General chat thread for puree lovers!

[Neenztwinz]

Before I started weaning my twins, I read about BLW and thought it looked like an amazing idea.

When I tried it I found my darling LOs didn't pick up a single thing never mind get it into the mouths.

So now I puree food and spoonfeed them and they are eating massive amounts and loving it - and sleeping all night!

So I thought I'd start a thread for others who are doing the same as me - we can swap ideas for meals and say what works for us (ie what makes them sleep ).

I gave my twins four plums plus ebm and baby rice for breakfast and they have had a big bowl of sweet potato, haricot beans and brocolli for lunch. More of the same for tea (plus maybe some swede and parsnip). They are 6.5mths old.

What did yours eat today?

Coming on here now because I've just been naughty and started a ruck on my post natal thread, as I'm sick of the smugness of BLW folks. I try to be open minded - each to their own and all that - but I don't feel the BLW militia devotees are that open minded - their way is the right way and everyone else is strange, don't understand, and are always amazed at what their babies eat... Oh, no, now I'm ranting on here! But can I just explain that I have a FT(+!!) baby who slid down to the 1st centile (from the 8th - small at birth) at 6 months and weighed 13lb. Exclusive BLW is not for us, as he doesn't swallow enough food!

And just realised that poor giantkatestacks had big problems last night. Is she better now? (Hope so - I'm sure she is seeing as 12 hours have passed!) I always give calpol if I suspect any pain (including v. bad wind) because nobody wants to be in pain, and calpol is a painkiller. Hope she's better. Was it definitely the egg?

Yes Giant, how is she?

Essie, I am with you girl!!

BTW, Theo was 50th centile at birth and went down to nearly 2nd centile as we started solids. He is not above 8th [grin[].

Your DS will get there, just try to find something that he likes and keep shovelling it in! Have you found anything (except banana custard)?

that should be now above 9th centile

Essie, how often is he BFing? Do you offer both breasts at each feed? As long as he is feeding every 3hrs he will not starve (unfortunately he is doing that through the night too though, eh?)

Have you tried mixing his food with follow-on milk and baby rice? I made my peace mith formula when I discovered how much they love it mixed with their grub (and they even drink it out of the bottle if there is any left after they have eaten ).

Hi all, I've been reading this thread since yesterday and have finally finished . Just wanted to say it's a great thread and one that I'll be watching. We're 1 week in and DD just loves her purees (rice, carrot, sweet potato).

Just a quick question: did you add breakfast or tea after introducing lunch?

hi there...just back from our 8 month check...and yes we're ok - sorry about the flappage - my dd never wakes in the night and so when she does and shes in such obvious discomfort then theres panic.

shes ok today tho as i say - just very grumpy and really quite wheezy...will wait til shes over 1 before I try the egg again...

Mookickkick - breakfast was next for us...

Hello again everyone, and hi Essie - was going to suggest you pop in here after your rant!

Giantkatestacks, glad your dd is better. Why does egg white cause problems, I have read several different lots of 'advice' as to when to introduce egg, so am confused!

My boy is loving his purees, salmon goes down well with mixed veg. I've found frozen mango chunks really useful, a couple chucked in with chicken and/or veg are v popular. We're also doing well with frozen sweetcorn, spinach and of course peas.

Mookickkick, we added in breakfast after lunch too.

Hi moonkick, We added tea after lunch, so that they had something 'heavy' on their tummies to help them sleep! It was just baby rice at first. But we added breakfast too pretty quickly after that.

Whinegums, where do you get frozen mango from? That sounds lovely.

I roasted some chicken thighs yesterday the removed the meat and whizzed it in the food processor, then added it to sweet potato and spinach today. It was a bit dry though. What veg would you put in to do a casserole? Are onions OK at this age (8mo)?

Hiya Neenz, frozen mango from Sainsbos - got some at Christmas cos I got frozen rasps for the trifle and all the frozen fruit was on offer at 3 packs for a fiver. It's been most successful, and cheaper than fresh or the stuff in pots or tins as you only take out what you need.

Onions are probably ok, but might be a bit windy! I use leek sometimes. Other 'casserole' veggies that go down well are parsnips, ordinary potatoes, broccoli, sweetcorn, carrots, etc and if you want it to be a bit moister, courgettes and cauli have more water in them. I steam veg for single purees, but if making a casserole simmer them in a little water and then use the cooking water when I blend.

whinegums - frozen mango is a brilliant idea - am thinking about adding that with some chicken and a little bit of cumin and coriander and yoghurt and you've got a mild curry really...

I think onions are a bit windy as well so in our casseroles we just have carrots, courgettes, broccoli, swede is a good one as well.

I cant remember what the exact problem with egg is though there's threads if you search in the allergies topic - its the white rather than the yolk so if you do an egg yolk omelette it could be ok. The advice is confusing cos nhs say fine from 6 months but lots of other countries not for a year or even two - I can see why now...

Urghhh, DS has just done a really 'leeky' burp - that'll teach me!

Mmm, chicken curry gks, might do that for me! Thanks for the advice on egg. Will try just the yolks first and see how we go.

DS often has onion in his meals and has been fine with them.

Hi all! Thanks for the support as well - the whole BLW thing was getting to me, and I was feeling like I was being strange and old fashioned with my purees. But as another (puree) mnetter said to me, I know how much Iestyn is eating without having to check his nappy!! And that's rather important because he's small.

We have lunch and tea, but haven't managed to introduce breakfast so far. Mainly because I'm a bit disorganised.

