Chicken Nugget is over 6 months old, now! That means it's time to bring on the food!
My cousin has three boys, the youngest of which is 10 months old, so we use her as our advice giver on pretty much everything. She started baby led weaning with her youngest and had such great success that we decided to give it a try!
The basic concept is that you introduce solids to babies and let them decide how & what to eat. You let them explore different foods and textures on their own (no mashed up foods and no spoon feeding). It can be a little nerve wracking to give a 6 month old a carrot stick, but it does allow her to learn to feed herself, experience real food textures (not goop), as well as stop when she's done eating. Supposedly, the first few weeks / months are about exploration and play. She'll still get her main nutrition from breast milk. So far, that's proving true. She probably only swallows about a tablespoon of food in any given meal time.
We started her first meal with "Oatmeal Fingers".
3 tbsp quick (not instant) oatmeal
3 tbsp breast milk
Mix together in a shallow, flat bottomed bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Cut into long strips while hot, serve when cooled.
These end up being about the consistency of a soft granola bar and very easy for baby to pick up. I like them because they crumble really easily, so I'm not as worried about her getting a large chunk stuck in her throat. Also, they're half breast milk! So, the flavor is more similar to what she's used to.
She loves them! She's not so great at eating yet. She kind of holds the oatmeal in her hand and licks it, but, hey, she's still young.
One caution for all you neat freak moms out there.... Baby led weaning is messy. You need a dog. Dogs love baby led weaning.
My cousin has three boys, the youngest of which is 10 months old, so we use her as our advice giver on pretty much everything. She started baby led weaning with her youngest and had such great success that we decided to give it a try!
The basic concept is that you introduce solids to babies and let them decide how & what to eat. You let them explore different foods and textures on their own (no mashed up foods and no spoon feeding). It can be a little nerve wracking to give a 6 month old a carrot stick, but it does allow her to learn to feed herself, experience real food textures (not goop), as well as stop when she's done eating. Supposedly, the first few weeks / months are about exploration and play. She'll still get her main nutrition from breast milk. So far, that's proving true. She probably only swallows about a tablespoon of food in any given meal time.
We started her first meal with "Oatmeal Fingers".
3 tbsp quick (not instant) oatmeal
3 tbsp breast milk
Mix together in a shallow, flat bottomed bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Cut into long strips while hot, serve when cooled.
These end up being about the consistency of a soft granola bar and very easy for baby to pick up. I like them because they crumble really easily, so I'm not as worried about her getting a large chunk stuck in her throat. Also, they're half breast milk! So, the flavor is more similar to what she's used to.
She loves them! She's not so great at eating yet. She kind of holds the oatmeal in her hand and licks it, but, hey, she's still young.
One caution for all you neat freak moms out there.... Baby led weaning is messy. You need a dog. Dogs love baby led weaning.
