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New chair

Wow, it's ages since my last blog.  Though what I can say about blw hasn't already been said.

It's still going really strong and Anya is just loving her grub!  She has such a love of food that she would like to pass across to everyone else, including the dog, Bobby.  She keeps going in his cupboard, grabbing his biscuits and chasing him around the room until he eats them.  Today she emptied his whole bag of food over the kitchen floor just so she could put some in his bowl!

I've put her highchair away today.  It was getting in the way a bit so she's progressed to a 'booster' seat, or big girl's seat as Mia says.  The only trouble is that there is no tray so she sat with us at the kitchen table.

It was lovely to sit together, all 3 of us girls in a row, but she was tired and her veggie cottage pie ended up all over the place.  None on the floor now though as Bobby ate it.  I had some on my arm, face, shoulder, pants (trousers for the posh people, not knickers) and she had it all over her face.  Though when you look at the amount she actually ate she did quite well.  I would've taken a photo but my camera on my phone died ages ago and I daren't touch Archie's cameras, especially at tea-time with the kids. He'd kill me!

We'll see how the booster chair goes but if she carries on making such a mess I may have to bring the highchair back.

Mucky Mucky stuff

Letting your baby feed themselves is very very mucky.

Though I think I may have made it muckier today.

I'd made vegetable stew and dumplings.  This is one of my favourite meals and when I like something I make sure the bowl is totally emptied I've finished.  I think this is a very northern working class thing but at the end of my meal I licked my plate!

If you haven't done it before you really should try it, especially if you've had chips and gravy!

Anyway, as I finished licking the plate I turned around to see Anya doing exactly the same thing.  She was covered in stew but she had a huge smile on her face.  Oh well, food is fun.

P.S. I must add, after looking at my previous posts, that Anya is still breastfed and we managed to overcome the little blip that she went through a while ago.  She had a morning and evening feed and two daytime feeds just before she has a nap if she wants.  If we're out she sometimes skips the daytime feeds but she doesn't seem fazed by it.  And since she's been in her own room she sleeps through (mainly, touch wood!) which is GREAT.  I still don't want to stop feeding her yet so I'm very happy with how things are going.  Let's hope the weaning process can be a joint decision.

Does blw work?

Sometimes I wonder if babyled weaning works.

I didn't do it with my eldest daughter and she eats well, though she is going through a fussy stage.

As for my youngest daughter who was babyled weaned - she eats anything and everything!  She knows her dislikes and likes but if she sees anyone else eating she wants it.

Perhaps it's just a phase where she wants to copy everyone but boy does she have an appetite.

I'll see what she's like when she gets to 3 so I can compare her to her older sister, but for now...

YES IT WORKS.

Fast Food Baby

Did anyone see the fast food baby programme on BBC 3 last night?

It was very interesting although quite unbelievable in parts.  Like the 19 year old who only ever gave her son junk food as that's all she ate.  She smoked, ate junk food and drank and had recently suffered a heart attack.  Er, do people think they're invincible?

But it was good to see her attempting to cook healthy meals at home.

It's interesting to see that we sometimes still hold old fashioned values when it comes to feeding.  Don't play with your food, be quiet and eat up, use a knife and fork.

Tonight we had veggie stew and dumplings with new potatoes.  Anya loves it and so does Mia but I think she was tired by 5pm and a bit bored with it, so I bet her that she couldn't eat all her tea using only her hands!  Very messy but a challenge.  The dumplings were great to eat with hands, as were the new potatoes, but the veg stew was definitely trickier.  She did a really good job and in the end her plate had a lot less food on it than if I'd have made her eat it with a knife and fork.

Food really should be enjoyable.  It should be healthy (not all of the times, don't forget the treats!) and excite all our senses.

I love halloumi cheese, especially as you can grill and fry it, but mainly for the texture.  I love the fact that you can have a good old chew.  My mum doesn't like the squeak but it doesn't bother me.  I once had veggie fish and chips in a restaurant and the 'veggie fish' was deep fried halloumi - it was absolutely gorgeous. So much so that it we go back to that restaurant, I know exactly what I'm having.

There's no denying I love my grub but food to me is a pleasure.  Yes there are times when I get fed up of cooking and we may resort to a chippy tea but healthy food doesn't have to be boring.  As a veggie I'm often getting asked if I only eat salad (still can't believe people as me this in 2011) but the thing is I really don't like salad.  Unless it's got loads of olives, cheese, dressing etc otherwise I think salad's really boring.  But I can still eat healthily without eating salad all the time!

