I know this is bad but HOW bad is it?

[funlovingcriminal]

DS(9months) is very distracted at meal times and closes his mouth and turns the other way etc..

The easiest, quickest way to feed him is to put him infront of babyTV and he robotically opens his mouth and we get all the food in quickly and hassle free.

My question is, is this TERRIBLE. Am I a bad Mum? I'm thinking i'll only do this for a while until he's self feeding completely (which he semi does now)

The way I console myself is by thinking 15 mins of TV every day just to get your belly full of nutrients can't be THAT bad?

Ok, I know it's not great but how bad is it?

Just read your latest post. Does her perhaps need a smaller meal at lunchtime, and then maybe a snack later? Do you think that would help?

he!

wiimii - you've obviously never had a baby that is too easily distracted to eat. I used to feed ds1 like that sometimes - it works, and it doesn't reflect on how much he'll enjoy mealtimes later. as it goes, ds1 enjoys them less than dd, but that's because he's not as into food as she is. no amount of patience when he was a baby would have changed that.

i'd really be trying to lose your thinking that his consumption of food is related to his sleep, that should help.
what can you do to increase his self-feeding? more meals together, more patience and more milk available. i personally could not be arsed with distraction or silly faces, tbh, what a pain in the arse. i can see how sitting at the telly would be more appealing.

oh, and dd has never but never eaten a lot at lunchtime. she likes breakfast and dinner (aged 2) but prefers to graze through lunchtime and the afternoon. maybe a quarter of a sandwich would do her for lunch, with carrot sticks etc later on, and she's 2.

i imagine i'm fairly typical

ds1: i stressed... he picked.. i stressed more... he hated mealtimes... i did whatever it took to get food into him (cbeebies included)

he's not a great eater

ds2 (only 8mo, mind): i didn't have time to stress... he eats whatever i put in front of him (and sometimes the things i don't put in front of him, but which he reaches from his borther's plate)

he's huge and loves his food

she's 2. did i mention that? lol.

Our daughters are like Aitch's - grazers in the afternoon.

I just keep a supply of nice nibbles to hand - just now I cut up some corn tortillas and tossed them in a little oil, then baked them.

I leave things like this out with bits of fruit, raisins, chopped veg, etc. for them to nibble as they wish.

As he gets older try things like dips, too - humus, white bean puree, etc. for him to graze on and still get plenty of nutrients.

what's yer white bea puree recipe, expat? care to share?

Oh yes, actually, BabyHab is not overkeen on lunch (except lately when she is chewing my hand off to eat all the time), but is much keener on breakfast and dinner.

"aitch in puree recipe request shocker" !!!

(am guessing she takes a tin of beans. and purees em )

i'm only interested if she doesn't use cannelli (a much-overrated bean imo) and adds a truckload of olive oil and garlic.

so what is underrated in beanworld iyho?

aaaah, the borlotti. takes seasoning well, retains its shape nicely but the skin doesn't go hard... love a borlotti bean. infinitely superior to the kidney in chilli.

Do you soak your own beans, Aitch?

Sure!

Here it is:

Baked White Bean Puree

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp finely chopped rosemary
2 cans of cannellini beans, drained, liquid reserved
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Place a medium saucepan coated with a little olive oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic till translucent. Add 1 tsp of the rosemary, beans, salt and pepper and saute until very hot.

1. Tranfer the bean mixture to the bowl of a food processor or large pestle and mortar. Add the vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil and 3 tbsp of the reserved bean liquid and puree/mash until very smooth.

1. Combine breadcrumbs, cheese, the remaining rosemary and the remaining olive oil in a small bowl and stir until combined.

1. Place bean puree in an ovenproof bowl or casserole and top with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake in oven until golden brown and serve.

Mmmmm.

Also, when I make humus, I use sesame oil instead of olive oil. It adds a delicious taste and the girls love it!

DS doesn't eat much at brekkie, that's why I give him big lunch.

Lucky to get a bit of wetabix and banana down him. Today was 1 spoon of yoghurt!

I do think he's hungry at lunch time but I may be wrong.

god you're going to hate me you bean snob. i like a baked bean in my chili

I suppose you could try it with butter beans, though, Aitch. But I don't like them.

i can very rarely be faffed with soaking my own beans, tbh. but again, the borlotti (king of beans) is excellent soaked because of the lovely marbley pinks that you don't seem to get with canned ones.

oh expat that sounds wonderful. i may lift my cannellini embargo.

loving the ideas though guys..thanks a lot..keep em rolling!

Can't see him 'dipping' in the next week or two though..may be wrong

methinks a bean-themed name change is due...

AitchTheBeanSnob

or BorlottiAitch (makes you sound like a gangster)

i love butter beans, really. the ones from lidl are great.

what kind of beans are baked beans, tuts? haricot? better those than a kidney any day.

cannibal, breakfast was the last meal we ever introduced with dd, she was always much more interested in milk in the morning.

god, dunno. probably a plain old haricot blanc

i used to scoff flageloets by the bucket when i lived in france but strangelky haven't done anything with them here