Porridge permutations and baby led weaning .....

How many ways can you make porridge exciting to a wee one? Well I have tried quite a few, the classic chunks of fresh fruit in it, dried fruit additions, natural rainbow sprinkles, honey, yoghurt, cream, chocolate sprinkles, crushed nuts, mini marshmallows, making faces in the porridge with said additions, getting the wee ones to 'throw on' their own (dangerous), making the porridge slightly thicker so it can be cut and held (this works especially well for cleaner baby led weaning, although baby actually prefers the sloppier version....I wonder why.......)

On to the flapjack/oat crunchies and smoothie presentation next me thinks.............

I am a huge fan of baby led weaning (technically we are emerging from that phase). Admittedly it was and still is messy in our house but the dogs help with the clear up......I just continue to try to 'let go' at meal times and relinquish my desire for control. I say continue to try as I fall back into old habits from time to time and the girls (well now it's the wee, wee one) remind me by throwing a tantrum and their food at me or the walls. Both wee ones didn't like being 'spoon fed' much, I admit I did a little of it with both, more to satisfy my need to know they were getting something down their necks, especially as the nurses kept telling me to get weight on number two wee one, but also because my babies didn't read the baby led weaning books and were demanding real food from around 4 and a half months so I had to play safe and do some mashing/puree-ing (they wanted calories in and were not capable of manipulating chunks of food). It didn't take long for their strength to grow and their dissatisfaction with spoon feeding to show more overtly!
They were/are happiest when digging in themselves. They LOVE food, they love lots of different foods, they will try lots of new things and have a wide palate compared to many other littlies. I loved the fact I didn't have to haul around huge quantities of prepared foods and the babies simply sat on my knees in cafes and restaurants and we ate from the same plate, I still love it. Don't get me wrong, we still have days when it all goes 'pear shaped' and I am sure I have thrown more food to the piggies in the pen than has entered the wee one's stomach but they never starve and of course this was all done in conjunction with breast feeding, so they often just felt like more breast milk and less joined up food and I was/am perfectly happy with that.

Silly Billyz sleeved bibs are a must in our house and save excessive staining on clothes, I really don't know what I would have done without them.....oh yes I do, when it's been warm enough the bubs have eaten naked............soooooo easy to clean them up then!

This is wee, wee one - 11 months and in total control of feeding herself, using cutlery and hands, managing all sorts of shapes, eating what we all eat. She thoroughly enjoys a good steak, in large strips to chew and suck on (she only has three little lower teeth so mostly gum chewing). A very happy eater :)

Another lunch time option for both 1 and 3 year olds:

The wee ones love just having picnic style lunches that they can eat with their fingers (steamed veggies like pumpkin, carrot, baby beetroot, orange wedges, sliced banana and avocado cubes)