Let's just relax at meal times, remember that fresh, home cooked food tastes so much better than convenient food and is a dam sight cheaper, and let's lead by example to our kids.

But also let's lead by example to other adults.

Hurray - my book has arrived

I got a text off the library today to say my book has arrived.  You know, the one I reserved months ago, over 6 months in fact.

The one by Gill Ripley - baby led weaning.

Thank goodness it has arrived otherwise I wouldn't have a clue what I'm doing!!!

Oh wait a minute - she might be back on the breast feeding

Perhaps my hard work is paying off.

Anya is feeding during the night and waking up to a morning feed and she even fed during the day twice this week.

And for the first time in about a week she had a feed before bedtime.

I'm loving it so I'll make the most of it while I can.  Let's hope she continues.

Breast no more (I think)

Boo hoo.

Anya is definitely giving up breast feeding.  I had a bad bug last week and was very dehydrated but I continued to feed as much as I could.  Luckily Anya didn't get it but Mia did.

However, at the end of the week I noticed that Anya would bite me while feeding. Now I'm not talking a little gummy bite, or even a playful bite, it was a massive full-on bite. And it bloody hurt.

I also noticed that my let down was taking longer to happen and she would get very frustrated.  We had a lot of screaming on her part.  She wanted the milk but it wasn't happening quick enough and when it did happen she would often bite.  So she spent a lot of time playing and doing her best not to feed.  A couple of times I just let it go, but when she started to miss her bedtime feeds, that's when I started to get concerned.

Mia had a nursing strike at 9 months and it was awful.  The worst thing was that I really didn't want to give her formula but at 9 months either I expressed or I gave her formula, she couldn't have cows milk.  In the end I expressed for two months until I had made the decision to go easy on myself and give her formula.  But I still wasn't really happy with it.  After being used to breastmilk for so long Mia hated formula (and it stunk) so luckily she wasn't on it too long before we put her on cows milk.

Luckily Anya is already used to cows milk on her cereal so if I need to she can have that.

She has still been waking up for a night feed and she had a night feed last night.  I remember thinking to cherish every moment as that might have been our last feed together.

I've done everything I can to get her back onto breast feeding, expressed frequently to increase milk supply, tried distraction attempts so she wouldn't bite, put up with the biting (sometimes nearly crying with pain), tried nipple shields (she just wants to play with them and bite them and tried different positions.  She's been to the doctors just to make sure she didn't have an ear infection.  The doctor said she did have a slight ear infection but nothing that wouldn't clear up on it's on and to use calpol 3 times a day.  She's also having something to soothe her throat as I suspected she had a bit of a sore throat.

I really don't think there is anything else I can do apart from accepting my breast feeding days are coming to an end.

I should focus on the joys that I've had as a breastfeeding mother and how lucky I am that things always go smoothly (apart from now).

But I still wish she was feeding, a lovely snuggle at the end of the day for the bedtime feed is wonderful, in fact a snuggle at anytime of the day for a feed is wonderful.

When I started to feed Anya I used to say as long as she feeds past age 1 I'll be happy.  She's 1 on Monday so I suppose I'll let her off the hook.

She didn't feed tonight but we still had a little snuggle.

The only trouble with stopping breastfeeding is your hormones returning to a non-feeding mother.  I know I'll be craving a third baby!

Choking vs Gagging

I posted on twitter a couple of weeks ago that I certainly saw the difference between choking and gagging.

How this came about was totally by mishap and by my oldest daughter being a bit careless.

Normally we make sure that all the small toys aren't on the floor or within grabbing reach of Anya and Mia knows certain toys aren't suitable for a toddler.

However, she had a tube of bubble mixture and in her excitement to play with them she dropped (or probably threw!) the lid on the floor.

We were totally oblivious to this, however Anya wasn't.

I saw Anya sit on the floor and start to gag.  But she was silent and started to go red in the face.  She wasn't eating anything at the time so I wondered what was happening.  I suddenly became aware that she was struggling with something but we had no idea what.  Just as I realised she was actually choking she started to vomit.  This often happens during a particularly bad case of gagging but is often accompanied by noise.

This time we could see her being sick and a few seconds later out popped the lid of the bubble mixture.  To our amazement.

I'm glad I was experienced at watching her gagging otherwise I think I would've rushed and grabbed her without seeing what her body does.  That may have made things worse and perhaps she would've swallowed the cap down further, but thankfully it came up itself.

