As we decided to do (our version) of baby led weaning, we jumped right in to three meals a day, and I have to say finding time to fit breakfast and lunch in for Isabelle has really thrown me! Until she started eating, breakfast for me was a bowl of cereal shovelled in as we got ready to leave the house, and lunch was generally either non-existent, or something we had when out with other people. So it has been a challenge for me to rethink our morning schedule, in particular, to make sure we have enough time to have breakfast together. As Isabelle feeds herself, I like to leave 30 minutes for each meal, as she will have a chomp, then talk for a few minutes, then stare at the dogs, then the cat, then the washing, then another chomp...so it can take a while!
Overall, I am really pleased with her progress. I've noticed her motor skills improving a lot over the last three weeks as she works out how to pick various things up, and she is improving her skills every day. She has the whole "bite, chew, swallow" thing down to a tee and - touch wood - hasn't choked on anything yet. I did have to manually evacuate an orange segment after 15 minutes one day however, although only because we were going out! She was happy as anything rolling it around in her mouth!
The list of foods she has tried grows every day - from apples to avocados, cheese to celery, melon to mince, toast to tomatoes, grapes to green beans, and plums, pears, potatoes, peaches and pineapple and a whole host more - the kid has had a LOT!
So far, her favourites seem to be:
*plum
*orange
*strawberry
*cucumber
She will give almost everything a go, but so far she has refused to put broccoli into her mouth, and wasn't to interested on her first try with meat either. It's weird as she will pick up broccoli and feel it, but it is the only thing (I think in the whole house!) that she won't even try to stick into her mouth. The only other thing she has hated is yoghurt, which actually led to her crying!
Because we follow baby led weaning, at the minute she isn't eating huge amounts, but what I love is that she is very clear on when she has had enough; she simply won't pick up, or take from us, any more food. Some days she will attack her food like a ravenous beast, other days she isn't interested, but she still get plenty of milk and has managed to put on half a pound in one week, so we aren't at all worried!
She has also taken to drinking water well. We use a Doidy cup rather than a sippy cup, and she has started to indicate when she would like some water, and holds the handles well. Every day she dribbles a little less out, and gets a little more down, and she has actually out-peed a few nappies very quickly this week due to the amount she is drinking.
All in all then, she is doing wonderfully well. Both Simon and I are so happy we have chosen the baby led approach to weaning - it's hassle free from our point of view (save the cutting up of fruit/veg into a few stick shapes!) and has made our meal times such a lovely family time which we can all enjoy.
Over the next few weeks we hope to move her on to more 'meal' type foods, with the hope that by Christmas, she is eating the same meals as we are all, as much as possible. Stay tuned to see how she (and I!) get on!
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