Baby Led Weaning

Growing healthy babies with healthy appetites

Peas

Well, petis pois actually, because that's what we happened to have in the freezer, but we might buy ordinary-sized peas the next time. Not sure, though. One of my friends (actually the mother of the rather spendid Bubby) pointed out that peas might represent more of a choking hazard. I'll have a think about it, but she is a Canadian and they are born worriers, that lot. If I do buy the normal-sized peas, I was planning to squash them a bit in advance. Your opinions and comments will, of course, be taken into consideration as well.

Oh anyway, she was a hoot with them, though… really the cutest thing. We had microwaved the peas, covered in a bowl with just a splash of water to retain as many vitamins as possible and we served them in the gravy of the rather marvellous beef stew that I've been banging on about. By 'served', I naturally mean 'spooned elegantly onto the highchair tray'.

She grabbed for them then clasped them in her wee fist, flicking them into her mouth like a Pez dispenser. For some reason, prior to picking them up she likes to point at them, move them slowly around the table with her index finger and then make a sudden but deadly  lunge at the pile.

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14 Responses to “Peas”

  1. Anonymous says:

    Have you tried frozen petit pois, straight from the freezer? Instant gratification to a starving/bored/fretful/teething (or insert your own) baby.
    I got this tip from Nigella Lawson's 'How to Eat', and it's been a lifesaver many evenings as I prepare tea. The peas still have all the goodness, in fact it could be argued that they are *better* because of retaining more vitamins than cooked peas. (Please tell me that on this occasion taking the easy way out makes me a better Mummy :)
    Anna

  2. Anonymous says:

    Archie also loves petis pois, but more for playing with I think, even though he does actually eat some as well.
    My nan used to give us frozen peas many years ago and we still eat them straight from freezer, but I hadn't even thought of letting my DS share with me, will do next time and let you know what he thinks of them

  3. Anonymous says:

    you know i'm pretty good about the whole gagging thing but wouldn't frozen peas be quite a choking hazard? am i being too protective?

  4. Anonymous says:

    Wow intresting frozen peas concept. Presumably they melt quite quickly once they're in your mouth so mush up?
    P.S. I went to school with a girl who got a frozen pea stuck up her nose, her parents took her to casulty but they told her to go home and wait for it to defrost.

  5. Anonymous says:

    sorry to be a killjoy but does your anecdote not suggest that thedo not instantly defrost? i would experiment with this but i have a loose filling at the mo and the very thought of soemthing frozen in my mouth makes me shudder. and not in a good way.
    go on Morv, the John Noakes of BLW, you try it for us…

  6. Anonymous says:

    I gave The Bubs frozen peas the other night while waiting for other food to cook much to the disgust of my husband. He was on the phone to his mum and stopped mid sentence to ask if they were FROZEN peas? MIL didn't get the gist and made a comment to the effect of there is absolutely nothing wrong with frozen peas, are you going to sit and pod some fresh ones for her. When my husband explained no they were still frozen, she laughed and said why not? (She's a bit of a rebel to authority my mother in law and loves your sight by the way Morv and Aitch) My husband is behind me 100% on the BLW, but was amazed when I pointed out the article in the Nigella Lawson book.
    I remember eating frozen peas all the time when I was little (though probably not 8.5 months). The Bubs really enjoyed them and ate loads. They even got fairly well digested. She was cutting her first tooth that week so I am sure they helped that. They also defrosted very quickly on the high chair tray.

  7. Anonymous says:

    That's weird, it's never done that before that last comment about frozen peas was from me by the way.

  8. Anonymous says:

    i craved them when i was pregnant! yummy and crunchy and cold. mmmm. going to get some now!

  9. Anonymous says:

    okay, i'm going to give it a shot tomorrow. i do remember reading that tip in How To Eat as well (must go and have a look at the children's section as it wasn't one i was particularly interested in before, obviously) but i don't suppose Nigella was talking about 9-month-olds.

  10. Anonymous says:

    did it and she loved them. i tried some too, surprisingly more-ish and melted fast in my mouth. i will be sticking to the petits pois, though.

  11. Anonymous says:

    Ok, I was brought up with the advice that babies choke on round bitty things… Are peas ok? From when – likewise on corn. Any other potentially “scary” foods that may not be so scary. And likewise, are there real ones to be scared of…. Not that I would feed my baby them but many Americans feed kids cut up hot dogs which you can't offer too early as they may choke a baby.
    Cheers!

  12. Anonymous says:

    Once they have their pincer grip and can pick it up easily, you are fine to let the have it. Euan didn't really come on to food much until he discovered peas and sweetcorn (about 8-9 months).
    As always keep a close eye on them for choking, but I would say it is less of a hazard than giving them bigger lumps of things (which they can bite too much off once they have teeth).

  13. Anonymous says:

    I'd second the pincer grip thing – once they can pick it up, they can generally mange to deal with it.
    My exceptions – especially in the early days – were blueberries and grapes, and I still chop the grapes in half as she does try to swallow all fruit whole like a boa constrictor.
    Not wanting to be alarmist but my rationale was as follows: The infant resucitation course I attended basically explained that the problem with choking comes when an object gets stuck in the thorat. If it is a prefectly round smooth thing then, if it does lodge in the airway, its very hard to breathe around it. If its is not perfectly round, like a pea or sweetcorn kernal or a half blueberry, then there is still room for air to travel round the object – should it get stuck – and give you time to deal with it.
    Once I saw that Small was chewing her blueberries well I stopped chopping them in half and she loves them whole now. The grapes are still a bit of a challenge – she only has 4 teeeth!

  14. Anonymous says:

    i'm pretty sure the official advice is to chop grapes until they're five, they're horribly deadly things if they get stuck in a child's throat.
    i used to squash blueberries and edamame for a while, but not now.

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