Nearly 11 month old - no time for weaning

[lumpydaisy]

[Writing this when all I've eaten today is a couple of biscuits, so low blood sugar might be making me feel worse about this, but this is still something I feel most days...]

Obviously this makes me feel like a total failure, but either
a) I genuinely am just rubbish
b) my baby/life is unique and we're screwed
c) there's some trick I've missed

When do you prepare food for baby??!

She hardly naps and seems to be going to bed at 9pm at the moment. So when she's asleep isn't an option.
I don't have time to feed myself, so "just do it when you make your own food" isn't much of an option. At the moment I can't cook dinner until she's gone to bed, and by that point it's pretty much cook, eat, wash her bottles, go to bed.
She gets furious in highchair after literally a few minutes. Not long enough to do anything. And if she's already furious then she won't eat, so it's a total waste of time.
If I save her leftovers, or make anything in advance, I still need long enough to go into kitchen and reheat it. I have to abandon her in the living room to do this, which she often protests about, and I don't feel I can leave her for long.
I can't put her on the floor in the kitchen, I don't think that would be safe. There isn't enough room without risking dropping something on her, tripping over her etc., the floor is slate and she's starting to crawl so I'd be freaking out about her banging her head (she headbutts the floor regularly).
She's almost 11 months, I can't hold her and prepare anything at the same time. I have never been able to wear her and do anything (I couldn't reach past her even when she was tiny, I'm short with even shorter arms!).

I genuinely don't know what I'm meant to do. Am I meant to leave her alone for half an hour multiple times a day, to prepare anything for her? She's dairy free too so I find that a huge mental block.

Can you put a gate across the kitchen door so that she can see you whilst cooking?

Or a playpen somewhere she can still see you?

But ultimately yes, she needs to be left whilst you get food for you both. You both need proper nutrition.

Do you have a microwave? Use that to reheat leftovers. If not, get one!

Bring her in the kitchen while you wait 2 mins for it to ping, and sit her in her highchair or another chair to watch and chat to her about what you're doing.

And remember, food is fun until they're one so youre not failing at anything, but pretty soon you will have a child who does need 3 meals a day, so perhaps best to get your own eating into a routine so that you can prep and eat together - Weetabix for breakfast, sandwiches and fruit for you both for lunch, then if she needs to eat earlier than you in the evening reheat leftovers for her, and cook extra when you cook your own dinner for her dinner tomorrow. I did that for my son's early years as I worked/ he was in childcare until 6pm so he needed to be fed quickly as soon as we got home. Now that he's older and our routine has changed I can cook and eat earlier and he can wait a bit longer so we eat together, which is great, but not always feasible I know

Baby gate and leave her. Episode of peppa pig or cocomelon and just crack on. You can't stop doing everything that needs to be done because you have a baby? If she protests, just sympathise with her from the kitchen and carry on 'oh I'm sorry you're sad I can't play right now, I'll be done soon'

I used a travel cot for mine when they needed to be safe. Put some toys in there so they can play for a bit.
Meals dont have to be elaborate. Can you heat up something you have cooked the night before?

Put her on the floor with some toys. It doesn’t take 30 mins to make toast, cereal and fruit for breakfast.

You need to find food which is quick to make. My girls are dairy free, successful and quick meals in our house include:

• salmon, new potato, steam carrots and broccoli (10 mins prep and then it can be left)
• Baked potato or rice and veggie chilli
• sardine pasta (bbc good food recipe)
• roast chicken breast, new pots and veg and Kallo low salt instant gravy
• B. Potato with tuna and sweet corn Mayo and salad
• fish cake and veg
• batch cook slow cooker spag Bol at the weekend and during the week reheat the Bol and cook pasta
• batch cook Jamie Oliver 7 veg pasta
• cod and chickpea bake
• sand which
• soup
• pitta bread, falafel, homous, tomato and cucumber

Playpen, TV, or squishy playmat on kitchen floor.

Prepare some pesto pasta the night before – 10 mins is doable, surely, even with a crap sleeper? – and that’s lunch. A few minutes in a high chair = long enough to put yoghurt and berries in front of her while you prep something.

Mine was an early crawler and a head banger too, TINY kitchen; I used to just plonk her on the floor with piles of toys and make easy things: hummus and crackers, cream cheese sandwich, etc, not meals that took much longer than a few minutes.

Sit down with her on your lap, open a banana, you eat some and you give some to her. Same with maybe plain yogurt. Open it, put some on a spoon, eat some yourself, and put the spoon to her lips too. Toast would be easy too.

Have you tried getting her to watch 'Hey Bear' videos on Youtube? They're sensory videos. Got my daughter watching them when she was a couple of months old. Now, at 16 months she still LOVES them. I put them on the tablet and sit her in front of it whilst I prep her food. Pinterest is great for meal inspiration by the way. You really dont need to over complicate her meals, as long as they're getting a varied diet they will be good! X

Start with cereal or toast then some cheese bread fruit/ salad veg for lunch and don't be afraid of pre made baby food she might need to be furious for a few minutes whilst you sort her out you sound stressed she sounds stressed and it all sounds stressy oh and get a baby gate for the kitchen

Take a step back and think about this sensibly. It can take as little as 5-10 mins to prepare a meal. She's fine left for that long (in the cot or playpen with some books and safe toys / in highchair watching you or sat on the floor with some saucepans and a wooden spoon).

