Where we are with weaning

I bet you can't say that three time's in a row! What a tongue twister! Anyway, today I thought I would update you on how we are getting on with weaning our Noah. 

As you may or may not know we begun weaning at 4 months which is earlier than they recommend these days but at the time I felt he wanted more than milk. I introduced solids very slowly and no tasters or meals replaced any milk feeds for the entire first month. Noah's first tastes were pear, carrot and porridge and he took to food straight away. He didn't seem to have to learn what the spoon was he just knew what to do. 

The following few months I gradually introduced more and more different tastes. Starting with just a one fruit or veg puree and then mixing different fruits and vegetables together to create a bit of variety. 

I held off on dairy and meat until 6 months and his first taste of meat was lean mince meat that I cooked in a baby friendly spaghetti bolognaise. At 6 months we also introduced finger food and mashed / textured food which replaced puree's. We had no issue going from smooth puree's to lumpy foods and he seemed to relish the change. At first I was so terrified of introducing finger foods as I was so scared of him choking but you soon feel more comfortable with it. Noah has a habit of shoving far too much in his mouth and I tend to have to scoop a little out with my finger. 

Now at 7.5 months old and will eat or have a go at anything! He absolutely loves his food and we joke that his mouth is an ever open door! You don't have time to get more food on the spoon before his mouth is wide open waiting for more. His favourite foods are; strawberries, toast, tomatoes, cheese, pasta and porridge. We have yet to come across a food or taste that he doesn't enjoy. The closest we have got to a dislike is when we tried baby cereal this week. I don't think he understood the texture and was spitting it out everywhere! 

I think puree's and spoon feeding is almost looked down upon these days but I don't really understand why. They say spoon feeding is "force feeding" yet I am sure if your baby is sat there with his mouth wide open, bouncing in his high chair he's pretty happy to eat what's on the spoon! I can see pro's and con's but for us this has worked. I've weaned my first child in a way that was comfortable and right for the both of us. He has a fantastic appetite, likes everything you feed him, will feed off a spoon and will feed himself. There are things I would of done differently but on a whole I am very happy and proud with our weaning journey so far. I just hope he's such a good eater when he's older! 

First tastes: Spaghetti Bolognese

As you may know we chose to wean Noah at 4 months old as we believed it was the right time for him. In that first month he only ate one meal a day, usually porridge or a veg/fruit puree and those solids didn't replace any milk feeds. In the 2 months following he gradually ate more and more and was introduced to many new flavours. From day one he showed a genuine interest in food. He knew what that spoon was the first moment he saw it, his mouth opened wide and to be honest it hasn't closed since! He really loves his food. 

I decided to wait until he was 6 months old before I gave him any meat as I know it will be a lot harder to digest. The thought of feeding him meat made me feel a bit funny too for some reason. I knew his first try of meat had to be in a meal I cooked from scratch. I decided to make him one of our favourites; spaghetti bolognese. It was also his first "proper meal" as he had only had mixed veg puree's and fruit before hand. Here is my yummy baby friendly recipe-

Ingredients: 

Lean mince meat

Onion

Garlic

Mixed Herbs

Chopped Tomatoes 

Tomato Puree

Fry light 

Spaghetti Pasta

Directions: 

Fry onions and garlic gently in a little fry light. Add mince meat and cook thoroughly. Once browned add chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and mixed herbs. Simmer gently whilst you wait for the pasta to cook.  Once I had separated Noah's portion I added salt and pepper to ours. Serve and enjoy! Noah certainly did! 

I chose not to BLW Noah as I didn't feel comfortable doing so. Perhaps it's because I am a first time Mum and a rather panicky one at that. Maybe the next baby I will be a bit braver, who knows. So we've gone down the traditional route and so far it's working for us. I decided to spoon feed the bolognese and let Noah explore the spaghetti. 

He was rather unsure about the spaghetti at first as you can tell by his expression. He would touch them and they would stick to his hands. He did try to put some in his mouth but next time I won't cut them as small so he might have a bit more success. 

The bolognese went down a treat, he devoured it. I had blended it up for him but it was more like a paste rather than a puree. After he ate his fill we poured the remainder on his tray to let him explore and play with the food. I hoped he would try to eat some but he didn't. He just smushed it around with a rather disgusted look on his face. He will get there. All in all Mummy's spaghetti bolognese went down a treat!

What where your babies first tastes? Did you go down the traditional side of weaning or did you try babyled weaning?