Chicken,augratin potatoes,asparagus

Lainey usually eats a little of what we are having each night (major bonus to BLW!) Her selection tonight included a new flavor in the augratin potatoes (now these were the boxed kind which def are not healthy but everything in moderation right?).

She LOVED those potatoes (she is my daughter after all and this mama has yet to meet a potato variety I don't like!)

Lainey is also starting to get more interested in our use of silverware so I figured I would start letting her try out her Boon benders we received (review coming soon!).

She of course didn't dive the fork right into the food but when we gave it to her pre-loaded with potato or chicken she didn't hesitate to put it in her mouth!

Lainey has also been using sippy cups more after mama couldn't handle the sound of her little teeth against the ceramic shot glass she had previously been using to have sips of water out of haha!

We have a tommee tippee cup and we take the valve out of it so the flow comes out like a normal cup! For on the go we have a think baby sippy which is more like a bottle with handles but works great for now!

And here is a video clip I would like to share of Lainey enjoying those potatoes :)

Oh and for some reason this is the face we get at the end of a lot of meals LMAO....

Bean Burrito

Lainey got to try one of Mama's fave foods this month....refried beans! YUMMO! Now I usually have loads of cheese melted into mine but figured I would let Lainey first try them in the pure form ;) I usually always buy the fat free or vegetarian varieties since they do not contain lard like regular ones do! I warmed them up a bit inside a flour tortilla and let her have a go! Lainey's first bite she was a little unsure....

 And the next bite she still wasn't sure about this new flavor and texture combo....

 But she kept trying more and was soon sucking those beans right out of the tortilla haha! Notice she would not let go of her red pepper slice (another new fave!). She skipped the pear chunks (these were the del monte packed in water variety but she was not keen at all but maybe it is because she prefers to take the bites herself off her pear slices!).

Pros: good protein source in all beans and fiber too! Good texture for those a bit nervous about BLW
Cons: MESSY! Also of course can cause gas ;)

Toast w/laughing cow cheese

Toast soldiers aka toast sticks are great for the BLW babe! Not only can you let the baby try different varieties of breads this way but they also have endless possibilities to top them with other flavors, or for baby to use as dippers! On this day at the end of  October I gave Lainey some whole wheat toast with some laughing cow swiss cheese spread on it! She loved it! Since this she has had egg salad, chicken salad, lemon yogurt, and cream cheese on different varieties of bread sticks and has loved all those too!

Pros: EASY PEASY which this Mama LOVES! Always have some sort of bread in the house as well as different things for Lainey to have on it or to dip the bread into!

Cons: mess factor can be high!

Potato,avocado,pear:letting baby decide!

Letting the baby decide is a big part of BLW. Of course offering them healthy choices to choose from is ideal since that way we are at least steering them in the right direction towards healthy eating! Lainey is loving being independent in deciding what she wants to eat and is becoming such a confident eater even with just 2 bottom teeth! On this day in October I offered her a selection of steamed potato, avocado, and pear slices. Lainey went straight to the avocado which remains a favorite but she did eventually have a nibble of the potato and the pear (Which has made it into favorites lately too!).

Pros: well all of these choices were easy to prepare and offered Lainey 3 different tastes and textures to explore!

Cons: none at all besides the mess of avocado ;)

Pasta with meat sauce

I thought I would let you give pasta with a semi-homemade meat sauce (jar sauce with added in ground lean beef) but you were def not too sure about it!

I think you were thrown off by the texture of the ground beef which was quite gritty and dry compared to the chicken breast you have been having! We will def keep trying though as pasta with a homemade sauce is such a great way to get in several food groups and your varieties are endless! 

Pros: economical, lots of ways to prepare it, can sneak in many food groups!

Cons: the sauce obviously adds to mess factor, baby may not take to the mix of textures right away

Cauliflower and Chicken!

I wish I would have had more pictures of this eating adventure for Lainey but we were at a Sunday roast at a pub and I just wasn't really thinking of taking pictures. I wasn't even planning on feeding her anything but what we have learned is as soon as you let them start tasting and experimenting and being part of the family dining experience it is hard to NOT let them join in! So mommy licked the gravy off a hunk of cauliflower and much to Nana's disgust handed over a hunk of it to a bib less Lainey! Lainey put it straight into her mouth and was munching away (she does have her bottom two teeth now pretty much fully in) I also handed her a strip of my roasted chicken which she happily sucked and nibbled away on!

Cauliflower

Pros: easy to prep, can serve steamed or roasted etc....just 3 florets provides you with 67% of your daily vitamin C! Also high in folate

Cons: it stinks LOL! Otherwise no real cons I can think of 

Chicken

Pros: readily available anywhere you may dine, not too messy,low in fat but high in protein,vitamins B6 and B12, high in iron (what I learned from the BLW book is that the baby doesn't need to eat the meat to gain the goodness from it, as long as they suck on the piece of meat they are getting the benefits!)

