Isla Smilers BLW adventure

Fun with the bix

2008-11-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, Isla is better at eating than she was straight after being ill but shes not gone back to her "eat anything" self.
I guess it was inevitable really I had hoped I would be lucky enough to have a baby with no food preferences who adored everything I served her but alas she is a regular one. Loves yogurt and toast with jam and fruit. Not so keen on vegetables :P
The sweep your food all on the floor is a great game at the moment so I am careful not to load her tray up too much. I cant imagine the carnage that would be offering monkey her food on a plate O_O!
Tonight she refused pasta pesto all of it being flicked off her tray. I pretended to not let it get to me at all and instead handed her more. For some reason she loved it being handed to her and gobbled up every piece :) Maybe I need to go back to basics?

The picture is of what happens when Isla is set loose with weetabix!

Kali and Monkey Moo xxx

Sorry, sorry, sorry....

2008-11-08T01:01:00.000-08:00

Its been just over a month since I last posted on here, eek!
I think a lot of it has been down to the fact that theres less to say now. Isla has done amazingly with her eating. She'll eat three meals a day plus snacks, eat anything, stay in her highchair quite happily for the duration of the meal, drinks well out of her cups and so on.

Until a few days ago that is! She has been ill and there was a day when she ate nothing at all which stressed me out. I know its normal to lose your appetite when ill but to have Isla go from so good to nothing overnight was a bit much. Shes now eating a bit more but seems to have developed a fussy side! Fruit is good, toast is bad. Rice cakes are good, pasta is bad. Cheese is good, fish is bad.
Noooo, I dont want a fussy baby! What do I do?

The picture is of Isla (pre illness) devouring spooky spaghetti on Halloween alongside Freya and Ty.

Kali and Fussy Monkey bum! xxx

Pouches and frubes....

2008-10-06T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well at the risk of this turning into Isla Smilers teething adventure I'd like to announce the arrival of tooth number four (who popped out yesterday) and tooth number five who made its way into the world today. I cant believe how fast there appearing now, when will the teething end?
As you can imagine Isla has not been a happy bunny. She has been good considering (shes still my smiley, cuddly, ticklish monkey moo) but there are moments where you can tell shes in pain and all she can do is cry :(
I got a bit worried about food as last week she had been an amazing eater. Eating three good meals a day and doing me proud (in fact when we were out for lunch an older couple came over to tell us how impressed they were with Isla and what a well behaved baby she is!) so when it went downhill again I panicked. In my panic I bought some Ella's kitchen pouches as I thought maybe chewing was too painful for moomin. And gosh, I'm hooked. Now every lunch as well as some sandwich and some cucumber sticks I bring out a pouch and Isla will hold it herself and suck the contents out! I still see it as BLW as she is doing it herself and I suppose its quite similar to a thick smoothie. Also it seems to keep her going longer without milk which I guess is good.....
Another tip I have for teething is frozen frubes. I wrap them in tissue so there not too cold and then hand one over to Isla who happily munches away. She never finishes one but they are far more successful than frozen teethers which get flung away after a few seconds!

Kali and Mini me xxx

Tooth Proof!

2008-09-24T07:28:00.001-07:00

Heres the first picture I've got that you can see one of Isla's teeth in!
And since shes got them breadsticks no longer get slowly gummed for hours, nope, they get bitten and chomped!

Kali and moany monkey (well she is a bit of a teething nightmare today) xxx

Teething troubles.

2008-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Isla is nearly nine months and has been BLW for just over three months now. I cant believe how far she has come with her eating in a quarter of a year. Meal times are becoming more and more fun and Isla has been eating more and more until.....teething.
Monkey has two bottom teeth, one of the top ones has just popped out today and its neighbour is bulging and ready to join it. Poor moo is in a lot of pain and dinner times seems to end up with Isla crying most of the time :( Or getting annoyed and sweeping all the food off her tray. I cant really blame her though, I remember the pain of my wisdoms coming through vividly. And of course she doesn't understand and cant tell me whats wrong. Poor baby.

