Advice with starting Solids.

[tattlebaby]

So we took LO today for her check-up and follow up with shots. Doc says to start her on solids now. I'm wondering if this is a good idea though, because LO isn't sitting up yet. She is now starting to gain upper body strength as she lifts her body up onto her knees when we put her for tummy time, but not yet sitting or crawling. I thought baby's needed to atleast be sitting before you can introduce solids, since you don't want them choking. I especially wanted to wait a little too because I wanted to try Baby Led Weaning with her, but her doc says not all babies respond well to this type of feeding, that it is just a fad, and that there aren't many benefits to it anyway. What do you guys think we should do? LO is now 6 months, 1 week and 4 days old. Is it ok if I wait for her to at least be 7 months old before I do so? He also suggested we start her on Cereal, but I said Absolutely not…lol. Also, when we do start her on solids, could we begin with purees and then do the solids (baby led weaning) when she's like 7-8 months old, when she's most likely sitting and able to grasp and swallow better? Or will this throw everything off and ruin our plans with Baby Led Weaning??

 

[felix555]

I don't think they need to be sitting up completely unaided for weaning as long as they are able to sit up in a high chair it should be OK, will she be able to sit up in the high chair if you feed her? or is she not interested at all in sitting and will struggle with that.

I didn't do BLW, I think if you start with purees strictly speaking it's just weaning. BLW is skipping the puree stage unless it's something that you would have that was mush anyways ... porridge, yogurt etc.

But don't get hung up on the label of BLW if you feel comfortable starting with purees then do that. I started with porridge in the evening at about 5.5 months I think (feels a lifetime ago) and then moved onto vegetable purees for a couple of weeks and then fruit purees. at about 6.5 months started offering finger foods. I consider that "traditional weaning"

 

[Teri7489]

As pp, you LO doesnt need to be able to sit up unsupported. Just make sure is upright with a cushion or towel in her high chair. We do a mix of BLW and spoon feeding and because we waited until past 6 moths we skipped the puree part. We started off with cooked carrot stick, green beans and different soft fruits. We gradually introduced more things as she got used to it. Ill be honest, its very messy. If you commit to full blw its really really messy, but lots of fun. i say we do mix as i feed her yogurts and porridge, but the rest she gets stuck in to. Milk products stink if they get on fabrics, thats why lol. You can wait another few weeks if you want to. aslong as your lo is having milk then its fine. Enjoy it, its great fun! xxx

 

[MindUtopia]

If she can sit up without completely flopping over in a high chair, as she's 6 months, I think there's no harm at all in starting baby-led weaning. The great thing about BLW is that because you aren't shoveling food in her month, she'll only eat it if she's ready. And if she isn't sitting up well at first, it's much safer than spoonfeeding purees because it gives them control over what's in their mouth and they learn to handle food, move it around the mouth and chew before they start swallowing, which decreases the risk of choking over spoonfeeding. At first, she's likely to just push things around on her tray and bring things to her mouth without actually eating much. As she gains strength and confiendence, she'll try tasting, chewing and swallowing, but with BLW it really is at their pace and you can't force it if she's not ready. I'd say start with 1 meal a day and just see how she does. If she's truly not able to sit up in a high chair with support, then yes, like you said, no harm in waiting a bit either. But I wouldn't try to put a timeline on it, like she won't be ready until 7 months or whatever. She could very well be sitting up better tomorrow. It's just about following her lead and seeing what happens. But certainly, if she can sit up with support, as long as she's not leaning backwards or flopped to one side, she should be able to manage with finger foods just fine. If you want to go down the BLW route, I'd start that from the beginning. It will be much easier and much more enjoyable (and probably much safer too). My daughter wasn't sitting up unaided until about 7-7.5 months. We started BLW right when she turned 6 months. It was fantastic! It was amazing to see what she could ate and it's had such amazing benefits. She's 20 months now and so adventurous with food. She loves pickled onions and seaweed and curry and all sorts of things you'd never think a toddler would eat. It was such a wonderful experience and I'm so glad we went the BLW route.

 

[tattlebaby]

Awesome advice guys!! LO can't sit up in her high chair without flopping over yet, thats the thing. Maybe like you guys said,we can try a cushion perhaps. We tried about 2 wks ago, so tomorrow we'll try again and see. But my other question is..LO still hasn't developed any teeth yet, so with the BLW, isn't she supposed to be able to chew her food in the process?? About 2 months ago she was salivating like crazy, I could've sowrn she was starting to teeth back then, but still 6 months and nothing, so now I don't know. DH is very skeptical about the whole BLW too lol. He would rather us start with purees and maybe in about 2 months when she gains some more control he says, try the BLW. But I'm not too sure she'll buy into it then. I'm thinking she'll refuse to eat that way, once she becomes so accustomed to eating purees. For ppl who do a combination of BLW and Purees, what foods do you offer as purees and what foods do you offer as solids?? I def. plan to not introduce cereal as of yet, so what else can I give her in the meantime? When will it be safe to begin giving LO cereal anyway, and is it even necessary?

 

[auntiesarah25]

To help our LO sit better we got her a cheaper version of the bumbo seat at 4 or 5 months. Worked wonders. At 7 months she is a great sitter unsupported! Good Luck!

 

[pcsoph2890]

Oh do blw - I cannot sing it's praise enough. We started ours at 5 months (all she did was touch the food and lick it to get a taste of it.) But now at 8 months she was properly swallowing it and devouring every fistfull she shoves in her mouth.
We started putting a few rolled up towels round her back and sides to prop her up a bit more. They will "choke" anyway as it is them learning how to move things round in their mouth and it is totally natural reflex they have.

I gave her mushy fruit, strawberries, carrots, tinned pears, bread sticks, yoghurt, bread, pasta, stew, basically anything with texture/taste She can feel and taste.

You'll love watching her delevop and be amazed when she does "eat" food (you'll know from their poo changing!!)