We've had a good day here on the feeding front. For lunch, Iestyn had half a jar of turkey and vegetable casserole, but then started blowing raspberries and squealing. (Don't blame him, he opened his mouth so as usual I shoved food in, not realising that he was gagging. Oops. It then came out of his nose.) However, undefeated, I thought I'd change to 'dessert', so he had half a jar of pear puree (with a bit of rice in as well). He loved it, and so I got him to eat mroe than his usual half a jar, and not just banana custard!
Oh, should mention, I'm a cheapskate recycler, because I use the Hipp jars to put in my own purees. Because I think the glass jars are pretty, and also to get a sense of how much of anything Iestyn is eating.

Neenz he slept well last night after his big sugary custard extravaganza. Not sleeping through, but till 4.30, and from his 4.30am feed through till 9! We also had our first 'real poo' nappy this morning. Lovely.
Still, I've not bought any more banana custard because I know I'm lazy and I'd just give in to it every time...
He's also on a strict 3 hourly bfeed whether he wants it or not during the day, and he's calmed down at night. I'm hoping the 3 hourly thing was a blip. (And won't happen again...! )

I'm no longer avoiding formula milk - because today I'm taking my frozen store down to the Neonatal unit at St. George's! It's because the freezer will be unplugged, and I can't transport the litres I have to Wales, and Iestyn isn't taking it from a bottle (still!). So it would be down the drain. But if when he takes a bottle, and I don't have enough, he can drink formula whereas the little preemies can't. Frankly, if he takes anything from a bottle, I'll give it to him. I tried some v. dilute apple juice yesterday. Nothing doing! He even cries with his mouth clamped shut when he spies a bottle nearby!!

Oh, Iestyn also has onions from our casseroles.

Essie, it sounds like things are getting better. Great news. I also use the Hipp jars to to put purees in as, like you say, they are the perfect portion size (and glass is better than plastic for storing food.)

So for a chicken casserole, do you just put a load of veg and chicken in water, boil it up and then whizz it?

Ladies, I cannot get my LO to open his mouth for food. He will open it for a toy and then I shovel a spoonful in. He then does eat it with no resistance. He will happily tuck into bread/toast but not much of it actually gets eaten which is my reluctance to purely BLW. Any tips or ideas? Wondering if it's a timing issue and he's too hungry/not hungry enough...

Amberc - how old is he? Is he having milk first?

I'm back again...for the last few days DD has refused to eat (after a great start). She will take it from the spoon but then sticks her tongue right out and it all slides out. Has anyone else had this?

I think she was hungry as she seemed to want more (and tried to drink fromthe bowl). I'm trying not to stress (but am) because all the other babies I know are eating loads.

Jingle - I wouldnt stress it - just slow down for a bit and dont force her - it really doesnt matter how much they eat - you could try feeding her before her milk feed though to see how that goes.

is she refusing to eat everything? pear?banana?sweet potato? natural yoghurt? what does she try and do if you put a soldier of toast in front of her - does she gum it or look completely disinterested?

Other babies are probably eating loads cos they started far too early...its not a good thing

gks - he is almost 7 months and we started at 6 months. He's on jars because I thought I would start making stuff once he got into it. He is not getting into it though!

Amber how about you try something other than the jars? We had a bit of a breakthrough with Iestyn and hummus! Quite bizarre, but maybe he likes the strong flavour, and some of the jars are quite bland. Just a thought!

Neenz I just made our normal casserole (veggie sausage casserole; I'm veggie) - sauteed an onion, added carrots, potatoes, apple, veg saus, and water (not stock), and I even seasoned with veggie Worcestershire, and a bit of mustard. Then whizzed a bit of it. Iestyn seemed to like it - more than the lovingly prepared sweet potato and yellow pepper puree I made specially.
So for all this BLW babies 'eat what you eat', er, I'm not finding myself making anything special - at least not every night. So if you're BLW, and having a chinese takeaway, I assume you don't give your baby that? You make special finger food, right? We don't eat the right type of food in our house for BLW. It's not meat, potatoes and veg here.
Oh - it is pasta quite often. Do people puree that?? Iestyn hasn't really had much wheat so far.

Jingle DS did this a lot to start with, and still does it occasionally. I think it's mostly because they dont know how to get the food from the front of the mouth to the back. When the foods slides out of DS's mouth, I scoop it back in. Sometimes it takes two or three goes before it stays in.

I try and angle the spoon upwards a bit when I put it in so it tips the food back a bit for him.

Amber I usually give him some milk to start to take the edge off any hunger, give him the puree and then go back to milk. Have you tried giving him the spoon? If S isn't too keen, I make sure he gets a few spoonfuls from me then I load up the spoon, give it to him and he puts it in himself. It takes ages and is very messy, but as long as I only put a little bit on the spoon at a time he gets there in the end. I have my lunch at the same time and a magazine to hand so I dont get bored!

Have asked on post-natal thread, but interested to hear what bread you all use for toast?

Essie dont know if there is a Lidl near you, but I discovered that they do packs of very small fairtrade bananas - perfect size for breakfast for babies. Just mash one up and stick in a bowl. No organisation required!

Liking the frozen mango idea whinegums - I'd been put off buying any because of the waste. Gutted though - as we threw a pack out in our last freezer clearout to make space for purees

Neenz - a bit of stock might have worked with your chicken and veg? S has had onions in his purees/soup too.

moonkick I did lunch breakfast tea in that order.

Hi essie AK does tiny pasta shapes that you can put in purees. They're sold in Boots.

Hummous straight into the mouth on a spoon? I have hummous - can try that tomorrow He can't live on that though and maybe if he likes it he won't eat anything else because of its blandness! He'll be on pureed vindaloos!