It has happened. My once good, well rounded eater has been replaced by the carbmonster. Where he used to love his veggies and meat, he now will toss them aside for the cats or the floor to eat. Some nights it seems like he has eaten nothing. Hand him a Ritz, a piece of bread, or his new fave, a Vegetable Thin and he'll inhale that thing quicker than I can pick a cast aside piece of strawberry off the floor.
All is not lost though because he still has a love affair with all things briney. Pickles, awesome! Olives, heaven! Seriously, what kid passes up a nice juicy strawberry to nom on a Kalamata olive? Oh yeah, my kid.
The carb addiction must be a toddler thing because I see posts about other babies his age doing the same thing. When I start to worry about his nutrition, I just comfort myself my being glad we are still nursing. At least he's eating something other than Nabisco/Christie products. Maybe they'd like a spokesbaby.
Showing posts with label BLW. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLW. Show all posts
6/28/10
4/8/10
BLW Update 3/22 - 4/7
This is another small update of new food items. At the end of the month I'll be updating the large list to show all of the foods Sebastian has eaten over our 3 1/2 months of BLW.
Homemade mac and cheese ♥
Cheeseburger
Grapes ♥
Strawberry ♥
Dill pickle ♥
French toast
Cauliflower (both raw and cooked)
Pork loin
Cherry jello ♥
Baked zitti ♥
Tuna salad
Zucchini
Refried black beans
Cheese Enchilada
He loved the strawberry but it made Sebastian, his highchair, and the floor look like a murder scene. I then got paranoid about allergies, which I normally don't, and panicked about letting him try strawberries before age one. So while he was fine and had no reaction to the berry I may wait a month or so before giving him another one.
Easter evening we had some cherry Jello as a dessert. I used a bowl that my Grammy gave me. It was hers for years and I had always liked it as a child because it was so pretty. I had my first Jello out of that bowl and my grandmother would always tell the funny story about my first reaction to it. So, I was looking forward to the day I could make Jello (yes, lame I know) for my own child. Alex was not thrilled with the idea because of all the sugar and junk in there but in the end he realized one bite was not going to kill Sebastian.
What is this silly stuff?
You expect me to eat this?
I love Jello!
This week we went out to dinner at Swiss Chalet. Since it was an impromptu dinner I didn't have a sippy cup with me so they gave us a covered glass with a straw. I wasn't convinced he would get anything out of it but, to my surprise, my 9 month old baby used that straw like a pro. We tried it again yesterday at East Side Mario's even though I came armed with a sippy and he did just as well.
I've been really happy to get feedback (both here and on the message boards) from many of you who read my BLW blog posts and thrilled for those of you who have found success with BLW either by starting on your own or by being encouraged or influenced by our experiences. My husband keeps telling me to start a specific BLW blog but I don't know if that would be overkill. Anyone have thoughts on that?
Homemade mac and cheese ♥
Cheeseburger
Grapes ♥
Strawberry ♥
Dill pickle ♥
French toast
Cauliflower (both raw and cooked)
Pork loin
Cherry jello ♥
Baked zitti ♥
Tuna salad
Zucchini
Refried black beans
Cheese Enchilada
He loved the strawberry but it made Sebastian, his highchair, and the floor look like a murder scene. I then got paranoid about allergies, which I normally don't, and panicked about letting him try strawberries before age one. So while he was fine and had no reaction to the berry I may wait a month or so before giving him another one.
Easter evening we had some cherry Jello as a dessert. I used a bowl that my Grammy gave me. It was hers for years and I had always liked it as a child because it was so pretty. I had my first Jello out of that bowl and my grandmother would always tell the funny story about my first reaction to it. So, I was looking forward to the day I could make Jello (yes, lame I know) for my own child. Alex was not thrilled with the idea because of all the sugar and junk in there but in the end he realized one bite was not going to kill Sebastian.
What is this silly stuff?
You expect me to eat this?
I love Jello!
This week we went out to dinner at Swiss Chalet. Since it was an impromptu dinner I didn't have a sippy cup with me so they gave us a covered glass with a straw. I wasn't convinced he would get anything out of it but, to my surprise, my 9 month old baby used that straw like a pro. We tried it again yesterday at East Side Mario's even though I came armed with a sippy and he did just as well.
