Where we are with weaning



I bet you can't say that three time's in a row! What a tongue twister! Anyway, today I thought I would update you on how we are getting on with weaning our Noah. 

As you may or may not know we begun weaning at 4 months which is earlier than they recommend these days but at the time I felt he wanted more than milk. I introduced solids very slowly and no tasters or meals replaced any milk feeds for the entire first month. Noah's first tastes were pear, carrot and porridge and he took to food straight away. He didn't seem to have to learn what the spoon was he just knew what to do. 

The following few months I gradually introduced more and more different tastes. Starting with just a one fruit or veg puree and then mixing different fruits and vegetables together to create a bit of variety. 

I held off on dairy and meat until 6 months and his first taste of meat was lean mince meat that I cooked in a baby friendly spaghetti bolognaise. At 6 months we also introduced finger food and mashed / textured food which replaced puree's. We had no issue going from smooth puree's to lumpy foods and he seemed to relish the change. At first I was so terrified of introducing finger foods as I was so scared of him choking but you soon feel more comfortable with it. Noah has a habit of shoving far too much in his mouth and I tend to have to scoop a little out with my finger. 



Now at 7.5 months old and will eat or have a go at anything! He absolutely loves his food and we joke that his mouth is an ever open door! You don't have time to get more food on the spoon before his mouth is wide open waiting for more. His favourite foods are; strawberries, toast, tomatoes, cheese, pasta and porridge. We have yet to come across a food or taste that he doesn't enjoy. The closest we have got to a dislike is when we tried baby cereal this week. I don't think he understood the texture and was spitting it out everywhere! 




I think puree's and spoon feeding is almost looked down upon these days but I don't really understand why. They say spoon feeding is "force feeding" yet I am sure if your baby is sat there with his mouth wide open, bouncing in his high chair he's pretty happy to eat what's on the spoon! I can see pro's and con's but for us this has worked. I've weaned my first child in a way that was comfortable and right for the both of us. He has a fantastic appetite, likes everything you feed him, will feed off a spoon and will feed himself. There are things I would of done differently but on a whole I am very happy and proud with our weaning journey so far. I just hope he's such a good eater when he's older! 







5 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you on the spoon feeding thing - its not the in thing at the moment and does get frowned upon. It worked great for us too and people comment on how Tyne is a great eater and not at all fussy!

    Noah looks and sounds like he is doing fabulously. He is too cute!

    Hayley
    www.sparklesandstretchmarks.com
    xxx

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    1. Thanks Hayley! What's right for one baby isn't necessarily right for another. I would like to see if Noah would be different when it comes to eating if I had of just gone straight into BLW. See if there was any change.


      xx

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  2. Sounds like he is doing brilliantly with his weaning!

    He is so utterly cute! xx

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  3. He looks so happy and obviously loves his food! I don't think spoon feeding is looking down upon it's just there are more options than there used to be - Everyone needs to do what works with their baby. I love baby led weaning but most of my friends did traditional weaning and all our babies love food! hehe. Noah's hair is amazing :) x

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  4. Oh Noah sounds exactly like my little boy Luke! We also started at 4 months for the same reasons and he is such a great little grubber now At 13 months his appetite has reduced slightly but I thinks that's to do with being more interested in whatever else is going on around him and running off up the garden but he still eats great and has no problem sitting down for his lunch with his blanket and bear.
    I didn't even consider BLW to be honest, I just went the "traditional" route of spoon feeding and it worked. Funnily enough we had a similar reaction to baby cereal too.
    Noah is a gorgeous boy and I hope he keeps on enjoying his food :) xo

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