Friday, January 30, 2009

Cardboard biscuits

Being the dedicated mother that I am (ahem!) I decided to make some biscuits that don't contain sugar. Easier said than done. Most recipes that I found were for diabetic people and contained artificial sweeteners. Here's one recipe that I tried:

1 cup oats
1 cup ground oats (oats whizzed in a whizzy thing)
1/4 teaspoon salt (not sure that's really necessary)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon/ginger or cardamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder (not sure that's really necessary either)
2 overripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons oil (any type)

The instructions read 'mix the dry ingredients together and the wet ingredients together and combine'. Then drop spoonfuls onto a greased baking tray and cook in a preheated oven for 15-20 mins at 200.

They weren't a disaster, but I definitely wouldn't have served them to guests. They were more than reminiscent of cardboard, but then Galen quite likes cardboard and paper in general so I'm not sure why I go to all this effort!

Anyhow, I did some experimenting and found an easier and tastier alternative that Galen likes despite not being cut out of an old box....

Fry a blob of butter (I use unsalted) and mashed banana. Add a cupful of oats. Hey presto, sugar-free flapjacks. Squish into a small dish for baking and bake for 20 mins at about 200. The first time I did it, I added coconut and because it was quite dry I poured some water over it as oats don't tend to cook when they're really dry. The second time I used some frozen cherries instead which had quite a bit of moisture in them so I didn't need to add water.

Quite a successful first experiment. I think I'll play around with ingredients and try different fruit and spices. Not sure how long they'll last for so I didn't make that much (but they taste quite good and I'd be happy to eat them if need be).

Monday, January 26, 2009

Why weaning is so messy.


Not long after we started the 'shovelling of food into mouth' game, Galen realised that the spoon was what it was all about. He quickly decided that it would be much better if he were in charge. He lunged for the spoon in our hand and quicker than either mummy or daddy was at moving it away, managed to grasp it in his hands as it moved towards his mouth. The puree ending up all over his fingers was soon wiped over his face, in his eyes, through his hair. Not much got into his mouth.

We developed the 'two spoon' approach. Galen gets one spoon which he is free to do what he likes with (often throw it on the floor a million times), we get the other and attempt to coordinate the shovelling with his spoon going into his mouth. Slightly more successful although he still quite likes a spoon with food on it (generally not going anywhere near his mouth).

We 'advanced' to finger food with similar results. Some goes in his mouth, alot doesn't. Rusks and biscotti were the worst. I ended up washing his dressing gown every day. I'd say we're getting better but actually I think we've just got used to it. There are marks on the floor that are welded on. All I can say is that painting the kitchen orange when I was 38 weeks pregnant may have seemed like madness at the time but it was, in fact, a stroke of genius.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Us


Welcome to my new 'weaning and the wonderful world of babies' blog spot. As babies grow up so quickly and we forget the details of when they were small so easily, I thought I'd write this blog spot to help me remember. I hope that it provides entertainment for some and perhaps a bit of encouragement for others. So without further ado, let me introduce ourselves:

I’m a paediatric doctor, currently on maternity leave. My husband, Carlton, does 'IT' and works from home. Galen, our beautiful son was born at the beginning of July by emergency caesarian section due to fetal distress (all very dramatic). He spent 4 days on SCBU with ‘boy-flu’, there wasn’t much wrong with him but he did need to have antibiotics. After what seemed like an age, he came home. Hooray! How tiny he was then and how long ago it seems. He was (and remains) breast fed and took to it with gusto.

At 17 1/2 weeks I decided to try him on solids as it appeared to me that he was getting more and more hungry. His ‘4.30’ feed was getting earlier and earlier. I don’t know if I was right or not, but he took to solids like a dream and continues to enjoy his food!

At first we just tried small amounts of apple puree and mashed banana, but we had soon progressed to butternut squash, pureed melon (both with baby rice in to thicken it), sweet potato and apple and pear puree.

Now at 6 1/2 months he has 3 meals a day. He always has banana for breakfast and I try to give him something ‘substantial’ for dinner in the hope that it’ll help him sleep through the night (e.g. porridge/sweet potato/mash). He’s started with finger food and loves it (after a rocky start).

I don’t give him jars unless we’re away (and generally not even then). I find they make his poo runny and rather toxic! I try not to give him salt or sugar, without getting too stressed about it (he’s had ‘petit filous’ and ‘reduced sugar rusks’ both of which have sugar in them). I try to combine our food and his, which isn’t always possible if we’re having something spicy. I now have a freezer full of little squares of pureed and mashed food.

I’ve looked on various website for recipes, some of which are great, some of which are too fussy. Anyhow, he’s how we’re getting along...