I am very lucky to have come second place in Graco’s Symbio contest a couple of months ago and was made a Graco Ambassador! Which basically means Graco sends me fab products to try out and review for them! A couple of weeks ago we were sent the Graco Contempo Highchair this was perfect timing as Bugs was just starting weaning!
This is a guest post on Baby Led Weaning by ChocOrangeCityMum from http://chocorangecitymum.blogspot.com/ – Thanks hon x
A fab guest post on weaning for you this morning by Kerry of http://www.multiplemummy.blogspot.com/
Thanks Kerry x
- Acceptance
- Patience
- Preparation
- A good recipe book/weaning guide.
- Cheat!
- Trust your judgement
- Seating
- Don’t panic!
This is a guest post about weaning twins by Suzanne from
http://www.surroundsoundparenting.blogspot.com/
Double weaning
It’s going to be messy but you have to start eventually. I remember weaning my eldest daughter at 17 weeks as those were the current guidelines 8 year ago. We messed about with baby rice and pureed carrot and pear for a couple of months before being able to move on to the really good stuff at 6 months. Then when boy in the middle was born the advice changed and he was breastfed until 6 months and then we only had to mess about with the rice and pear for a couple of days before moving on to chicken soup.
This time round I didn’t even find out what the advice was because boy in the middle is a great eater now (OK so the only vegetable he will dare to eat is broccoli) and eldest daughter still has to be coaxed into eating. Looking at my two tiny tots I was happy to delay the mess of weaning two babies for as long as possible.
When Baby A and Baby E were 6 months old I bought a box of baby rice, some new spoons and we gave it a go. I borrowed two bumbo seats specifically for the purpose of weaning. Both girls could sit well in them so I could put them both on the table in front of me and with 1 bowl and 1 spoon I fed them baby rice for a couple of days, followed by carrot, pear, butternut squash and then after a couple of weeks we moved nicely on to chicken soup.
I do remember between 6 and 8 months that it is one long meal throughout the day. I breastfed my twins and for a while is seemed they were either being fed from me or by me with a spoon. It takes a while for the food to be more important than the milk. It is hard enough with one baby eating all day, but when two are eating all day there really is no time for anything else!
Once the girls could climb out of the bumbo seats themselves I bought two great highchairs which attach on to my granite table. I then sat each baby at one side of the table so I could sit between them and spoon in from one side to the other. This worked well for another couple of months until once again both girls stood up in their seats. We now have them both in highchairs with straps which they still wriggle out of.
I would give the following advice to any twin mums:
1. Always use 1 bowl and 1 spoon
2. Give each baby their own cup
3. Spoon in from one mouth to the next
4. Don’t worry if it appears that one is eating more than the other
5. Make batches of vegetables and fruit and freeze them in ice cube trays. Once frozen tip into freezer bags so you can easily take out a couple at a time and defrost
6. Keep a sweeping brush near the table as once they learn to throw food off their highchairs you have double the mess to clear up
7. Invest in cover all bibs so that any mess doesn’t go all over their clothes
8. Offer finger foods from 8 months on their tray to distract them and then spoon in the good stuff
9. In the early days of weaning it does feel as if you are feeding all the waking hours between milk and highchair – keep with it, it only lasts a few weeks
10. Relax and enjoy – they will eat as much as they need to
I would say the best thing about feeding twins is that there is always a chance at least one of them will eat the lovingly prepared food. I remember it being so frustrating when I had taken time to make a winning favourite from Annabel Karmel that my daughter or son had enjoyed a couple of weeks earlier to find that it was no longer deemed delicious and the whole lot ended up in the bin. At least with two babies if one won’t eat something the other one often does so at least there is less food to be thrown at me or on the floor.
The lovely Rhiannon from Little Tots Baby Shop is here with us today to tell us about her experience weaning – Thank you Rhiannon x
Having already successfully weaned my first child four years previously, I thought this would also be a doddle. My Oldest One was a big eater from the minute she was born at a healthy 8lb 10oz I assumed the same would be true for my Littlest One when she was born at 8lb 15oz, and it was in the main. Littlest One seemed to like everything I gave her from the small selection of baby jars I gave her, except the baby rice which, in my opinion, means she has quite good taste as that stuff is vile in both texture and in taste.
