Year 2 Day 292: This Could Be Love

Matt rang the house mid-day to tell me to get the beef mince out of the freezer so we could have pasta "mess" tonight. I decided then that Ryan (who is seven months old today) was ready to have his first encounter with this scrummy meal of twirly pasta, beef mince, and mushrooms all in some Home Pride Creamy Tomato & Herb sauce. Oh...and silly me...I almost forgot the best part...the cheesy topping!

I sat just opposite Ryan as I usually do when he eats in his Bumbo, so I would be close by should he have any trouble with the twirls or mince -- also to keep pasta from being thrown at the walls. But I should have known better -- Ryan will certainly not be one to waste any food if he has any control over it. Nearly everything went straight into his mouth! He did gag a little on the pasta twirls, but mainly because they got sticky inside his mouth and either stuck to the roof of his mouth of the centre of his tongue.

Tricky twirls.

I have to say that I was quite impressed at how his general approach has advanced a bit. He used to just grab food, squash it and shove it in his gob. Now he picks it up and really looks at it before carefully putting it in. In fact, I think this is why he gags less now than he did at the beginning -- yet another positive for BLW. Also, he doesn't quite have the pincer yet, but that didn't stop him with the smaller bits of mince. He did a modified version with two hands and still managed to get it to his lips.

By the end of the meal Ryan had a Homer Simpson-esque 5 o'clock shadow of tomato sauce on his face and his hands were covered in orange as well! I think next time I will feel a bit more comfortable to give him more than I did this time as he was slightly frustrated when it was over.

Mind you, that frustration ended quickly when I brought his tub into the room and he realised it was splash time -- but I'll save that for another blog.

Year 2 Day 273: Trying on a Toastie

The gardener was in today to mow the lawn. Our conversation was brief enough for him to ask me where my Pimm's was, as I was setting up the umbrella and chairs...and I responded "I wish" and then told how I was bringing Ryan outside for lunch since the sun was out and it wasn't too hot. He said it sounded like a good idea and I silently agreed.

As you can see, Ryan's plate was a bit different today...besides his usual cucumber that he likes and Yoplait Strawberry Choobs that he LOOOOOVES, I made something a little new. A nice cheese & mushroom toastie sandwich.

Matt picked up a toastie maker from Lidl last night for only £6.99 (thanks to my text about the bargain) and I think I have found my new lover.

Anyway, Ryan began with his familiar and trusty stick of  cucumber as I placed the two quarters of his toastie on the Bumbo tray...

...and my little guy didn't waste any time checking out this new treat. First he picked it up in his hands and squished it a bit, trying to explore it more with his hands and eyes, perhaps deciding on the best point of attack.

As if the sandwich had a chance?!

Consumption looked a little like this...



After he nommed a bit, he began to pull it apart to examine the innards.

Satisfied that it was safe, he carried on eating until he devoured most of the two quarters I gave him. He did gag a bit and I was completely ready to intervene, but once was only because some of the bread was stuck to the roof of his mouth and he was a little confused, and then again when it had stuck to the middle of his tongue -- but he still coughed them both forward and proceeded to put them back into his mouth and "finish" what he had started. (Disclaimer: There is a difference between choking and gagging and the latter is almost guaranteed to happen at the start of BLW, but it's the only way for the baby to learn how to guage how far back to place the food and what is too far. The gag reflex is what KEEPS them from choking.)

I retrieved the partially chewed pieces that he was no longer interested in and piled them onto his plate before pre-loading some yoghurt desert on his spoon and handing it over...

This was the aftermath. Although I admit that I munched on three of his cucumber sticks, he managed quite well today on his own. I'm especially impressed that took some time to investigate a bit and I think overall I'm really enjoying our lunch dates in the garden.