Weaning update

We started weaning Marcus onto solid food two months ago and I have to say it has been really good fun. I was very taken with the idea of Baby Led Weaning, basically finger foods that baby feeds them self. However we have found that a mixture of mashed food and finger foods works best for Marcus.

Barney has always done the majority of the cooking and whilst I do enjoy pottering in the kitchen this is really the first time I have taken charge of preparing most of our meals. I have really surprised myself by enjoying the challenge. Generally for lunch I put together some sort of finger foods such as toast with hummus or cream cheese followed by chopped fruit. On our quiet days (when I'm not working, swimming or baby grouping) I try to make something a bit more adventurous, such as mini frittatas or butternut squash pancakes.

Both of these were made with very local eggs and milk, for some reason this makes them taste even better!

We decided we wanted to make an effort to eat dinner with Marcus, this means having a meal ready by 5.30pm which is a bit of a sweat! But it really is worth it and a time of day I really look forward to. Of course there are days when Barney and I eat later but it is noticeable that Marcus doesn't eat as well when we aren't sitting down together. We're lucky in that Marcus has so far eaten anything put in front of him. I know this will change as he gets older but for now I'm making the most of exposing him to as many flavours as possible, he's had curry, tagine, fish you name it! The only thing I avoid is salt but by cooking with baby stock cubes (salt free) Marcus can pretty much just eat what we eat.

Some days I make mini extra portions for the freezer, perfect emergency meals for days when 5.30pm rolls around too quickly! As well as salt, Marcus so far has not had any sugar, just fruit and natural yogurt. This has also made me think about how much sugar I eat but this can wait for it's own post!

Marcus is very strong minded about feeding himself, it is a battle of wills.

By the end of the day the kitchen tends to look like a bombs gone off...

I usually start the cleaning up operation and Barney tackles bath time.

I do quite literally mean tackle as Marcus tries to crawl in the bath, eat the duck and grab the bath handle. 

Once all this is done it's time for some mummy milk. But first daddy has to 'do the letters.' 

Marcus is spelt out in wooden letters on his bedroom door, each depicts an animal and Barney tells a little story about each. It's just one of those funny little things he's done since Marcus was very little. But the other day Barney carried him into the room and passed him straight to me. Marcus wouldn't feed, he kept looking at the letters so Barney had to tell the story first. Now it is a nightly ritual. Very cute.