I've been really happy to get feedback (both here and on the message boards) from many of you who read my BLW blog posts and thrilled for those of you who have found success with BLW either by starting on your own or by being encouraged or influenced by our experiences. My husband keeps telling me to start a specific BLW blog but I don't know if that would be overkill. Anyone have thoughts on that?
3/21/10
BLW Update 3/8 - 3/21
We are starting to get into combinations of solids now rather than only individual ingredients such eggplant and pear and a piece of meat. The past two weeks Sebastian has enjoyed quite a few new recipes and seemed to like most all of them.
Again, hearts indicate favorites.
Greek salad
Tunafish casserole ♥
Croissant
Ratatouille ♥
Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes ♥
Sesame seed bagel
Celery ♥
Egg salad sandwich
Veggie lasagna ♥
Yeah, Greek salad was not a hit. The lettuce was too hard for him to manage and it kept getting stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Sebastian much preferred his green bean. We steam a couple for 20 seconds in the microwave and he loves them.
Eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day
I've noticed that he is very aware of what he is eating in comparison to what we are eating and will get upset if what he is eating is different from what we are eating. For example, if we have grilled cheese and soup, he can have the grilled cheese but not the soup. I'll make him a vegetable in place of the soup but he doesn't like that it's different.
Again, hearts indicate favorites.
Greek salad
Tunafish casserole ♥
Croissant
Ratatouille ♥
Corned beef and cabbage with potatoes ♥
Sesame seed bagel
Celery ♥
Egg salad sandwich
Veggie lasagna ♥
Yeah, Greek salad was not a hit. The lettuce was too hard for him to manage and it kept getting stuck to the roof of his mouth.
Sebastian much preferred his green bean. We steam a couple for 20 seconds in the microwave and he loves them.
Eating corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day
I've noticed that he is very aware of what he is eating in comparison to what we are eating and will get upset if what he is eating is different from what we are eating. For example, if we have grilled cheese and soup, he can have the grilled cheese but not the soup. I'll make him a vegetable in place of the soup but he doesn't like that it's different.
3/8/10
BLW Update 3/1-3/7
More new foods were tried this week. Again, favorites are marked with a heart.
Salsa chicken with black beans
Corn
Spanish rice
Summer sausage ♥
Chicken balls with sweet and sour sauce ♥
Egg roll (veggie)♥
Fried won ton
Beef and peppers with garlic black bean sauce ♥
Chicken fettuccine alfredo with sun dried tomato sauce♥
Yogurt with granola
Wheat english muffins
Sebastian really liked the chinese food, even though we didn't so much since it was a new place for us. He also loved the fettuccine alfredo and cried when his tray was empty. I can't say he ate it all since a lot ends up in his bib pocket. I'm glad he is enjoying so many different flavours. Again Alex and I agree that BLW was one of the best parenting choices we have made. Sebastian still tries everything placed in front of him and he hasn't gagged in weeks.
The only new food he hasn't liked much was the homemade spanish rice. We are thinking it was too spicy. Alex said next time he makes it he'll cut down on the spices.
Salsa chicken with black beans
Corn
Spanish rice
Summer sausage ♥
Chicken balls with sweet and sour sauce ♥
Egg roll (veggie)♥
Fried won ton
Beef and peppers with garlic black bean sauce ♥
Chicken fettuccine alfredo with sun dried tomato sauce♥
Yogurt with granola
Wheat english muffins
Sebastian really liked the chinese food, even though we didn't so much since it was a new place for us. He also loved the fettuccine alfredo and cried when his tray was empty. I can't say he ate it all since a lot ends up in his bib pocket. I'm glad he is enjoying so many different flavours. Again Alex and I agree that BLW was one of the best parenting choices we have made. Sebastian still tries everything placed in front of him and he hasn't gagged in weeks.
The only new food he hasn't liked much was the homemade spanish rice. We are thinking it was too spicy. Alex said next time he makes it he'll cut down on the spices.
3/1/10
BLW New Food List 2/20-2/28
Time to update our BLW food list as we've introduced a handful of new foods. Again, I've marked favorites with a heart.
