Hints and tips for weaning (merged)

marywooyeah

The night waking is probably related to a developmental milestone - as you say, sitting up. Nothing to do with solid food.

my baby has only ever slept through the night once so him waking to feed is normal, its just that he normally feeds then falls straight back to sleep. he has been able to sit up since he was 8 weeks so i dont think that this is a developmental milestone, at least not in the aspect of him learning to sit up.
since i started giving him an evening meal he wakes up in the night and rather than falling back to sleep he tries to sit up like he wants to stay awake and i have to actively try to make him go back off to sleep. is this because of the evening meal?

i will try him on pureed carrot thankyou for the advice, hopefully that should get him to eat his greens (and oranges lol) :rotfl:

gemmaj

Hello, I'm after help - I've been getting myself all worked up about what I should be feeding my 1 year old baby girl. Everyone, everywhere says "just feed them what you eat" but that just really, really, doesn't help me!!!

I did some BLW but it all went wrong from 8 months ish and I ended up doing purees with odd finger foods. Until recently I was happy feeding (and Annie happy eating) purees and mashes of my food or meals I have cooked for her, which I feed her by spoon.

I am trying to puree and mash less, although I dont seem to be able cook anything tasty at the moment (before I could mash it with some cream chs etc and make it tasty, now it all seems a bit dry and basic). Also she can't eat some food unless it is pureed - chewy meat for the main. I have also tried getting her to self feed but its been a total disaster. If I give her the spoon she can feed herself from it, but she can't put food on the spoon herself (she won't even try). I have also tried letting her finger-feed herself but she won't eat much that way. One night she ate almost nothing for dinner and was up most of the night hungry and screaming.

Is it ok / normal for me to spoon lumpy chewy mush into her? Or is this not suitable for a 1 year old?

If at this age she should be "eating what you eat" (and how you eat it) how do I get around the fact that she can't chew through most meat, won't put food on her spoon and won't finger-feed herself more than a sampling of food?

Aaah, please help! I should be planning Christmas, not beating myself up about food!!

raffe

my lo was eating everything we ate at a year however every child is different, they all end up eating in the end, just try to go at a pace you find comfortable, what about trying stuff such as cauliflower cheese cook the cauli till its soft then it should break down fairly easily, macaroni cheese again if you slightly overcook the pasta is goes really soft, steamed chicken is a good one just cut up into fingers even if she just sucks it she is getting a taste, green lentils are good you could make a bolognese and use lentils instead of meat much easier for them to eat. fish in a parsley sauce with some mash, tomato pasta, you could try a baby fork with supervision it seem to take less coordination than a spoon.

hth raffe

money_saving_diva

Hi, when you say she is one - is she 12 months old or 23months old? This will make a big difference in peoples replies (I think). My lo is just 14 months old and he eats more of the sort of stuff we eat now but I still mush alot up. i experiement with what I give him. He eats sandwiches etc and will eat food and mush from a plate or bowl with fingers and attempt to use the spoon or fork I give him. So if she is younger than 18 months I would say give it time and don't worry! hth

gemmaj

1 yr and 2 wks at last count. Thanks for the replies!

3under3

Don't worry, she will do every thing when she is ready. My 3 didn't use a spoon properly at that age and one is still a bit cack handed at 18 months. Offer lots of finger foods, feed her some mush first so she doesn't get frustrated, little snacks of soft food like bread and butter, cooked pasta & veg, banana, pear. She might not be able to cope with chunks of meat but well cooked mince + rice, or shepherds pie etc might be manageable. Just try to introduce new things and if she doesn't like it offer again in a month or so - all of a sudden she might try it. When she starts teething she may go back to mush again for several days - mine have just done this at 18 months so don't think all your good work has been undone. As long as babies learn to bite and chew some lumps at this stage and get lots of food choices all will be well. You sound like you are doing a great job. x

lovethymini

I think the trick is not to get too worried about it (I know, easier said than done)

My health visitor said we could just all eat the same, but we still feed ds (and he's 16month) separately if I feel the meal is too salty or not healthy enough. I make bulk meals and freeze, things like fish pies & casseroles. I've got two Annabel Karmel books which are brilliant.

At 16 months, ds still needs spoon feeding if he's distracted/tired/being lazy, although he now needs no help eating his favourites such as yoghurt, ready brek or weetabix so progress is being made!

As for the beef casseroles or chicken dishes I make him, I find that despite having almost all his teeth he spits out bigger bits, so I mash them for him first.

mrcow

gemmaj wrote: »

Is it ok / normal for me to spoon lumpy chewy mush into her? Or is this not suitable for a 1 year old?

Yes of course it is.

It's 100% absolutely fine.

She's only one. They all develop at vastly differing rates. Some like being fed mashed up stuff, some refuse to ever be fed by someone else.

Just feed her whatever you think:

1. She'll like
2. She'll eat
3. You think is good for her
4. Isn't causing you too much stress (this should probably have been no. 1!)

She'll eat finger food or "normal" food when she is good and ready.

Liquorice_Twirls

The lessons we learned with our first child meant that the 2nd just "ate what we did" more or less from 6 months. I don't cook with salt anyway so could just chuck the potatoes and veg in the liquidiser fairly easily. You can add a little soft cooked chicken or fish to this, and say a cheese sauce or a little gravy (tho I know it has salt in) to make it less dry.
I think a lot of babies just over 1 do need mainly feeding and you can encourage and "distract" them from messing with the main meal by giving them a spoon with food on now and again or give them finger foods so they are joining in at the same time. Then if they can't be bothered at least they are being fed.
My 1st child got loads of ear infections and we honestly ended up feeding her the soft (not lumpier) Milupa dry food that you make up as anything lumpy made her vomit, usually as she was feeling unwell anyway. She's 15 now and thankfully manages without the Milupa now, what I'm trying to say is you will get there and don't worry too much about what you should be doing.
She is eating something and that's the most important bit.

fsdss

finely chopped up foods is the way to go - try and mash things now and dont worry about her gagging on it (as this is natural), then progress fairly quickly onto chopped foods over the next few weeks. give her a spoon to hold, she will eventually try and have a go herself, with some finger foods too (petit pois or such on the side), sit her in her highchair and join her eating. relax a little and make it a social event. she needs chopped up for her speech development. this is just her little way of gaining some control over something
(BTW dont leave her alone with her meal)