Hi all,
Hope the sun has been shining wherever you are. Master P and I have been taking full opportunity of the recent sunny weather and have been out and about going to the park, having picnics and just generally having a great time.
Master P is NINE months old today. Can you believe it!? How'd that happen so quickly? Nine months in, nine months out! And boy, do I know he's been out for nine months! Bless.
Since the last post when Master P was just six months old, a lot has been going on. The development of babies in just three small months is fascinating! Literally on his sixth month anniversary, he rolled over for the first time... now he's sat up, taking full centre stage of the lounge with his toys, babbling, laughing, dancing. He zooms around the kitchen in his walker like he owns the place. He knows what things are; he has great coordination and can take things in and out of his toy boxes, he can roll around on the floor and turn a full 360 degrees, but he his too chilled for crawling just yet, though we can see certain subtle movements which indicate to us that it won't be long...quick, lock up your daughters, and more importantly, lock those kitchen cupboards as he knows where the food is!
Talking of food, that leads us nicely onto the topic of WEANING.
Oh my goodness. What an experience so far. I was really looking forward to starting Master P on solids, considering my family and I come from a real foodie background and I would like Master P to grow up the same, and enjoy food and what it means to us.
However, weaning is a minefield. There are so many schools of thought out there on how you should wean (or not wean) your babies, that it can cause a fairly hefty migraine. Nowadays, parents are advised not to start weaning there little ones until they are 6 months old, with the minimum starting age at 17 weeks as before this, the babies stomachs aren't ready to take on food.
Now, I am sure that all new parents out there would have been told by their older family members what happened to you as a baby, what happened to your cousin, your neighbours boy, the little kid down the road and in fact the whole world when it comes to solids. Everyone has an opinion on weaning and when to start and what to give babies. And believe you me, you will hear the phrase, "well, it didn't do you any harm!". Sigh.
The important thing to remember is that every baby is different and when they are ready, they will let you know in their own funny little ways.
So, what has our experience been like? Well, we started weaning just after 18 weeks. To be honest, it didn't help that I was getting conflicting information from health visitors about when to start, so we went off on our own backs and gave it a go. If Master P wasn't ready, we wouldn't rush him, and we would take a step back. He was at that stage knocking back 8-9oz bottles and clearly knew where his mouth was.
I read a few forums, websites and books in the lead up to getting ready to wean. In particular, I found the Annabel Karmel books very useful for ideas and potential weaning schedules.
The first step was offering a little something after his feed at breakfast. Everyone was telling us to start Master P off on baby rice. It didn't go down very well. I tried it after the first failed attempt and I can see why! It's like wall paper paste! Poor lad! I wouldn't feed Master P anything that I wouldn't eat, and I certainly won't be eating baby rice again!
We found that fruit purees where a major hit, with just a little spoon of baby porridge mixed in. The first purees we started with were apple and pear, or a combination of the two. He'd half an ice cube of puree with a little porridge and formula milk. I would wholly recommend buying silicone ice cube trays! I'd make up batches of puree, freeze them, and them decant into ziplock bags in the freezer. At that stage, two pureed apples and pears go a long way. And using a microwave makes the process of making purees so much quicker! Peel and core the fruit, chop, place in a microwave bowl with a little water, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes, then blitz. Job done!
In the early days, Master P was a really good eater and really enjoyed his puree at breakfast.
Overtime, we got more adventurous and moved onto the following purees for breakfast and a mid afternoon feed: carrot, sweet potato, butternut squash, parsnip, mango, strawberry and so on. We'd try various combinations of vegetables, fruit or fruit and vegetables (parsnip and apple is rather nice). Half an ice cube turned into one, two, three cubes... out went the porridge and in came Weetabix and Ready Brek with mashed banana and whole milk.
