2012 Book 17: Baby Led Weaning

As we approached Jack turning six months old, we began to think more about introducing food. I had read a couple of things online about Baby Led Weaning and my interest was peaked. Then a friend from high school wrote a blog post detailing her experience with this process and I was even more interested {it helps to come across people you know verses random strangers on the internet}.

Armed with some basic knowledge, I decided to order the book, Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. This book is an easy read and it really made sense to me. Daniel and I have a very laid back approach to parenting and the thought of skipping baby purees and special baby food sounded very much like something we would be interested in. 

I finished reading the book right before we had Jack's six month baby well check up. I was pretty sure that our doctor would have no idea about this approach {we live in rural Alabama} and I was right. Thankfully she wasn't totally against it, though she did say her biggest concern {and ours} is the possibility of choking and the need for iron.

Anyway, we decided to move forward with the process and so far so good. I will be writing a follow-up post in a few months once we have been doing this for awhile.

Basically Baby-Led Weaning is a process that allows your baby to explore food and learn about textures and tastes in lieu of spoon feeding or starting with purees or mush. You give your child finger foods {that are soft} and you let them explore the food while you observe.

We had a couple of moments of not being sure if Jack was gagging {normal response} or choking, but so far he is really taking to it. We have tried avocado and oatmeal. Next up is bananas or sweet potatoes.

Excerpts from the book:

Babies who are allowed to feed themselves learn about the look, smell, taste and texture of different foods, and how different flavors work together; with spoon-feeding all the tastes are pureed into one.

Being in control of how much and how quickly he eats not only makes the meal more enjoyable for him, but means that the baby is able to recognize more easily when he is full. 

...coughing and sputtering that look and sound alarming are actually signs that the baby is dealing with the problem. By contrast, a baby who is truly choking is usually silent – because no air can get past the blockage.

When a baby puts a piece of food into his mouth himself, he is in control of it. If he is able to chew it, he will. If he is able to get it to the back of his throat, he'll swallow it. If he isn't able to do these things then, as long as he is upright, the food will simply fall out. Allowing a baby to feed himself means that he in control – and having control helps to keep him safe.

Early self-feeding is about exploration and learning.

Milkshake, please?!?!?

Jack was bound and determined to share our Cookies and Cream Milkshake at Red Robin today.

Unfortunately for him, milkshakes are not on his list of approved foods.

We did let him share some ice water though.

Children's Books I Can Currently Quote in My Sleep

ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book! by Dr. Seuss 
 
Frankie the Frog Learns About Colors by Natalie Jane Parker

Trucks Go by Steve Light

Touch the Art: Pop Warhol's Top by Julie Appel
 
Curious Baby My Favorite Things by H.A. Rey 

Little Quack Loves Colors by Lauren Thompson 

Moo Baa La-La-La by Sandra Boyton 

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, 

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? 
and The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown

Menu Monday

To kick off the week, I plan on making my favorite peach cobbler – there aren't many recipes I repeat, but this is one of them. It is that good. I picked up some fresh peaches from our local Farmer Market {it drives me crazy that this is not possessive, i.e. Farmer's Market}. They smell so good and I can't wait to have them in cobbler tonight. Recipe from Pink Parsley.

On the menu for this week...

Monday
Grocery Night... this is kind of becoming our new norm.
We will be eating leftover Baked Chicken Parmesan with some kind of veggie.

Tuesday
Fish Tacos with Chipotle Lime Cilantro Slaw
{recipe adapted from Centsational Girl}

Wednesday
Meat Loaf Minis with Roasted Potatoes
{recipe from Tracey's Culinary Adventures}

Thursday
Crispy SouthWest Chicken Wraps
{recipes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe via Pinterest}

Friday
Date Night

Saturday
White Pizza with Chicken and Fresh Herbs
{recipe from Pink Parsley}

Sunday
Black Bean and Corn Baked Potatoes
{recipes from MyRecipes.com via Pinterest}

Monte Sano, Part II

Back in April we tried our first day hike with Jack and it was a failure success, depending on how you looked at it. Today we went back to Monte Sano and had a much better experience.