Breakfast is still quite popular though. We've got a routine of a piece of toast and a piece of fruit for Isla (and peanut butter on toast and tea for me). A favourite seems to be marmite on the toast and a satsuma. Isla loves her fruit and now goes straight for them rather than the carbs like before.
And she likes peas at the moment too. Though it can take little moomin a while to actually pick one up and half the time she drops it on the way to her mouth.

Kali and my Mommin Bubba xxx

A piece of pear

2008-09-08T06:10:00.000-07:00

I was having dinner with Isla last night. Aubergine quiche if your interested. And then I got out a pear for dessert, one of moo's favourites. I almost always cut slices off for Isla then pop them on her tray and she picks them up as she pleases. Well last night she was getting all annoyed and sweeping the contents of her tray on the floor (a good sign shes had enough!) so I was going to get moo out of the highchair when she leaned over and grabbed the whole pear (minus a few strips). Little monkey was much happier, turns out she no longer needs my help when it comes to pear, lol!

We've just had lunch and I tried Isla with baked beans for the first time. She grabbed a huge handful and smeared it all over her head and ear. Great look ;)

Kali and Mini Moo xxx

Isla has a tooth!

2008-09-04T02:48:00.001-07:00

As the title suggests Isla now has her first tooth :) Bottom left if your interested.
I noticed it Friday morning after a painful feed (the little madam bit me!) and it grows by the day. It hasn't really put monkey off of eating which is good. In fact cold carrot sticks are perfect for sore little gums.

Isla turned eight months on the 27th. Feeding wise all it going well. I still put out breakfast, lunch and dinner and Isla will now eat at every meal. The actual amount of food being consumed isn't huge and is certainly not enough to fill her up (she is still having breastmilk quite regually). But I'm not too concerned as moo eats almost anything put in front of her and in time I'm sure the amount eaten will creep up.

The food of the moment is cheese. She will happily munch away on a stick of it for ages. I gave moo feta for the first time yesterday and after a little nose wrinkle she was shoveling more in. Just like her mum, lol.

Kali and Treasure Island xxx

The food celebratory pose.

2008-08-26T03:02:00.000-07:00

How could I have forgotten this last night. Isla has a new very cute trick when she is eating dinner. Every few minutes she will pick up some food and then raise her arms above her head while looking extremely proud of herself :D
You cant help but do it back to her which can look strange when theres a few of us. Stranger still when we're in a restaurant!

Photo evidence is above.....

xxx

BLW in York

2008-08-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

Gosh, it has been so long since I last posted. Bad mummy!
Well we had some drama with flooding and as a result Isla and I upped sticks and went to stay with Joel's mum (Isla's grandma!) Pam in York. Joel then joined us about a week later and we have a few more days left till we will be back in London.

Sooo, as for baby led weaning....Well I have to say the first week it seemed like we were going backwards with it. There was no highchair so I was either feeding Isla on my lap (with her doing her best impression of buckaroo) or feeding her on the floor where she would randomly crawl off and mush her food into the carpet *sigh*. It got to the stage where I held Isla down on my lap and forced some weetabix in, totally the opposite to what BLW is about and Isla was not impressed. That night we went to mothercare and bought a fold up travel highchair.

Since the blessed highchair was put up eating has been back on track. In fact its better than ever. Its now just over two months since I introduced food to Isla and she is eating amazingly well. She has breakfast lunch and dinner and so far doesn't reject any food. The things she was unsure of (humus and egg etc) she will now eat.

Current favourites are yorkshire pudding and sage and onion stuffing (can you tell we had a roast yesterday). Pear is the number one fruit and carrot is winning in the vegetable category. Anything carb related is lunged on so i am careful to put lots of fruit and veg out and limit how much bread and pasta I put on moos tray. Oh, and fish has stayed a favourite.

Kali and Mini monkey xxx

Picnic in the fields.

