BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Mum2b_Claire]

Got a new dilemma - Ruby now won't eat solids less than about 2 hours after a milk feed, which gives me a problem with breakfast, she just won't eat it, even if I give her food she loves, like pear. If I waited 2 hours she would be too tired.

Do I have to give her milk first in the morning? It seems to be the done thing but does anyone know if there's any reason why?

Ruby will drink milk whenever it is offered.

 

[purple_socks]

I give Kian milk whenever he wants it and i give him meals whenever we're having them so sometims it works out that he has milk after a meal and sometimes its before (it usually works that he has breakfast after milk, lunch in between two milk feeds and dinner before milk)...i'd say go with whatever works. U could try offering solids first and if she suddenly cuts back on loads of milk then maybe mix it abt-do some meals as milk first then some as solids first? i'd go 4 a trial and error kind of thing until i found a system that meant shes interested in solids without missing out on milk.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Yeah I think I'll try and offer solids first - it will mean eating my own breakfast at 7.30 but never mind.
In the early stages I found it didn't matter when solids were offered, as long as she wasn't too tired. Now it's a different story.
She is teething though so maybe that is putting her off food a bit, but she is eating well at lunch and dinner so that's a bit confusing.

 

[tmr1234]

we started blw proper last week but been giving bits for a few weeks.The last 2 days he has ate the food i gave him not all but bits. I gave him a petits filous the outher day with a spoon and he took the spoon and did really well diping it in and eating it i made weetabix this moring for him he put bouth hands in it and coverd his face dnt think he got any in his mouth thow.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Welcome tmr1234, sounds like BLW is going well for you so far!

Ruby has just mastered drinking from the Doidy cup with no input from me at all! yay!

 

[moomin_troll]

when weaning zane i noticed hed take milk when offered but he dropped alot of his bottles and would rather eat his food. for breakfast id always make his cereal with his baby milk then give him the rest after.

id do the same for his main meals too the milk would come after, that way i knew if he didnt eat all his food hed have a yummy bottle after

 

[purple_socks]

Welcome tmr1234, sounds like BLW is going well for you so far!

Ruby has just mastered drinking from the Doidy cup with no input from me at all! yay!

yay

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kian has been eating so much lately...we really turned a corner last week from 'trying' foods to actually eating. He still leaves loads but he's really digging in now rather than b4 then i think putting the food in his mouth was more abt seeing what it was- iykwim? and he knows when foods coming and gets really excited! Its also interesting to see him selecting things...i think he recognises certain foods coz he goes straight for certain things rather than b4 when he semed more 'wary' (not sure wary is the right word...he was checking his food out more) lately he's just been stuffing things in with confidence!

and last night he was trying to pick up peas! i wanted to film him but the camera distracts him. He was chasing them round and was managing to do a pincer grip every now and then....it looked like it took all his might to manage it though! He uses his first 2 fingers and thumb and balls the ring and little finger into a fist...i was very impressed

at what age do they usually end up mastering that move (as cute as i found his attempts to catch the peas, i also found it really hard not to help coz the frsutration was apparent!)

 

[Tacey]

Ooh, Mum2b_Claire, just saw you mentioned the doidy cup. We're getting one soon and I wasn't sure how to introduce it. Any tips? How full should it be? Do you put water in or should I express milk? When did you start?

 

[TigerLady]

We got our doidy cups last week. Love them! I put water in them and so far help Otter with them. I fill them about half full. He hasn't yet figured out how to do it himself. If he tries, it just ends up spilt all over this tray. But he drinks out of it really well with help!

I just put it to his lips and let him drink. He usually holds on to it with one hand and I keep it angled well with my hand on the other side. He learned what it was really fast, so asks for it now (but staring intently at it and ignoring his food. haha!)

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I put water in the Doidy, it's initially very messy so I doubt you want to waste expressed milk!

It took a while for Ruby for drink properly from it, and 3 months to do it on her own.

 

[Lu28]

How did you teach her to drink from it on her own Claire? Aisling still grabs the handles, tbh I probably don't give her enough opportunity to do it all by herself as I don't want the mess!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

How did you teach her to drink from it on her own Claire? Aisling still grabs the handles, tbh I probably don't give her enough opportunity to do it all by herself as I don't want the mess!

