Baby led weaning: On The Go

I used to stress about how I would feed my baby solids if we were out runnning errands or at a restaurant. I had no idea what to pack, how to pack it and if I would be able to contain the mess she made while eating! After awhile I realized that babies are just messy and that I needed to plan ahead before leaving the house in case she decided she wanted more than to nurse. It is an extra step to pack ahead but it’s much better than being out and not being able to find something she will eat before she gets HANGRY!

Morgan chowing down on egg and blueberries (and GiGi’s reading glasses).

 

I realize these next two are at home but surely y’all get the idea!

In Morgan’s first month of BLW she has been given almost everything we have eaten, with the exception of peanut butter. You can see the list here. She will get peanut butter in the coming weeks but I plan to add it to a pancake or muffin recipe first. We don’t have any allergies that I’m worried she may have but I do feel like the consistency is a little bit much for having just been introduced to solids. She may be more ready than I think but I’m more comfortable introducing it slowly. I have several friends that put peanut butter on a spoon and fed it straight to their 6 month old! 

When thinking of snacks to take with us when we are going to run errands, I always follow the same guidelines I do with my toddler. I go for healthy alternatives over convenience even if it takes one more chaotic minute for me to get it together. I found some small containers on amazon that I put a little bit of chopped up fruit in, a couple flourless pancakes or avocado. Sometimes I do all of this if we have a ton of errands to get through in town! As she gets older I will bring different veggie spears, a piece of cheese and dried cereal (Cheerios) with us when we go shopping. My toddler LOVES raisins so I always have a box or 6 stashed in the diaper bag to bribe her with. I do try and change out the fruit and vegetables so they are exposed to a wide variety and don’t get bored with it. Morgan loves getting something when Tynsleigh does so I always go prepared as if she is going to want more than to nurse. These are the containers I use - nothing fancy but it does the trick!

When we go out to eat (which I admit is not very often), I always bring snacks (same as above). the girls typically eat food from our plates and I order a side of fruit or vegetables depending on what is offered. I am leery of a vegetable plate because it’s typically loaded with butter - I want them to learn to enjoy the different tastes and textures of foods (especially vegetables) and in my opinion, adding butter hinders this. I do not do kids meals, even for my toddler. Have you ever paid attention to what is on the kids menu? It’s typically high fat, greasy foods and I fully believe going out to eat should be an experience. It should test kids palates and make them want more than chicken nuggets and grilled cheese. That is a whole other post for sure though.

It does seem overwhelming to feed your baby outside the home at first. However, with a little  planning you can provide healthy snacks that your baby will love and you will feel good about!