Soup - oh well, it has to be spoon fed then.

We've all had little coughs and colds over Christmas and we needed something lovely and nutritious to perk us all up.  My mum made this delicious leek and potato soup and Anya absolutely loved it.  Though obviously it had to be spoon fed.  Even I had to spoon feed myself!

And I know why I love BLW.  It's just so convenient everyone eating our meals together and having a chat and generally getting on with it.  I love my food.  I'll never be skinny because I could never eat such a small amount to make me skinny.  But what I also love about food is the pleasure of actually eating it.

Having kids generally means meal times are a bit of a chore whether spoon feeding of following BLW.  My 3 year old still asks me to blow her food if it's too hot.  She'll cut everything up but she just can't cool it down like I can.  If hers is too hot then it generally means that Anya's is too hot so I'm also trying to cool hers down out of sight.  If Anya sees her food and can't eat it she gets very stroppy!

If I'm spoon feeding then it really is just a big chore.  I have to cool down Anya's food (and possibly Mia's) then feed her and all the while my tea is just sat there getting cold.  So when it comes to eating it it's very cold.  And I still have to rush it down because the kids have finished and now want to 'do things'.

I've been putting off making soup for this very reason but sometimes it's just inevitable.

So for a treat my husband and I are having a take away tonight after the kids have gone to bed.  I'm going to really enjoy this and the kids better stay asleep!

Eggy bread for breakfast

I'm fed up with having toast or porridge for breakfast so we're having eggy bread.

I love eggy bread and always see it as a real treat.  If you haven't had it before it's very simple to make.

Whisk some eggs and a bit of milk together then soak a slice of bread in the mixture.  Once the bread is wet just pop it in the frying pan until it's all golden.

Make sure it's thoroughly cooked.

A very easy way of giving your baby egg without making a mess.  You could also serve it with baked beans if you want to add extra iron, fibre, protein and calcium to the meal.  Personally I think we should have baked beans everyday.  They taste delicious and are so healthy (low salt and sugar though), and for vegetarians it's a great way of getting extra iron in your diet.

Then it's off to the Carol Service at our local church. Can't wait.

Fun and games in Pizza Hut

Yesterday was my eldest daughter's 3rd birthday.  As a treat we took her out for dinner (lunch, if you're not from the North of England!).  We asked her what she wanted and she said pasta.  We were hoping for 'pasty' or 'chips' but no, she wanted pasta.  We couldn't really think of anywhere that sold pasta dishes cheap enough to buy just in case she left half of it, then I didn't begrudge paying for it.

So we decided on Pizza Hut. (Yes again, for those who have read my previous blogs.)  Not very healthy if you op for the pizza versions but what the heck, it was her birthday.

My husband and I had the buffet option which worked wonderfully with Anya and the blw.  She happily munched away on apple, pinched some of my pasta and loved the garlic bread.  She ate loads and really enjoyed herself, dancing away to the music and getting lots of attention from the staff.

I offered Mia some of my pizza (she'd finished hers) but she didn't want any.  As I'd already cut it into a little strip I thought I'd give it to Anya.  She happily took it and started to eat it.  She's got two bottom teeth now so she takes bigger bites than normal, which means more in the mouth.

Anyway, the cheese on this pizza was much stringier than what she is used to at home as we make our own pizzas with cheddar cheese.  She started to gag a little on her piece of pizza, but this didn't work.  The cheese was halfway down her through and wasn't coming up.

So she gagged a little more, trying hard to get rid of the cheese.  Then a little more.

And then, BAAARRRFFF.  All over the chair, her clothes and the floor.

And the little rascal had the cheek to smile once she had done it as if to say, look I got rid of the cheese!

So what did I learn?

• Don't feed her too much.  Just because she munches away doesn't mean to say her belly has suddenly grown to a huge size and can handle lots of food.
• Take the plastic mat with you wherever you go.
• Take more wipes than you think you'll need.
• Stick to apple and pasta in future!

The staff were lovely and brought me loads of napkins.  They even offered to wipe the highchair but I wouldn't have wished that on anybody.  By the time I had finished cleaning the highchair it was spotless and I'm sure there was food on there what wasn't Anya's! URGH

Please Mummy no spoons

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted on here but my reason is as follows:

BLW is so easy it can be a bit boring!

Perhaps it's just Anya but she just seems fine with it and basically eats anything.

There are a couple of things that I've noticed which I have to keep reminding myself that it's baby LED weaning.  Some days she'll eat loads then for the next few days I keep putting more food on her tray and if she doesn't eat it I start worrying and trying to give her something else to get her to eat.

I did broccoli in a cheese sauce tonight and she ate some of the broccoli then played with the rest.  When I gave her some of mine she quickly squashed it and ate none of it.  So I dipped my finger in the cheese sauce to see if she wanted it.  If she wants something she'll reach out for it even if it's in mine hand, but everytime I put my finger to her face she grabbed it and pushed it away.  I tried a few times to give it to her then it finally dawned on me that she just didn't want it.

The other day I gave her some stewed pears.  I had some pears that were going a little mushy so I rescued what I could and stewed them.  The only trouble with this is that they needed to be fed by a spoon.

Not a pleasant experience.  Anya loved the pears but because she couldn't get enough quickly she kept crying. (See her little sad face below.)  If she eats a pear she grabs it between her hands and munches away on it, but she was so upset that she had to wait for each spoonful.  It was the worst meal we've had so far and reminded me of when my eldest daughter used to do it.  If she was crying at mealtimes I used to think she didn't like the food but after seeing Anya doing it, it made me think that Mia just wanted her food quicker than I was giving it to her.

Anya does use a spoon sometimes, especially when we have porridge and she's very good at using it but using a spoon and a bowl is not a success as the bowl generally goes everywhere.  I gave her a bowl of porridge the other day with a spoon for her and a spoon for me to feed her with.  In the end she got fed up with the spoons and just grabbed the bowl and stuck her head in it!  Unfortunately my phone was charging otherwise I would've taken a picture as she was covered in it but had a huge grin on her face.  Below shows what happens when she is eating the porridge in a calm manner so you can imagine what she looked like the other day.

Oh, and she got her bottom teeth in the last few weeks and cold sticks of fruit from the fridge are perfect for her to chew on, though she does gag a bit.  She's getting very blas'e with eating and puts quite a lot in her mouth as if she's a pro now, and does gag a bit more.  She's very cute when she does it though as she'll look at you gag and smile as it to say look Mummy, aren't I funny?

Mummy, please just give me the pears.

Starting well.

Holding the spoon with porridge on, but deciding to use her other hand to concentrate on eating.

I never realised porridge could be picked  up so easily! Or perhaps it's just how I cook it.

I think the spoon stayed in this position for quite a while.

Ah, spoon in bowl finally.

And then spoon in mouth.  Very clever!

Oops, the spoon becomes more of a toy from now on.

Yep, porridge is mucky business. But very funny.

Action shot. Even the dog moved when she started doing this otherwise he was getting covered in porridge.

The spoon finally ended up in the mouth, but it's the wrong way around.

Very messy but very cute.