2008-08-11T10:13:00.000-07:00

Isla's current top breakfast is Wheatabix. Shes had it served plain, with milk and with milk and blackberry's so far and all have been most popular. And since shes been eating it her bowels seem to be working really well, bonus!
The picture is of Joel attempting to feed Isla "the bix". As you can see he hasn't quite got the hang of BLW as his technique is more hold down and force feed!

Nanci and I took the babies to the park today for a picnic, perfect for baby led weaning. They had breadsticks and carrots with cream cheese and humus to dip. Finally Isla didn't pull a face when eating humus which is great as its eaten a lot in this house. They also had blocks of cheese, great for the calcium! I'm getting to the stage where I will happily start to cut breastfeeding down so I want Isla to like calcium rich food. I'm also trying to breastfeed moo every four hours (starting today) to see if some sort of routine stems from it. It hasn't exactly gone swimmingly but I shall persevere.

Kali and Isla Smiler xxx

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside :)

2008-08-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

We are having another glorious summer (tis down pouring outside as I type) so against our better judgment Joel, Isla and I went down to Brighton for the day yesterday. The car journey was not great, Isla does like to exercise her lungs when shes stuck in her car seat O_O. Thank god for finger food, I took some carrot sticks and humus, Nairns crackers and some Organix tomato snacks and they kept her quite at least half of the journey.

After a spot of shopping (we were dressed in summer clothes and it was freezing and storm like so Joel had to get a jacket and I had to buy some tights), a visit to some friends who have a seven week old (awwwwh, I was so broody!) and a walk around the lanes we went for dinner. We decided on Wagamama as its the polar opposit to all the rich french cusine we've had lately. And I'd heard their very child friendly. Which they were :) They have a place to put the prams and lots of those clip to the side of the table high chairs. They also had a fab and cheap children's menu, I ordered Isla the vegetarian cha han which is one of my favourites.
She seemed to really like the tofu and a good ten minutes after eating it she spat a chunk out that she must have squirreled away for later, lol! Monkey was a bit sleepy so didn't eat that much though, more for me :D.

We then went for a walk along the sea front and the pier. The waves were amazing, huge and moody. Isla seemed more impressed with the sea gulls though. Then we got totally soaked walking back to the car and drove home with a sleeping baby in the back, bliss!

Kali and Mini Wags xxx

Our holiday in Nice

2008-08-05T03:55:00.000-07:00

I haven't updated for a while as we were away in Nice, France.
Isla is now 7 months, 1 week and 2 days old.

So BLW while on holiday. To be honest I thought feeding Isla was going to be so simple, I've found eating out really easy and usually order moo a side of veg and give her some of my food. Only problem being that most of the restaurants there didn't have highchairs or do sides apart from salads. I find putting a selection of food out for Isla to grab very hard when shes on my lap as she just tries to pull my plate off the table. Anyway it was ok, Isla just usually ended up with some french stick to gum on (and she adores bread!). Not very nutritious but we were on holiday!
The other thing she ate a lot of was fruit pots. They had loads of pureed fruit in yogurt type pots which were seriously yummy. And quite similar to traditional baby food I'd imagine so not quite BLW but again, we were on holiday.
And lastly Isla tried some ice cream for the first time (yep, I'm a terrible mummy) and of course she loved it :) Well we were on holiday!

Now we're back I'm determined to get some veg in little moo. I gave her spinach pancakes for breakfast and she liked them so all the sweet food hasn't got her rejecting savory's *phew*.
Me thinks I need to make some veggie nuggets.....

Kali and Monkey Moo xxx

Pinchy Pincer

2008-07-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

So Isla has a pretty good pincer grip now. Its weird, I've stopped watching her like a hawk at mealtimes and without me noticing shes developed loads. I still sit next to moo in case of chocking but I no longer inspect every morsel that passes her lips. Maybe shes just relaxed without me taking a hundred pictures every time she eats!
Anyway, back to the pincer grip, yep, my girl is now picking up teeny little bits of food, go Isla! Batons still seem the easiest to eat though and monkey loved her carrot sticks at lunch time today. The butternut squash wasn't so successful at dinner time, she really doesn't like sweet veg.
Oh, and she is now recognising certain food. I put lots of different food on her tray at dinner (after she rejected the squash) and she went straight for the blackberry :)

Kali and little moo xxx

Pancakes rock!