Homemade Mac and Cheese ♥
Spinach
Mango ♥
Sloppy Joe w/out bread
Chicken stir fry with rice ♥
Pineapple
Toast with Apple butter
California rolls
Kappa Maki
Homemade Mac and Cheese ♥
Spinach
Mango ♥
Sloppy Joe w/out bread
Chicken stir fry with rice ♥
Pineapple
Toast with Apple butter
California rolls
Kappa Maki
2/19/10
The New Foods Keep Coming
Since Sunday we've tried a few new meal items for Sebastian so I thought I'd update them here rather than add them to my previous blog post.
This week he's tried:
tunafish sandwich ♥
taco
kiwi
spaghetti ♥
This week he's tried:
tunafish sandwich ♥
taco
kiwi
spaghetti ♥
2/14/10
Baby Led Weaning Update
I've been meaning to make a post about our progress with Baby Led Weaning and now have a chance to sit down and do so. Naps are so few and far between these days.
Baby Led Weaning, or BLW, is poorly named because when people hear you are following it they assume you are weaning your child from breastfeeding which isn't BLW at all. Sometimes you'll hear it being referred to as Baby Led Solids which I feel is a much better term. Instead of spoon feeding your child purees you are giving your child table foods and allowing them to eat along with you. Studies have shown that this affords children the opportunity to explore different tastes and textures of foods. BLW children are said to be less picky with their foods. This makes sense to me because often pablum and purees seem tasteless or a far cry from their fresh counterparts.
With BLW you offer your child foods and allow them to choose what they want to eat. You do not feed them, but allow them the power to feed themselves. For example, instead of feeding Sebastian yogurt from a spoon, I load the spoon and either set it down or hold it out for him to grab. He puts the spoon in his own mouth.
In the beginning you don't expect babies to eat much of what is placed in front of them (Most of their nutrition up to a year comes from breastmilk or formula anyway). They usually just explore it. Sebastian doesn't play with his food much, nor does he drop much on the floor if he's in the mood to get down to business. He does taste everything and mash it into his mouth. He will take bites of things and roll it around in his mouth and suck on it. Sometimes I'll find a piece a few hours later that he's stored like a chipmunk.
So while he isn't swallowing much I do find evidence of it in his diapers more and more each week. I think that will just come with time. He has mastered use of his sippy cup, however, and loves totting it around to get sips of water now and again. He tips his head back and everything. Of course he also tries to drink out of any cup or bottle we are drinking out of which makes morning coffee consumption a bit difficult.
As for the foods he's tried, I'm very impressed with his list and impressed by what he seems to like and will "eat". He'll try anything you place in front of him and there are only a few thinks he's ever made a face at (but then will try it again anyway). The following is our list of foods, his very favorites have a heart next to them. Most veggies we steam though some we roast, like the squash. Most fruit will be given to him with the skin and rind on so he can get a better grip of it.
Vegetables:
Green beans ♥
Carrots
Broccoli ♥
Sweet potato (has to be mashed and he's not into that texture)
Lettuce
Cucumber ♥
Asparagus
Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Acorn squash
Eggplant ♥
Fruit:
Avocado
Apple
Peach ♥
Nectarine
Cantaloupe ♥
Asian pear
Bartlett pear
Banana
Honeydew melon
Tomato
Grains:
Wheat bread
Rolls
Whole wheat pasta
Crackers
Flat bread
Mum mums
Cinnamon raisin bagel
Meats:
Ham ♥
Roast turkey
Roast beef
Ground beef
Breaded fish
Chicken (roast and pan cooked)
Pork roast
Hot dog (small piece due to all the crap in them)
Dairy:
Cheese
Yogurt (various flavours)
Various:
Pizza (homemade including crust)
Grilled cheese ♥
Pancake
Meat pasta sauce
Cheesy potatoes
The few foods he didn't seem to like after a few tries were avocado, sweet potato, and banana. I suspect it's because of the texture. We'll keep trying those out periodically to see if he changes his mind.
Here he was double spooning. He does pretty well with holding the spoon correctly but sometimes will ignore the handle to feel the fun stuff on the spoon. After this he offered his spoon of yogurt to the cat.
This was his first try of broccoli. He got the hang of it right away and will eat both ends. It's a good food to start with because they have good handles that allow babies to get a good grip.
