From the beginning
Sofia is 5 months and 1 week old and has been breastfed exclusively until now. In the last 3 weeks or so she has become very interested in food, she watches us eat and makes chewing motions with her mouth, she also manages to look a little sad as if to say, 'mummy why are you starving me?' or at least that's what I imagine she's thinking.
We are planning to do baby-led weaning which means letting Sofia set the pace, the idea is that babies will feed themselves when they are developmentally ready to do so, and this happens at around 6 months of age.
Since Sofia seemed so interested, last saturday I offered her some food to play with, I started by placing some steamed broccoli florets on the tray of her bumbo, she immediately picked one up and started noisily sucking on it, chewing and swallowing, she gagged a little bit, then carried on.
It was evident from the contents of her nappy the following morning that she had eaten a fair bit.
After the broccoli feast I became a bit nervous, surely she is too young to be eating, but if she is actually chewing and swallowing then she must be ready to start, what if she chokes? I know she is less likely to choke if she is in control of what goes in her mouth but the thought just terrifies me.
A couple of days later I offered her a piece of roast parsnip which she also seemed to love and ate a fair amount. I have since then tried banana, plum and nectarine, none of which she managed to eat, they were just too slippery and she got very frustrated by not being able to keep hold of them. She loved the taste of the plum though and got very excited trying to eat it, but also very upset everytime it came flying out of her hands.
I am concerned about what effects the food that she is eating could have on her tummy so my plan is to take things very slowly and only offer food every few days if she seems interested, and only fruit and vegetables until she is 6 months old.
I thought I'd also mention that friday (16th) was the first time that Sofia sat unsupported, all by herself for a good 5 minutes, I'm a very proud mummy!
Today Sofia had a rice cake, to show grandma how well she can eat on her own, cue lots of gagging and panic from grandma who I had to stop from sticking her fingers down Sofia's throat, I have to say I panicked too but tried my best not to show it and Sofia brought the bit of rice cake back up, chewed it some more and swallowed it. My mum left thinking I'm going to let her granddaughter choke, and I have to say it has knocked my confidence a bit.
Sofia also sucked on a slice of cucumber and a slice of tomato whithout the seeds. She seemed to love both, and got very upset when they got taken away from her, we were in an Indian restaurant.
She has been a little sicky today, she's brought a little milk back up twice which is so unlike her. Wondering if it could be because of the solids?... I don't think she has actually ingested much though, the only things she has definitely eaten are broccoli and parsnip and that was a few days ago.
I think we'll have a milk only day tomorrow and see what happens.
Here are some pictures of the broccoli feast:
