mosschops' weaning dramsa continue ....expert feeders please help!

[mosschops30]

my weaning with ds1 was terrible, at 12 months he was still eating 4month baby purees because he couldnt tolerate lumps and wouldnt eat finger food.
ds2 was fine with the puree jars but now coming up to 8 months so have moved up to the stage 2 jars and he hates them, hes not choking like ds1 used to, just clamping his mouth shut and refusing to eat, he'll have one mouthful and then nothing.
Its not his appetite because he will happily go on to eating yoghurts and biscuits/rice cakes etc.

Any suggestions are advice needed please
TIA

Have you thought about just offering finger foods?

Apols if this isn't what you want to do .

What finger foods have you tried?

Soft steamed veg - like broccoli florets and carrot batons, and soft roast veg like fingers of butternut squash or sweet potato are best

Aitch's BLW site is great for ideas and support

I just find that buying a pack of brocolli to steam a couple of florets that end up on the floor is a bit of a ball-ache.
Also dont have steamer
Also control freak who like to know what ds2 has eaten (and not down the back of highchair)

I've heard stage 2 jars are too lumpy so there is too big a transition from the stage 1. Why don't you mash it up a bit so you have something inbetween?

Or make your own stuff - probably tastes nicer.

He's not struggling with the lumps though, its just as if he doesnt like it
The food I make every evening I dont think would be any good for ds2, here's our weeks menu
Mon: chicken stir-fry
Tues: chilli and tomato spaghetti
Weds: salmon and roasted veg
Thurs: chicken casserole
Fri: Veg Jalfrezi

see we dont eat a particularly baby-friendly diet, apart from maybe the chicken casserole

Let go of your inner control freak . This is about him, and his eating and appreciation of food.

You can get a very cheap steamer that will go on top of you current pans, or you can steam in the micro in a pyrex dish with a little water and a lid, or just boil. Get frozen veg if it helps with the waste, or cook in bulk and freeze some yourself.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't eat much yet, he will once he knows what to do, trust him.

The only thing on your menu I wouldn't go with is maybe the Jalfrezi! Salmon is fab for babies. You might need to adjust your cooking a little to cut out too much chilli and any added salt, but other than that they can eat most things. Just try putting some bits in front of him and see what happens.

Pasta, cream cheese a dab of pesto and some peas is an easy one to start with

ok lion will give it a try.

What can I give? What do I do about meat cheese and fish etc. Dont want him to live entirely on veg
What do I do if he doesnt eat any of it?

so I can give him salmon???

do I feed him the pasta or just let him pick it up out of a bowl?

Agree. He is saying 'stuff your jars!' Perhaps he finds the mix of liquidy stuff and lumps disconcerting. I know DD2 did. She did much better with finger food.

DD3 literally ate what we did from 6 months. I kept my usual menus, but sacrificed salt & stock cubes for a while.

Start him off on some veg - just until he adjusts to this new way of doing things and he can practice his chewing and swallowing. Be prepared for some gagging - this is good - he is learning to control the food in his mouth.

Dependning on how he seems to be picking it up, move on to pasta dishes with sauce (fusilli is good for grip). Then before you know it he'll pretty much have a bit of what you are eating - meat and fish included. My DS is 9 months now, and there is very little of what we eat that I don't try him on (processed food and takeaways aside).

Oh, and lots of fruit of course - big fingers of banana, strawberries and grapes quartered. Apple slices fried in butter and cinnamon are good, or pear.

The golden rule is never to leave them eating by themselves. And relax, relax, realx and have the camera ready - it is MESSY!!!

Good luck

i cannot sacrifice the chilli spaghetti its out fave meal of the week, can I just put a bit aside and give him the garlic, tomato, basil and oil (lots of extra virgin in this dish) with his spaghetti.
Im doing it tonight so if I can do that I will.
Do I feed it to him?

agree letting him take the lead is fine
finger foods are great.. cheese is a great finger food and you can make lots of different mashed up /.pureed stuff for him to dip rice cakes/ toast/ breadsticks into

as long as he is still getting plenty of milk, all he needs now is tastes of food, he will get to be eating 3 meals a day in his own time

you could give him a bit of salmon flaked into chunks, with peas and some pasta shapes or mashed potato

he can use his fingers and yuo can use a spoon to get some into him, and give him a spoon too

chunks of chicken/ meat are fine too

spag bol/ lasagne etc can all be given and can be eaten with the hands

if you don't mush the mince round too much when making bolognese, it stays in lumpier bits, which are easier to pick up

deffo look at the BLW forum , loads of great advice and recipes

DD loved spanish omlette..eggs, onion, milk, cheese etc all in one dish.

You can buy packets of ready veg at the supermarkets too whihc you just pierce and stick in the microwave, green beans, baby sweetcorn and broccoli, all good.

I think your menu sounds fine for your ds, we're having veg stir fry tonight (i add soy sauce separately for me & dh), and had roasted veg a couple of nights ago, both fine for my DD. You may be surprised at how well they do with spicy food too.

Alos fruit very easy and goes down a treat - try strawberries, or slices of pear or apple, or peach, nectarine. If you leave the skin on they can hold them more easily.

lulu hes only having 3 bottles now, as has been eating 3 good meals a day up til we changed to stage 2 jars.

what if he just eats the bits of fruit I give him though and nothing else, surely thats not enough to keep him going

Yes to putting a bit aside before adding the chilli (I do that). Don't feed him, let him explore - he may not eat much initially (but his nappies may say otherwise)

Feeding babies spaghetti is just about one of the funniest things there is. It's amazing how they seem to know to soooock Or you can cut it into shorter pieces if that makes you feel more comfortable.

As Lulu says, you can spoon feed a bit if that helps you - but initally I'd lay off the spoon and let him get on with it. BLW purists say no spooning, but a compromise can always be reached - especially if they get a spoon to hold too.

so garlic and basil will be fine?

Totally fine He will love it - please come back and tell us how it went BTW

Babies are pretty good at regulating their own food intake ime. He might not seem to eat that much but he'll eat enough so he's not hungry.

if you do BLW, he can eat whatever you eat.. apart from v salty and processed foods and v v hot food, he can eat what you have

you could offer more milk if he has dropped his meals

milk can sustain him quite well if he is milk fed on demand and gets back in teh swing of things

garlic and basil are fine

when started with DD< i used to reserve some of what we were having and did not add salt/stock/ chilli etc

right off to start spaghetti, am in work tomorrow but will report back on thursday, wish me luck

Thanks for all the advice, if you think of anything else please post

I've found fusilli is easier than spaghetti when they're little as it's easier to grasp.

I gave DD penne and i made soup thicker with tiny pasta stars

i did give her noodles, at around 10 /11 mths, but spectacular vomiting ensued, i think she had part of the noodle in her stomach and part still hanging out of her mouth! so maybe stick to easily pick upable pasta shapes?