Back to the baby…
Hello lovely readers! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend,
today I am going back to the baby, my baby Ella-Grace. By this I mean the past
few blog post’s although related to Ella-Grace (when you’re a mum everything in
your life is to do with your baby right?) they have not been focused on her or
her development entirely. She turns 6 months tomorrow (gone so quick!) so I
will be doing a full blog post on everything to do with my darling daughter
(feeding, sleep, development ect.) but before that this blog post will be on
weaning. Something I know a lot of the mum’s that read my blog’s have been
waiting for me to write. So I will just get straight into it shall I? Happy
reading!
Feeding so far…
I have done previous posts on Ella-Grace’s feeding (you can find all my posts on my homepage) and if you want to read them first you can but if not here is the
low down. I breastfed Ella-Grace for 8 weeks and had to stop due to her not
keeping my breastmilk down, losing weight and what we later found out to be a
lactose intolerance. From then we got prescribed a lacto-free formula to give
her. When she turned 4 months old we started slowly weaning her onto solid
food. Letting her lead us to what she was ready for (not full blown baby led
weaning but we let her show us what she did and didn’t want to try and how much
food she could take if that makes sense?).
Ella-Grace's Meal Plan...
Before I get into how we started Ella-Grace on solid foods and what we gave her etc. I thought it would be good to write down exactly what her meal plan is at the moment (at 6 months old) for anyone who might want to know. I know a lot of my fellow mum readers like to read my experiences as they are going through the same thing so I thought writing down her meal plan might help or interest some of you, so here it is.
7.00am- 240ml/8 ounces Aptamil Lacto-Free Formula
8.30am- Breakfast: Weetabix (1xbiscuit mixed with 90ml/3 ounces of formula)
1 x Orangix Fruitpot
11.30am- 240ml/8 ounces Aptamil Lacto-Free Formula
2.00pm- Lunch: 2x Organic Fruitpot
2x Kiddylicious Wafers
5.00pm- Supper: Homemade Mashed Veg
1x Organix Fruitpot
1x Kiddylicious Wafer
7.00pm- 240ml/8 ounces Aptamil Lacto-Free Formula
-We also try to give Ella-Grace water from her sippy cup with every solid meal....this is a working progress haha-
Why 4 months old….
Now I know this can be a touchy subject. I actually didn’t know
that until I seen on Facebook people getting very angry at a mother in the
media over starting her baby on baby rice at 4 months old. This being exactly
what we chose to do with Ella-Grace and personally I don’t see what is wrong
with it, in fact I see it as a good thing. I understand everyone has their own
opinion though so if you disagree or did something different with your child I
respect that, every baby is different please comment below what you did I love
to discuss different parenting decisions. However if you are going to comment
negative things or be disrespectful (which I know the people in my little
kindness community wouldn’t do) then please just exit this blog here. Cause
that is not my vibe.
Anyway, back to what I was saying, why 4 months old? Well
partly due to influence of those around me who I knew started their babies at 4
months and they were all perfectly happy and healthy children. Also because I
felt that if she was going to be fussy with eating solids the earlier you start (within reason) the longer you have to get them used to taking solid food
meaning you wouldn’t feel like they weren’t getting what they need when they
are older. Lastly I knew my style of parenting if I had tried her with the baby
rice in the morning and she didn’t want to take it I would know she wasn’t ready
and stop. I would never force her to be weaned early. But in Ella-Grace’s case
she took to solid food like a duck to water and at literally just 6 months she
is doing really well.
The start- 4 months old…
A few days after Ella-Grace turned 4 months old we decided
to start her with baby rice. From what I researched it is good to start slow instead of a lot at once as in start weaning one meal a day such as breakfast then the bottles/breastfeeding the rest of the day then eventually adding lunch etc. Which was
my plan already so it just reinforced what I already thought. So we bought baby
rice, our hope was to get a kind of porridge we could make with her formula
(for example banana or some kind of fruit porridge) but with her being lactose
intolerant and Reece and I preferring to use plant-based milk anyway such as
rice or soy milk (let me know if you would like to hear more about this) it was
difficult to find a porridge for 4 months that did not contain cows milk. So
baby rice is what we went for. I know people say ‘it has no nutritional value’
but adding the formula to it she is already on... it then has nutritional value
and the main thing for us was it helps her get used to solids.
So yes we tried her with baby rice. At first she was a bit
curious as to what the spoon actually was so we let her hold it and kind of
explore it for a minute then put some baby rice on the spoon placed it near her
mouth and as I said she took to it really well. Not quite understanding it was
food I guess just something new and trying to suck it off the spoon to start with but she ate a good amount of mouthfuls, we were
very proud (and it was THE cutest thing I’d ever seen). I could of cried.. well okay I did cry haha.