We didn't even see her eating it so I wasn't sure how far down it had gone, but for her to choke like that it was definitely further down than her gag reflex.  Luckily out it popped.

Mia couldn't be blamed too much but we had to strongly warn her about the dangers of throwing her toys on the floor.  I think seeing Anya choking made her realise how serious it can be.

And how was Anya after the little incident.

Her normal self and looking for something else to eat!

What did I learn from this? To watch first before acting otherwise things could get worse.  And when you feel you need to then step in.

Back to basics

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted on here.  At least having kids keeps you busy!

I'm finding at the moment we're starting at the beginning with baby led weaning i.e. it's all about learning about food, texture, smell, sight, then perhaps taste.

Everytime I put anything in front of Anya she wants to squash it all in her hands.  Only once it's been squashed to a pulp will she start to taste it.  Very tidy - NOT.

However, if I spoon feed her she'll eat it fine. Typical, give a spoon fed baby the chance to feed themselves and they love it but give a blw baby the chance to be spoon fed and she loves it!

Oh well, bath night every night in our household.

Table Manners Please

Having kids changes everything. Your WHOLE LIFE.

It's hard work and you never have a day off but it's so much fun and I've never laughed and smiled as much in my life (and I used to laugh and smile a lot before kids!).

I don't mind the noise (actually I make just as much as the kids), I don't mind the mess (again, I make just as much as the kids) but  I really really miss a nice quiet sit down meal.

And blw is easy too.  At least I can eat along with the kids even if it isn't quiet or relaxed or particularly civilized.

Basically this is how a meal goes in our house.

Mia sit's down to eat. 
Anya starts to shout as she knows food is coming and wants to go in her chair.
I bring the food to the table.

I put Anya's bib on.
And shout at the dog to get off the mat under Anya's chair.
Then I bring the food in.


"Mummy, please can you tuck me in?"
I leave my seat to tuck Mia in. Then sit back down.
"Get off the mat Bobby."


"Mummy, you've tucked me in too much, please can you move me back?"
Once more I leave my seat to readjust Mia's chair and sit back down to my meal.
"Bobby, shift!"
"Anya, don't bounce too much in your chair, you're banging your head on the back."


"Mummy, you forgot to get me a drink."
Slight harumph "Ok, I'll get it now."
Once again I leave my seat, get Mia a drink and sit back down to my meal, which is getting colder by the minute.
I kick the dog.


"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr."  Then Anya proceeds to drop food on the floor.


"Mummy, I need a wee."
"Arrrrrrrrrrr", and this time it's me and not Anya!  So quick potty trip whilst trying to see that Anya is ok and not banging her chair so much that it will topple over, then back to my meal.  Up again as I've forgot to wash my hands.
"Bobby get off the bloody mat. Sorry Mia, Mummy said a naughty word."
Anya drops more food and tries to take her bib off.  Then tries to fling herself across the room in her highchair.


"woof woof"
Oh for goodness sake!  The dog needs to go out.  Once again I leave my meal and let the dog out.  No point in sitting down as he'll be in in a minute so I'll just be back up again.
Right, the dog has had a wee, the daughter has had a wee, I don't have time to have a wee so I sit down again.
This time I'm going to shove my tea down my throat in 5 seconds otherwise it will be stone cold.


"Mummy, I've finished.  Can you get me down please?"
"Mia, please can you wait until I've finished my tea?"
"But Mummy, I want to get down."
"Mia, please give me 2 minutes to finish my tea.  Anya, stop banging your head."
Anya has eaten all that she wants and is now rubbing her face with her hands which are covered in food.  


("Oh Mummy, I need a wee."  I can't even type this blog without being interrupted.  Where was I? Oh, Mia wants to get down, Anya is covered in food and I still haven't finished my tea.)

Meanwhile Mia has tried to get down and is stuck.  "Argh, Mummy help me, I'm stuck."
I give up!
The dog's eaten Anya's food, except the banana which he's left as he doesn't like it, so that's all over the carpet, Anya is covered in food, Mia is bottomless as she doesn't want her pants back on, and I wolfed down my tea that quickly that I didn't enjoy it.


Oh I miss my adult meal times!

New media hype about breast feeding exclusively for 6 months.

As a baby led weaner and one that exclusively breastfed both my daughters for 6 months I feel that I must comment on this new information in the media.

