QUESTION ABOUT SOLIDS

[Hollyboo]

I'm weaning my dd at the moment, she loves baby rice and a few of the other cereals. I want to introduce a more 'dinnery' solid in the evening. I've tried organic chicken and veg and also butternut squosh but she litterally gagged! I know there's a big diff between them and the breakfast cereals (I tasted them, they're pretty gross) my MIL says 'she'll get used to it' but if she doesn't like them....
Any suggestions or simalar experiences?

how old is your lo? My ds didn't really get used to chicken etc for quite a while. I used to puree it with carrots, potatoes etc but he preferred sweet potato and carrot, and other more blander things for quite a while.

r u using jars/packets or is it homemade?

Not wanting to cause an argument i only ask because my ds1 would only eat jars and my ds2 would only eat homemade! He used to have lots of pureed carrots/sweet potato/mashed potato/broccolli(took a while that one)/cauliflower

maybe try some mashed potato or something like that? Diffiocult to help properly without knowing circumstances properly :)

if they are jars she is showing you that she has a discerning palate

Gagging is OK - it's just the sensation of a new and different texture that causes gagging. If she's choking then that's a different thing altogether, but gagging is OK and won't hurt her.

I usually don't have much truck with MILs but in your case I think she's right - she will get used to it. Try small tastes of simple foods first - mashed banana or pureed apple, for instance, so she's getting something with a bit more substance than baby rice. Once she's taking those OK you can move on.

Thanks for the replies. She's 5 months, been on solids since 4.5. Big appetite! Tried one jar and one packet. Tried homemade but blender went on fire! Buying a new one at the w/end so maybe I'll try the sweet potato and some other homemades. Anyone know some good recipe books for solids? If she has a discerning palete I'll be giving her away!!!

I use the Lorraine Kelly one which I picked up for £3 or £4 in the British Bookshops Sussex Stationers place (there was someone here a while ago who had copies to send to people but I can't find the thread or remember the poster!).

Otherwise \link{http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=2400&threadid=91606\see here}

You could try mixing them half and half with baby rice - flavour not so strong then. lol at giving her away

I wouldn't think there was a rush to introduce things like chicken at 5 months. I would stick to fruit and veg for the time being. Are you making it a bit thick?

Thanks for that, I've seen the Lorraine Kelly one so I'll have a look at that when I'm purchasing my blender that hopefully won't go into meltdown! I'll try the baby rice thing and the pureed apple, I know what you mean about the flavour being much stronger. Thanking you all:)

I wouldn't be in a hurry to introduce stuff at this point, they don't actually need it at this age.

Oh, and wand blenders are much better than the old-fashioned kind. If you get a wand blender with a metal wand, you can use it in pots on the stove, to make soup etc.

I really wouldn't give a 5 mo meat - the guidelines are from 6 months on. Give it a month or so and you'll probably get much better results!

Hold off on the veggies and meat another month and you may not need a new blender as she can probably take them mashed. Or if you're only doing small quantities of things, try a sieve.

Gagging is a normal response to new textures. But also don't be in a hurry. She has a lot of time to get used to new textures and chicken and things! My DS didn't start solids until 6 months and was slow on the uptake. He gagged loads as we started with finger foods. But he got the idea after a couple of weeks!

Thanks for that Suzi, I'm going to wait till then to introduce the more savoury dinners.