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Baby Led Weaning
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DSDragon
TL; DR: Is an Eggo cut into strips and a couple quartered strawberries enough for baby's first breakfast, or should I "round it out" with some plain/vanilla yogurt to dip the waffle in (or something else altogether for a third option)? Water will be available in a 360 cup.
My second kid will be 6 months old a week from today. With his big sister, we also did BLW, but the offered meals were kind of haphazard and not really... nutritionally sound, I might say, for the first I don't know how long. That was mostly because I was letting her eat off of my plate and not making the best choices for things to eat myself, whether at home or at a restaurant.
This go 'round, I feel like I have the headspace to be a bit more deliberate about what I feed the baby (and/or myself), so I'm thinking about what I might get for his first few meals. Going to start with breakfast so we can eat at the table together for the first time (I've been eating breakfast at the couch while he plays in his little rocker chair for a month or two now, and it's getting old).
Anyway, I'm thinking blueberry Eggos cut into strips and quartered strawberries, but I feel like there should be a third thing. I just can't figure out what. Maybe some plain or vanilla yogurt to dip the waffles in? Or is just the waffle and strawberries going to be enough? I'll have some water in a 360 cup available too.
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kollikene
Of course it's enough. It's only their first meal and it's fine even if it's only one thing. I guess you could do some yogurt on the waffle, that sounds good.
But I would be a bit worried since then it's going to be 2 allergens in one meal. I'm assuming the eggos have wheat?
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DSDragon
@kollikene,
I think they have wheat (the flour used to make them, probably). None of my family has food allergies, nor does my husband's.
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kollikene
@DSDragon,
Oh and of course there's also eggs which is a third allergen. The allergens are still recommended to keep 3-5 days in between introducing even if there's no food allergies in the family. But of course, it's your baby, you can do whatever you want.
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JRo85
I recommend checking out the Solid Starts app - it’s free and will tell you how to serve foods safely (eg at 6 months, you should serve a whole strawberry that’s large enough that they can’t get the whole thing into their mouth vs in quarters which would put them at high risk for choking). They also have a great website on how to get started with foods, allergens etc.
Allergies are not necessarily genetic, so it’s recommended to introduce the main ones one at a time. A waffle likely has wheat and egg, which are two of the most common allergens, so you would wait until you’ve given the baby wheat at least 3x separately and egg at least 3x separately before giving something with both in it. Dairy is another main one, so you wouldn’t add yogurt to that meal either.
I would avoid something like an Eggo for a baby completely - aside from the allergen issues, it’s a highly processed food with high sugar and sodium and is also a difficult texture for a baby to start with. You could do a homemade waffle or pancake if you really want to serve that once you’ve introduced allergens separately, and that way you can control the ingredients.
The baby doesn’t need a “meal” to start with - you can offer one or two things as they aren’t really going to consume much for a few months - it’s about exploring flavours, textures and practicing skills. As they get more efficient and start actually consuming the food, you can slowly offer more foods at a time. Initially, you could just give one big strawberry! Other easy ideas are avocado, cucumber, banana. If you are still wanting to boost nutrition, you can roll soft/squishy things in ground flaxseed, chia seeds or hemp hearts - boosts nutrition but also makes them easier to pick up.
solidstarts.com Opens a new window Opens a new window
A team of pediatric feeding experts and doctors to help you start solids, prevent + reverse picky eating. Free First Foods® database.
A team of pediatric feeding experts and doctors to help you start solids, prevent + reverse picky eating. Free First Foods® database.
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DSDragon
@JRo85,
the Eggo is because if I made homemade waffles, most of them would go to waste because I don't like floppy waffles, my husband is diabetic (and eats other stuff for breakfast than I do, and at different times), and my 7-year-old daughter can't eat the rest of the batch that the baby doesn't eat all by herself.
For offering multiple foods at once, I was going by the BLW book, which basically says either let baby eat off of your own plate or offer "babyfied" versions, like unseasoned cooked veggies and such.
My usual breakfast isn't really BLW-friendly, and I don't actually cook it so much as warm it up/prepare it, so I was going to add a few things to the grocery list for the baby's "enjoyment," whether he eats them or not.
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ladebrouillarde
@DSDragon,
The point is that you don’t want to introduce two allergens at once because you won’t know what caused the reaction. Try egg strips first.
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ladebrouillarde
A six month old should only be eating big, whole strawberries (too big to fit in their mouth) or mashed. Download Solid Starts.
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Laurelkhl
It’s the first meal! We just pick by what we want to remember was fun for a first meal and made sure it was served safely. We don’t have allergies in our family either, so we were just watchful and if there ever was a reaction, we could try things separately to confirm (we’ve never had to do that).
He’ll probably barely get any into his mouth and even less chewed up (so much gets spit out at first). He’ll just be happy to try something new and to be at the table with you.
Remember, he’s still getting almost all the nutrition he needs from breast milk or formula (your pediatrician can let you know if iron or vitamins are a good idea). BLW before 12 months is about trying new things and learning independence and small motor skills.
All that to say, it sounds like a great first meal to me (like others said, whole strawberry is best). Putting this much thought into it, you’re already doing an amazing job!
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DSDragon
@Laurelkhl,
thanks. I decided to do just the blueberry Eggo, maybe even just half of it so it doesn't get wasted. If he's anything like his big sister, he won't be terribly interested until maybe lunchtime. (Her first "meal" was either french toast or pancakes I had on my plate while we were on vacation, but I don't think she had any. We later went to a taco place, and she ate ground beef, rice, and cheese out of their "baby bowl" pretty enthusiastically.)
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DSDragon
@Laurelkhl,
he got the blueberry Eggo. I cut it into 4 strips, and he actually ate one of them (I heard him swallow it and everything)! Then he kept trying to lean over and eat the burp cloths I had stuffed down the sides of the chair so he *wouldn't* do that (obviously that didn't work) and pulling on the underside of that side of the chair (maybe trying to get the tray off?).
So I figured that meant he was done--I was only halfway done my own breakfast--and moved us both to the living room, where I finished my breakfast.
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Laurelkhl
@DSDragon,
How fun! He is such a cutie.
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