First off we decided to skip out on taking Sophie. As much as we love our dog, she tends to add an extra layer of difficulty. Any day other than Sunday, we can take her with us, but our Sunday's are just not dog friendly.

Second, we tried to do a better job of adjusting our kid carrier in the parking lot. We also continued to adjust it on the trail since Jack seems to lean to the left. Unfortunately this gives me terrible sciatic nerve pain in my right hip. We will have to keep working on this. I think once he is bigger he will sit more naturally centered in the pack.

Third, we had no trouble finding our trailhead. We were just dummies in April. Bad moods made us stupid. The hike was lovely – all in the woods. Actually perfect for mountain biking {though we won't be doing that any time soon with an infant}. I love views, and since it is early summer, the views are minimal thanks to all of the full, green trees. I am sure the views are amazing in winter, but for now I will have to be content with a walk in the woods.

Fourth, Jack did pretty well. He got fussy about halfway into our 3-mile hike. Then he conked out and slept all of the way back to the car. My hip was hurting pretty badly towards the end of the hike {see above}. Also, I have come to the conclusion that after ten years I believe it is time to retire my beloved hiking boots and get a new pair. Those things have seen a lot of miles on many different trails in many states. I will be sad to say goodbye to them.

Finally, Daniel and I were in much better spirits on this hike. It was a bit warm, but the shade kept us cool. It is nice to be hiking again. Not sure how many hikes we can squeeze in before it is too hot for Jack. But today was nice.

Trail Stats:

Monte Sano State Park

Huntsville, Alabama

South Plateau Trail to Fire Tower Connector Trail

3 miles

Flat hiking, some rocks and roots. Well maintained trail. Nice and wide. Would be perfect for mountain biking with kids in the future. Views would be much better in the winter.

Shriner's Fish Fry

I mentioned before that we are trying to be more active in participating in community events. Sometimes our "community" is Chattanooga {my recent 5K} and sometimes it is Huntsville {where we attend church}. But most of our time is spent in Hollywood or Scottsboro and when we see a sign advertising a local event, we are making efforts to go {like attending the Horse Whisperer back in March}.

This month's cultural local event was the annual Jackson County Shriner's Fish Fry and Car Show. We had intended to go last year, but I think that we were out of town. The event was at City Park in Scottsboro and free to attend. 

There were various booths – mostly local artists/crafters. The cars were a main attraction, though it was a small show. Our favorite was an old red Ford Bronco in pristine condition. There was a '93 Toyota Tacoma that was Daniel's dream car when he was 13 {note the year}. 

Our favorite were the little motorcyles... 

and a corvette that was hauling a small trailer.

We decided that we should set up our own booth because Jack was an attraction on his own... While we were stopped to get shaved ice, everyone that walked by stopped to say hi to our little one. It helps that he grins at ANYONE.

For kids they had the big jumpy things {I am such a great parent that I don't even know what they are called!}. The best part is they are free. You could also fish for free – the city even provided fishing poles for a kid's fishing tournament. We thought that was pretty cool. 

Finally we made it over to the fish fry. For $14 we received two plates of food and cokes and were able to support a good cause. The food was tasty and the people were friendly. One of the volunteers told us that while the Shriner's are known for helping children who have suffered burns, they also help with orthopedic problems and things like cleft palate.

We enjoyed our Saturday morning/afternoon. Thankfully we went earlier in the day because a storm with really heavy rain moved through this afternoon and it would have been miserable to get caught in that kind of downpour with Jack in tow!

See Jack {early May 2012}

This is an ongoing series of videos that I am sharing so that our extended family can keep up with how Jack is growing and changing in these early years.

Jack is still working on rolling over. 
He can do it, but it is hard to catch him in the act... 
especially if Sophie is around to distract him.
{early May}

See Jack in the tub. Bath time is becoming more fun these days.
{early May}

See Jack as he becomes more fascinated with our cups and trying to drink out of them. When he manages to get liquid in his mouth I think he is a bit shocked at the coldness and taste of water.
{early May}