2008-07-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

I got the recipe for porridege pancakes off of the BLW forum and they have been a big hit with Isla. I've made them with blackberry's, raspberry's, raisins and spinach so far and all have been devoured. See Kali Cooks for the recipe.
Isla had her first taste of pear today and seemed to like it. I dont know why I havent bought it for her before, it was soft and sweet and perfect for BLW.

The bad news is my little monkey is teething :( And at least half of mealtimes have been abandoned because moo is tearful and unhappy. Hopefully the food will help those teeth come through (not that I can see any yet!) but until then its non stop milk feeds and even more food in the bin and on the floor than usual.

Kali and Isla Smiler xxx

Beautiful Blackberry's

2008-07-17T01:25:00.000-07:00

Isla seems to now really enjoy mealtimes, which is obviously great! She gets excited when I put her in the hair chair (well, at least half of the time) and laughs throughout dinner. I cant put too much food in front of little moo as she will try and grab all of it!

The berry of the week has been blackberry's and they are very popular. I love them myself so this is good. Moo doesn't half make a mess with them though, I'm considering making meal time naked time and I think half her lovely little outfits may be stained for life (no e-bay cash back then!). But seeing giant red marks all over her body is slightly freaky too, until I realise it washes off *phew* I though she was allergic the first time as the juice does look quick rash like when smeared over ones body.

We are currently on three meals a day, though for at least one of them Isla wont be in the mood and will just throw her food about a bit. It can be breakfast, lunch or dinner that shes like this so I continue to offer food at all three.

Oh, and tried sweet potato again last night. Isla was not keen, most got a disgusted look then a hand mush and thrown on the floor! Well I though it was yummy.....

Kali and Mini Madam xxx

Isla the pescetarian

2008-07-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

It was my nephew Bobby's 1st birthday today and Isla and I went along to his garden party. She was a right little showoff and after amazing all with her nearlybutnotquitethere crawling skills little moo tucked into her lunch with gusto. My baby is no longer a vegetarian!!!! Isla had her first taste of fish in the form of tuna pasta. And she seemed to like it :)

We tried spaghetti again for dinner (along with courgette, red pepper and carrot sticks). I know, I know, thats carbs TWICE in one day, totally against our blocked bowel busting diet, but I didn't expect her to eat it. Of course she took great pleasure in grabbing handfuls of it and gobbling it down thus proving me wrong.

Kali and Mini Monkey xxx

A trip to the V&A musuem

2008-07-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

We went to the Victoria and Albert museum today with Nanci and baby Freya (who is two weeks younger than Isla and also being BLW). It was a lovely day and the highlight was definitely lunch time. I cant express how proud I was to see my little girl and her little friend tucking into their lunch, picking up food, chewing it, swallowing! Yes, a lot ended up on the floor, but so much got eaten, I was hugely impressed :). Nanci brought homemade broccoli nuggets (a huge hit with Isla) and strawberry's and I had cooked carrot sticks and apple with me. They also had a good munch on our courgette. So a very large and healthy lunch for two little babies!

I am slowly introducing the carbs again (once a day currently). Isla had a bit of pasta with her dinner last night and seemed very happy to have it back on the menu. She also tried mushrooms for the first time and liked sucking them but they were a bit too rubbery for proper eating. Well as long as she likes the taste. I love mushrooms, Joel hates them, so if i get Isla on my side thats two against one and we will have them for dinner every night "mwa ha ha"!

Kali and my Treasure Island xxx

Rabbit Food

2008-07-07T15:03:00.000-07:00

Isla has been on a strict veggie diet and it seems to be working. I think *touch wood* that the prunes and massage etc have worked and that her bowels are back to normal.