About two weeks after her first experience with food she was doing well having the baby rice for breakfast in the morning and bottles the rest of the day and we felt she was ready to try something else. We decided fruit would be best. We then purchased organic fruit pots- blended apple, banana and pear. And again she took to this at breakfast (along with her baby rice-very hungry baby) very well. So that was breakfast established we also tried to give her a fruit pot at lunch but she didn't take that so well so we pulled it back to the one meal. This being what I mean when I say I am trying to let her lead us, I feel we have a good bond and although she cannot tell me with words what she does and doesn't want or is and isn't ready for I feel I can communicate with her in other ways and I just know. Any other mums or dads feel this way? Like you just know your baby and feel you can communicate with them almost? I am probably sounding crazy haha but it seems to be working so far. So yeah by this point we we had breakfast down and bottles the rest of the time, then she turned 5 months old and we tried something new.
5 months- Introducing Veg and Establishing 3 meals...
I feel that in Ella-Grace's 6 month of life (so from when she turned 5 months old) she progressed so much with everything. Will go into everything in her 6 month review soon but as in food I will go through this now. So we tried her again with fruit at lunch she still wasn't really loving it at that time of day so we pulled that back and decided maybe a meal at the start and the end of the day (before her last bottle) would make more sense to her. We started off tryng her with a brand of baby food called 'Babease' organic and meat and dairy free, perfect for our little angel and after getting used to the new taste in the first few mouthfuls she again took to that very well. We used this brand for about a week at supper time until my dad- Ella-Grace's Granddad (or as we call him Pops)- kindly bought us the same hand blender he had which works a charm for making pureed veg for Ella-Grace (link below to the blender I use). I firstly pureed carrots and butternut-squash and from there just pureed any veg I had in the flat and stored it in the freezer in small storage pots I purchased for weaning her (again all links below). That was her then having baby rice and a fruit pot for breakfast, bottles through the day and veg puree followed by a fruit pot at night. From this she advanced in her food very quickly as she now had got the hang of being spoon fed and understood that a bowl and spoon as well as a bottle meant food. So whenever we put anything on a spoon she was eager to try. Meaning not long after establishing breakfast and supper it almost came natural to her to take food at lunch time (fruit pots) then bottles in between then followed by trying wafers. Wafers are technically 6 months plus but with her being advanced in her food and on the packet saying you can offer them to younger babies AROUND 6 months we decided to try her- this being the most recent food we have tried her on which again she took to very well we think biting something has helped her teething also. All this leading to her meal plan above. And that's you all caught up!
The Hardest Things About Weaning So Far...
I know I have made her weaning sound all nice and dandy, no problems but of course their has been difficulties and bumps in the road. I would like to meet the baby who doesn't have them. Although we have had an easy time as in Ella-Grace hasn't been super fussy in trying the food or spitting it out ect. we have had other hard times with her weaning.
1. Wanting only her fruit pot.
For a while she loved her veg and don't get me wrong if Chef Mummy gets the veg combination right she can't get enough of it but recently she has gotten her head around her routine. Meaning she knows veg is followed by sweet fruit pot, so she tends to get a bit fussy with the veg putting her face to the side after a few mouthfuls knowing I will give her fruit. But I persist as I know she can and will eat it until she does eat it. Unless she got really upset then obviously it would be for a different reason but as I have said I feel like I just know when it comes to her food habits. So yeah somedays she eats her supper as normal some days she tries to out smart me and get the fruit pot first/instead, this can be a little difficult.
2. Refusing water
We have almost resolved this problem not as I always add either coconut water or normal water into her food and we have not replaced her sippy cup with a free-flow one instead of the one we have that she actually has to suck to get water out of but yeah this is still a bit of a challenge. Although she has taken to solid food really well giving her water to drink with her solid food has been difficult. Even when offered in a normal bottle that she drinks milk from she seems to refuse water (maybe doesn't like the taste I am not sure), not matter at what point we offer it to her- before or after the meal for example- it doesn't matter she just refuses it unfortunately. Because of her bottles and obviously all her food having some water in it she has never become dehydrated but has had a cough due to a bit of a dry throat. This as I said now improving but yeah was a frustrating problem.
3. Biting too much wafer
This is a recent difficulty that has cropped up. Well I don't know if it is a difficulty or if I am just over protective/scared but when feeding herself wafers she tends to bite off too much, I then while the part she bit off is still partly out of her mouth take it out and break into a smaller part before I place it back in her mouth for her. Part of me thinks I shouldn't be doing this as I don't want her to be put off feeding herself obviously and I know Reece is a lot more chilled about this than me. I panic. But I always think I would rather her take longer to feed herself than risk her choking. Maybe this is more of my problem than Ella-Grace's haha. I guess I need to find the balance.
