I must be doing it wrong... :(

[elk4baby]

Hi,

I need some advice on weaning my DS. I'm not sure what stage we're at actually... I'm doing something between BLW and traditional purees.
He's tried and liked baby rice, millet, splet, 3-grian cereal - all made on breast milk or half breast and half skimmed cow's. He's tried and liked fromage frais (plum - organic, sweetened with fruit, rather than sugar). Rice discs and baby rusks have had some good reactions.

Other than the cerals and the fromage frais, he doesn't like anything. At best, he tries what I offer him, but doesn't eat more than a teaspoon of it (cereal is consumed in tablespoons ). I tried different veggies, I tried different fruit and even white fish and chicken. Here's an approximate list:

• butternut squash
• pumpkin
• courgette with potato (courgette alone was very badly received)
• pear
• apple
• beetroot with apple
• sweet potato (he quite liked this actually, but not for long)
• parsnip
• haddock and chicken were both licked, but not eaten
• occasionally, a banana is shared with mum

I tried giving him pieces of and purrees of the above, but he just doesn't seem interested . Most of the time he just sucks his bottom lip in and hold his mouth very tightly shut.
I don't want to (and never have) force him to eat anything. But he's almost 8 months and it's getting me worried.

Could the food I'm offering be too bland?! How do you 'spice up' your little ones' meals?
Has anyonne else gone through a similar thing?

My DD1 was a very fussy weaner at 7 months. In desperation I asked my HV and she said she was 'bored' of the food I was giving her. I said how can she be bored of it (i.e., carrot) if she's never eaten it!!

So I bought the Annabel Karmel book (yes, I know some of you hate it) and never looked back. She was bored and once I started making curries etc she was well away.

Curries for a baby?! Really? I'll try something more 'exciting' then...

I just figured, that I have to get him used to eating the 'boring' food before he'll accept the likes of curry or pasta sauce or anything like that...

My first child didn't really like food much until he was well over a year old. He was a milk monster and loved cereal and yoghurt, but other than that he was fussy and pretty much uninterested in anything I gave to him.

I'd also say you don't have to follow all these guidelines about giving your baby plain, pure foods. I weaned my second child pretty much on whatever we were having for dinner (within reason - obviously nothing too salty or spicy), and she is a much better and more varied eater than DS.

Don't fret, though. Eight months is very young and some babies just don't 'get' eating until much later.

also try not to worry about quantity ingested - i had to chant the mantra "food is for fun until they're one" constantly. It's just a time for investigating and trying out new tastes and textures. Sounds to me as if you are doing a great job. Quinoa porridge goes down well in our house and is full of protein etc.

We are in Italy and here doctors advise weaning onto mush made with vegetable broth (for example a potato, a carrot, some greens, a courgette, a bit of fennel or whatever else you have to hand boiled in not too much water for about an hour) with added baby rice/ cereals gradually moving up to small pasta shapes. Initially you are just supposed to use the water then later whizz in the veg too... We waited till 6 months and are also doing a kind of half-hearted BLW so skipped all the mush business and went straight on to little pasta stars cooked in broth with added parmesan and olive oil before serving. I think it is damn tasty and have to hold myself back from munching it myself, ds also loves it. You can mix in other stuff (ricotta cheese, blended meat) very easily although I am not keen on feeding ds identical looking food which varies unpredictably in flavour! Lentils cooked with carrots and greens have also gone down very well, roasted veg sticks (in particular aubergine) too. And steamed broccoli florets. My rule is that it has to be something I'd want to eat (except in the case of meat as I am veggie). To be honest with you though my ds is a total glutton and has not yet refused any kind of food so is making our lives fairly easy in this respect.

One thing I would say though is really don't stress about quantities - stop thinking in teaspoons and tablespoons and just let him try nice stuff and enjoy mealtimes. He'll get the idea sooner or later and as long as he's having plenty of milk and putting on weight he'll be fine. Do you eat when he eats? He might feel more inclined if you are all eating together so he is copying you and he doesn't feel like he's being observed. The beauty of him eating what and when you eat is also that you don't feel you've wasted your time preparing something he won't eat!

Maybe he's like my ds and wants to be more in control - ds will have a firmly shut mouth if he's not interested in the spoon but pop a bit of milk roll smeared with cream cheese or a cube of cheese on his tray and he's away. He seems more adventourous some days than others, will eat roasted veg on his own happliy but sometimes enjoys spoons of casserole. We seems to have lots of waste but he's really getting alot in! Annabel Karmel's popeye pasta recipe is a major hit and a great way for them to eat spinach in - she has a website if you are interested in the recipe.
Also the best thing we have discovered is apple pancakes, recipe from the blw blog i think - 1 apple, 50g self raising flour, 1 egg, blitz and fry in a scotch pancake size. Ds is loving these as a mid morning snack too, mix a few blueberries in for variety.
HTH

DS2 isn't too keen on being spoon-fed (apart from yoghurt) but you can dip a finger of toast in anything, pass it to him and he'll wolf it down -- maybe worth a try?

I agree with MrsMattie. I followed all the weaning 'rules' with dd1 and, at 7, she is still fussy - will only eat bananas although will eat most cooked veggies. Ds and especially dd2 were just given smaller portions of what we ate as a family, whether that be curry or shepherds pie or whatever. Just mushed up with a fork. Ds and dd2 do have their likes/dislikes like everyone, but are much better eaters than dd1.