I'm now certain that I got too excited with the whole baby eats what you eat aspect of BLW. As soon as Isla turned six months I was giving her my food which is healthy enough but totally carb laden. Since I've been breastfeeding I've needed to eat so much more to be full, a salad will not do anymore! Which is kind of the opposite of what moo needs. So I've gone back to the start and its working well.

Today Isla had plum and prune for breakfast, watermelon at lunch time and cucumber, green beans and a spinach and pea nugget for dinner. Her ability to pick up the food has improved loads, even the slippy pieces and less is going on the floor. Oh, and a raspberry for dessert (she loves her berries!).

Kali and Munchkin Moo xxx

Isla tries puree

2008-07-05T03:03:00.000-07:00

First of all I'm very pleased to announce that Isla is no longer constipated, yay! She decided that she would like to go during nappy free time yesterday, no more needs to be said on that subject.

But I'm still worried that I've been giving moo food that her little stomach cant quite handle so bread and pasta are out for a little while and I will introduce them back slowly.
Isla does enjoy fruit, her face lights up when she sees an apple being cut up for her. But I'm still unsure of how much she manages to get in so in an attempt to get her bowels back to normal I got Isla an Ella's kitchen fruit pouch. She mainly fed herself (with me passing her the loaded spoon) but I hold my hands up and admit that I did help out towards the end. As much as I am enjoying BLW and think its right for us, at that time I was more concerned with Isla no longer having tummy pain so as the militant BLW's would say "I force fed her slop"! Lol! *disclaimer, I am not a militant baby led weaner and I dont think pureed food is slop*

Of course she seemed to love her overpriced pack of puree, and she took great pleasure in blowing raspberry's as she had a mouthful and spraying everywhere in a five meter radius with brown goop.

Oh, and babycakes tried avocado for the first time last night and liked it :) It wasn't as slippy as I feared either and she managed to hold it quite well. She did gaze at my pasta longingly though and give me mummy guilt. Its the eyes, those big blue eyes.

Kali and Isla Smiler xxx

Our first problem :(

2008-07-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

My poor baby is constipated. Apparently its quite common for babies to get it a bit when food is introduced but it can turn into a vicious circle as it hurts so they hold it in and get constipated even worse. I feel so guilty as I think it might be all the carbs moo's been eating. I always offer her fruit and veg as well as bread/pasta etc but I cant control which she chooses to eat more of. Yesterday I had lunch with my mums group and was getting myself a bit of french stick only for Isla to grab it out of my hand and start munching away. What can I say, she loves her comfort food (*hem*just like mummy.....)
So we are back to only fruit and veg and I'm going to take Isla to the doctors in the morning. I gave her some prunes to chomp on yesterday and today but it didn't work so I thinks its best to have her checked out before the weekend.

Food wise Isla is doing well. She has tried mango, plum, pumpkin, aubergine, sweet potato, roasted red onion, carrots, all in the last two days. And evil bloaty french stick!

Kali and My Babycakes xxx

Spaghetti....

2008-06-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

A continuation on the good eating. Isla had breakfast (porridge and apple), lunch (flapjacks and melon) and dinner and dessert today.
She had her first try of spaghetti which moo seemed to love playing with but was not so sure about putting it in her mouth. I also gave her some of the sauce which had a touch of chili in but it didn't faze her. She loved the courgette and the inside of the aubergine (the skin got spat out). Then my smiler had a whole strawberry for dessert and it was the first bit of food that got completely eaten, not a pip in sight when she was finished :).

Kali and Monkey Moo xxx

We have food success!

2008-06-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

As the title says today has been very successful food wise. We had a sit down family breakfast which was nice, scrambled eggs on toast for Joel and I and porridge and toast for Isla.
Lunch was a bit rubbish as we were out so I just had a panini in cafe nero. Gave Isla a bit of the bready bit to chomp on and a rice cake so it was a bit bland and boring for her.

