BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Mum2b_Claire]

So Aisling was a bit weird with her dinner tonight. For ages she kept throwing herself back in her highchair to make it bounce away from the table. When she eventually looked interested in her food, she bent forward so she could lick it while it was still on the table?! She then took a couple of mouthfuls but started whinging. It was shepherds pie so I loaded a spoon and she practically grabbed it off me and shoved it in her mouth and ended up more than happily eating most of it off a preloaded spoon - not sure what was going on with her

Was she tired? Maybe she was quite hungry but didn't want to make a lot of effort to get the food.

One day last week Ruby randomly wanted food handed to her, which we haven't done for ages unless we're out. Odd.

Oh by the way we found a way of stopping Ruby pushing herself away from the table. One of us puts our foot on the metal bar at the bottom of the chair. Works a treat. She still tries to do it a couple of times a meal but when nothing happens, she goes back to her food.

 

[Lu28]

She was pretty tired actually, maybe that's all it was. Great idea for the highchair, think I'll try that tomorrow. It was funny at first but it's starting to drive me nuts

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

Well after barely eating all week my LO ate a whole slice of toast with apple and pear puree on at dinner time...he doesn't usually eaten eat half. Then he pratically ate the whole jar pf fruit puree (we finally picked up 6month bounty pack yest and it was in it)

Dunno what was going on, but at bedtime he only drank 4oz ... barely got 16 oz's into him today!

but again he wouldn't feed himself, figure cos he's a bit ill and teething badly! Put him in high chair with toast and he screamed, held out a piece of toast to him and he screamed. Then spotted it and lunged forward and put his mouth around it, but he would not take it himself. If i didn't hold it in his mouth he screamed! Dunno what was going on! I gave in and held it for him, them spoon fed him though because he was obviously hungry!

 

[NIfirsttimer]

ruby does this all the time too.. sometimes she wouldnt even entertain me being anywhere near her food, other days she acts like shes forgotten about her hands, and tries eating it from the table, and when that doesnt work she gets frustrated!
im not sure Gill would approve lol, but i hand her a piece, which usually gets her focused again, and she remembers about her hands! i usually put it down to tiredness, or a grumpy day! (happens to the best of us lol)

 

[Shiv]

Hi everyone! So we were gonna start SOphia pn some fruit and veg this week but she has been a bit poorly so decided to wait.
I gave the book to my husband to read and he has decided that we must wait until Sophia is 6 months before giving her anything (my fault for giving him the book, he likes to play by the rules ) so we won't be starting for another couple of weeks, which is a shame cos I bought tons of bits of food for her - oh well more for me!
Will be keeping up to date with th etherad though as love hearing all about your LO's achievements and trials

 

[Lucy_lu_84]

Good luck for when you start shiv

NI: Yeah usually he gets back focused but not today! bless him! wish these teeth would come thru ... 4/5 at once poor baby

 

[kirsten1985]

Great idea for the highchair Claire, going to try that! Freya only has short legs though, so when she pushed herself all the way back she can still reach the edge of the table, I just make sure that's where her food is. Or, she has started to rummage around on the seat of the chair when she has nothing left and eats random bits she has dropped down there

 

[Lu28]

Or, she has started to rummage around on the seat of the chair when she has nothing left and eats random bits she has dropped down there

Aisling does this if its something she really likes, like cheese and tomato pasta bake, none of it goes to waste!!

 

[NIfirsttimer]

Ruby has started to confuse her fingers with her food... especially if its something messy that shes covered in...
she starts off holding the food and munching it happily, then suddenly a finger, or thumb slips in there, which she ends up sucking, and sometimes biting (which ends in tears)
anyone else get this? its hard to know what to do about it.. do i just let her keep going until she bites herself, or interfere and help her reposition the food -( it usually happens when shes knawed / sucked whatever shes holding to level with her hand.)

 

[JayleighAnn]

Hey everyone, I've not posted in a while.
We've been having problems with Halens eating, well I say problems...he wont eat. Full stop. He will have maybe 2 bites of something, spit it out then throw himself around in his bumbo chair. He just slouches in his high chair and wont eat a thing. If I sit him on the settee with us he just messes around with the throw he's sat on (I'm not sitting him on the settee without one, it's brand new and cream leather lol) and throws the food away. The most he ate was an organix gingerbread man last night and thats it for about the last week.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Ruby has started to confuse her fingers with her food... especially if its something messy that shes covered in...
she starts off holding the food and munching it happily, then suddenly a finger, or thumb slips in there, which she ends up sucking, and sometimes biting (which ends in tears)
anyone else get this? its hard to know what to do about it.. do i just let her keep going until she bites herself, or interfere and help her reposition the food -( it usually happens when shes knawed / sucked whatever shes holding to level with her hand.)

This is a tough one but I think you just have to let her learn by experience. I don't think she'll learn as quickly if you intervene. Like everything about learning to self feed, they have to learn not to things that hinder them, like holding slippery food too tightly.

