Weaning can be tricky then!

We are now in week 5 of weaning..... am I so naive? I thought this bit would be easy! Having spent 20 years cooking for a living I was really looking forward to feeding Leo - creating lovely, simple recipes for him and watch him excitedly tuck in to all the goodies I produced. But alas no. We started off very well, baby rice went down ok, all fruit purees were well received and even all of his veggies seemed to be enjoyed. So I expanded my repertoire; I have now got a freezer stuffed with ice cube sized beef casserole, southern chicken, turkey and saffron casserole, lamb and lentils, bolognaise.... I could go on but I'd just be showing off. I proudly placed the first savoury bowl in front of my tiny critic and full of trust and excitement - he readily opened his gummy little mouth for the first spoonful! To say he wasn't impressed would be a giant understatement, he made a "yuk" face, clamped his mouth shut, gave me a look that seemed to say "urgh, Mummy that went in my mouth!" soooo not a beef fan yet then. But I am surely cleverer than my 6 month old son aren't I? So I made my best aeroplane noises, I swooped spoons and made all the "yummy" high pitched squeals one should in this situation. In fairness he thought it was funny, he laughed and swiped - mouth wide open - but the very second the spoon touched his mouth - snap - it was firmly closed again. Little bugger.

I am ashamed to confess I lost my sense of humour after several mealtimes of negotiating, performing, bribing etc.... I got to the stage of "oh for f*ck's sake LEO!" Notably at the point where he launched a full bowl of banana and blueberries at me and the sofa. As it dripped from my left eye lash I knew I was losing this battle and needed to regroup and restrategise - which may or may not be a word. Enter Emma - fellow Mummy and all round good hearty sort. She sent me a message advising to alternate spoonfuls of savoury/new meals with one of something he will definitely eat. The theory being that babies are not so clever after all and if they think smooth fruit puree is coming they will open wide and eat - and as it turns out - this only bloody works! Leo will now eat a whole bowl of casserole etc so long as every 3rd or 4th spoon is fruit or yoghurt, and only a half spoon at that.

Happy Leo, happy Mummy, clean plates, full nappies :-)

Now that seems to be in hand I'm planning stage two - to introduce baby led weaning along side normal feeding. I think Leo will enjoy this and I want him to be able to explore food and tastes in his own time.
Apparently this is even messier than normal weaning - luckily I have a Labrador and a washing machine and have just ordered plastic bibs and table mat. I have downloaded a list of finger foods appropriate for his age and intend to start gently with some cooked carrot sticks this afternoon...... I'll let you know how it goes!

Sx