Monster

Monster has discovered the joys of being a carnivore.  He’s been offered a variety of meat since 6 months but only really enjoyed slow cooked meats from stews such as lamb and beef.  However, over the past week he has worked out how to use those gnashers and is hoovering up meat like its going out of fashion.

On Saturday he had more cold turkey than I did and his usual favourite garlic bread was left standing!  At first we thought it was a one-off but the next day was beef and that had the same treatment and today he seemed to swallow slices of ham whole!

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Merry Christmas everyone!

We don’t have a kitchen so the Monster family had curry for Christmas lunch. After napping whilst we ate, Monster tucked into some naan bread with korma sauce and tried a bit of curried vegetables including cauliflower. Unfortunately the whole teething thing is causing Monster eating & drinking issues so he didn’t have much.

We were all hoping for a tooth for Christmas… maybe New Year.

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We had a lovely family outing today. Up & out early (carpet fitters cancelled on us so we had to do something with our early morning!). We headed up to Hyde Park to look at the Winter Wonderland, had breakfast in the cafe on the lake and then took a stroll to the Serpentine Gallery. Monster slept through the exhibit which was a bit weird…

We then had lunch in the local EAT sandwich / soup bar. Monster made friends with the lady sat next to us and shared some of Monsterdad’s soup. He had it in an espresso cup which would have looked odd if you hadn’t known what was inside He liked his bread soaked in the liquid but preferred to drink the soup from his make-do cup. Unfortunately it didn’t have handles so Monstermum had to help out a lot otherwise I think the customers at the table next to us would have been covered in brown shroomy liquid!

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1 standard packet of smoked mackerel, skin & bone the fish
2 handfuls of small or new potatoes
1 small onion, chopped
4 small cloves of garlic, chopped
Handful of frozen peas
Coriander, fresh, chopped
Breadcrumbs

You will need a large mixing bowl and a greased baking tray.

Pre-heat oven to 180C. Sorry, I can’t convert that for you, I’m too lazy!

Cook the potatoes. We kept the skins on.
Bone the fish and mash in a large mixing bowl.
Quickly brown the onion and garlic in oil - we used sesame for some reason but normally use olive.
Add onion and garlic to fish in the mixing bowl.
Mash the cooked potatoes and add to the mixture.
Boil the peas for about 5 minutes and then add to the mixture.
Add coriander and mix together.
Shape into patties - we made 7 fairly large patties.
Roll in breadcrumbs.Cook about 15 minutes per side in the oven to crisp up the breadcrumbs.

Monster absolutely loved these. It was his first taste of mashed potato - and the fish of course. We had to keep squishing the fishcake together again so he could keep on eating!

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I started this last night & completely forgot to write anything in it.

So what do you have for breakfast? The same thing every day? Is that OK for weaning babies or a bit boring?

Well, on the basis that I have to get to work some days, Monster either goes without (shock!) or has a bit of mine. He loves sucking the cow’s milk out of my raisin wheat and will eat half of the shredded wheat before discarding for more with milk in. He can be rather persuasive!

If I’m not going to work then breakfast is at a different time but also a bit more interesting. Oatibix if we’re feeling brave on the cleaning front (it has a tendency to clog inside & out so use it sparingly!), toast with jam or just butter, at the weekend Monsterdad will make runny eggs for Monster to dip his toast in too which goes down VERY well.

We’ve even been known to share a croissant

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Well I realise running through the posts on this blog that I haven’t mentioned much about Monster’s fruit variety and reactions so I thought we’d have another summary.

Monster has tried every type of fruit that we would normally have in the house and some that we don’t just for the sake of it or because someone else has offered it (nursery for example).

I’ve done the summary below in alphabetical order as that’s how its saved on my list so its not in order of date tried or anything - my memory is not that good! I’ve also given a short comment on how things went and Monster’s reaction and his thoughts since.

Apple - Monster has had steamed apple since the start and really loves sucking the flesh off of the skin. We have tried raw apple and there is a separate post on this.

Apricot - I tried dried apricots but they are sticky, chewy and I didn’t like them let alone Monster. We haven’t tried them since but perhaps should revisit these.

Banana - oh nana what has happened to you?! Once you were a favourite and now you lie discarded on the floor. Monster used to pounce on me as soon as I picked up a banana. Would sit on my lap and suck it up but since the teeth arrived the banana is foul creature that must be squished. No idea why but we keep offering it in hope.

Blackberry - Monster had this just the other day. They were rather sharp and at first he seemed a bit put off by the squirt of juice but enjoyed them in the end.

Blueberry - well I’ve only just written a post on these so go read that instead!

Grapes - well I’m a halving girl myself. Can’t get the thought of choking on a grape out of my head so it will be halves again if ever we have some more. Not something we tend to have in the house much though.

Kiwi - another favourite that seems to have been discarded lately. Monster would scrape the flesh off the skin and really enjoyed these. Sucking juicy fruit was once Monster’s favourite but alas no more.

Mango - this is a big no no but it could be me. We get them frequently in our organic box and they take forever to ripen until you remember them and suddenly they smell rather perfumely and Monster won’t touch a bit!

Melon - a big hit this one in the beginning. We haven’t had much since but slices from the supermarket worked best as they were boomarang shaped and so were easy to hold at first. Another item I should put on this week’s shopping list!

