6 Months, 2 weeks, 3 days

Well, we have started weaning! We started a week earlier than planned in the end - I guess I just couldn't wait once I knew we were allowed to start (i.e. he was 6 months and 2 weeks old).

So, it went a bit like this...

Saturday

We all sat round the kitchen table to eat some toast together. Callum was in his Bumbo on a kitchen chair (we haven't bought a highchair yet). I cut up some bits of toast very thinly spread with butter into soldiers and put them on his tray. He went for them straight away and put them straight to his mouth. He pulled some funny faces but seemed to be ok. Then.....blurgh! blurgh! blurgh! Projectile vomit. All his milk from earlier came back up. It even came out of his nose :-o Poor little thing didn't know what to do, he looked in shock. 

So, that was that for Saturday.

Sunday

We were staying with friends and had gone out for lunch. I had ordered a lasagne that came with lettuce, cucumber, carrot and coleslaw (and tomatoes but Stuart nicked those). The lasagne came in a bowl on the plate so, with Callum on my lap, I let him 'play' with the salad. He had a wail of a time. Seemed to love playing with the coleslaw. I also cooled a piece of lasagne down for him but he seemed to have had enough by the time I did that so didn't really try that.

He was still just putting things to his mouth to taste rather than trying to eat/chew/swallow anything.

Monday

Now, we weren't meant to be starting weaning yet so were completely unprepared. I needed to go shopping for specific things for Callum but I wasn't going until Friday.

Breakfast was fine. I made him a little bit of Wheatabix (half of one of mine). I loaded up the spoon then gave him the spoon to put in his mouth. Again, lots of funny expressions and lots of gagging but no sick this time. Not sure if he actually ate anything or just decorated the kitchen and himself with it!

For lunch, I was having ham & cheese in pitta bread so I did him a couple of sticks of cheese, rolled up some ham and cut a strip of pitta bread. He had a go at the ham but stopped when a bit broke off in his mouth and made him gag. He licked the cheese then put it down and didn't go near it again. Then he tucked into the pitta bread and - burgh! Not as much or projectile as with the toast, thankfully. I was worried that it was wheat that was making him sick (though the Wheatabix was fine), and thought it might be because, technically, he is only 5.5 months (according to his adjusted age). Decided it was probably best to leave bread products for a while. 

I moved the pitta bread away from him but he kept trying to reach for it and ignored the cheese and ham.

Tuesday

Worrying about the wheat thing, I gave him some baby breakfast stuff that I had a packet of in the cupboard. I treated it the same as I had the Wheatabix in that I put it on a spoon then gave it to him to lick. Same funny expressions, lots of gagging but no sick. Everytime I took the spoon away from him to top it up, he was fighting me for it back so I took that as a good sign.

I was at my sister's for lunch and she had prepared a chicken salad. I sat him on my lap and he played with some lettuce and kept trying to get bits to his mouth to suck on. Then he sucked on some chicken for a while but went back to the lettuce.

Wednesday

Baby breakfast for brekkie. 

For lunch, I tried the ham again and this time gave him a Babybell. Wasn't really interested in any of it.

Thursday

Baby porridge in the morning.

For lunch, I tried him with a bit of pasta from the night before's dinner. As he seemed so keen to eat from my plate before, I sat with him on a blanket in the lounge and let him help himself as I ate. The pasta had chicken, onion and courgette in it and was in a red pepper pesto sauce. He sucked a bit of pasta then gave up when a bit broke off in his mouth. Sucked the courgette then put it down, sucked a bit of chicken until a bit broke off in his mouth and made him gag. To be honest, I don't think the pesto helped as it is quite bitty and there were pepper seeds in the sauce.

One thing he did that impressed me was when he first picked up the pasta, he did so with all the pasta in his fist, so he put it down and picked it up again with a bit of the pasta sticking out the top of his fist so he could put it in his mouth. I thought it might be a fluke but he did it again with another piece later. 

In the afternoon, I tried to give him a Babybell. He loved it while it was in the wrapper but lost interest as soon as I unwrapped it.

Friday

Morning - Baby porridge

Lunch - I had saved some dinner from the night before again. This time pork meat balls and some spaghetti in a tomato sauce. 

He just played with the spaghetti and didn't try to get it to his mouth. He did have a good go at the meat balls though but they were too difficult to hold and kept crumbling in his hands before he could get any in his mouth. He did manage to get some in his mouth once but just kept gagging until it all came out again.

I also gave him a rice cake as I thought that would be easy for him to hold. He did suck on it a bit but preferred to bash it against his tray on the Bumbo until it broke up.

Just after, I did notice that his cheeks looked really red. Looking more closer it looked a bit like a rash. He seemed happy in himself though. I also noticed a rash on his hands. Not sure if this is an allergic reaction from handling the food or from where I've washed his face and hands after eating.

I did try, again, to give him a Babybell in the afternoon. I offered it to him unwrapped and he took it and had a good suck on it - then a few bits broke off. Most of the bits came out but one bit got stuck at the back of his tongue and so he was a little bit sick again because it kept making him gag.

Basically, I really can't wait for his gag reflex to move further back in his mouth. He might actually start to hold food in his mouth for longer than a second and be more interested in the food too.

It is still very early days, though it is hard not to get a little frustrated that he isn't spending a little longer at least sucking food. I must be patient. Also, giving him the time he needs to explore the food. It is hard to know whether he has had enough or is just getting frustrated with something. In addition, unless you have no plans at all in the day, it is hard not to keep your eye on the clock when you have to be somewhere. I am trying to be patient and to give him as much time as possible.

I went shopping today and got lots of better food for him. Things like:

Bananas

Carrots

Broccoli

Grapes

Sweet Potato

Cucumber

Red Pepper

Rice Cakes

Oat Cakes

Real ham rather than processed stuff

Humous

I'll update you with how week 2 goes soon.