Dinner though was great and has really given me confidence that BLW is the way to go!
I made savory flapjacks (see recipe blog) which went down well and a bit of big fusilli with a touch of pesto on the side. Isla was doing brilliantly picking them up and has gone from favouring her right hand to her left. Will she be a leftie like daddy?
Dessert was watermelon and she went mad for it. So much so that I got a bit scared as moo was trying to shove whole chunks into her mouth. It was the first food that shes really chomped chunks out of rather than gummed down on slowly. There was a scary moment when she started to gag and I had her out of her highchair in a flash and over my knee thumping on her back. She seems fine almost immediately, nothing came out so it must have been swallowed. But it shook me up a bit and I decided that was enough for today!

The pictures are (top) Isla eating pasta and (bottom) Isla devouring a chunk of watermelon.

Kali and Baby Cakes xxx

My baby is SIX MONTHS!!!!

2008-06-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

(and one day old.....)

To celebrate moo's six month birthday yesterday I gave her a bit of pasta at lunch. It was out of a pasta pot from the shop though as we were having a bit of a last minute picnic and it was a touch too mushy for her so not the great success I was hoping for. I bought some giant fusilli from Sainsbury's today so will try that tomorrow.

Today we met up with a friend and her nearly six month old baby and went to St James Park. I must have been the only true Londoner there, it was packed out with tourists. I gave Isla a plain rice cake (she loves them), some carrot, pepper and cucumber sticks (got a chomp but not much got eaten) and a bit of rye bread from my sandwich (NOT popular! I dont blame her for the disgusted look though, I only started to appreciate it a couple of years ago. It used to be one of those "weird" foods my mum liked, arrrgh, I'm turning into my mum!!!!). Then for dinner I was being lazy as we had been out all day and she got a piece of toast (see picture) and some more cucumber. It was her first try of toast, and I put butter on it, not sure if shes ready for that yet? And she seemed to like it. The cucumber got ignored, and so begins the slip into wanting only Mcdonalds for dinner, lol.

I know breastmilk is enough nutritionally at the moment and that Isla is just getting used to food buuuut, I cant help wishing we were at the stage where she ate more. I think a switch went off in my head yesterday when she turned six months old and now I feel like my milk isn't good enough. Moo will devour rice cakes but any proper food just gets played with. I know I am being impatient.....

Kali and my half a year old baby girl! xxx

Playing with Food

2008-06-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Isla has been BLW for a week now and we are still at the playing stage with a lot of food. She seems more than happy to devour rice cakes and carrots are quite popular too, but new foods shes still unsure about. I gave her courgette sticks tonight and one got a good chomping but not a lot actually seemed to be eaten. The same with the cucumber moo had at lunch time.
She tried bread for the first time today, we were having a picnic in the park with some mummy friends and all the babies got a bit of french stick each. What a surprise, they seemed to like it! No doubt she'll turn her nose up at the healthy seedy wholemeal bread I plan on giving her :P

The only part of the day with any real structure seems to be breakfast time. I've continued to give Isla the baby porridge and she is mastering feeding herself with a spoon. When she see's the next spoon I have ready for her she flings the empty one in her hand away and grabs the new one in a matter of seconds.

In two days she will hit six months (already!!!?)and I will start to introduce eggs, pasta, fish etc. And I will have to try and remember not to cook with salt and not to add too much chili and not to get too offended when she throws my lovingly prepared food across the room. I cant wait!

Kali and Mini Monkey xxx

Eating Out

2008-06-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

The weekend is here and Isla and I have been ladies that lunch. Yesterday along with Joel we went to pizza express, our regular family friendly haunt. Or not. They only had two highchairs (this place is huge) and both were being used so they gave us a contraption that sits on the chair and Isla has one strap around her belly. It was obviously designed for toddlers because she was either dangerously flopping around or strapped in so tight she was pasted to the back of the seat.
So we left and went to Browns. It might be a bit more pricey but the service is worth it. And we got a tripp trapp highchair to use, I've always wanted to test one out. It looked nice but I have to say I prefer my ikea bargain! Isla tried mash potato for the first time but after the intial mothful (with was shovelled in with great gusto) she lost interest. I thought mash would have been a lot more popular. The carrot sticks she had for dinner were better received.

