juicers

It's hard to imagine just how much damage can be done with a humble strawberry. Take one strawberry and one baby. Combine the two and if done right you should get this result. Baby picks up strawberry and squeezes until the juice runs out & the baby shakes the pulp from it's hand. Picks up pulp and Repeat. Mummy takes a photo. Process is then repeated until remaining pulp finally comes to rest on baby's head. I think I should have taken the photo then.

Now does anyone know how to get strawberry juice out of white slieves?

10 weeks in...

MIL/FIL have been with us this week and commented on how much goosey loves his grub. It showed in last week's weigh in he got to the 22nd percentile - up a huge 20 percentile points in 7 weeks. When the phn asked if he was having one or two meals a day I was able to say "3 meals and 1 or 2 snacks depending". We then had a little discussion when she started to advise "introducing more lumpy foods" and I explained about the blw route. She was amazed as her little one was nearly a year and still having issues with lumps and she asked loads of questions. I think Goosey got a convert as she was off to buy Gill Rapley's book when I was leaving.

When I think about how far he's came I'm amazed myself. I no longer do "strips" of normal food. Food is given whole (e.g. fish cakes/rusks/bananas) or quartered (bread) and the only thing I'm wary about is raw apple & meat (unless it's well done).

Goosey's dad said yesterday that if feels as if we skipped a step this time around. With big brother I remember pureeing & freezing ice cube trays and mixing veggie cubes, slowly adding more lumps only for it to be refused. I remember being in tears after he'd refused 4 home made dinners but he gobbled down a shop bought jar I had for emergencies. Not this time around. If he refused the dinner I'd give him something else we'd had. I wasn't seeing hours of hard work being flung around. Yep we missed a step and I for one am extremely grateful!

Out & about

Eating out with a BLW can be messy but I tell ya it's not as bad as what you'd think. We went out for the parade in town on Tuesday & nipped in for brunch beforehand. Ok so some pizza ended up on the floor, bits of toast from the Irish breakfast was chewed & dumped & the beans were spoon fed on a tea spoon. Couple of baby wipes picked up the debris and we were good to go. I passed another baby, about Goosey's age, being spoon fed and that baby was covered in mush as was the surrounding area. Fact is all babies are messy eaters regardless of method. But it was a twist on the wearing of the green when broccoli reappeared 2 hours later smeared across his face - the little chipmunk had been at it again!

Drinks with that sir? Help wanted.

I know this isn't strictly a BLW issue but Goosey just won't drink from a sippy or open cup. I know it's important to be introducing them at this stage (well to be honest a good few weeks ago) but he either throws it off the high chair immediately or just clamps up if I try to put it anywhere near his mouth. I've tried a number of different types of cups but he won't go near them.

I've even tried dribbling some water into his mouth so he gets an idea of what's in there but he's not interested. Help!

the spoon revisited

Now that Goosey has discovered food he's devouring everything in sight. However for a variety of reasons we have recently been adapting a "combination" feeding effort.

Breakfast is usually spoon fed - I've been offering the loaded spoon and Goosey grabs it and stuffs it in his mouth. Takes about 2 milliseconds. Frustration levels kick in after about 5 goes and the yelling starts. It's like "you know I want it. I can see you lot stuffing your faces with the porridge why do I have to show you where to put it? Help me out!" So now breakfast is straight from the spoon, unless it's toast or fruit.

In fact everything we would "spoon" ourselves (e.g. cereal/yogurt/fruit pots) is being spoon fed, but nothing is forced, so no aeroplaning or any other kind of encouragement. I still give him the spoon to practice feeding himself but towards the end of the meal when he's not outraged at how slow he is.

Is this against the principle of BLW? I'm not sure but I believe it's better for Goosey and therfore us. I don't want him to link meal times with frustration and it's all about positive food experiences. And judging by the way he demolished granny's casseroled lamb yesterday it's not hindering his finger food ability in any way!

Restaurants

BLW in the local Indian restaurant or indeed tapas bar is much more difficult than you'd imagine. While it is perfectly acceptable (if not encouraged) to create a big mess at home, table manners in polite company dictates that parents need to be extra vigilant.

We're currently on holiday and last night all four of us went out for dinner. It was a very family friendly place - to the point that they had free jars of baby food available. When Goosey went into the high chair the mâitre d hurried over and asked which jar we would like. We politely refused saying that we would just give him what we were having he beamed a big "oh but they are free, choose one - it's okay". Rather than evangelise the cause we chose one and ordered some extra naan and a banana from the children's menu.

