6mth old - first 2 weeks good, now getting upset!

[caspercat]

DD 6mths old tomorrow. Started weaning 2wks ago as showing all signs. Started with baby rice which she loved and couldn't wait for next mouthful. Have since been introducing new food every 3 days. Last 2 foods (melon & banana) she started taking well, but after 5/6 spoonfuls, started getting upset and trying to get out of bumbo. Didn't force, etc, but just wondering - am i trying to get her to take too much, is she not ready, or just doesn't like these foods? Any ideas would be appreciated x

[DetentionGrrrl]

maybe it's the bumbo- mine just climbs out and wanders off. Highchair is no problem though!

[caspercat]

Tried highchair aswell. Same result!

[DizzyBint]

have you tried not spoon feeding her? tried just giving her some food she can grab hold of and letting her get on with it?

[caspercat]

Not sure what food safe at the mo. She doesn't have any teeth yet. Gave her a finger biccy the other day (type that should dissolve to a mush) but she snapped a big bit off in her mouth and i was worried she would choke on it!

[DizzyBint]

babyledweaning.com has lots of info. it's a blog by another mumsnetter but if you start by clicking on finger foods on the left hand side and start from the bottom you can see how she's done it. there are lots of pics of babies chomping too! oh, and there is info about choking too.

this is very interesting too

[DizzyBint]

she doesn't need teeth, and she can have pretty much anything now she is over 6 months. just watch the salt.

[caspercat]

OK. Would love to give BLW a try. So much to take in at once though. Any quick tips on what best 1st foods to try are? I presume to avoid choking its best to steam/bake most of the veg. What about fruit? Apples and pears are ones i'm most worried about about re choking. Thanks again x

[AitchTwoOhOhSeven]

you'd be right to be worried about apples, caspercat. that's one of the few things that dd choked on. pears should be fine, especially if you keep the skin on. steam or bake the veggies and offer bananas etc.

it's me who writes the blog, by the way. it looks like a lot (because it evolved, rather than was set up as a proper website). start at the bottom of the finger foods, read the bit about gagging and choking, go to the bbc.co.uk link to an infant resus page (something i would advise ANY parent going into any sort of weaning to do) and then get cracking. the good thing about BLW is that there aren't really any rules, so after a month you're an expert. good luck.

[prettymum]

caspercat was your dd born in july?

[caspercat]

Yes. Born July 26th.

[caspercat]

Just tried with a banana. Might have been a bit too ripe as just turned to mush when held! But despite the mess (which was fun!) she def. got some in her mouth. a bit of gagging but nothing serious. Might try with a steamed carrot this eve. Are baby corn & mange tout o.k?

[DizzyBint]

best things i tried with dd early on-

-soft pear with skin on, segmented
-sweet potato, skinned, made into chips, boiled (you could steam)
-white potato, done same as sweet potato
-broccoli, biggest florets you can get, i keep a frozen bag at all times, steam or boil (same with cauliflower)
-courgette, cut length ways into quarters, skin on, lightly fried in olive oil
-peach, segmented, skin on
-cucumber, cut into long chip shapes, skin on or off, (my dd prefers skin off)
-nectarine, done same as peach
-apple, peeled and GRATED (can do the same with chinese pear)
-carrots, cooked til soft, kept them long

we then introduced dairy, wheat, gluten, protein and egg and pretty much anything else around 7 months. at this point she could have basically anything at all we were having as long as it wasn't a ready meal type thing or junk, but we are trying our best to have meals altogether. you may want to leave dairy and wheat etc longer if you have allergies in your family.

[DizzyBint]

oh, should have said also, we did banana early on too but it was very tricky for her, nice to play with though! she was ok with it at about 7 months. you'd think it'd be good cos it's soft but that makes it difficult to hold. i think aitch suggested keeping some of the skin on to make holding it easier, so maybe try that.

[caspercat]

Thanks loads for all your help. Def going to keep going. DD is very strong willed already and spoon feeding just seemed to wind her up. Want to make feeding enjoyable, not a struggle! One last q (i hope) - as it'll take her a while to get the hang of it and therefore not actually swallowing v much, do we risk her starting to wake up in the night due to hunger. Has slept through since 12wks so don't want to mess that up!

[DizzyBint]

you have to NOT think about it as feeding her food to fill her up. her milk fills her up. so if you keep offering her as much milk as you were before you introduced solid food then there should be no problem. once she has got used to her food and she eats more and more she will take in less milk. did you say if you're bottle or breastfeeding? just don't worry too much about it, follow her lead basically. that's why it's called baby led weaning. it is kind of a step away from books that tell you to give 1 ice cube of this then build up to 3 cubes of the other. you have to really not worry about the amounts. and be strong about it in the face of any dozy HV who asks you how many teaspoons of solids shes on!

[DizzyBint]

oh and one other thing..! keep the floor clean, or get a big plastic sheet for under the highchair. then you can rescue food that gets thrown over board. also, get plastic bibs with a pouch at the front to catch food as well.

[prettymum]

you should come onto our july 2006 thread, its very helpful to know others who are going through same stages and share your stories!

july2006

[AitchTwoOhOhSeven]

the mantra is 'it's ust for fun until they're one'. and if you search for banana on the blog you will see how i gave it to dd without it smushing up.

[caspercat]

Thanks again. Had read the blog on banana. Somehow dd managed to still pop fruit out of skin! Tried carrot and broccoli tonight. AOK. She keeps trying to grab my dried apricot. Can they cope with that? Pleased with how its going though. Slippery avocado tomorrow!!

[DizzyBint]

are you giving bread yet? banana mashed and spread on bread is a good one.

[DizzyBint]

toast rather! bread can be a bit gloopy when they first start on solids and they're sucking everything. try toast first sorry!

[Mumpbump]

Think dried apricot would be a bit difficult for her to chew, but if you chopped it into little bits, it might be okay if she can pick up small things. Just try to stick to foods which mush down easily and she should be fine to mush them down with her gums. I still give ds boiled root veg which is very soft and they can easily bite bits of and chew even with no teeth...

[AitchTwoOhOhSeven]

it depends on the dried apricot, i suppose. we get those fancy pants organic sainsbury's ones that have been hand-dried on the thighs of young turkish virgins (or something like that) and they're still very squashy and moist. i disagree about the cutting things up bit, but then i would as i do the whole BLW thing.

[AitchTwoOhOhSeven]

although if your baby has any teeth you have to promise me to brush them after an apricot as they're basically giant sweeties.

[fizzbuzz]

When do they stop gagging? Dd is 6 1/2 months old, have tried odd finger foods, but she seems to choke on them and have had to turn her upside down 3 times now.

Have tried v soft avacado, soft bread, soft pear,soft banana,but all have caused gagging or choking. Have held off a bit now, as don't want any more choking incidents.

What should I be using, and is it too early, although she LOVES everything she eats