To not see how I can follow the advice 'feed baby what ever you are having'?

[ethelfleda]

Maybe I am being over cautious- 8mo is my PFB after all and am terrified of getting the weaning thing wrong!

But yesterday was the first time I've had him weighed since we started weaning him. All fine - perfect weight gain etc but the HV is telling me that as long as I'm not giving him honey or full nuts, anything goes!

So... what about the piri piri smoked fish I had earlier in the week? And should I not make him separate portions of chilli with less spice in? Tonight's dinner is veggie omelette - should I just get over myself and give him some of that? Or carry on giving separate food to us?

I feel pretty stupid for finding this so difficult!

@Skittlesandbeer
Adult food doesn't have to have additives etc in it. I'm not even sure what you mean. Do you mean adult processed food, ready meals and the like? That isn't what people mean when they say their children eat what they eat.
It's a good opportunity to eat healthier yourself.

Tell us what else you eat so we can persuade you to feed it to a baby

Haha - thank you for making me smile! I was feeling pretty shitty!

I think I'm worried about choking. I thought veg omelette would have too many lumps in it for him?? Would I just make sure I cook the veg really well and the egg really well??

Other dinners we have include

Mushroom ravioli with arrabiata sauce and garlic bread
Spaghetti puttanesca but with tinned mackerel instead of anchovies
Smoked fish with sweet potato mash, avocado and cherry tomatoes
Veg curry with rice
Veg chilli with rice
Jacket potatoes with tuna mayo and sweetcorn and salad
Roasted avocado salad

So... NO purees needed now?? Just let him chew away?

As long as you keep an eye on salt (easiest to just add to adult portions at the table) the give baby what you are having advice is spot on. You might want some small portions of blander food on standby in the freezer if you regularly have say thai levels of chilli heat in your meals but a bit of spice should be fine. Do keep an eye on decent fat levels if you are cooking low fat food for yourself/partner but that and honey aside there isn’t a lot to beware of.

Veg omelette is a great weaning food!

This is exactly what I did with both of my kids. I did Baby Led Weaning (or whatever non wanky name you want to give it!) because I couldn't be arsed pureeing stuff, and I basically learnt to cook when weaning my first child because I had to cook from scratch.

Just gave them whatever we had. Just don't add salt, we added to ours after, anything really spicy just add yoghurt or cream, no honey and no whole nuts. I never pureed anything and it worked really well for us. It also meant we all ate together as a family from the very start.

Breakfast was a slightly different story as my kids loved porridge fingers and they were really easy to make but I didn't fancy them much myself

My DS is 10 months now, but loves chicken Korma and has done from about 7/8 months. Make it all up together and then add extra spices, salt etc after you have plated his up. Also omelette is fine. My DS also likes scrambled egg, meat, fruit and veg.

I never cooked separate "baby food". Veggie omelette is perfect for a baby - if you generally add salt then don't, adults can add if they prefer later.

Maybe not piri-piri fish but in that case I would have given the baby whatever you were eating with the fish like potato, salad, vegetables and some other type of protein. Or if you're cooking the sauce separately, you give the baby fish without the sauce.

It doesn't have to be "nursery food", mine all had things like pasta with sauce, casseroles, roast dinners, rice dishes - everything we had. Most things cooked from scratch, if we fancied a takeaway then I'd make mac and cheese or scrambled eggs or something for the baby/toddler.

It's not hard - and a LOT cheaper than cooking separately or relying on shop bought baby food.

All those things you've listed will be fine, just watch salt content.

Give big-ish bits baby can grab and suck/mush. Gagging is normal, expected and stops them choking. Choking is quiet not noisy like gagging. Maybe Google the differences to reassure yourself. You could also ask your HV about a first aid course to put your mind at rest.

Baby led weaning taught me how to cook properly! I learnt all the classics from scratch to make sure I could leave out the salt / reduce chilli etc.

And yes it did change what we eat so we're now a bit more basic in our meals but I save up the more adventurous cooking for when it's just DH and I or we have friends over.

However, that said, don't be scared of introducing new flavours / textures etc as the earlier you make things like lettuce / curry / stir fry normal, the less likely you are to face a battle if you try to introduce it to a wilful 7 year old.

Ha ha snap portal!!

As long as you're cooking from scratch it's fine! Curry and chilli were DS's favourite meals at about 8mo, and he still enjoys them at 2yo. If they were a bit on the spicy side I'd mix his with a spoon of full fat greek yoghurt (sounds weird but actually really nice in curry and chilli and makes them a bit milder).