My OH let her hold it a few times, I never really encouraged her to hold it herself either as I hate the mess too! I just found that after he let her hold it, she just worked out what to do. Not sure why though, nothing else I've tried to teach her to do has worked! (clapping, waving, etc)

 

[joeyjo]

LO has mastered getting a loaded spoon in and today at dinner kept grabbing for our forks and ignoring his food. I dug out a toddler fork he got at Xmas and speared a bit of food with it. It went straiht in and then the fork was handed back, this happened for about 6-7 mouthfuls before he dove in with his hands as normal. Just a bit worried he's a bit young for forks - anybody else's LO do this?

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

Good to see you Shiv!

I think they all must be going through phases at the moment Aisling is still point blank refusing fruit so I'm just stirring it into her porridge instead. It's been a couple of weeks now The only thing she'll eat are dried apricots so I'm wondering if it's the feel of fresh fruit. Not sure what to do about that. She's definitely eating less at the moment too, again I'm not sure why, she doesn't seem to be teething. These babies are very confusing!

I'm going out for lunch tomorrow with friends, one with a 3 month old and I'm already worried she's going to start crying or throwing food on the ground! Really hope it goes well...

Lucy, Aisling went through that phase too and then suddenly just wanted to do it herself again. MIL tried 'helping' her the other day but holding food up to her mouth and Aisling gave her a dirty look and just took the food off her and ate it!

They are very confusing... nice to know others have had this stage to. He ate loads on saturday evening, a bowl of stew, a yoghurt and then nearly a whole pear... I have no clue where he was putting it. Then today back to not eating. He's teething badly again tho, so I think thats part of the problem!

Got a doidy cup to ... he finds it so exciting! He drinks quite well with help, but then he gets excited and holds it and bounces - we get wet! lol then he looks at me with a dirty look as if to say what are you doing Mummy!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Got a doidy cup to ... he finds it so exciting! He drinks quite well with help, but then he gets excited and holds it and bounces - we get wet! lol then he looks at me with a dirty look as if to say what are you doing Mummy!

Haha Ruby did this for ages! She would bounce away and it was very messy!

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

They do get very excited by it don't they. Least it's only water so dries and doesn't stain!

 

[Shiv]

OT sorry - but Claire and Faille - where abouts in Kent do you live? I'm from Sandwich on the coast

 

[faille]

OT sorry - but Claire and Faille - where abouts in Kent do you live? I'm from Sandwich on the coast

I'm in Gravesend at the moment but grew up in Dartford/Bexley area and lived in Higham for a few years so got to know medway a bit too.

I'd love to live near the coast though. My nan and grandad live in Ramsgate and I love going to see them in the summer and walking along the seafront.

 

[Elliebank]

Hi girls. Does anyone know where you can get 100% fruit spread/jam from? I looked in Asda today but all the jams are loaded with sugar.

 

[Mary Jo]

hey ladies... have to admit not having read the entirety of the thread but have made it through the last 50 or so pages!

we are in the very beginning stages of BLW, though Adam is just past 5 months old. his highchair arrived a week or so ago so I decided he could get famliar with it and with us all sitting up together to eat before food was in the equation, and he loved it right away. so, figuring if he wasn't able to do anything with food I'd know he wasn't ready and if he could he was, I decided to see how he reacted to cooked broccoli, cooked carrot and baby spinach (while we had grilled salmon as well). he loved the broccoli, it went right in his mouth and judging by his nappy he got a bit swallowed! carrot he had trouble hanging on to, and the spinach he loved picking up and stuffing in and sucking on and crunching between his fists.

so fascinating to see him concentrating so hard! we ate our whole meal and he was absolutely fine, seemed to enjoy himself. since then he's also had cucumber sticks to play with and suck on.

we're planning on keeping him to fruit & veg the next couple of weeks and then introduce more. I have read most of the BLW book, need to finish it tomorrow.

one thing I am finding and that is resistence from my OH. total resistence to start with, but he refused to read the book. I hate having to put my feet down about things like this (he was the same about cloth nappies but he's fine now), I understand the principles of it all and I have tried explaining it, but it's not easy! thankfully Adam took to the broccoli in particular so well and with such enthusiasm that he was won over, but he still thinks he is going to choke every 2 seconds even though I explained the gag reflex and how that is not choking but the baby learning what he can manage in his mouth, and he hovers over him rather than letting him get on with it... gah.

I wish I knew why he is so resistent to research and new methods. the thing is I know if he read up, he'd be as certain as I am that it is the right thing to do. oh well, guess Adam will be the one to convince Daddy...

really nice to read about all your experiences and have an idea of what's to come and what's normal.

and so good to see some other August Mummies - joeyjo, tmr and shiv ! can you believe our little tiny babies are sitting up and eating all by themselves?

oh, and I'm not quite Kent but nearby - Hither Green.