Mmm banana, or not. I give it to Sebastian cut in half with a fourth of the peel peeled away so he has a peel covered handle. Banana on its own was too hard to handle. As you can see by his face he wasn't liking it. This was around the fourth time we tried it. By the way, banana stains. It leaves weird black flecks on clothes. Who knew?
Another broccoli shot. He does love his broccoli. He can always have mine.
This is what gagging looks like. At first it's scary and luckily for us it doesn't happen often, however, once you settle down and realize it's the child's way of preventing choking, it's pretty cool to watch. You can see the bit of broccoli he has on his tongue. It was too big and he slowly moved it forward until he could spit it out.
"Millions of peaches...", yeah Sebastian would be happy. He loves fresh peaches.
We are still thrilled with our choice to BLW and can see that it works for us and for Sebastian. Alex says that he only wishes he knew about it when his older kids were little because he loves it so much.
For those that are interested in learning more, check out the following websites:
Gill Rapley's Original Paper on BLW (Dutch site with lots of info)
babyledweaning.com with forum
Baby Led Weaning, or BLW, is poorly named because when people hear you are following it they assume you are weaning your child from breastfeeding which isn't BLW at all. Sometimes you'll hear it being referred to as Baby Led Solids which I feel is a much better term. Instead of spoon feeding your child purees you are giving your child table foods and allowing them to eat along with you. Studies have shown that this affords children the opportunity to explore different tastes and textures of foods. BLW children are said to be less picky with their foods. This makes sense to me because often pablum and purees seem tasteless or a far cry from their fresh counterparts.
With BLW you offer your child foods and allow them to choose what they want to eat. You do not feed them, but allow them the power to feed themselves. For example, instead of feeding Sebastian yogurt from a spoon, I load the spoon and either set it down or hold it out for him to grab. He puts the spoon in his own mouth.
In the beginning you don't expect babies to eat much of what is placed in front of them (Most of their nutrition up to a year comes from breastmilk or formula anyway). They usually just explore it. Sebastian doesn't play with his food much, nor does he drop much on the floor if he's in the mood to get down to business. He does taste everything and mash it into his mouth. He will take bites of things and roll it around in his mouth and suck on it. Sometimes I'll find a piece a few hours later that he's stored like a chipmunk.
So while he isn't swallowing much I do find evidence of it in his diapers more and more each week. I think that will just come with time. He has mastered use of his sippy cup, however, and loves totting it around to get sips of water now and again. He tips his head back and everything. Of course he also tries to drink out of any cup or bottle we are drinking out of which makes morning coffee consumption a bit difficult.
As for the foods he's tried, I'm very impressed with his list and impressed by what he seems to like and will "eat". He'll try anything you place in front of him and there are only a few thinks he's ever made a face at (but then will try it again anyway). The following is our list of foods, his very favorites have a heart next to them. Most veggies we steam though some we roast, like the squash. Most fruit will be given to him with the skin and rind on so he can get a better grip of it.
Vegetables:
Green beans ♥
Carrots
Broccoli ♥
Sweet potato (has to be mashed and he's not into that texture)
Lettuce
Cucumber ♥
Asparagus
Green Pepper
Red Pepper
Acorn squash
Eggplant ♥
Fruit:
Avocado
Apple
Peach ♥
Nectarine
Cantaloupe ♥
Asian pear
Bartlett pear
Banana
Honeydew melon
Tomato
Grains:
Wheat bread
Rolls
Whole wheat pasta
Crackers
Flat bread
Mum mums
Cinnamon raisin bagel
Meats:
Ham ♥
Roast turkey
Roast beef
Ground beef
Breaded fish
Chicken (roast and pan cooked)
Pork roast
Hot dog (small piece due to all the crap in them)
Dairy:
Cheese
Yogurt (various flavours)
Various:
Pizza (homemade including crust)
Grilled cheese ♥
Pancake
Meat pasta sauce
Cheesy potatoes
The few foods he didn't seem to like after a few tries were avocado, sweet potato, and banana. I suspect it's because of the texture. We'll keep trying those out periodically to see if he changes his mind.
