So we’re about 2 weeks into the world of weaning and so far it’s been great, messy fun. I am constantly amazed at how my baby boy, is now longer a baby… I mean he’s sitting in a high chair banging the living shit out of everything he can get his hands on and interacting with the world in a super curious way. It is literally astounding to watch him as he grabs for everything. I mean it’s as if he always has to have something in his hands or mouth, including large clumps of my hair… between him and the hormones I am heading for Britney-esque baldsville circa 2007, pronto.
But, this huge shift in Thomas seems to have snuck up on me in the night. I mean he will be six months this week… how the hell did that happen? How did he suddenly go from little bundle, to a bouncing ball of limbs that now have a very strong mind of their own?
However it happened, solids are upon us and I don’t know about you, but I’m finding the whole thing a bit confusing. There’s so much conflicting information about what to give them and what not to give them. Puree or Baby Led Weaning (and to be frank the prospect of choking at this early stage scares the crap out of me so I'm giving BLW a wide berth for now) What about meat and dairy? Should he have a drink of water now? To sterilise all the equipment or not? No honey until they reach one year old (to which my parents deploy the well-worn eye-roll and tell me I had honey on my soother well before one.) And don’t even get me started on trying to now time all the bottles and the food… it’s as if I am constantly feeding him! It reminds me of when my husband and I were on safari and we counted up that they fed us about nine times a day! I was like a beached whale by the time I left!
I’m tired just thinking about it and despite reading 3 weaning books, I still feel like I am totally winging it. But so far it’s been a happy experience. I’ve tried baby Thomas with the following tastes –
Mango – a big hit
Parsnip – a moderate success
Carrot – a surprising thumbs down, but will try it again
Pear – a major hit
Sweet Potato – a big yes
Banana – a bit so-so
Porridge – he enjoyed it
Baby rice – wasn’t overly keen and it made him constipated!
Prunes – a lifesaver after said constipation!
Peas – he looked these too
Peaches – a resounding yes
This week I’m hoping to try him with cauliflower, avocado, broccoli and carrot for a second time, although I read that you may have to offer certain tastes up to 19 times before a baby might begin like it!
So far it really has been huge fun and such a welcome step-change from boring bottles. I think it’s a great transformation for him too, he’s so interested in everything I am putting into my mouth and just wants to participate. But while these first tastes are relatively easy and more about introducing flavours than anything else, it’s when the process moves on, is where I start to get hazy about what the hell I should be offering him and how much he should be eating! I mean as it is he is finishing off quite a bit of food already as opposed to just one or two small spoonful’s!
Oh well, as I’ve learned this baby business is all about going with your gut – despite the amount of books out there, not one of them is a magic manual with all the answers.
What about you? How is your weaning journey going?