Little apple licker.

Dr W and I have entered into the weaning process a little naively. As we are both very fond of our food, the presumption was that Mini Bean would be too now that, as her official Food Facilitators, we are allowing her access to food. 

In hindsight, if the only flavours you have known are sweet breastmilk, sweet strawberry Calpol and sweet orangey Infacol (other wind easing remedies are available...) then broccoli may be a bit of a shock. 

Broccoli was a bit of a shock. As was courgette, sweet potato and watermelon. We removed the pear as it was a bit old and unpleasant even for our highly experienced adult palates.

Really, this face says it all. I do like the non-courgette holding hand though. Like she's summoning a waiter. Or her personal assistant. Or like it should have a tiny glass of champagne in it.

We did try the baby classic of mashed banana but an equally unimpressed face was pulled. And some comedic gagging.

I felt a bit sad that she hadn't had a more positive reaction. But she hasn't yet shown any interest when we've been eating so it makes sense if she's not friends with the food yet. 

In the spirit of offering not forcing, this morning Mini Bean grabbed and sucked a spoon dipped in blended cherries and yoghurt. Nope. She gummed a bit of my toast for a minute or so before spitting it out. Better. And licked an apple that I bit a few chunks of out of and handed to her. Not too bad. Well done Mini Bean.

It's going to be an interesting journey.

Mini Bean and the boob.

Poor Not Another Carrot. So neglected. But for good reason. Mini Bean was born in February and I assure you that the last thing I wanted to do in the months following my last post was to eat, let alone cook. So this blog would mostly have been about tinned soup, toast and the occasional ginger nut. Dull dull queasy dull.

But now I have gained a (not so) tiny human and a sweet tooth. Hello confectionary. Goodbye tooth enamel.

With Mini Bean's half birthday and the introduction of solid food imminent I wanted to talk about how 9lb 11oz became 18lb 14oz.

Now, this isn't specifically a pro-breastfeeding post. I just wanted to share my experience so please bear with me.

I always wanted to breastfeed and honestly never considered an alternative. It made sense to me to feed my baby myself if I could. And it was free. And I do like free food.

Unfortunately Mini Bean had a traumatic birth and consequently was taken from me immediately, placed on a drip and sent to NICU for 5 days. I wasn't able to attempt to feed until day 2 or 3 (it's a blur) so I thought I'd missed my chance. On the 4th night Mini Bean was allowed off her drip and out of NICU. She shared my hospital bed and that night my milk came in. If my c-section had allowed me to jump for joy, I assure you I would.

We had a lot of breastfeeding support from the midwives (best people I've ever met) but when we were allowed home my brain went to mush. In tears I called a friend with a young baby who visited us that morning. I am so incredibly grateful for her help and I hope I can do the same for someone one day.

The next couple of months were spent experimenting with feeding positions (tricky big baby) and going up and down the roller coaster of loving the warm smooshy (it's a word) feeling of nursing my baby and the processing the responsibility of being the sole source of food.

Now nearly 6 months down the line she pretty much just gets on with it. If distracted at times. And sometimes we have a (new) tooth/nipple related incident. It takes perseverance and patience but I am happy I did it this way. I am now part of the 1% of women in the UK still breastfeeding at 6 months. I'm interested to know if this stat surprises anyone else?

I realise that I had, and have, the choice to replace or supplement my breastmilk. It would give my the flexibility to return to the freedom of my life before Mini Bean. But I have no expectation or desire for my life to stay the same. I'm ok with our arrangement. It works for us.

The point of this post (well done if you've made it this far) is to say how thankful I am that I was physically and emotionally able to breastfeed and that I received the support I needed to make it work. I love it and I plan to continue until Mini Bean is weaned, whenever that may be. It feels right. And if there's one thing I've learnt in 6 short months of being a parent, it's to trust your instincts and to do what you feel is right for you and your baby.

Ok. That's it.

Next time on N.A.C. - Mini Bean gets her snack on. Baby Led Weaning style.