Vegetable / lumpy problems

[luluhollybolly]

Hi,

I'm hoping someone somewhere has some pearls of wisdom.

I started weaning my daughter a few weeks ago with baby rice and home made fruit / vegetable purees.

We are currently on to breakfast and lunch but I am having real problems getting her to take vegetables of any kind. She clamps her lips and then starts screeching until I stop trying to give her them.

She needs to eat her veg and I want to get past this before we progress, any suggestions?

In addition, her eating is very hit and miss, and I am convinced that lumps wouldn't even be contemplated at the moment.... I feel a bit like she is never going to eat solids at the moment...

She also only drinks breast milk and will not drink from bottles or cups....

Help please???

Hi, I don't think you're alone in having difficulty giving either vegetable or lumpy purees - a lot of people on this board do 'baby-led weaning' - i.e. babies self-feed from 6 months, meaning no spoons and no purees, just finger food.

My 7 month son has been doing this for a month now and he loves eating lots of different food - we started with sticks of vegetables like sweet potato and carrot, roasted in olive oil. Broccoli is a great finger food too.

It might be especially successful if you breastfeed. Have a look at www.babyledweaning.com for more info. How old is your daughter?

Its worth remembering that under one foods just for fun. They don't need solid foods in nutritional terms as they should still be getting everything they need from their milk.

We're doing a mix of finger foods (a la BLW) and spoon feeding home made purees. If you're happy with purees, try her with fruit purrees to start with so she starts to look forward to meal times then gradually introduce the sweeter veggies (carrots, butternut squash, sweet potato) before moving on to mixed veggies and the stronger tasting ones. You could also offer things like well steamed cauliflower and carrots, ds2 is loving brocoli at the mo.

Don't feel restricted to one feeding style, mixing purrees and finger foods is working really well for us. DS2 loves feeding himself but also loves the purees we feed him too. Also he's 9 months and only now are we starting to introduce 'lumpy' purees even though he's been feeding himself for a couple of months.

Listen to her and she'll guide you through this

Thanks!

She is 6 months old.

I don't seem to have the same problem with fruit purees but I am concerned that I don't want a fussy baby as I eat anything.

My health visitor told me I need to be strict with her but to me forcing her with stuff at this age seems more likely to scar her mentally.

I have stopped for a couple of days now as I thought that maybe I should give her a break then restart.

I'm due to go back to work in a couple of months and was hoping she would be fully weaned by then. Nothings ever quite as you plan is it!?!

I will have a look at baby led weaning. Do you just place it on the table of their high chair for them to play with / eat? Sounds messy....

It is messy! but they get to feel the textures, smell the smells, explore and taste and enjoy food rather than get anonymous purees shovelled in.

Don't worry about the veg thing yet, as someone said, it's all for fun til they're one. Just chuck some sticks of steamed or roasted and cooled veg on her tray and let her hold them, sniff them, she may even try them. Or it may take a few different goes before she thinks of putting them in her mouth. Doesn't matter.

Also, pieces of banana, slivers of ripe pear, melon or stewed apple should go down well too.

Don't worry about her not taking a cup yet either, just keep having the cup to hand with some water in, she'll get it eventually- mine didn't get it properly til 9 or 10 months.

Thanks
So do I just aim for her taking milk from a cup when I go back to work???

Sounds like another nominee for Stupid Health Visitor of the Year award - being 'strict with her' - how insane. Food is for fun as JATGB says, keep it positive, reassuring, encouraging and you're much more likely to have an unfussy baby.

That's what I though.....

I didn't want to pressure her and upset her which is why I have stopped for a couple of days.

I might start her in a couple of days which some pieces of cooked veggies and see what she does.... hey ho, what do I have to lose!!!

hmm, I'm not the best person to ask about taking milk from a cup as I ff from 4 months due to problems. My ds is 12 months and still won't take milk fom a cup. He'll take water and juice from a cup, but milk always has to be in a bottle.

Hopefully someone who has bf for longer than me will be able to answer that one for you! x

Definitely agree - food should be fun. Its easy to get all rigid and put your foot down, and then the pressure/stress starts and it all goes downhill.

Try the BLW route if you fancy it. But have you tried mixing the vege with baby rice? I felt the same as you about vege but my DS would not touch it (was most upset). So I tried this to give him a gentler taste of the flavour, and each time I re-presented a vege there was a higher proportion of vege to rice so by the 3/4th time it was all vege. He scoffed it all and now, 5 weeks in, he loves trying new vege !!

We also have lots of things to make mealtime fun like the "yum yum" song (its rude to laugh at me) which gets sung when the tantrums start, and I let him play with a highchair toy and his own spoon (it would be nice if this got somewhere near his mouth instead of in his hair, ear, etc. but you can't have it all!).

Good luck and remember, just because they refuse something once, does not mean they will remember to refuse the same thing again in 10 days' time!!

G

the trouble with fruit is that it's full of natural sugar (and natural sugar is the same as all other types of sugar) so of course your dd will like that.

I would keep fruit well and truely off the menu until she'll eat broccoli and courgette - but be kind and offer carrot and sweet potato too!

And by "strict" there is no way the HV meant force it in. Just stick to veg and avoid the naturally sweet stuff.

BLW is prob the best way to go. IMO 6 months is rather late for baby rice (bleugh) or purees.

gagarin, I often eat purees, and I'm 40! Mashed potato, mashed sweet potato...

lulu, have you tried avocado? Lots of good stuff in it...

Interestingly enough, I gave her 24hrs off and then have tried a different approach. I gave her porridge for two days, which by the lunchtime on the second day she gulped down and am now giving her a couple of days of farleys rusks, first attempt was VERY positive.

I'm thinking that if I can get her to eat quite happily then I can re-introduce the veg when I know she is more comfortable eating.

I want her to progress but I also want her to do it at a pace she is happy with.

I also chopped some banana and put it on her highchair for her to play with, and that is litterally what she did... play! It went everywhere except her mouth.

I'm going to try some mash and maybe some cauliflower cheese this week..... see if we can re-introduce the veg in a yummy way!!!

No progress on the bottle / cup though...

WELL DONE Lulu - that sounds great!

Just stay positive and keep presenting her with stuff.

LOL about the banana - and it ends up in the funniest places?!

Then yesterday I realised my DS had bitten off some of his carrot batton - I think he was as surprised I was! It stayed in his mouth for ages before it finally fell out but its a start!

Keep at it.

:-)