4.Wanting to eat too fast
This has always been a problem but one that is getting better slowly. Obviously when a baby drink a bottle or from the breast they can just keep drinking until they want to stop but when being spoon fed you need to take the spoon away put more food on it and give it back to them to have more. Ella-Grace thought when we took the spoon away from her we were in turn taking food away from her so she would get upset. Now she understands we will give her food again but she wants us to be faster. I am actually giggling imagining her face she just sits with her mouth open until the spoon comes back with more food haha. Tiny bit impatient which can make her frustrated but she does still take the food so its not a massive problem just sad seeing her get worked up. Getting better though so that's good.
Feeling Confident...
I know everyone weans their baby differently. At different stages, with different foods ect. Of course all babies are different the same things would never work for all babies of course. Because of this I know a lot of parents can find weaning stressful and worry whether or not they are doing it right, whether or not their baby is getting enough and you know, all the endless worries. Googling 'Weaning' 1000 times. But I personally feel quite confident in the way our daughter is being weaned and what our plan is for her future diet. I encourage other parents to be confident with what they want for their babies, remember that you know your baby best and don't let other people's comments make you doubt yourself. If you want reassurance please reach out to a medical professional they will be the best people to help you.
I spent a lot of time recently being anxious over what we were feeding Ella-Grace and whether or not she was gaining enough weight, getting the right nutrients ect. My self-doubt being increased as a lot of people disagreed with the fact we have chose to not give Ella-Grace meat and that we choose a plant-based form of milk, butter, cheese ect. Almost leading to me changing my mind (which is extreme as that would be a massive lifestyle change for me and what I had wanted for my daughter). Thankfully I spoke to those who support me and most importantly my health visitor who reassured me what I was doing and what I wanted for Ella-Grace is perfectly healthy, full of nutrients and that she is/ will continue to thrive. Gaining a KILO over a month of solid food. I am not going to go into the ins and out's of why we don't eat meat (Me not at all, Reece occasionally)/choose plan-based milk and why we want that for Ella-Grace as I just see it as a choice we have made just as eating meat is a choice however if you would like to hear about that let me know and I would be more than happy to write about it. I will say that we see this as the best option for our daughter and the health visitor more than supported us.
So yes even with choosing a controversial (even though it shouldn't be) choice for our daughter I am feeling confident in her weaning so far. Confidence is key especially when it comes to parenting as so many things put you down.
If anyone would like to talk about weaning or anything I am more than happy to reply to your message (when I can). Remember your doing a great job!
What next?...
Well weetabix is something we have tried recently and is now what she gets for breakfast instead of baby rice, that transition was easy and I am glad as this has increased the nutritional value of her breakfast. Today as I am writing this we have tried hummus along with some veg at lunchtime (which we are now hoping for her to have every lunch along with her fruit pot). As for the future I am hoping to begin putting more in her puree's or what are more like mashed up veg now- more texture. Would like to add rice, maybe tomato, chickpeas, butter beans and more. After being told by the health visitor that she can have everything we have as long as it is blended/mashed into smaller pieces and softer textures the world is full of possibilities. I adore to cook so Ella-Grace girl you are in for some gourmet meals haha.
Ella-Grace's Favourites...
Our little girl has taken to all her food well but some things she can't get enough of. These are the things that seem to be her favourites at the moment.
1. All things blueberry
This includes wafers and fruit pots. Both of those things her favourite flavour seems to be blueberry.
2. Sweetcorn
Whenever I make a puree that includes sweetcorn she doesn't try to avoid it for her fruit pot she loves it.
3. Breakfast time
I don't know if this is her favourite food of the day but her breakfast is definitely her favourite time to eat. Either a morning person, loves weetabix or both.
Links...
Here all all the links I promised through out the post. All the food I have tried Ella-Grace with and more.
Till Next Time...
So that was quite a long post! I haven't done a long in depth one about Ella-Grace or what a parent has to go though in a while and I wanted to get all the detail in for you so that's why I have made it so long. Well done and thank you if you got to the end haha.
Till next time don't forget to follow my social media for blog notifications and cute baby pics (links on homepage), check out my other blog posts if you haven't already and if you want to give my articles on baby gaga a read (latest one linked below).
Thank you for reading and thank you for being part of this kindness community I am trying to build. This will always be a place that loves and supports you! What is your babies weaning story? What age did you start weaning? What's their favourite food? Please comment below. I would love to know. Till next time my lovelies.
Stay Happy Everyone :)!
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