So, me being the lazy creature that I am, we decided to do baby led weaning! Basically, it is when you skip the pureed food period where you feed the baby with a spoon, and you go straight to table food! You place the food in front of the baby, and let them go at it! Actually, there is a bit more to it then that, you can read about it here.

So Jack's first food was broccoli! All my aunts are like, "Whaaaa! Broccoli!?" But it has an easy shape for him to hold! He went to town on it at first, then I think he started to actually taste it and he kept pulling it out of his mouth to study it, then he would pop it back in, make a face, and take it out again. I don't think he cared for the bitter taste. Wait till I give him a lemon, I am DEFINITELY recording that!

He did great though. I also gave him a bit of ham, which he licked, then dropped on the floor Tomorrow I will give him the good stuff - banana and sweet potato. I will try and post a video later.

[KCMomma]

Michelle, I'm so glad you posted this. I'm definitely going to look into Baby Led Weaning so I'm glad I have someone else going through this. We are having a tough time feeding her and she seems to do better when she feeds herself, so I think this is perfect. Can't wait for some videos!!

[courtneytcu98]

I think that the spit out face is my favorite! I can't wait to see pictures.

[Celry]

That's so cute. I bookmarked the page and will be looking at it when I have more time. It sounds very interesting.

[KCMomma]

So I've been looking into this more and more and it totally seems like that exactly what will work for us. Plus I think it will help her develop good eating habits. Last night at Christmas dinner my 6 year old niece at a SMALL amount of ham and several rolls for dinner. And my 3 year old nephew ate CHIPS...that's right just chips for dinner because he refused to eat anything else! UGH it drives me crazy. So I'm hoping Paige eating what we are eating with us will give her a much better healthy outlook on food. I'm so excited to start this!

[Celry]

Gwen, my sister made baby food for her kids, but mainly mushed up what they were eating. Then she started table food and only fed them what she'd made for the family meals. They eat everything now. Neither is the least bit picky and try anything new put in front of them.

[KCMomma]

Originally Posted by Celry

Gwen, my sister made baby food for her kids, but mainly mushed up what they were eating. Then she started table food and only fed them what she'd made for the family meals. They eat everything now. Neither is the least bit picky and try anything new put in front of them.

Thanks Valerie! I'm hoping I can teach Paige great eating habits by doing this! What sucks is, I just made like 24 cubes of butternut squash and peas...guess we will mix that in every now and then!!

ETA: Michelle, I totally did not mean to hijack your thread!! I'm excited we can share this experience through JM together!! Oh and def post some videos!!

[Lo_and_Behold]

Wow that's great! I know a lot of the girls in my PR did a combination of this. We only just started giving Allie table food & the Gerber Graduates stuff like Biter Biscuits in the last month or so. Before that, she'd gag & choke a lot (well, she still does but only when she gets over eager to bite of more than she can chew...literally). That's the only thing that made me absolutely paranoid to give her people food earlier. In fact, just last night she choked on something & couldn't breathe for several terrifying seconds. But I think she's more the exception than the rule. Good luck & I hope it continues to go well!

That is cool you are trying it too Gwen! It does sound like it will work better for you

When reading about it they talk about gagging versus choking, and how a lot of babies have the potential to gag more when you spoon feed them. But I am sure I will encounter gagging with this method too. Jack gags and chokes at least once everytime I breastfeed him now anyways (psycho letdown), so that won't be anything new Even so, the idea of him choking does freak me out. But the broccoli was no problemo! I am giving him the other food tomorrow, I wanted to make sure what tiny amount he got yesterday didn't stop him up. He had a lot of poo today, so it is go time! So look for the video tomorrow.

Be sure to post how it goes for you and Paige, Gwen! Maybe we should have a video thread? It is very cool to have someone else trying this!

[KCMomma]

Oh yes, a video thread would be sooo good!! I will let you know when we decide to give her something. I'm making a flank steak stew for tonight so maybe I'll give her some carrots or sweet potatoes from that. If so, I'll definitely video!! What all have you given him Michelle? And the broc - was it steamed or just raw? Is there anything that we can't introduce at this point in their age?

We gave him the broccoli steamed. So far he has just had broccoli, he tasted ham, and I gave him a teeny taste of sweet potato pie. He loved that! He was licking his fingers and everything

I am not sure what foods are ok and what are not at this point. I know you don't want to load them with salt or sugar. No nuts b/c they can choke easily on that, and the rest I am not so sure of. I don't plan on giving him any shellfish for a little while. Other then that, I figure whatever! I read an article written in 2006 that said there aren't any studies that actually show giving certain foods too early will increase allergies, although I guess it is always good to be careful if you have a family history. In fact, babies that eat a wide variety of foods and aren't limited to boring baby stuff with no spice may end up being much less picky! I know I love all types of food and always have, and my mom gave me all sorts of stuff that had spices and whatnot from a very early age. It works for babies elsewhere, so why not our babies?

Here is that article, it is really interesting
Experts seek to debunk baby food myths - Kids and parenting- msnbc.com

Some roasted sweet potato and carrot sounds good! I want to try cold congealed oatmeal I think when I give him the banana and sweet potato this afternoon, that will go well! I am excited to see if he likes it, and if Paige likes her food too! Ooh, and I am trying peas too. I think I will smush those a little with a fork first.

update: sweet potatoes a no go for us! They were too soft (my mom had given us some she had cooked for Christmas), and he ended up gagging either from that or the texture. Then he was ready for a nap He may not be ready for solids so I am not trying to push it, but we will try some pees and banana for dinner!

[KCMomma]

Thanks for the updates Michelle. Tonight I tried cooked carrots and sweet potatoes and she just mashed them up with her fingers, but she did get several bites in her mouth! Then I gave her a cube of butternut squash that I had made earlier and she loved it she ate a whole other cube of squash!!!!! Love it! She was such a mess by the time we got done, I had to soak her clothes!! I've also been trying a sippy cup. So tonight I took out the little valve thing and held the cup in her mouth and she got the hang of it!! She loved the water!!!

I'm so glad we can share this experience together. I tried to video , but it wasn't that exciting so I deleted it. I'll try again later when she gets better.

[xanada101]

I let Kerrigan try just about everything that we have... unless it's got alot of sugar or spices in it. But fresh fruit... I love to let her lick.... I still give her oatmeal and pureed foods because she loves it. She actually gets excited and MAD if I go too slow! LOL