Cons: none I can think of

Cucumber

A great thing about baby led weaning/solids is the fact it makes dining out EASY PEASY! This is def not a lie it is soooo nice to go into almost any place to eat and find something that you can hand over to the baby to nibble on and keep them content! We were out at an Indian place in England and we happened to get cucumber on our plates so I figured why not?! Lainey again was content and happy licking and nibbling at her bit of sliced cucumber (of course sticks would be ideal but she did just find with the slice!) I also have a crinkle cutter at home which I will use to cut up some fruits and veggies for her with to give her extra grip.

Pros: Easy to prep in a variety of ways! Pretty much a clean food doesn't really require stripping baby down or a bib! Cucumbers prob feel great on soothing gums of teething babe! Great source of vitamins A,C, and K along with potassium (of course with the peel on makes it the most nutritious)

Cons: none!

Apples

Miss Lainey like a lot of 6 month olds is teething so anything cool on the gums makes for good munching! I gave Lainey some raw wedged apple while we ate dinner the other night and boy did she tuck in! Gnawing away and just cooing happily as she did so. What I forgot is that apples can leave nasty brown stains! (I am behind on the book and read the bit about the apples leaving stains AFTER the fact of course haha!). But minus the staining incident Lainey really truly enjoyed her first tastes of an apple and now we cannot wait to bring her on our annual orchard trip to pick apples and pumpkins :D

Pros: Super easy to prepare and can be prepped in a bazillion ways! High in fiber and vitamin C

Cons: they stain! Other than that no real cons that I could think of!

Avocado- we have a winner!

Lainey got to try avocado and we could not believe how well she tucked in! One thing though is that this was the first time we offered her food around a normal nursing time. The other couple of attempts she nursed around an hour or so beforehand so prob was not very hungry. This time we offered the avocado while we were eating our dinner and then I bathed her THEN nursed her. And here is how it went....

ok what u gonna toss at me now?

hmm looks interesting

she grabbed a piece of pizza crust first and of course loved it...how could you not?

mommy decided to hold the piece of avocado so she could easily taste it

ok now THIS is good!

mmmmmm

trying to eat the piece that slipped out of her hand onto her bib haha

and a video of Lainey bear enjoying her avocado

Pros: Fat free; saturated fat free; very low sodium; cholesterol free; high in vitamin A; high in vitamin C; good source of folate. Lainey loved it! Great texture!

Cons: can be difficult to pick out (I chose ones that were almost black and they taste great!), slippery and messy, don't last long in fridge storage (maybe a day or two once cut)

Cantaloupe take one

Lainey didn't seem to like the taste of cantaloupe on her first go....but I do have to say that it is at the end of it's season here so this wasn't a particularly tasty one and was in fact quite bland. I offered her a chunk on it's own and also a chunk in a mesh feeder. Don't think she took in any of it to be honest and here is a look at how it went down....

ok now what?

like this right?

oohhh no no noooo

umm let's try it this way

YUCKO!

forget it ma!

my tray tastes nice though!

Bruno says he will try it next!

Pros: easy to prep, fat free; saturated fat free; very low sodium; cholesterol free; high in vitamin A; high in vitamin C; good source of folate.

Cons: none really! Well except the fact Lainey did not approve of it quite yet

Baby Led Weaning/Solids: The Begining

Well I was going to wait until we returned from England but I figured Lainey turns 6 months this next week and has been showing LOTS of interest in our food so figured I would take a very laid back approach and start tossing some goodies her way ;)

I have decided we would go the Baby Led Weaning/Solids approach (will share favorite informational links at bottom of this post) as why bother with purees if you don't have to? We can make normal meals for the family and include her by letting her sample a little bit of what we are having (within reason,not like I am gonna toss pizza her way anytime soon haha!).

Today Gabby and I were chopping up some carrots, potatoes, and onion (all from local organic farmers YAY) for tomorrows curry dinner and I decided "what the heck let's start with carrot today..."

I need to find better ways to prep Lainey some goodies but today I just washed off, cut up, and put into micro for a bit to soften the carrot....(off to look up better ways after this blog post and also my copy of the  Baby Led Weaning book should arrive this next week too)...

Without further ado pictures of Miss Lainey Bear sampling carrot

woopsie there goes my carrot!

And a short video clip of her chowing down...don't mind Miss Gabby gabbing away in the background ;)

Pros: easy enough to prep, rich in vitamin A; good source of vitamin C

Cons: none that I could think of!Taste great cooked or raw and easy to prep! Lainey wasn't 100% impressed but it was her first taste of anything food related....ETA..Lainey seemed quite gassy the rest of the evening and not sure if this was from the carrot or the fact I had more caffeine than normal (oops! sorry baby!)but thought I would put this down and wait a bit before we do carrot again...

A main thing is that Lainey is still getting all her nutrition from Mama milk and we are starting to explore nutrient rich foods so that once she is a year old she can really start diving in and eating what we eat! No trying to force spoons into her mouth or messing with mucky flavorless cereals! Lainey will learn to feed herself from the begining and develop her fine motorskills and (hopefully) diverse taste buds as we let her explore! Favorite links for information on this method/approach. Why Delay Solids(including cereal)? Wholesome Baby Food(ideas and more info about the approach) Nourished Kitchen BLW Recipes(UK mummy) Adventures in Solids(blog by a fellow BLW'r that has also been documenting their adventures) Please feel free to comment and share any of your faves as would love to have a whole page dedicated to these links!