Firstly it must be pointed out that this study is not about breast feeding and it states almost immediately in the study that the evidence about breast feeding basically speaks for itself, but it is about weaning and when to wean.

Nor does it actively promote bottle feeding or jar feeding in babies.  It simply discusses certain issues, albeit in a slightly biased way!

When you read the study bear in mind that 3 of the 4 authors are associated with baby food companies.

And also bear in mind that researchers can argue their points by using previous research to back up what they believe and not using research that doesn’t back it up.  My many years at university certainly taught me that!

Plus this study is a review of previous data and not based on new data.  So - same data, different views.

I’ll break down my findings on the study and then bullet point what I believe is important (again, my results will obviously be biased!)

ALLERGIES

I’ll tackle this first seeing as the media seems to be going mad over it.

There are certain studies that suggest if food is introduced before 3 to 4 months then there is an increased risk of allergy.  But our guidelines advise against introducing any foods before 3 to 4 months unless in exceptional circumstances or under medical guidance.

Another study suggests coeliac disease is increased if gluten is introduced after 6 months but fell if gluten is introduced after 4 months - BUT ALONGSIDE BREAST FEEDING.  No-where in the study does it say to stop breast feeding.

An American study suggests that wheat allergy (not coeliac) may be caused by introducing wheat after 6 months.  This study involved 1612 children and their findings were related to 4 children with wheat allergies who were introduced to wheat after 6 months.  What about the remaining children with no wheat allergies who were introduced to wheat after 6 months?

WEIGHT

This study suggests delaying the introduction of solids may reduce the window of opportunity for new tastes.  I have serious doubts with this.  Breastfed babies get to taste the foods that their mothers eat in the breast milk and this is much more varied than formula fed babies (but the milk source isn’t the issue).  The study is concerned with delaying the start of weaning.

If you are doing baby led weaning then basically forget this.  The traditional method of weaning means food is pureed, given in single tastes at first i.e. pureed carrot or pureed apple, until the child is old enough to chew solids.  If you’re a blw then they are introduced to a vast array of tastes very early on, so much more than a traditionally weaned baby or jar weaned baby.

What this study also suggests is that weaning early may be important for accepting certain foods such as ‘green leafy veg’ and if a child doesn’t accept ‘green leafy veg’ then this can lead to obesity.

WHAT?  Is an educated parent really going to stop giving their child ‘green leafy veg’ or healthy foods just because it doesn’t like it?  My parents don't like curries and we never had them as children but they're my favourite meals - how does that work then???

Breastfeeding and baby led weaning helps to reduce obesity.  Breastfed babies stop when they’ve had enough and we have no way of knowing how much they’ve had.  They listen to their bodies (as we should too as adults).  Baby led weaned babies stop when they’re full (and generally show they’re full by throwing the food all over you!).

The study reports two different views of weaning ages and weight issues.  It reports one study suggested later introduction of complimentary feeding (I like this term) protects against overweight in adulthood.  Another study showed babies exclusively breastfed for 6 months had a higher bmi than babies exclusively breastfed for 3 months but these were only measured when the babies were aged 1 and not in adulthood.

IRON LEVELS

This has been the bane of my life!  As a vegetarian I am constantly telling people where I can get my iron sources from and how I compensate for not getting easily absorbed iron levels in meat.

And now I have to battle it with having vegetarian breastfed children.

I found the following information on the NHS library and it makes very interesting reading.

http://library.nhsggc.org.uk/mediaAssets/CHP%20West%20Dunbartonshire/The_Constituents_of_Breastmilk.pdf

Basically breastmilk has a relatively low iron content but the iron is bound inside the lactoferrin molecule, which makes it easier for the infant to absorb.  Infant formula contains 5-6 times as much iron as breastmilk.  This is present as “free iron” (i.e. not bound with another compound) and is therefore harder to absorb and it also supports growth of iron-seeking bacteria, thus increasing the risk of gut infection in the infant.

Therefore, in spite of the apparently low levels of iron in breastmilk, exclusively breastfed babies do get enough iron, and they are protected against iron-deficiency anaemia until at least six months of age, and often longer.

I had a constant battle with a doctor over my first daughter’s iron levels. In the end she sent her for blood tests and her iron levels came back absolutely normal.  That shut her up!