Have a look at baby-led weaning - she can eat the same as you. Make a sandwich and cut into fingers. You can share it. Greek yogurt and fruit. Banana. Toast.

For more substantial evening meals, could you batch cook once a week for a couple of hours whilst someone (?partner) watches the baby. Most freezable

12:32ApolloandDaphne

Sit down with her on your lap, open a banana, you eat some and you give some to her. Same with maybe plain yogurt. Open it, put some on a spoon, eat some yourself, and put the spoon to her lips too. Toast would be easy too.

This is spot on.

I'd often put them on my back rather then front in a sling, but yeah, it's hard. I think it's probably the hardest age in many ways - mobile enough to get into trouble if not constantly watched but no common sense.

Ultimately, it's a multi tasking thing and it's hard. I'd have a basket of toys in every room, and just juggle. Cook easy meals, involve then in prep, a bit of TV etc. Slow cookers are useful as you can add things gradually and there's lots pressure.

Yes, you can leave her alone while you prep food. She will be fine.

You come across as very nervous, and worried about her physical safety. Do you have a HV you could talk with about your worries?

You sound very stressed (understandably) are you a single parent? Do you have a friend/family member who could help out occasionally either watching her while you cook or maybe cooking you a meal? You really need to eat properly yourself - maybe go out for lunch or dinner with her once a week if you can?

Yes I think you've worked this up into a bigger thing than it needs to be! Lunch can take like 2 mins to prepare, same with breakfast. Dinner might take longer, but are you doing this solo or is there a partner on the scene?

She's not going to come to serious harm crawling around the kitchen for 5 mins - my DD was always crawling around ours, I just made sure there wasn't anything unsafe she could reach and was extra careful when carrying stuff.

And also if she needs to cry for 10mins while you eat, then that's just what has to happen. It's bonkers to just not be eating! Babies cry, it's not going to harm her in any way. Stick her in her playpen or cot while you go and make some food for yourself.

Also you could make yourself (and her) a packed lunch for the next day when she's in bed, and try and get yourself in a routine of eating regularly

Oops - pressed send too soon - many easily freezable meals would be suitable for the baby - just use low-salt stock cubes:

Spaghetti Bolognese
Chilli con carne (mild)
Veg pasta (whizz the sauce if it's a bit lumpy)
Fish pie
Stew / casserole

Just a few ideas there.

I had a baby that didn't like being put down. I also had a young toddler (20 month age gap). I worked full time from when baby was 6 months so they just had to get on with it when we came home from work and I cooked the dinner. We all ate the same thing from when the babies were weaned and ate as a family at 5:30 when DH got in from work as that gave us our evenings to ourselves (kids in bed by 7).

I’m a bit shit with meal prep so I tend to get the furiousness then go ‘oh yeah you’re probably hungry’ then have to make food with an unhappy toddler 😬.

He stays still if I give him a snack though, an apple is our favourite, a whole apple (I bite a chunk out first so there’s a fleshy bit) and he gnaws away at it whilst I make food.

Oh and it sounds like you have 1 hell of an overtired baby. You really need to sort that! Ask your health visitor for support.

Oh a s just stick her in the high chair with a couple of Ella's kitchen carrot puffs or something while you make her proper food.

Can she stand? Mine is exactly the same but a Little Helper is great because she can see what you are doing/get involved but also can’t escape.

I struggled for ages because it is almost impossible to make dinner for a baby that doesn’t nap and hates the high chair. Making dinners in the evening for reheating was fine but I worked in the evenings, paired with a deployed husband it was all exhausting. I think if you don’t have one of these children you don’t get it. My 13 month old likes to have a good cry in the time it takes to make toast because I’m not doing it quickly enough.

Also forgot to add, downstairs is mostly open plan (except for thur dogs hideout) and DC just walks wherever because it’s been baby proofed (drawer locks and the likes). Only when the oven is on is the kitchen out of bounds, but there’s loads of stuff you can make without the oven anyway. Sandwiches take a few minutes.

I make everything one handed 🤣🤣

Breakfast is just some fruit chopped up maybe toast fingers or a spoon of my porridge on the highchair which she eats/plays with

Lunch is usually a pouch of veg so easy

Dinner is a variation on whatever we have I just hold her on my hip and chop up the food

I just used to put mine in the high chair with a few toys on the tray and talked/sang to them while getting dinner ready as quickly as possible! Do this before she is hungry and it works better. If they were really hungry I’d put a few Cheerios/ raisins on the tray as that keeps them busy catching them or gave them a bit of breadstick or cucumber or something 😀

Does she have a nap? Can you get stuff chopped/ready then? Don’t worry about making stuff that takes an hour to prep/cook - speed is def the way to go!!

Omelette is super quick, nutritious and easy to cut into smaller pieces for baby to pick up. Toast/ sandwiches, cut up fruit & veg