I think I'm worried about choking. I thought veg omelette would have too many lumps in it for him?? Would I just make sure I cook the veg really well and the egg really well??

Apparently a baby's gag reflex is further forward the younger they are, so it's actually better for them to learn to chew younger as the gag reflex will be more easily triggered (which is why they do gag which can be a bit scary but is not choking) They have to learn to chew at some point so it's better to do it when the gag reflex is further away from their windpipe. Obviously you have to wait until 6 months and they can sit up in a highchair with their head unsupported.

I think it's definitely worth reading up on.

Would I just make sure I cook the veg really well and the egg really well??

I would just cook it how you usually do, tbh. I gave mine toast, sandwiches, etc just everything I had from the beginning. Foods that are choking risks are nuts, grapes (you need to cut them up).

Mine loved really strong flavours and spices at that age. Not hugely hot, but more flavoury spices. They both loved, and still do, loads of garlic!

(Now they only eat bland beige food, not through lack of exposure to decent flavours.)

All the stuff you mentioned is fine. My eldest loved sweet potato with anything, cut into wedges and roasted in the oven. Perfect for picking up and sucking on. If you're adding chilli powder or fresh chilli to dishes, just take out a couple of spoonfuls for the baby first.

(But I'll be impressed if he likes anchovies - they're gross!!)

My DD wouldn’t take food from a spoon for ages so I just fed her whatever we were having and let her get on with it. I have a photo of her sucking on a piece of roast pork at 7mo, and she loves things w strong flavours and would happily eat anything on your menu! I did stop cooking w salt though and would make sure things were cut into easy-to-grip pieces. Oh and DH doesn’t like his food too hot so I was already in the habit of adding my own chilli after.

So... NO purees needed now?? Just let him chew away?

Purees aren't needed at all. I gave my older children purees are first because the weaning age was younger but it had changed to 6 months for my younger children so didn't bother with purees. The most I did was mash food with a fork.

I think this advice is geared towards adults who eat like toddlers. If you eat a diet of butter chicken and spaghetti I'm sure that this will work a treat but if you eat real food you are going to struggle to keep your baby fully fed-have you ever heard of an 8bmobth old that was willing to eat an endive gorgon zola salad? Me neither.

Aozora13 I have a similar photo of DD1 sucking on a fillet steak at around 7 months

I think this advice is geared towards adults who eat like toddlers

It really isn’t. Our diet is extremely varied and we only eat ‘real food’. As do our children. We don’t eat butter chicken or korma or anything like that and spaghetti of some description probably features around once a month. How do you know a toddler won’t eat an endive Gorgonzola salad unless you try? In actual fact my 4 year old loves endive, and can regularly be found snaffling herbs from our herb garden as a snack.

“Not a chance in hell I’d have given my baby adult food. Even with the spice turned down, and the texture mushed down.

too many additives, and bad ratios of salt/fat/sugar. Lacking so often in a good range of essential nutrients”

Stop buying ready meals and cook yourself. It will benefit you as well as your child.

Off topic but please could I know your Piri Piri Fish recipe OP? Sounds interesting as I love fish and peri peri but never tried combining.

I think this advice is geared towards adults who eat like toddlers. If you eat a diet of butter chicken and spaghetti I'm sure that this will work a treat but if you eat real food you are going to struggle to keep your baby fully fed-have you ever heard of an 8bmobth old that was willing to eat an endive gorgon zola salad? Me neither.

Just because a parent isn't a raging food snob doesn't mean they don't eat 'real food' 😂

I think this advice is geared towards adults who eat like toddlers. If you eat a diet of butter chicken and spaghetti I'm sure that this will work a treat but if you eat real food you are going to struggle to keep your baby fully fed

Nope, we don’t eat like toddlers. Yes, we eat real food. No, have never struggled to keep any of mine fully fed as babies.

hmmm I'm really jealous of your weekly menu.

All I can say is I did feed anything we had to DD when she was 6 months and she flipping well ate it as well. Especially pasta and broccholi, but basically everything as spicy as I like it.

Now she's 7 and every week there is another bloody thing she doesn't really fancy anymore.

My 2 year old has always eaten what we have. Never fed her baby food. Of course, she never has anything inappropriate, such as spicy or salty foods.

It’s common sense really.