The meal was nice. The puree was brought over, lovingly warmed in a soup tureen and a special spoon for the baby was given. It wasn't going to go to waste so we dipped the naan in it & passed it over. Then Goosey did what Goosey does best and decided that it's easier to fling the bit left in his fist than actually eat it. So the game commenced - he flung while I turned catching into an olympic sport. Several hassling, long, minutes later the high chair was facing me and we were both perpendicular to the table & my lovely dinner was going cold. In the end I spoon fed him, it was just easier and the mâitre d was evidently delighted. Goosey still got the naan bread and ate the banana and we did manage to keep most of the food within the bounds of the high chair tray. Unfortunately big brother did not fare so well when he spilt his milk all around himself. As they say, there's no point crying...

Bibs

In a warmer clime Goosey would be dressed in a nappy for his feeds and that's it. Most of the bibs I have are useless. Those that fit are those nice baby white ones, which turn to an orange/veggie coloured mush that is impossible to wash out or those rubbery ones with a scoop to catch the bits. The latter ones seem to have such huge necks designed no doubt for the older non blwer finger foodie, so everything accumulates between neck and bib i.e. on the babies top. I have also tried the plastic ones you use for creative play (also too loose neck wise).

If anyone knows of a suitable alternative please let me know!

What goes in

boy does it come back out again. One of the side effects of BLW is that a normally rational, vaguely sensible parent develops a strange new pastime. The poo watch. In our house it has been me as daddy Goosey is of the opinion that some things should never be willingly witnessed and obviously baby poos are one of them. While he can change a nappy in one minute flat without looking at the contents, I take longer trying to determine if Goosey's actually eating anything.

The upshot is that in the few weeks of BLW we've gone from the "name that veg in one" to the type of poos that would make Gillian McKeith proud. So I guess we can say with some conviction that his digestion is maturing nicely.

Revelations at breakfast.

I must get more organised as breakfast the BLW way is just that bit more time consuming. While Goosey loves trying both ends of a loaded spoon (as you're never quite sure what hidden delights might be lurking) it is messy, especially when most falls out when the spoon is turned upside down for an inspection before going into his mouth. Time was running out so I took over. He was fine with this intrusion into his playtime but did grab the spoon to inspect the contents before allowing me near his mouth. I realised that I was relieved which surprised me... I just didn't understand why I'd feel like this.

But I do now - at some level I'm afraid that if I leave Goosey at mealtimes (e.g. with his grandparents) they may not "get" BLW, or give him the wrong thing/wrong texture etc. At least I know he won't starve if they resort to mashing and spooning his dinners if needs be.

Family reactions

I was a bit concerned about how my mum & dad would take to BLW. We visited them at the weekend and I was looking forward to showing them how well Goosey could just join in with dinner. They'd been prepped and although not exactly enthusiastic about the approach, they were prepared to remain sceptical until they could see it in action.

Mum had made a lovely lunch for Saturday and I went to serve up for everyone. Mashed potato; the carrots and parsnips also had been mashed together too and the meat was lovely, slow cooked and melt in the mouth. A proud grandmother then proclaimed "So lets see how well he eats". I asked had she left over any of the veg in the batons I'd prepared earlier. "No, I mashed it all up so we could eat together." Then her face fell as she realised what had happened. Still dad looked cute eating the traditional baby food while Goosey tucked into some rice cakes with smushed veg spread :-)

Handy hints

I might be a newbie at this but there are a couple of things that I've found out that might be worth sharing.

Plates - just don't use them. They are picked up and flung away or the nice pictures on the bottom distract the baby from the food. It's much better to have a good clean big washable work surface like a high chair tray.

Food - this can be much slippery than you'd ever imagine and Goosey gets very frustrated if he can't hang on to something he's eating. For bananas scrub the skin, half in length then cut into 3 inch chunks. Take the skin off the top half and hand to the baby. You can leave the rest of the banana on the tray for them to pick up later. I found if that if he didn't know that he was supposed to be eating the flesh and he ate the skin first, well it didn't taste nice so overboard they ALL went. However if he knew which part to eat he was determined to get that bit into his mouth the next time. For other slippery foods (e.g. avocado) halve length ways, cut into manageable strips and (here's the good part) cut a nodule out half way down.

