Weaning It!
Never mind Mumming It, we've starting weaning it and by weaning it what really happens is that I give Matilda food and she plays with it for half on hour!
I decided to try baby led weaning because it sounded like it made good sense to learn to chew and then swallow rather than the other way round which is what apparently happens with purree weaning. I was really excited to get started: I read up about it, bought all of the 'equipment' and devised a 'plan'. Matilda seemed ready a little while before 6 months (probably about 4.5 months) and I was in two minds about starting her early because many people had said that baby tells you when they're ready and she was showing the signs like trying to get hold of other people's food and loving to watch people eat. However, she wasn't quite sitting independently and I had read that they need to be a bit older for blw compared to traditional weaning. So we held off.
We officially started the week Matilda turned 6 months so it was about a day or two before she was actually 6 months but I didn't feel that it would make much difference and I was like a kid at Christmas; nervously the excitement to begin was building. For meal one I cooked up some carrot sticks and underwhelming was an understatement - Matilda was initially not interested at all. She did eventually pick them up and put them in her mouth but I had a massive panic every time she bit off a chunk of carrot and she just looked in disgust and spat it back out every time she bit off a chunk of carrot. Not quite what I had expected - just like parenting in general!
So we plodded on and she had cauliflower, broccoli and sweet potato but it all felt like a pointless exercise as she mainly threw it on the floor and when she did bite into the food she just spat it back out. I just kept on telling myself "food is fun until they're one".
Finally things started to click into place when she had potato wedges, she picked them up with both hands and enthusiastically tried to get as much as possible into her mouth. We then moved on to steamed celery, parsnips, mashed swede and dry toast. The toast in particular she really enjoyed and couldn't get enough of! Next we tried mashed peas on a preloaded spoon. I wasn't sure how this one would go and Hubble was even more sceptical but Matilda surprised us both and successfully picked up the spoon and put it in her mouth the right way round and seemed to reluctantly consume some. This was also the first time she properly used her beaker of water and that seemed to really help her swallow the food. Most recently I was lured into a false sense of security and as things have been pretty mess free so far coupled with being in a bit of a hurry, I put Matilda on her snug chair with no bib to have some broccoli, cauliflower and carrot. The mess was indescribable! She grabbed at everything, mushed it up in her hands, tried to shovel it in her mouth and then when unsuccessful she proceeded to throw it on the floor. I've never seen anything like it and will not be underestimating the mess machine again (although let's be real, she will catch me out again!).
So far Matilda hasn't dropped any bottles yet and I don't know when/how that happens but we're just going with the flow and taking each mealtime as it comes. I've no idea whether we're doing it 'right' but hopefully we'll carry on in the right direction and Matilda will continue to enjoy her food. To anyone struggling with weaning or not sure if they're on the right track please rest assured that most weaning experiences seem to be like this and if you want somewhere to ask questions I'll put details below to the support group I use on Facebook (and to all of the 'equipment' we're currently using).
Good luck Mums, Dads and Carers - hopefully our baby's will be eating well soon and our sanity will still be in tact!
Love Sophie x
PS about the only piece of advice I have so far is that when it's sunny try and eat al fresco - it saves a whole lot of mess!
Highchair - Cosatto Noodle Supa (approx. £119). I found out after I had purchased this that the IKEA highchair is one of the best on the market so that might be worth a try first as it's a fraction of the cost of this one. I do love Cosatto though!
Second highchair (snug) - Mamas and Papas Baby Snug (approx. £50). These are easy to pick up on the second hand market. I got ours for £15 from Facebook marketplace.
Bib - Tommee Tippee Comfi Neck (approx. £3) available in most supermarkets
Beaker - Munchkin 360 Miracle (approx. £5) I got ours from Amazon but they're in most supermarkets
Spoons - Munchkin silicone spoons (approx. £3) available in most supermarkets but I got these ones from Morrisons
BLW support group https://m.facebook.com/groups/856085217834628 (its called Baby Led Weaning Cookbook (App Support))
Never mind Mumming It, we've starting weaning it and by weaning it what really happens is that I give Matilda food and she plays with it for half on hour!
