is slightly taller as well...so the lack of pureed food hasn't been a problem.

At 12 months, T weighs exactly what his big brother did at the same age.  Where J was nearly weaned by now (because I had been told that was the right thing), T breastfeeds just as much as ever, but loves solid food as well.  The other kids were eating all what we were eating by this age (well before actually), so B-LW doesn't look any different to what we did before.  The only difference is in how much breastmilk T is consuming.

He has never had a bottle, and only had expressed milk (in a cup) twice.  We are well on target for my plan to have him still breastfeeding in to his third year (for now anyway).

We've never bought any baby food for T...and I've never pureed anything, or fed him anything off a spoon- except for some sorbet I was eating which he wanted to try (and loved).

He has been waking 2 hrly since he was 2 months old, and we had our first whole night this week...well, we didn't go to bed until 1am, but he slept until 6:30am!  This is very similar to what my other children were doing, as far as waking goes- but they generally weren't breastfed at night after around 9 months (J), and 12 months (A).

T eats a wide variety of foods- never a whole bunch, judging by what is left on the highchair tray- but he enjoys it.

He is intolerant to wheat, dairy and soy so we use alternatives instead.  I think he probably eats more on the run, but it is messy.

Today he has eaten the following…

 Bits of a piece of WF toast with Peanut Butter; probably about a quarter of a pear (spits out the skin); a small amount of bacon and spring onion omelette.  He has drunk around 50ml of water out of a pump bottle, and squirted liberal amounts on the tray as well.
 

Mid-morning he ate a quarter of an apple (peeled), and 3 plain rice crackers.

For lunch he ate hardly any WF toast, but all the baked off the top.  He ate a few grapes (he loves them), half a banana (no mess now), and half an orange- though mostly he just sucks all the juice from it.  He ate (and crumbled) most of a WF/DF biscuit I had made. 

In the afternoon, he ate some plain vege chips, a corn thin and pieces of apple with his siblings.

For dinner, he ate nachos…corn chips, with homemade chilli (mince, kidney beans, tomatoes), homemade guacamole and slices of cucumber and tomato (he never touches the lettuce I put on his plate- not enough teeth).  He finished off with half a banana and some raisins.