Spoons - you need the flat ones to begin with as they can't get the food out of the deeper spoon. I've started loading the spoons on the back so the yoghurt etc. can be sucked off.

Wastage - it was bugging me that a lot of the food put in front of Goosey a lot would be wasted e.g. anything fist sized would be discarded as he couldn't eat past that point in his hand. With things like banana/avocado etc. I'd pick these up, mash them and spread on a rice cake and he'd finish them no problem.

I'm sure there's lots more so I'll add to this post when I get them.

Routines

As its been a whole two weeks I'm wondering if I should be more organised and in a routine. Our family routine consists of getting the toddler to playgroup on time and collected successfully three hours later. Meal times are pretty much on demand but can be anytime within a two hour window.

So far Goosey hasn't had breakfast - he loves lingering on his morning bf (feed for 20 mins, half an hour to play/survey his dominion and then a mini bf before going back down for his nap). Big brother has breakfast while I'm bf and by the time I'm having breakfast Goosey's in the land of nod. Today he had a second nap, no doubt out of boredom while I shopped for a replacement dishwasher, thereby missing lunch. The first meal he joined us for was toddler snack time at 4.

If Goosey had been my first I might be doing this "by the book" as BLW espouses the social aspect of food. However, there's no way I am waking him to eat - is it counter productive to have him eating on his own? The one morning I held off having breakfast he slept uncharacteristically to 11 and then refused all food.

It's still early days so we'll muddle along. I think if he's awake he'll join us and if not I'll use it as a great excuse to join him and up our fruit intake. Perhaps when he's older he'll be the odd bloke, sitting on his own at a table in Michelin star restaurant & it'll be my fault. There'd be worse things to inflict :-)

Fickleness.......

Otherwise known as the floor gets it.

In case I haven't previously mentioned BLW can be messy. Some people place splash mats/wipeable tablecloths/ disposable bin bags under the feeding area. We're lucky that we haven't renovated the kitchen yet so have old fashioned washable lino.

It was one of those dinner times. Carrots & Broccoli - big hits on Mon & Weds went straight to the top of the "how far can I fling it table". The kiwi (left whole after our earlier experience) came close but it cheated with a roll across the floor just at the end. The rice cakes were much too light to go much further than the leg of the high chair. Pitta bread didn't even make it out of the starting blocks, remaining untouched and unloved on the tray.

Just as I was despairing of Goosey trying anything he picked up the asparagus (today's new taste) sucked it to death at the bottom and the nice yummy tip was daintily discarded over the side of the tray. The second and third were ignored. Then came the nuked apple slices (cored and sliced, 1 min on high & left to cool) came into play. I don't know how far they'd go as only the skin remained.

I think I'll draw target rings round the floor so we can all join in next time. Don't know that daddy chef would be in favour though...

Unforeseen benefits

The problem with BLW is that your plate is seen as fair game. I only realised this belatedly after Goosey, who was playing on my lap this evening, swiped one of my chips and proceeded to demolish it in record time. First time in about a month that I had had junk food but, no matter, from now on the eating of such evil things must not be done in front of the children. It's time I changed my eating habits for the better anyway.

Another unexpected bonus is the introduction of competition into mealtimes. Big brother, who has been refusing undisguised veggies for weeks now, today demanded "I want broccoli too!" and the race began to see which one of them could finish the broccoli first - woo hoo! This is the sort of sibling rivalry that I would never have imagined. Who cares if it won't last forever. For now I'll take it while it's going.

Kiwi's and allergies

After Goosey's rice cake and rejected veg I went looking for inspiration when I noticed the humble kiwis in the fruit bowl; they reproached me for the fact they'd been there a couple of days and still not got a look in, so I peeled one, quartered it (big mistake) and put it in front of the master. Now we all know that kiwi's are quite sour so I was expecting a gumming, a funny face and a fling to the floor. What happened was it went straight in his mouth, it was pulled back for a paddington bear stare and then sucked in with all the power of a vacuum cleaner. Ahhhhh!!!! If I hadn't been watching I would have sworn that nothing could have disappeared that quickly. Inevitably the gagging came, followed by the errant fruit. I started breathing again and vowed next time to offer him a whole mostly peeled one that he can gum without fear of inhalation.

