BLW AND spoonfeeding..?

[AK89]

I'm doing BLW at the moment and my little girl is loving it and doing really well! But I've been thinking I wouldn't mind letting her try things like porridge. Is there any sort of reason why I shouldn't do a combination of BLW and traditional weaning that I should know of at all...??

Also I've heard a lot of conflicting advice on weaning on here.. Some say that food is just for fun under the age of 1, but some (including my HV) say that I should start working up to giving her 3 meals a day and they should eventually (as in over the space of a month or so) be replacing BF sessions... So what's the score?! I'm kinda leaning towards going with my HV but I don't know..

 

[liz1985]

If you spoonfeed the poridge you arnt technically blw anymore but theres nothing wrong with it, its just whether your happy to spoonfeed or if you want to stick to blw compleatly. Ds was spoonfed things like yogurt and weetabix and pretty much ate everything else with his fingers, from around 7m. Before that hed been compleetly tw. Dd was blw and even things like porridge or yogurt she used her fingers. I gave her a spoon to hold but she didnt really use it. It made no difference long term to either of them and by age one they were pretty much in same place eating wise.

Both mine have picked up eating really well and been on 3 meals quite early. I personally wouldnt worry about how much food there eating till around 10m then id make more of an effort to get them into 3 meals a day.

 

[MrsPear]

Yeah we did. Just played it by ear. If we were out and about I would spoon feed a yoghurt and at home she could have a go herself etc.

The only bad part of it is that some people (not necessarily on here) can be quite...vocal that if you do any spoon feeding at all then it's not blw but just traditional weaning with finger foods. As if the name of the thing really matters. (Btw that is not a dig at the above comment, I encountered some very rude people on another site who I think really felt it was either blw or force-feeding with a spoon, and no middle ground).

As for meals, I'd follow baby's lead but my hv said the same about getting up to three meals and I did find that quite quickly the more I offered the more she ate. By the time she started nursery at 10 months she was definitely eating three meals a day although I can't exactly remember what age she started doing that.

 

[kmumtobe]

I never followed any rules for my first I just made my own up.. Spoonfed breakfast like porridge or weetabix, picky lunch like veg sticks, crackers, breads etc and a fromage frais for pudding and dinner was a spoonfed finely chopped/ mashed version of what we had. I never did purées we just started at nearly 6 months so he could have anything. Basically just the kinda meal set up we have. He's always been a great eater. I plan to do this with my little girl when she starts weaning too.

 

[amytrisha]

I don't see a problem with it, I know load of people who do puree and BLW combined. Can't see why feeding porridge via spoon would be a problem

 

[noon_child]

You can do whatever works for you, because there are no rules with parenting except your own, but don't feel like you have to spoon feed her so she can try these things. I made porridge a bit thicker and she scooped it up with her hands (really efficiently it turns out!) and yoghurt was offered on a pre-loaded spoon.

Yes you can work up to three meals but if blw you can take LOs lead. Keep her with you at meal times with bits to try from your plate, and she'll soon let you know if she's just playing with it or tucking in and wanting more. At some point around 10months most babies start wanting meals and milk to get enough calories but I wouldn't force a drop in milk at this early stage. Milk is still really important WITH food for a long time yet.

 

[fortunecookie]

I put the yoghurt or porridge on the spoon and DD takes it and puts it in her own mouth. It's messy, especially when she throws it when she wants more and I end up covered in yoghurt. The only thing I did to help her was show her how to turn the spoon over so she can lick the food out of it, which she now does.

 

[smileyfaces]

Spoonfeeding means you arent BLW but its only a label, does it really matter as long ad you are happy with it? Its fine to spoonfeed if you would like to. I would be more inclined to let her explore it with her hands so she can figure out the taste and texture etc and then possibly load a few spoons for her and let her learn that way x

 

[Berri]

I don't think the food itself is as important as offering different tastes and textures. I have done combination of spoon and finger food (call it what you will) with both of mine. DS1 did not like getting food on his fingers/hands so I spoonfed him a bit but by 10 mths he was doing it on his own. DS2 on the other hand would not be fed by spoon after 7mths. No way, no how!! He eats EVERYTHING with his hands. He is far and away the grottiest child I know

I wouldn't be replacing BF any time soon. My memory is not so great but pretty sure I did 1 "meal" a day to start (usually lunch) and when they were up to about 3 tbs then added a meal until we were at 3 meals. Any food was always after BF. Around 9mths with DS1 and 10.5mths with DS2 switched it around so first food then BF (think change came around as a result of them eating a lot more at mealtimes even after BF so I guessed the milk wasn't satisfying them so much). I really can't remember when DS1 dropped his daytime BF but DS2 stopped around 11.5mths. He has just dropped his night (after dinner) feed too (13.5mths). DS2 now has the same portion size as DS1 and me...

Anyway, trust yourself there will always be someone who "knows better" but you will always know what's best for your baby

 

[MindUtopia]

If you want to stick to doing BLW, what about trying porridge fingers or porridge balls (I found the balls worked better than the fingers personally), or trying spoonloading, or offering her porridge to self-feed with her fingers. Just because it's something that is traditionally eaten with a spoon doesn't mean you have to spoonfeed it. She'll be perfectly able to feed herself porridge in various forms if you get creative with it. We often did porridge balls at the start, and then moved on, around 9 months, to just eating regular porridge with fingers and a spoonloaded spoon. We did the same with soups and stews too, often with a bread dipper.

 

[CaptainMummy]

I will be spoon feeding porridge, and yoghurt and soup etc... its too messy an affair for me to be dealing with, otherwise! As much as I would love to let her go wild with her hands, it really isnt practical for me! (single mum, 3 young girls, nursery run to do!)

I did the same with dd2, never saw the problem? She could feed herself with a spoon (minimal mess) around 15 months so I havent fed her since, and all is good!

I also found dd2 dropped her bottles quite quickly once she was really getting on with solids (around 9 months I think) and by one, she was only having one bottle (bedtime) and at 14 months she no longer drank milk at all.

 

[AK89]

Oh.. I'm not bothered what we call it! Just wanted to make sure it doesn't pose any sort of risk because it's not what she's used to...? If that makes sense! Just the ramblings of a paranoid mum

 

[sue_88]

I will be spoon feeding porridge, and yoghurt and soup etc... its too messy an affair for me to be dealing with, otherwise! As much as I would love to let her go wild with her hands, it really isnt practical for me! (single mum, 3 young girls, nursery run to do!)

I did the same with dd2, never saw the problem? She could feed herself with a spoon (minimal mess) around 15 months so I havent fed her since, and all is good!

I also found dd2 dropped her bottles quite quickly once she was really getting on with solids (around 9 months I think) and by one, she was only having one bottle (bedtime) and at 14 months she no longer drank milk at all.

Same (besides the nursery run and 3 children! )

I TW my LO, with mostly finger foods. There were people (on here definitely) who would rally round a pitch fork mob for saying you were BLW along with with spoon feeding, I was once knocked right off my post for the accidental slip up

I'm just not really interetsed in a massive big mess created by a child during meal times, I personally find that unacceptable. By 13/14m my Lo was eating everything with a fork or occasionally her hands but anything "messy" was fed using cutlery with help if necessary.

Feed your baby the porridge if you want to it won't cause any issues.