BLW: The Journey Continues

I went to a restaurant for lunch yesterday and baby B ate:
1 piece of prawn toast
1 piece of naan bread
1 spring roll
1 piece of vegetable tempura
2 slices of cucumber
3 pieces of melon.

He ate so much that I was worried we might have to pay for his meal (it was an eat as much as you like for one price restaurant) but luckily we didn't. His eating has come along amazingly in the past few weeks and there was very little on the floor (although the waiters were looking a little worried at one point).

At home his favourite foods include pizza, potato wedges, dried apricots (soft ones) and samosas which I make from bought filo pastry and a variety of fillings and I bake in the oven. He even eats steak - I think having 6 teeth already is a great advantage.

I have discovered that the best pasta for BLW is lumaconi (giant pasta shells) which I buy from Lidl's. They are big enough for him to to grab in a fist and still have enough outside his hand to get his teeth into.

It is so satisfying to see him devouring my home cooking so enthusiastically. Especially when his older brother picks at his food and eats as little as he can get away with: "Mummy, can I get down and play if I eat three more forkfulls?" I sometimes overhear my husband on the phone proudly telling his friends and family what B has eaten today and it's good to have his support and enthusiasm too.

My True Age

I usually ignore all the random stuff that people forward to me on facebook. Today, however, one of my facebook friends sent me the "True Age Test" and my curiosity got the better of me. The test involves answering some questions about your lifestyle, illnesses in the family etc. I guessed my score would be good as I don't smoke, drink very little and eat a reasonably healthy diet, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my real age is 18! That's less than half my age! And there was me thinking I was too old to have another baby.

Baby Led Weaning Videos

Here are some videos of B enjoying his food and sharing his vegetables with the cat.

BLW and a weekend away.

We went away this weekend to celebrate our 6th wedding anniversary. It was great to get away from the city, breathe some clean air and go for country walks. We stayed in the same B&B where we honeymooned 6 years ago, only this time around we had two children with us and therefore the experience was somewhat different.
When T was six months old, a weekend away used to mean taking jars of babyfood with us. And whether at home or away, mealtimes always meant spooning mush into a reluctant baby's mouth while our own dinner went cold. Not any more! At breakfast time B sat in his highchair and munched away on buttered toast along with the rest of the family. We ate out in pubs (much more pleasant places to eat since the smoking ban) and B sat chewing on whatever he could manage from our plates - cucumber, bread, broccoli, carrots, the odd chip. I can honestly say he didn't show dislike for any food. No jars, no spoon feeding, and none of those tedious "train going into the tunnel" games to try to get the baby to open his mouth.
http://www.nibleyhouse.co.uk/

Pancake Day

B was very enthusiastic about his first Shrove Tuesday and his first taste of pancake. Perhaps a little too enthusiastic - he shoveled the food in with such gusto that he made himself sick. T enjoyed the pancakes too and was very impressed with my ability to toss them over in the pan.

After School Play Date

My 4-year-old son, T, invited a friend home from school for tea for the first time the other day. It made me realise how grown up he is becoming. Up to now I have been the one to choose his playmates (mainly the children of my friends) but now he is choosing his own friends. His friend was a lovely boy - polite and well behaved - and they played beautifully together. They dressed up as pirates and played snakes and ladders. T has already told me the name of the next child he wants to invite (a girl this time). T is a popular boy so it looks as if this could be the first of many play dates.