So basically this is what the study says

• Introducing a child to certain foods before 4 months and after 6 months MAY increase certain allergies but it does not at any point recommend a mother to stop breast feeding. (Phew Anya was 5 months and approx 25 days when I started weaning her. Just got in there.)
• Breastfed babies may not like ‘green leafy veg’ and may in turn get fat.  Er...that does not warrant a response!
• Breastfed babies might not get enough iron.  Breastmilk contains all the iron a baby needs and if hospitals practised delayed cord cutting at birth a baby would have increased iron supplies too.

My main worries with this new study and the way it is being reported in the media is that people will falsely assume breast feeding causes allergies.  That’s not the case. They are saying delayed weaning may cause allergies.  But if you don’t delay weaning and feed from 4 months then you’ll have to puree the food which goes against baby led weaning.  And unless you’re pureeing all your own food you’ll probably buy jars - and don’t forget, 3 out of the 4 authors are associated with baby food companies.

Sounds like someone needs funding for their university!

Weaning friendly yoghurts?

I bought some Muller Little Star fromage frais as Mia and Anya love them.  But recently I noticed they are advertised as being ideal for weaning.

Ideal for weaning?!  The third ingredient is sugar.

That my friend is not ideal for weaning.  I'd rather have natural sugars occurring from fruit within the yoghurt.  Not loads of sugar then fruit.

So from now on I'm using natural yoghurts and pureeing my own fruit so I at least know where the sugar comes from.

BLW ideas for meals

My New Year's Resolution is to ask more.

So in keeping with my resolution I would like to ask everyone for ideas for blw meals.

I'm trying to compile a file of the best ideas for breakfasts, lunches and teas, oh and snacks, so if all of you expert baby led weaners could let me have your ideas I would greatly appreciate it.

I'll keep posting them on here as they come in so we can all help each other.

Many thanks in advance.

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. 

Yeah - I've converted my Mum!

I was at my Mum's yesterday having tea, as is usual on Sunday for us, and she suddenly came out with 'I like this baby led weaning'.


YEAH.

She wasn't keen at first, especially when she saw Anya gag, but now she's loving it.

And so am I.  Anya just sits with us at meal times and enjoys the whole eating experience.  As soon as I put her tray in front of her she grabs for food, then spends the rest of the time happily laughing and smiling at us as we're all eating.  The only exception is when we're eating at home.  I tend to eat with my two daughters as my husband arrives home later than we eat, so we eat with the telly on.  Anya is often turning around when something interesting comes on.  Especially Zingzillas!

She ate loads tonight.  She had a cheese and onion bite, some bread, some pasta, then finished it off with a full pear (no skin).  It's 11.30pm and she hasn't woken up for a 10pm feed.  Perhaps this is the way to go!

Note to Self - feeding a child does need some form of organisation

As I've previously mentioned I'm not the most organised person.  Well actually, when it comes to big things, organising parties, moving house (and even countries!) studying, I'm very organised, but when it comes to everyday things I tend to take things as they come.

Which is why blw suits me just fine.  However, I keep forgetting that Anya needs to eat now.

I went into town today unexpectedly and got a pasty for Mia and myself.  Mia was fine with her cheese and onion pasty and I had a vegetable curry pasty.  It was just before dinnertime so I thought I might be ale to get back and cook Anya something but once she saw us eating, that was it.

Basically in baby talk, this is what she was saying, "Mmm, Mummy that looks nice.  Mummy, please can I have some?  Mummy, I'm getting hungry and your food looks nice, please can I have some?  Mummy, please please please can I have some food?  MUMMY GIVE ME YOUR FOOD?  NOW! MUMMY FOOD NOW! ARGH ARGH ARGH. JUST GIVE ME YOUR FOOD".

I managed to break a bit off of my very hot pasty (both hot and spicy) and cool it down.  I wasn't sure if she would eat it as it was quite spicy but she loved it.  She would suck the sauce off it then suck the pasty until the pastry was suitable for her to eat.

Then she decided to let me hold it and she moved her head from left to right and rub the pasty all over her face.  She loved it and I found it absolutely hilarious.  She was wearing a lovely white coat, which now isn't a lovely white coat!

I was quite surprised that she enjoyed the spicy pasty but then I do eat a lot of curries (not too hot as I'm a wimp) and I breastfed both my children, still breastfeeding Anya, so she's probably used to it.

So, hopefully, I've learnt my lesson.  Take food anywhere I go in case Anya goes mental and WANTS FOOD.

I'm thinking either fruit, sandwiches, breadsticks, cheese, falafel, or quiches.  I'll keep you filled in on what foods are appropriate when you're out and about and using blw.