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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

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Original poster

This weaning thing is just throughly depressing me...

39 replies

theUrbanDryad · 21/08/2007 12:52

Today I managed to get half a rusk mashed up with EBM into him. Then I got daring and tried him with a bit of banana. Of course he gagged on it and brought the lot up. I just don't know what to do about this gagging. I know I need to persevere but for how long?

It just upsets me to see him gag and cry on food, and I'm so worried I'm going to traumatise him or something!! Sorry, no reply needed, just wanted to rant...

OP posts:

Wisteria · 21/08/2007 12:53

((((((TheUrbanDryad)))))) persevere, you'll get there in the end - avocados are great - but rant away xx

kerala · 21/08/2007 12:55

Maybe just drop it for a while? I tried to wean at 6 months - she threw it all up. I then just gave up entirely for a couple of weeks and re started and she seemed to be ready at nearly 7 months and ate happily then. We even skipped baby rice and went straight to butternut squash. Now she is 1 and eats everything in sight.

Dont feel pressured because other mums are doing it like I did...

Original poster

theUrbanDryad · 21/08/2007 13:09

i tired avocado - he just looked at me like i'd give him a shitty stick to chew on. i tried leaving it for a few weeks, he's now 7.5 months and still gagging on everything except very runny rusk and milk or baby rice. his weight is good so i'm not worried on that score, but i really really wanted to do BLW and it just isn't happening.

and every time i go out all i see is perfect babies obediently opening their mouths for their perfect mothers to spoon in mush....grr...

OP posts:

FunkyGlassSlipper · 21/08/2007 13:12

Don't panic. Try something that he can hold. Maybe toast as they just suck it. Banana is quite tricky as it is very slippy and not all babies like the texture.

It might take a bit of jiggling around until you find something he's interested in.

Aitch · 21/08/2007 13:13

aaaw, UD. if his weight's fine can you just jack it in for a while and give him lots of toys to chew on to get that gag reflex trained up? no mattel toys, though...

Wisteria · 21/08/2007 13:14

Have you tried baked beans with avocado?

oliveoil · 21/08/2007 13:16

you need Lorraine Kelly's book or Annabel whatsit

get yourself lots of little pots of puree and feel a warm glow when they are lined up in the freezer

aloha · 21/08/2007 13:17

Have you tried spooning in puree?

Tranquila · 21/08/2007 13:17

dont worry - the gagging is all part of learning how ot eat.
needs to do a bit of it to get the hang of it.
just give up on idea of him 'eating' so much , as playing w food and practicing gagging and swallowing for a bit!
would that help?

handlemecarefully · 21/08/2007 13:24

When ds was first weaning - he hated to be spoonfed.

Basically I just give him finger food all the time - from a very young age. He was a good deal more receptive to that. Have you tried this?

After a few months he consented to other foods but insisted on using the spoon himself (grrreat! at 11/12 months old - mush everywhere)

captainahab · 21/08/2007 13:26

If it makes you feel better you're not alone my 7.5 mo db will not let me feed him with a spoon (although he tries to feed himself doesn't work). Not even rice. Nada.

He tries to feed himself but he scoops the food up in a fist and then sucks on the outside of his fist. Not very clever, my ds!

But the one thing that he manages with is mango -- doesn't really swallow too much, but he sucks away and some slides down. I cut it into long strips that are thin enough that I won't worry if he breaks a chunk off into his mouth. I put some down on his tray and he manages to pick them up, and sometimes I hold one out to him and he takes it from me. I do the same thing with avocado but it's MUCH messier.

Also, although he won't let me get a spoon anywhere near him, sometimes (not always) he'll eat bits off my fingertips. He's much more likely to do it if he watches me eat a bit first.

handlemecarefully · 21/08/2007 13:28

I meant to put 'gave' him not 'give' him (was speaking in past tense since ds is now 3!)

captainahab · 21/08/2007 13:30

handleme -- do you remember what foods you started with? I'm trying to find things that he can get in his mouth himself but will be unlikely to choke on. For now he will only do mango and a bit of avocado or banana.

