My son eats like a champ!!!

It has been 2 months since we started our BLW journey and I think it is about time I gave you a good update! I can not stress enough how glad I am that we chose to introduce foods this way. It has been so much fun watching Aiden explore and learn how to properly feed himself, chew and swallow.

Eating Sweet Potato Pie with a Kick :)

Aiden is now eating 3 meals a day. If he does not have food when we are eating, he gets very upset! He is like his mom, a little vacuum when it comes to food :) The first week or so of starting BLW, we only offered him pieces of fruit (pears, peaches, oranges, plums, etc.) Once he got the hang of handling the food and consistently getting it into his mouth, we moved onto softer foods (like sweet potato fries, steamed veggies and toast) and meat. Around 6 months (so 2 weeks after he had his first taste of food), we noticed he was actually swallowing foods. He now gets his own plate of food at every meal.

Last weekend for Easter, he had 3 turkey dinners!!! Our families were pretty interested and in awe over how well he eats. They couldn't believe he was only 7 months old and able to chew and swallow everything we were eating!! (Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of him eating.)

Here are a few things we give him.
Breakfast:

• Toast with butter and cinnamon or jam
• Oatmeal pancakes (Put enough quick oats in a small microwaveable container add just enough milk to wet the oatmeal and mix in some brown sugar. Cook for 45 minutes in the microwave and allow to cool. Cut into strips)
• Muffins - Aiden really like the Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
• Cheerios
• Fruit
• Scrambled eggs

Lunch:
(I find lunch hard, we are not always home for lunch, so it isn't always at the same time)

• Grapes (cut in half or quarters)
• Leftovers from dinner
• Wraps
• If I go out I try to pack a couple containers we Cheerios, grapes, tomatoes, oranges, etc. Things that are not too messy and that he can eat.

Dinner:
Whatever we have for dinner! Last night it was chicken wings and perogies, tonight it was ribs and bruschetta. I started giving him larger pieces but now that he is mastering his hand to mouth motion, I am starting to give him smaller pieces to improve his pincer grip.


Loving the Roasted Cauliflower Au Gratin

 Occasionally I do spoon-feed him. However, I did not start doing it until he knew what food was and how to chew and swallow. I do not puree anything!!! I only spoon feed him foods that are hard for him to pick up. For example, I spoon feed him rice, mashed potatoes, soup, and yogurt.

Aiden has always been a very gassy baby, so I did notice when we first started with the food he was having tummy pains fairly frequently. I now give him pear juice once a day (or once every couple days). I do 1 oz of concentrated pear juice to 3-4 oz of water and try to give him yogurt on a regular basis. This has helped tremendously.

**I may update this post as I think of new things, or things I forgot!**

Happy eating!!!! :)