Today Isla decided to prove to me that food is being eaten (those who are squimish, maybe skip the next paragraph) as there were bits of carrot in her poo! I was both stupidly happy that she is actually eating and filled with dread that the days of easy sweet smelling baby poop are numbered.
Breakfast was baby porriage. I probably wouldn't bother buying her the baby stuff but a friend had given me a pack. Anyway I loaded the spoon up, passed it to Isla and she put it in her mouth. After a minute of chomping (with most going all over her face) I loaded a second spoon and swapped them, thus starting a weird tag team system. It worked well though with a good amount being eaten and all spooned in by Isla herself. Phenomenally messy though!
Then we did lunch again, this time with Trisha and the girls in Mem and Laz a great little Mediterranean family run restaurant. The staff went mental over Isla cooing and clapping at her and the maitre d grabbed her for a cuddle. Isla living up to the uptight English stereotype freaked out until I saved her. We learned our friends were running late so I pulled a rice cake out to amuse moo, put it on the table while I put my bag back and when I turned around she had grabbed it off the table and was munching away. Oh the pride :D
I ordered her some carrot and broccoli but by the time the food arrived she was fast asleep on my lap. I'm not sure what to go for for dinner, maybe sweet potato again?

Kali and Isla Smiler xxx

Banana!

2008-06-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

Day three of food was quite similar to day 2. Isla had apple for breakfast and seemed a little more sure of it. Chunks were coming off but they seemed to take moo by surprise and she would spit them out. She continued chomping away though so I think its progress.
Then around lunchtime I was eating a banana and her big eyes focused and then her little arms were reaching and then voila, Isla was holding and gumming on a banana :D It got the best reaction of any food so far, she really seemed to enjoy the taste. I got a bit wary though as I know a baby who had an allergy to banana so I took it off of moo quite soon. She seems fine now but with high allergy risk foods I am going to play it safe.
Then for dinner I served cooked carrot sticks, how exciting. Actually these went down really well too, maybe Isla is getting the hang of this food business after all. She had about eight and all got gummed and mushed and eventually thrown on the floor. I think a touch might have gotten swallowed though, wooo!

I wonder how long everything going on the floor will last. Right now its ok as I'm only serving veg but when its lovingly prepared meals its going to get me down a bit more. I hate waste and already I seem to be throwing loads of food in the bin :(

Kali and Moomin Bubba xxx

Its going well

2008-06-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

As the title suggests we've had a good second day of food.
We went to Sainsburys this morning and I got all excited buying Isla fruit and veg thats easy for little baby hands to grab. I had a nose at the baby food section but cant say I was too impressed. Got Isla some organix rice cakes but couldn't see anything else I would want to give her just yet. I think I will go completely crazy when she hits six months.

So onto lunch, it was amazing apple :) Isla seemed quite happy with it picking it up and giving it a good gum (before throwing it on the floor) maybe even consuming a mouthful or two.
Then for a snack a few hours later she had one of her apple flavoured ricecakes. I had a couple too, they were yummy. So yummy that half way through my second one Isla noticed and grabbed the remaining half for herself. They seemed to disintegrate slowly as she gummed them (and made sooo much mess, I MUST remember to put a bib on little moo before food) so I think she managed to eat about a half.
Lastly (we were ambitious today) Isla had some super sweet potato for dinner. She tried some and seemed to like it but was a bit too tired and didn't last long in her highchair.

This morning Isla slept in till gone ten, which in case you haven't guessed is unheard of. Is this a reaction to food? Its weird, I had a few hours to myself while I waited for the munchkin to wake up and instead I stood over her worrying if she was ok! I dont remember how to sit back and relax.

I've added a few pictures of Isla's first try of apple. I love the change from, "hmm, whats this" to "yay, this is great"!

Kali and Isla xxx

Drumroll please.......

2008-06-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Isla had her first taste of food today :D

So I guess the countdown (9 days by the way) is a bit redundant. I just figured that my stopping Isla eating when she is obviously very keen and is ticking all the boxes was going to be counter productive. So this week I'm denying her the food she desperately wants and next week its ok? Weird logic right?

Anyway back to her first dinner. I went for broccoli florets and red pepper with the skin removed and cut into slices. I sat her in her brand spanking new ikea highchair (I could write a whole new entry on our eventful trip but will stick to the big news) and placed a few bits of broccoli and pepper down. Then Joel and I went ahead and ate our food trying not to stare at Isla too much and put her off. After a scary few seconds where she completely ignored the food she suddenly pounced on a piece of broccoli! It went straight in the mouth and got a good gumming :) After that excellent start she went on to try a bit more food in between whacking lots onto the floor and mushing some up. The broccoli definitely won out of the two, I think the pepper was a bit too slimy and got very cold very fast. I dont think there was more than a few baby mouthfuls consumed but shes got the right idea, yay.

As you can imagine I'm very pleased and proud of my moomin bubba. I'm confident I started this weaning malarkey when she was ready and I'm excited about all the meals we're going to share together in the future. It was nice to have the three of us sat around the table all eating, all happy, like a proper little family.

I'm going to stick to fruit and veg until Isla turns six months (so the countdowns not totally redundant) and then I'll start feeding little moo the same food as us (within reason).

Kali and her clever clever baby! xxx

Ooops!

2008-06-17T01:59:00.000-07:00

I left my mushrooms on toast right next to Isla, silly mummy! She dove straight for it getting a handful before I could blink. Said handful was taken off her before she had a chance to devour it and now I'm thinking, "why didn't I just let her get on with it"? Surely thats the whole point of baby led weaning, that baby leads the way and eats when shes ready. Doh!

We have decided on the ikea highchair (£11.99!) as it has been recommended by so many people. Thats a big weight of my mind, I was finding choosing a highchair to be almost as hard as choosing the pram was. Endless models, colours, gizmo's. It took the sales clerk two minutes at mothercare to convince me I needed a giant basket under my highchair, five height settings and a reclining position in case Isla falls asleep, ummm, really? Coincidentally the shops most expensive model had all those requirements covered, how handy ;).

I seem to be experiencing a huge increase in my milk supply. This backs up my thinking that Isla's been feeding more (I have no routine at all so am never quite sure how often she feeds). Is this a sign that shes in need of something more in her diet?

Anyway 10 days to go.......

Kali and Monkey Moo xxx

12 days to go.......

2008-06-15T09:11:00.000-07:00

......till baby led weaning starts!
I'm so excited its silly, I have 101 recipes I want to try out that are baby grabbable.

Today is Fathers Day and I made Joel and I scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast. Isla sat between us on her bumbo and tried to grab at the food a bit (as well as the salt and pepper shakers). Then after Isla gave her daddy his handmade footprints card (and fancy espreso cup, doesn't she have good taste!) we went out for lunch. Isla sat in the park cafe's highchair like a pro (memo, must buy highchair) and I scoured the menu for what I'll order little moo in a few weeks time. I settled on humus with cucumber, carrot sticks and pitta.
Am I a tad too excited?? No doubt moo will decide she hates food with a passion after all this planning O_O.

I have been ticking off signs that she's ready to wean and so far she 1. can sit up unaided (from five months) 2. takes a huge interest when we eat 3. swipes at food 4. can put a spoon in her mouth easily 5. passes objects from hand to hand easily.

Part of todays research has uncovered the theory that babies led weaning means weaning them when their able to grab food and place it in the mouth, so some babies will be ready at say five months. I didn't know this and thought it was always meant to begin at six months so part of me now thinks Isla could start today (or a few weeks ago even). Still with only 12 days to go and knowing how fast that time will fly by I feel quite determined to stick it out.

Kali and Isla Smiler xxx