Weaning Julien

Today, I was fascinated by a documentary called "My Child Won't Eat".  Basically, it was about children who are literally unable to take solid food - 12 year old Rachel eats chocolate for every meal, while 13 year-old Kayleigh would only eat McDonald's meals, believing that any other food is poison and she would die form eating them. Then, there's 2.5 year-old Bobby who has never moved to solid food and still only takes milk - he throws up when given anything with lumps, so never went past weaning. His liquid diet means  16 nappies a day! Psychologist Dr Gillian Harris, featured in the show, explains these as cases of food phobia.  It is an interesting take on eating problems, and I can only imagine the difficulties and the physical and emotional strain on the parents who try to help their children move on to proper food...

While we never had problems this severe while weaning J, the film did remind me of how stressful it can be for the mothers at the weaning stage. For a few weeks, J had refused to move on to solid food, no matter how pureed they were. And I had felt frustrated, angry and tired at having to throw away another painstakingly prepared baby meal. Interestingly, this week, a fren had asked for any tips on weaning, so I think back on our weaning days...


I remember the first food I tried with J was some carrots. I can't remember now if they were steamed or boiled, but anyway, I made them very soft and in small pieces. With a new bib around his neck, I had placed J in his Baby Einstein sitter and took out his weaning spoon with anticipation to use for the first time... but he would have none of it. And I could not understand why - it was soft enough, small enough and so sweet that even I liked it! I also remember making congee with fish, carrots and sweet potato and all were so mashed from boiling that it would literally slide down anyone's throat... and he rejected that as well. 


Dejected, I ended up going back to milk and delaying his weaning. I read up, did research online, asked frens for tips and I am not sure how it happened in the end or how long it took to happen, but he came round to solid food after a while. These are some things I tried and helped:


1. Giving the spoon to J to play with, even when it's not meal time. For babies who have been used to only the teat in their mouth, a spoon can be a very intimidating and definitely foreign feeling in the mouth. The first few times, the babies will gag as a natural reflex. Giving the spoon allows the baby to explore the spoon by himself at his own pace, since babies tend to put things in their mouths to make sense of them.  Gradually, he should be able to get used to the feeling of the spoon in his mouth. And if he doesn't gag anymore once the spoon is placed in his mouth, it's easier to get on with the next step of teaching him how to use his tongue to bring the food to the back of his throat rather than use it for the normal function of sucking milk in.

2. Modelling. I took a spoonful of food and ate it in front of J, before trying to feed him the next spoonful. He watched my every move and it took a few tries, 'cos I don't think he understood what was required of him at first.


3. Make the first weaning foods baby rice mixed with some of his normal milk (be it breastmilk or made from milk powder), so the taste is also familiar and not strange. If J was capable of thought then, he might have just wondered why his usual milk was suddenly more viscous! :)


4. The ideal texture for purees should be soft and runny, so that the texture is not a sudden jump from the liquid milk Baby is used to. But generally, J did not have a problem with purees, 'cos I think they were sweet from the natural fruit and vegetable sugars. Fruits was easy, cos they are always sweet; for vegetables, sweet potato and parsnips were a hit!


5. Make mealtimes a happy time. If Baby takes a spoonful, smile and praise him. At 5-6 months, Baby is not as aware or expressive yet, so it can be hard to tell if he is encouraged. But babies do feel assured by smiles and can tell the difference between happy and angry tones. Anyway, I found if I make it a happy time, I myself am not so stressed by weaning and can enjoy the process and J's company as well.


6. Go at Baby's pace. I found that if I had no expectations, I have no pressure. If J wanted to eat, he would eat. If he didn't, he didn't. This one takes practice. God knows how many times I have felt upset or beaten myself up after another failed weaning attempt!


As I think back now on those difficult early days, I marvel at how much progress J has made. After the initial easy fruit and vegetable purees, I moved on to making him little meals of meat and vegetables. I drew my recipes largely from a popular children's food chef - Annabel Karmel. Her weaning recipes were delicious and I was very encouraged when J even accepted the salmon recipe. So, every week, I would spend one day cooking up a storm, then freezing the food in little pots, each pot the equivalent of one portion. I think aside from the crazy amount of chopping to be done, I did enjoy cooking these little meals. There were a few core recipes I cooked again and again - the salmon baked in orange juice and cheese, the beef casserole and the caribbean pork. The pork was J's favourite, 'cos it was cooked with apple. I tried it myself and have to admit it was yummy; even Daddy Low was sold!

Today, J eats almost everything. And luckily for us, he is not a fussy eater. Among his favourite fruits are avocadoes, bananas, grapes, papayas, mangoes, melons, strawberries and believe it or not, figs! (He wasn't too sure about the texture at first, chewed hesitantly initially, then decided it was alright and pointed to the plate for more.) Dried fruits are also popular, with raisins heading the list. Recently, I was delighted when he showed his affection for sushi and was totally surprised when he took to olives a few days back. And while he does not reject anything, he does show preference when he can see options - if there's cereal and fruit on the table at the same time, cereals don't have a chance! And just in case Mummy tries to sneak in a spoonful of cereal, he does inspect the spoon for its contents before opening his mouth... In which case, he will push my spoonful of cereal away and instead point to the other plate - the one with the fruit. I am only able to get him to eat cereal these days if I place a bit of fruit on top of the cereal in the same spoon! Haha, strategies, strategies! A mum needs to come up with strategies! :)

And because J is now much more adventurous with food, cooking for him has also become more enjoyable. I started sauteeing his meats recently, besides the usual method of boiling and simmering meat with the vegetables in my trusty slowcooker, and he seems to like it. He also eats a lot more now, so when cooking rice, I have to add in his share. And after his main meal, he takes some fruit as well. 


Of late, he has shown an interest to hold the spoon himself, so we have also had times when I would let him hold it, while I guide his hand. This bit of 'independence' seems to make him more interested in his food. Oh boy, my little baby is growing up fast!