One meal became two and then became three, and before you know it, we are down to two bottles a day, breakfast and bed time. We do a combination of Baby Led Weaning where he sits in his high chair and he has finger food to explore and eat and being fed from a spoon at present. He is also the greatest food thief going and has no shame when it comes to scrounging food from other people.
MESS. You have to let go. Feeding a baby is messy. It is an obstacle that no house proud parent can avoid. Accept it. You will have a happier and more content bubba if you do. Just go with the flow. Whats the worst that can happen? At the end of day it can all be cleaned up / washed.
At nine months, it amazes me at what Master P will eat. Obviously we are sensible about what we give him, but we do try most things if he shows interest. He loves houmous and olives; will clear fresh fruit off his high chair table in a matter of moments (so much so that I am often searching the floor and high chair for it, only to realise that he has actually eaten it all); yoghurt, scrambled egg, dried apple rings, cottage pie, spaghetti bolognaise, cheese, curry, fish.... the list goes on. I make sure that his diet is healthy and full of variety.
But, there have been many an obstacle along the weaning route... and we still have a very long way to go! No one tells you about weaning and teething. Just when you think you have a good eater, they start to refuse food, refuse the bottle, fuss at every feed and generally turn into the devil. You panic as the little one hasn't eaten properly for a week or two, and then a pearly white appears in their mouth. Master P is generally a chilled and laid back little dude, apart from when he is teething and it is literally a Jekyll and Hyde moment. And you feel for them as there is not much that you can do.
We've tried Calpol, teething granules, teething toys, chilled cucumber sticks, chilled celery sticks, cold water, cold flannel...oh, what haven't we tried? He's quite happy to chew on one of my kitchen wooden spoons. So far we only have two front bottom teeth, but the top teeth have been on the move for some while, we are just waiting for their grand appearance any time soon.
Their taste buds are constantly evolving too. One week they might like something, the next they refuse it. Their appetite changes, just like ours. One day they may eat like a horse, and the next, they may just graze. As soon as Master P has had enough, the lips are clamped shut and food becomes more of a play object, so there is no worry of overfeeding. We also ensure that one of us sits with him when he eats, or that we time our breakfast and lunch to coincide with his so that we sit at the table as a family. It is important to encourage them to eat and also give them praise. It is easy to get frustrated if they refuse food that you have made as you feel that you have wasted your time cooking, but it does take time and patience and if a food is refused, take it away and try it again in a few days time. Apparently it can take several attempts for babies to accept some foods.
Then there is the worry about choking. Luckily we haven't experienced any choking yet as Master P has a good gag reflex but I am sure that there will be a time. Make sure you read up on what to do if your baby is choking.
I generally do batch cooking for Master P and fill the freezer with various little pots for him. I found these ones to be really good and reusable. I do label and date everything as well.
Once we moved away from the purees, I started to make small batches of mince with tomato sauce which had a gentle blitz in the food processor to begin with so it wasn't too textured. Cheese sauce is also a good one as you can add it to vegetables like cauliflower or to pasta, mashed potato or steamed white fish. Homemade rice pudding goes down a treat too, and I have to hide it from Mr P as he is quite partial to it too!
There are some good ready made baby foods out there too and there is no shame is using them. We do have some in the cupboard for emergencies and especially if I want to try Master P on something new I will tend to use a pouch of food first just to see how he gets on instead of turning into a slave in the kitchen because as busy parents, we do have a lot to do!
Master P does enjoy Ellas Kitchen Lamb Tagine, and we have just discovered the Organic Plum range and they do some tasty meals of which I have also sampled! We haven't tried any jar food though. I do read the labels and make sure that there are no hidden nasties, sugar or salt in his food. I must admit the organic baby food is really good and there is always a supermarket who is doing an offer.
The life of a baby is constantly changing, with new hurdles to over come and to adapt to. Just when you think you are getting into a good routine..Wham! All change!
It's never a dull day in the Pengelly household.
Have fun, you are all doing a great job.
See you soon,
Nic xx
xxx