I decided to try baby led weaning because it sounded like it made good sense to learn to chew and then swallow rather than the other way round which is what apparently happens with purree weaning. I was really excited to get started: I read up about it, bought all of the 'equipment' and devised a 'plan'. Matilda seemed ready a little while before 6 months (probably about 4.5 months) and I was in two minds about starting her early because many people had said that baby tells you when they're ready and she was showing the signs like trying to get hold of other people's food and loving to watch people eat. However, she wasn't quite sitting independently and I had read that they need to be a bit older for blw compared to traditional weaning. So we held off.
We officially started the week Matilda turned 6 months so it was about a day or two before she was actually 6 months but I didn't feel that it would make much difference and I was like a kid at Christmas; nervously the excitement to begin was building. For meal one I cooked up some carrot sticks and underwhelming was an understatement - Matilda was initially not interested at all. She did eventually pick them up and put them in her mouth but I had a massive panic every time she bit off a chunk of carrot and she just looked in disgust and spat it back out every time she bit off a chunk of carrot. Not quite what I had expected - just like parenting in general!
So we plodded on and she had cauliflower, broccoli and sweet potato but it all felt like a pointless exercise as she mainly threw it on the floor and when she did bite into the food she just spat it back out. I just kept on telling myself "food is fun until they're one".
Finally things started to click into place when she had potato wedges, she picked them up with both hands and enthusiastically tried to get as much as possible into her mouth. We then moved on to steamed celery, parsnips, mashed swede and dry toast. The toast in particular she really enjoyed and couldn't get enough of! Next we tried mashed peas on a preloaded spoon. I wasn't sure how this one would go and Hubble was even more sceptical but Matilda surprised us both and successfully picked up the spoon and put it in her mouth the right way round and seemed to reluctantly consume some. This was also the first time she properly used her beaker of water and that seemed to really help her swallow the food. Most recently I was lured into a false sense of security and as things have been pretty mess free so far coupled with being in a bit of a hurry, I put Matilda on her snug chair with no bib to have some broccoli, cauliflower and carrot. The mess was indescribable! She grabbed at everything, mushed it up in her hands, tried to shovel it in her mouth and then when unsuccessful she proceeded to throw it on the floor. I've never seen anything like it and will not be underestimating the mess machine again (although let's be real, she will catch me out again!).
So far Matilda hasn't dropped any bottles yet and I don't know when/how that happens but we're just going with the flow and taking each mealtime as it comes. I've no idea whether we're doing it 'right' but hopefully we'll carry on in the right direction and Matilda will continue to enjoy her food. To anyone struggling with weaning or not sure if they're on the right track please rest assured that most weaning experiences seem to be like this and if you want somewhere to ask questions I'll put details below to the support group I use on Facebook (and to all of the 'equipment' we're currently using).
Good luck Mums, Dads and Carers - hopefully our baby's will be eating well soon and our sanity will still be in tact!
Love Sophie x
PS about the only piece of advice I have so far is that when it's sunny try and eat al fresco - it saves a whole lot of mess!
Highchair - Cosatto Noodle Supa (approx. £119). I found out after I had purchased this that the IKEA highchair is one of the best on the market so that might be worth a try first as it's a fraction of the cost of this one. I do love Cosatto though!
Second highchair (snug) - Mamas and Papas Baby Snug (approx. £50). These are easy to pick up on the second hand market. I got ours for £15 from Facebook marketplace.
Bib - Tommee Tippee Comfi Neck (approx. £3) available in most supermarkets
Beaker - Munchkin 360 Miracle (approx. £5) I got ours from Amazon but they're in most supermarkets
Spoons - Munchkin silicone spoons (approx. £3) available in most supermarkets but I got these ones from Morrisons
BLW support group https://m.facebook.com/groups/856085217834628 (its called Baby Led Weaning Cookbook (App Support))
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