After that I thought lets see what other mums do with them and then the real shock came. There's a significant proportion of medical advice not to give Kiwi's before aged 2 as they have been known to cause severe reactions in some infants. Now I had read my "foods to be aware of" (http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/812.aspx?CategoryID=62&SubCategoryID=63) before I started weaning Goosey but obviously there's a lot more divided opinion than I'd realised. With the more conventional weaning approach the guidelines are to introduce a new food once every three days (primarily because babies were being weaned much earlier than 6 months). With BLW I'd become a little cavalier giving a variety of foods from day one. As a family with food allergies (including Goosey being Lactose Intolerant) I think I'll rein in my enthusiasm for the time being and give a couple of days grace after an introduction just to be safe.

Oh and the big news of the day - Goosey got his first tooth. Time to buy the boy a steak!

The spoon thing

People think that with BLW you can't give soft/puree food but you can. Today we tried it, with mixed results.

Firstly we mashed some banana and then loaded up a spoon and offered it to Goosey. He grabbed the spoon and went straight for his... well his eye actually. While daddy Goose started laughing I mopped up the eye, and lo and behold the correct orifice had been found. Unfortunately by this time any remaining banana had slid right down the spoon handle. The spoon was reloaded and this time his mouth was found on first attempt; alas the spoon was upside down and all of it disappeared onto the tray. Reload, disappear, reload, disappear went the next ten minutes. I've no idea if anything made it down his throat (no doubt the nappy will let us know in due course!) It was our first proper mess and it provoked lots of giggles round the table not least from big brother who kept going "no, that's not your mouth" and then once or twice tried to steer him in the right direction. I'm not sure that's "allowed" in BLW but sometimes helpful toddlers are a force all of their own.

Trying new things

Today's success was courgette. By success I mean Goosey picked it up and gummed it a bit. He seemed to have broken a piece off as the next thing he was gagging something back up, which he promptly began to chew. Wow less than a week at this and he was chewing - I was inordinately proud of this great leap.

Then I realised that something in me had changed. While not squeamish about food I certainly would have had reservations about letting a baby gag & I'm sure in a previous life (pre-BLW) I would have jumped in and fished the piece of courgette out of his mouth. Goosey's big brother (2) had a more conventional weaning, starting off with purees so I know the number of times I intervened when I thought he was struggling.

Before I started BLW I read up on gagging versus choking. Gill Rapley's book Baby-Led Weaning was the basis, supplemented by whatever info I could find on the net. I got educated about the difference between gagging and choking and how to recognise what was going on. I was very sceptical that I'd be able to sit back and let Goosey resolve a gagging issue himself and it was such a leap of faith the first time he gagged (yep on his very first taste test). But he did. He wasn't phased by it but I was absolutely having kittens. That's when Goosey started to teach me - chill out mummy, this is how I learn how far back I can shove something in my mouth.

So far there have been two major gagging sessions. By major I mean that he's accompanied the gagging with vomiting - to me it seemed that there was rather a lot of it but maybe that's just my dislike of seeing my milk all over the high chair tray. Strangely it was also pretty mucusy rather than normal puke (sorry if TMI) which is probably nature's way of easing or lubricating the throat. Anyway you can picture the scene and while I was busy trying to wipe everything up Goosey picked up another piece of carrot and proceeded to try again. So now I try to remain calm (at least on the outside) and remain on standby just in case.

Just to clarify - choking is a very dangerous situation which requires immediate action which can happen to any baby/child not just those doing BLW. Signs to look out for are that the baby is unable to cry, ineffective coughing, having difficulty breathing and turning blue. I'd recommend to every parent to do an infant CPR class or to learn about how to deal with choking just in case.

BLW... in the beginning

Welcome to Goosey's blog on Baby-led weaning (BLW). He's starting a new chapter in his life whereby he can taste test for the first time and embark upon his life as a foodie. Unfortunately for him the amateur chef in the family works all day so it'll be down to mummy and his big brother to show him the ropes.

I'm not sure where I heard about BLW but it seemed like a great idea. The theory is simple. Wait until the baby is six months old and starts showing an interest in your food and then let him join in. Okay, so there are some more explanatory guidelines best presented by Gill Rapley, the BLW guru, so I've included the link. Hopefully the practice will mirror the theory.

I'm very interested if there's other mums in Ireland that are going the BLW route. So far when I've been asked by my GP or Public Health Nurse what I'm doing about weaning they have never heard of Baby-led weaning. One replied "Okay but you have to start with baby rice and work your way up to finger food" so I'm sensing an uphill struggle with this one. So if you are a BLWer (is there such a thing?) or interested in BLW please leave a comment and let me know how others are getting on. Let the adventure begin.