I guess she'll soon learn to open her hand flat to eat the food inside when she gets down to that point, Ruby has been doing this for about 6 weeks now and it's helped her eat a lot more.

 

[TigerLady]

I agree... you just have to let her learn. Hopefully she'll figure out pretty quickly to be careful!

J, is Halen teething? Do you think he isn't eating as much as it hurts his mouth right now?

 

[JayleighAnn]

I don't know the last 2 days he's been poorly and barely drinking let alone eating so maybe it just been coming in for the last week or so.
When he cut his first teeth the other week he was eating as normal?
He has ate a bit today...because MIL kept praising him and telling him what a good boy he was and how he should eat it all up I swear MIL's dont listen to you on purpose!

 

[NIfirsttimer]

yep. we had a big family meal today and i was SO looking forward to it so that all my doubters could see how well she eats!
instead, i ended up so annoyed becasue they were all sticking cameras in her face while she was munching, and cooing about what a 'GOOOOOOODDDD GGGIIIIRRRRRRRLLLLLL' she is for eating up all her dinner! AAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

anyway, she did do well, and they had to take it all back when they saw her happily sitting at the table with us for almost 2 hrs, munching chicken, ham, asparagus, carrots, a roast potato, some peas & some broccoli! ha! (and we only had one finger biting incident today too )
although my step mum had to look away as she apparently couldnt bear to watch her choking!! (which shes NEVER done once so far!)

 

[Lu28]

Glad it went so well NI, it's such a great feeling when that happens!

 

[fantastica]

does anyone else get a tiny bit frustrared with BLW? It just feels like right now Jacob's not progressing much, infact it seems like he's even worse at it now (doesn't help that my mum has been spoon feeding him his prrodige etc!!)...everyonw has started being negative about it again, and it kind of just feels like a struggle that maybe isn't worth it. He's also been up with what seemed like bad stomach pains...and that has been put down to chewing bits that he can't digest...it's driving me mad.

Everyone elses's babies seem to be eating so well Please say this is normal

 

[cleckner04]

So Emma choked on a piece of apple tonight. Not enough to have to intervene but I sat there for a few seconds just to see what would happen and she coughed it up. But I could tell she couldn't breathe for a few seconds and it scared the life out of me. She just kept eating like nothing happened. She did it twice. So I'm a bit discouraged about the entire process right now. And I feel like a horrible mother for just letting it happen. I just wonder if I'm doing the right thing now. I am definitely not giving her apple again for a while.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

does anyone else get a tiny bit frustrared with BLW? It just feels like right now Jacob's not progressing much, infact it seems like he's even worse at it now (doesn't help that my mum has been spoon feeding him his prrodige etc!!)...everyonw has started being negative about it again, and it kind of just feels like a struggle that maybe isn't worth it. He's also been up with what seemed like bad stomach pains...and that has been put down to chewing bits that he can't digest...it's driving me mad.

Everyone elses's babies seem to be eating so well Please say this is normal

I know EXACTLY how you feel - I was the same. When Ruby was 6.5 months I wrote pretty much the same post, Ruby was barely interested. But yes, it IS normal, very normal.

I would very much doubt the stomach pains were anything to do with chewing food he can't digest. Chewed solid food is easier to digest than purees that just get swallowed straight down, as the saliva makes the food easier to digest.

Ruby didn't make much progress between about 8 and 9 months but now she seems to be trying some different foods, like meat which she previously wouldn't touch. Progress goes in fits and starts.

Don't worry about what other people's babies are doing, they have different appetites and needs. Also someone's definition of eating 'lots' might not be the same as yours. I know it's hard not to compare though!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

So Emma choked on a piece of apple tonight. Not enough to have to intervene but I sat there for a few seconds just to see what would happen and she coughed it up. But I could tell she couldn't breathe for a few seconds and it scared the life out of me. She just kept eating like nothing happened. She did it twice. So I'm a bit discouraged about the entire process right now. And I feel like a horrible mother for just letting it happen. I just wonder if I'm doing the right thing now. I am definitely not giving her apple again for a while.

Raw apple is the one food guaranteed to make Ruby gag loads. If you want to give apple, you could try baking one? Makes it nice and soft.

You are NOT a horrible mother, just remember that BLW is actually safer than doing purees then finger foods, as it says in the book.

 

[kirsten1985]

Freya has been having what I think must be teething poos seeing as they made her skin red even when I change her straightaway. In every runny nappy I change now there are whole bits of food that she hasn't chewed, this has never happened before, I can tell when something has come out in the nappy but it is never entire pieces!

Is it something to do with the teething that stuff isn't being digested properly? Like it's going through too fast? So far we have had sweetcorn, peas, blueberries, grapes, whole sliced mushrooms etc. She has eaten these things before and chewed and swallowed fine, but now they come out whole.

What is going on?!