Nectarine - I can’t even remember giving Monster this although its on his list. Its a juicy fruit so I bet he loved it

Orange - this is an odd one. Big oranges are good, small oranges are not so good. Its all to do with how you eat them I reckon. Big oranges, we quarter and suck out the juice leaving the flesh behind - I just can’t be bothered to peel them as the skin is so hard! Satsumas, clementines etc are easy to peel so I offer the segments and he won’t have them. I did say he was odd!

Papaya - nursery gave Monster this once when we were doing settling in. It was peeled so far too slippery for Monster to eat well. He did like the juice though!

Peach - juicy fruit. Need I say more?

Pear - well this must be The fruit of the year. Monster’s fave which is good because I don’t like them and we get loads in the organic box! Quarter them and he’ll eat loads, offer him the whole pear and he’ll have a nibble and discard. Just goes to show you have to offer the right food at the right time in the right shape etc etc

Pineapple - yummy juicy fruit!

Plum - oh this was a funny one. We had loads of plums this autumn in the organic box and Monster would happily suck the flesh off of the skin. We have a great photo of him offering it to us!

http://www.adamandclaire.co.uk/images/RIMG1033a.jpg

Raisins & Sultanas - now that the pincer grip is developing I have started to give Monster these. He’s had them in cake of course and bread & butter pudding but rarely eats many. Its still quite a challenge to get the one but he definitely likes ‘em.

Raspberry - similar reaction to the blackberry. Rather funny really but a bit mean!

Strawberry - yet more yummy juicy fruit

Wow! That’s a lot of fruit Monster has consumed in 4 months. I love fruit and Monsterdad is the veg fan so hopefully between us Monster will be fairly balanced!

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I picked Monster up early from nursery today and we shared a Belgian bun together.  Actually, shared is rather an overstatement - Monster had a small slice and I ate the rest!  It was rather nice with raisins & icing on top.  Monster seemed to love it with lots of lip-smacking.

Of course, cake is not for every day as its full of sugar but we’re very liberal on these matters in this house.  No point making a Big Deal about not having sweet things as it could then turn into an issue in later life.  We eat cake sometimes, just like we have chips very rarely and have veg lots and meat in moderation.  Its just part of life.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned Monster’s penchant for cake before.  He gets given it every few weeks at nursery when there is a birthday to celebrate - funnily enough even at his tender age he knows that its better than other food and will happily forget anything else on offer in favour of the sugar rush!

Monster’s favourite is probably cinnamon swirls from the coffee shop.  If we want to sit & chat over a coffee with Monster on our lap then a strand is a good diversion tactic away from the hot coffee cup.

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Well this was something that Monsterdad cooked up and his cooking methods are chuck it in a pan & stir but we had:

Lamb, aubergine tomatoes & carrots on the usual base of onions & garlic all mixed in with a variety of Monsterdad’s favourite “Morrocan” herbs & spices.

You see why I call this category recipes of sorts!

We had ours with couscous but I just gave Monster a variety of vegetables and lamb. We were avoiding aubergine at the time but of course the sauce would have some in the sauce I guess.

Monster tried the carrots and didn’t seem that bothered either way and then he found the lamb. That’s when the lip-smacking started!  We were there for what seemed like hours but was actually about 45 minutes while Monster sucked away at the slow cooked chunks of lamb that he’d been given.  As the meat had been slowly cooked, it fell apart easily so Monster sucked & sucked until the chunks were too small to pick up!

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Well we started when Monster was 5 months and he’ll be 9 months this week. So we’ve been weaning for 4 months - that’s almost half his life!!

So what’s it been like? I think you can sum up the past 4 months as follows:

Month 1 - gagging

Month 2 - spitting

Month 3 - chewing & possibly eating a small amount

Month 4 - officially eating

Over this whole time Monster has also been ill through most of it - tummy bugs, colds, pneumonia resulting in hospital at one point, teething, more colds etc etc. We call it nursery-itis!

A few highlights from memory of the past 4 months starting from yesterday’s lunch at Wagamama’s - see previous post. Monster clearly loves gyozo so now I need to get some ravioli for him

30th Nov - showing his begging skills to my friend and demanding my ham sandwich, polishing off a few slices of ham to the amazement of said friend. I think I’ve posted about this already.

24th Nov - devouring lumps of lamb form his moroccan stew. I’ll post more on this later as this was a turning point.

2nd Nov - cheese on toast was a big hit and I remember it was so funny watching him eat it!

12th Oct - the first time Monster tried cheese, carrot & pitta melts. He loved them.

29th Sept - avocado & cheese pitta. The only way he will eat avocado!

Every day I am amazed at how well Monster eats and how much variety he has had in his short life already. I am sooo glad we chose BLW!

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Two weeks after our last visit and we headed back to Wagamama’s with Monster and our niece, age 12.

I think my niece would have been weaned the BLW way had it been heard of in those parts all those years ago. To her credit she had curry in a restaurant age 4 and I don’t think she’s ever been given the child’s menu so go bro!

Anyway, last time Monster ate at W’s he made a lot of mess. Gyozo outers everywhere and you could tell where he was sat. This time around, he had 4 which equates to a whole starter and the only mess under the highchair was a single piece of carrot. Now that’s what I call a fast learning curve He even coped with the chicken & water chestnuts just fine.

We also gave him some unidentifiable fish / seafood items from Monsterdad’s bowl. Too chewy and he gave up fairly quickly and went back to the yummy veggies.

Monsterniece had chilli chicken ramon so Monstermum was pretty shown up by just having katzo curry!

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