So feeling more than a little smug that I’d successfully managed weaning second time round, I thought I’d be a good mummy and make Littlest One her own baby food from scratch. I spent hours looking on the Internet and in books for recipes that she might like and started buying vegetables I’d only really seen on restaurant menus – butter nut squash, avocado, sweet potato as well as your more run of the mill potato, cauliflower and broccoli. So I set about peeling, steaming, pureeing and freezing little amounts in pots. I rang my husband to tell him of my achievement (he wasn’t quite so impressed). I felt I’d had a really productive day and couldn’t wait to give Littlest One her dinner. I started her off on something simple that a friend advised me of – sweet potato. First mouthful, she pulled a bit of a funny face but it went the right way. I was elated! Second mouthful, she pushed it round her mouth with her tongue for a little while and it eventually went down. By the third mouthful she’d worked out she wasn’t having any of my lovingly prepared home cooked food and started spitting it out.
The following day, I was not to be put off (plus I had a freezer full of mush) so tried her on some cauliflower cheese made with a special pouch of baby cheese sauce. Again, the first mouthful seemed to go down really well, but by mouthful four or five she gagged that much she brought up everything I’d just given her. I was mortified! Was it my cooking??? Now those that know me know that my cooking isn’t the best but surely not much can go wrong with pureeing a little veg!? I persevered but every meal time turned out the same, blowing raspberries in her food, spitting it out, I swear if she knew how, she’d feed it to the cat, but she would not eat my baby food. So after a week, she still hadn’t “got used to it” so I gave in. She now is a very healthy 9 month old who is fed on jars. She eats everything we give her, including cauliflower cheese, that is lovingly prepared by someone in a factory. Or at least I’d like to think they are lovingly prepared! Do I feel guilty? A little but she’s coming on so well and sleeps through the night so I don’t think any mother could complain!
This is a guest post on Baby Led Weaning by Lizz from http://easyweaning.blogspot.com/ or you can also find her on twitter @easyweaning – Thank you so much for your time Lizz x
What is baby led weaning?
Baby Led Weaning really is the easy way to wean your baby. As long as you eat a healthy diet then just give your baby what you eat. No need for pureeing, mashing, jars or even
cutlery. Breast fed babies and bottle fed babies can do it. The only essential item is a big bib!
I first got into blw when a friend mentioned it and I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Then she lent me the Gill Rapley book ‘Baby Led Weaning’ and I fell in love with blw.
I went the traditional route with my first daughter and have to admit I didn’t enjoy it. It was far too much hassle. I breastfed both my daughters for a couple of reasons, obviously for the health reasons for both mother and baby, but my main reasons are it’s free and so convenient. No steriliser, no bottles, no teats and no organisation, so for me, not the most organised person, it was a bit of a no-brainer.
Gagging
Yes, blw does involve gagging, but not choking. There is a very big difference. When a
baby gags they will bring the food back up and generally spit it out. Then they’ll move onto the next piece of food. The gag reflex on a baby is further forward in the mouth and gradually moves back as the baby gets older. When an adult gags, the offending item is right at the back of the throat so when we see a baby gag we assume the same. Normally the food item will be further forward and easily spat out. Though when weaning any baby, safety must be adhered to. Cut foods such as grapes, cherry tomatoes and olives in halve and squash beans, peas and chick peas etc.
Easy Weaning
Having been able to compare two types of weaning, traditional and baby led, I can
honestly say blw wins hands down for me. If I’m out and about and hungry, I’ll choose a
healthy meal so my daughter can share it. She can eat with the rest of us and enjoy the
whole experience of eating together as a family.
If she eats all her food I just give her some more of mine, or as has happened before, I just go round picking the best bits of everyone else’s plates and give this to her!
I would say blw is a newish concept but this is what we did before blenders were invented so it really isn’t new. And if I have anymore babies (wink wink at my husband!) I’ll definitely do it this way again.