Adventures in Baby Led Weaning
They weren't joking when they said it was messy. Whoo. At this point he's more finger painting than eating with the foods I've offered him, but he seems to be getting a kick out of getting food like us instead of just toys when we sit at the table together.
He's tasted yam, steamed apple slices, applesauce, oatmeal with a bit of vanilla hemp milk in it, hummus, and a piece of pita bread. He's gagged pretty badly two times and it is hard to sit calmly while his eyes fill up with water and he struggles to move the food out. But this is apparently part of the learning process and as long as we don't feed him the obvious choking hazards he should be okay. Needless to say I watch him very closely and try not to visibly freak when he gags.
Oh yeah, he's also gnawed on a whole carrot but that was more for teething than for actually eating. Hopefully he's getting used to the flavor. He seems to really like that.
I gave him a toddler spoon with the applesauce and oatmeal and helped him get the food on it, but them let him experiment with getting the spoon to his mouth and the food off of it. Most of it slid off onto his lap or smeared on his face. But he was surprisingly good at it for the short time that he's known about spoons.
I didn't plan for the solid food thing to happen so quickly, but he seriously looked like he wanted to eat whenever he saw me doing it. He'd even make a chewing motion with his mouth while he stared at me with longing in his eyes. And he has all of the other signs of readiness...sitting independently and able to bring food to his mouth without assistance, and no more tongue thrust reflex. So, I figure if he's not ready he won't actually get anything down. Meanwhile he's just playing and that is okay with me.
He's tasted yam, steamed apple slices, applesauce, oatmeal with a bit of vanilla hemp milk in it, hummus, and a piece of pita bread. He's gagged pretty badly two times and it is hard to sit calmly while his eyes fill up with water and he struggles to move the food out. But this is apparently part of the learning process and as long as we don't feed him the obvious choking hazards he should be okay. Needless to say I watch him very closely and try not to visibly freak when he gags.
Oh yeah, he's also gnawed on a whole carrot but that was more for teething than for actually eating. Hopefully he's getting used to the flavor. He seems to really like that.
I gave him a toddler spoon with the applesauce and oatmeal and helped him get the food on it, but them let him experiment with getting the spoon to his mouth and the food off of it. Most of it slid off onto his lap or smeared on his face. But he was surprisingly good at it for the short time that he's known about spoons.
I didn't plan for the solid food thing to happen so quickly, but he seriously looked like he wanted to eat whenever he saw me doing it. He'd even make a chewing motion with his mouth while he stared at me with longing in his eyes. And he has all of the other signs of readiness...sitting independently and able to bring food to his mouth without assistance, and no more tongue thrust reflex. So, I figure if he's not ready he won't actually get anything down. Meanwhile he's just playing and that is okay with me.