new foods, new tastes, new faces

Yuck!

So this is the face Jayse pulled when I gave him avocado for the first time.... Safe to say he doesn't like it... At all!

I'm not sure whether he has just discovered his gag reflex or whether he is genuinely choking, but lately he loves pulling THIS beautiful face and scaring me into thinking he can't breathe... Of course all of the fussing, gagging and choking is then followed by a smile!

I've tried him with a couple of new flavours, one being avocado and the other being homemade brown rice cereal. I didn't really like the smell or taste of Farex so I thought I would give making it myself ago. First attempt failed miserably - I got carried away doing things around the house and forgot I was cooking rice. Second attempt was a success! I gave it to Jayse the next morning for breakfast and mixed some fresh apple puree into it, I thought he would love it (I liked it!). But no. I put a small amount on a spoon, let him have a taste and the face pulling, gagging and choking began! It seemed as though he just wanted plain old Farex, because I made him a bowl and he woofed it down. I'm beginning to wonder whether he is just a creature of habit or whether he genuinely dislikes the taste. I'll keep persevering.

Now that I am really into the swing of things with feeding Jayse solids I've been reading a lot about the different approaches you can take when it comes to giving your baby real food and three little letters keep popping up B L W. I had heard a friend mention Baby Led Weaning before, but I never really knew what it meant. A quick internet search reveals hundreds of webpages dedicated to this movement of letting your baby take the lead when it comes to starting solids for the first time. Some even use the catch cry of 'the mush stops here'. But I'm still not sure I'm convinced.

Don't get me wrong I know a couple of mums who swear by BLW and have shown me how successful it can be. In principle I can understand how BLW would work. I even asked my fellow mums in our mummy madness Facebook group and they have proved to me how hugely beneficial BLW can be - no more boiling, steaming and pureeing fruit and veges, just simply give your babe some suitable size bits of food when the whole family sits down for dinner and away they go.

I think the problem lies within myself. What if Jayse chokes because I gave him a piece to food that wasn't the right size? There is that fear within me that I just can't really get over at this stage and it probably doesn't help that 000 has had to be called in my household before because of a choking incident that happened with my then 2 year old niece. Many mums who follow BLW did say that yes, their little ones have gagged on food, but it was no where near the point of actually choking. As one mum put it 'They do gag, but that's only so they bring the food forward from the back of their mouths. The book baby led weaning... explains the difference between choking and gagging." Many mums who follow BLW said they didn't start their bubs on this process of weaning until around 6 months and it also seems that quite a few use a combination of both BLW and pureed foods.

While I like the sound of BLW, I know deep down I am not ready to feed Jayse exclusively in this way. (I did give him some banana a few days ago, simply cut up in front of him - but it just got smeared everywhere and I didn't really enjoy the mess!) He is only just 4 months now and I feel as though as he heads closer to 6 months he (or probably I) will be more ready for proper solid food. I like the idea of using a combination of purees and BLW.

Thanks to all the mums who chucked in their two cents worth! I really appreciate it!

In the last few days Jayse has begun talking! LOTS! I sneaked this little video of some of his first babbles!