Baby Led Weaning - Week 3: Poo

I promised you a poo post, so here goes!

When B started solids, we had great fun spotting what she'd eaten the day before appearing in her nappies. A bit of broccoli here, a mushroom there, and I even watched her poo a green bean once, which was totally hilarious. So we were very much expecting this to happen with M too. However, within a day or two of starting her journey with solids, M's poos had become more formed, solid, unlike the breastmilky poos she'd been having since we'd sourced a regular milk donor for her supplements. I don't know whether she's digesting her food properly or doing a fantastic job of mashing the food up with her gums. I'm still waiting on a whole slice of courgette that I watched her swallow though! And now that she has 1 tooth, and a second about to emerge, it will be interesting to see how her poos change.

From her birth until she started solids, M has been an irregular and infrequent pooer - once to twice a week at most, but not constipated or struggling. They were formed whilst she was on formula supplements, with the odd runny, seedy, breastmilky poo here and there, and then all breastmilky when she was solely having breastmilk. Once M began solids, she began doing 3-4 poos a day, which was exciting and annoying in equal parts - I'm not a fan of poo!

Baby Led Weaning - Week 2

M is seriously loving food! Here's a run down of what she's eaten this week, with some beautifully messy photos:


Monday

Breakfast - buttered toast fingers

Lunch - sleeping

Dinner - homemade pizza; onion ring; red pepper

Tuesday

Breakfast - buttered toast fingers - we're not very imaginative when it comes to breakfast!

Lunch - beef stew; cheesy mashed potatoes; steamed courgette, carrot & broccoli

Tea - eggy bread; banana

Wednesday

Baby Led Weaning - Week 1

Our second Baby Led Weaning journey has begun. M had her first solids experience at 23 weeks. That's three weeks before her 6 month birthday, which just goes to show one of the beauties of weaning in this way. We didn't have to rely upon an arbitrary age to reach, but had measurable abilities to watch for.

Baby led weaning means allowing your baby to lead the way on their journey to full time solid food. It's not - as many seem to think - the introduction of finger foods to a baby already fed on purées, but rather putting food in front of your baby and letting them explore and feed themselves. If you're feeding your baby some of their food, they're not leading the way, so there is no such thing as 'part traditional, part baby led weaning,' though a baby can feed themselves with purée if given a loaded spoon. 

Time flies

My teeny weeny bo beeny isn't so teeny any more. At 24 weeks she's sitting up much longer by herself, and mimicking us. We started baby led weaning last night, after I noticed that she's lost the tongue thrust reflex and was imitating our chewing. Oh, and she stole my banana! So, her first official meal was Grandma's potato wedges and some cabbage from the coleslaw. Boy, did she enjoy that! Grandma's floor wasn't so keen. Exciting, but scary. Where did my tiny baby go? Not only this new stage, but last night she snuggled into my arms and put herself to sleep. She's never done that before. Must be Granddad's influence. I must admit though that I missed breastfeeding her to sleep. Luckily, when we got home, she accepted a little dream feed.
Time has flown so fast. She's nearly 6 months old. In 2 weeks, she'll be closer to a year than to her birth. It's such an amazing journey to be on. Such an honour to be a part of it. It's been tough going, but I wouldn't be without her for the world.
Now, I'm just hoping she starts swallowing the solids soon so that she'll cut down on the formula and eventually we can get to breastfeeding alone. A full night's sleep would be nice too - just once a fortnight would be fine!