Here he was double spooning. He does pretty well with holding the spoon correctly but sometimes will ignore the handle to feel the fun stuff on the spoon. After this he offered his spoon of yogurt to the cat.
This was his first try of broccoli. He got the hang of it right away and will eat both ends. It's a good food to start with because they have good handles that allow babies to get a good grip.
Mmm banana, or not. I give it to Sebastian cut in half with a fourth of the peel peeled away so he has a peel covered handle. Banana on its own was too hard to handle. As you can see by his face he wasn't liking it. This was around the fourth time we tried it. By the way, banana stains. It leaves weird black flecks on clothes. Who knew?
Another broccoli shot. He does love his broccoli. He can always have mine.
This is what gagging looks like. At first it's scary and luckily for us it doesn't happen often, however, once you settle down and realize it's the child's way of preventing choking, it's pretty cool to watch. You can see the bit of broccoli he has on his tongue. It was too big and he slowly moved it forward until he could spit it out.
"Millions of peaches...", yeah Sebastian would be happy. He loves fresh peaches.
We are still thrilled with our choice to BLW and can see that it works for us and for Sebastian. Alex says that he only wishes he knew about it when his older kids were little because he loves it so much.
For those that are interested in learning more, check out the following websites:
Gill Rapley's Original Paper on BLW (Dutch site with lots of info)
babyledweaning.com with forum
12/27/09
Baby Led Weaning
After researching Baby Led Weaning and talking about when and how to start solids, Alex and I decided that BLW was the way to go. We were committed to exclusively breastfeed until 6 months and ended up starting BLW a week and a couple days shy of Sebastian's six monthday. It was hard to wait since he was showing all of the "signs" of readiness for a month. I could barely eat anything or drink a bottle of water without him trying to grab it.
So we were pretty excited to start though, to be honest, it also made me a bit sad because it's just another thing along with his three teeth that are proof he's growing up and moving closer to a year. Plus, until now he has depended solely on me (and yes, I know he still does)for his food. Me = emotional mama.
Anyway, we started him on Christmas night. It seemed fitting considering it was a holiday and my mom was here to celebrate with us. It was also a prelude to our big family Boxing Day meal. We decided to offer him green beans, carrots, ham, a bit of cheesy potatoes, and a roll. He also had a new sippy cup with some water.
Here is our photographic evidence...
My big boy in his high chair, clearly excited to be joining the family for dinner.
"You mean this is all for me!?"
He went for the ham first.
He loved his roll the most.
"Forget these cheesy potatoes, I want my ham."
Trying out his sippy cup.
The whole thing was very positive and Sebastian was happy the whole time. He didn't gag at all. He preferred the ham and roll over everything else, though I don't know if he ingested any of either of them. He must have eaten some green beans because I found the evidence of a bite in his diaper today.
The following two days, were also good with Sebastian trying new foods such as avocado (meh), chicken (yum!), asparagus (thumbs up), cucumber (gimmie more), and lettuce (not a fan).
I'm so proud of him. Thumbs up for BLW.
So we were pretty excited to start though, to be honest, it also made me a bit sad because it's just another thing along with his three teeth that are proof he's growing up and moving closer to a year. Plus, until now he has depended solely on me (and yes, I know he still does)for his food. Me = emotional mama.
Anyway, we started him on Christmas night. It seemed fitting considering it was a holiday and my mom was here to celebrate with us. It was also a prelude to our big family Boxing Day meal. We decided to offer him green beans, carrots, ham, a bit of cheesy potatoes, and a roll. He also had a new sippy cup with some water.
Here is our photographic evidence...
My big boy in his high chair, clearly excited to be joining the family for dinner.
"You mean this is all for me!?"
He went for the ham first.
He loved his roll the most.
"Forget these cheesy potatoes, I want my ham."
Trying out his sippy cup.
The whole thing was very positive and Sebastian was happy the whole time. He didn't gag at all. He preferred the ham and roll over everything else, though I don't know if he ingested any of either of them. He must have eaten some green beans because I found the evidence of a bite in his diaper today.
The following two days, were also good with Sebastian trying new foods such as avocado (meh), chicken (yum!), asparagus (thumbs up), cucumber (gimmie more), and lettuce (not a fan).
I'm so proud of him. Thumbs up for BLW.
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