Original poster

theUrbanDryad · 21/08/2007 13:31

thanks for all your replies - i just seem to be getting conflicting advice from everyone! my hv says to persevere with it and he'll get the hang of it, then you guys (who i trust more than an hv!) say to leave it for a bit! i'm knackered too, which never helps...i thought that because he'd been so interested in food for such a long time that weaning would be a doddle! how wrong was i??

OP posts:

Tranquila · 21/08/2007 13:34

youre just tired.
everything is wors when youre tired
try not to feel that youve 'failed' in some way... thats nonsense.(understandale, but unneccesary iyswm)

and advice is always conflicting coz theres a illion diff ways to do things
try to take a step back from the pressure of the situation and then just try lots of things till something hits the spot.

captainahab · 21/08/2007 13:35

also, when my ds started being "difficult" about eating (he happily gobbled from the spoon for about 4 weeks) I cut time the number of times I day I try solids. Now I only do it once a day, or twice if I'm feeling particularly energetic. It's made it much easier for me to cope wiht the struggle of it all.

handlemecarefully · 21/08/2007 13:35

apple, banana kiwi, mango, strawberries ....

Carrot - cut into strips and lightly steamed to make it softer, same with broccoli (cut first into small florets)

toasted soldiers

breadsticks

There's a book :Finger food for Babies and Toddlers by Jennie Maizels

Wisteria · 21/08/2007 13:36

I'm interested - have all of you having problems done this BLW thing? It hadn't been invented when I weaned mine

flipster · 21/08/2007 13:38

I was going to post something with the same sort of heading as I have been finding the weaning process trying to say the least.
Am mush feeding and giving finger foods but the finger foods are only just starting to be eaten by ds (7.5 mths) now. Previously he gagged on all finger foods and I had a couple of scary non breathing moments.
ALso - it is very mixed - some days ds eats like a trouper and is really happy; other days he is in tears at the highchair so I just abandon it and give milk instead.
Didn't realise it would b so hard or so up and down. Almost feel weird admitting that I find it difficult as so many other people just talk about how much fun it all is...mmm - they ought to come round here during a screaming heebeegeebee at a highchair!

Good luck with it - i found that toast and butter is working well as a finger food btw - but has taken 6 weeks to get about 1cm of toast to be taken.

Lizzzombie · 21/08/2007 13:49

My 7 month old will not touch finger foods. I wish I'd never started weaning and just kept him on milk for as long as possible. Its all such a palava. Most of it ends up on me or on the floor. I no I;m no Gordon Ramsay...but really!

Original poster

theUrbanDryad · 21/08/2007 13:49

flipster - like you, i thought weaning was supposed to be "fun". blah.

OP posts:

Lizzzombie · 21/08/2007 13:50

flipster, my LO is exactly the same. Some days fab, he will gobble it down. Others, like today, huge screaming fit and wanted milk.

Aitch · 21/08/2007 13:57

but isn't that okay, though? just give him milk, surely that's what we do as adults? sometimes i want a hot chocolate more than anything, nothing else will do... but because i'm a grown-up i can make it for myself with no tears or trauma.

the amounts shouldn't matter at this stage, but it must be a right pain in the arse to have your baby gagging on everything. that's why i'd suggest just giving yourself a break for a while, he's only 7.5 months old, he's not desperate for food yet i'd have thought. or try him with purees, spoons, whatever's going to be least stressful for you at the end of the day.

ellitalialea · 21/08/2007 14:00

there was an article in the guardian a while ago about how incredibly allergenic kiwi is. just thought i'd let you know...

Egypt · 21/08/2007 14:13

oo yes, dont do kiwi, makes my throat close up

anyway, i read in the wilkipedia article on blw that milk should be offered first anyway, as its still the main food.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning#Signs_of_readiness

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