BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[KimE]

Hi guys, can I join in please

I started weaning Poppy at 4 1/2 months-ish due to advice for her reflux and the fact that she has never drunk a lot of milk (20 - 26 ozs a day maximum) and it worked really well - she is hardly ever been sick after starting solids but I really wanted to go the BLW route as it seems so natural and more laid back than trying to "forcefeed" purees so I started her with fingerfoods at 5 1/2 months-ish and since around 6 months haven't "fed" her at all and just let her get on with it and its going brilliantly!! The only food that she still tries to get me to feed her is yoghurt (because she LOVES it) but I just load the spoon and refuse to do it and she eventually gets on with it herself.

I have attached a couple of pics cos I am sooooo proud of her

First day of proper BLW

eating yoghurt from a preloaded spoon

she loves her bananas but hates them being cut up!! You have to give her the whole thing

tea tonight - chicken stirfry with veg and noodles plus a side order of kiwi

Sorry for the long post .... am so happy to have managed to change over to BLW (didn't want to post before incase we didn't manage it and had to stay TW) and looking forward to chatting with you guys

 

[TigerLady]

Looks like she is doing great!

 

[Eala]

Those are fab pics! She looks soooo happy Really glad you're able to take the route you want to

 

[KimE]

A question for those of you that have been doing BLW for a longish amount of time or your lo's are older - how long was it until your babies started to eat a reasonable amount of what was put in front of them?

I am over the moon with Poppy cos she has a go at most stuff and by the end of mealtime most things have gum/teeth marks in or are sucked/destroyed but I don't think she is actually "eating" much as there always seems to be still a lot left (just in smaller pieces!! )

I just wondered when I could actually expect her to start eating the food (like half a slice of toast etc) I seem to be throwing sooooo much good food away!!

Thanks

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

A question for those of you that have been doing BLW for a longish amount of time or your lo's are older - how long was it until your babies started to eat a reasonable amount of what was put in front of them?

I am over the moon with Poppy cos she has a go at most stuff and by the end of mealtime most things have gum/teeth marks in or are sucked/destroyed but I don't think she is actually "eating" much as there always seems to be still a lot left (just in smaller pieces!! )

I just wondered when I could actually expect her to start eating the food (like half a slice of toast etc) I seem to be throwing sooooo much good food away!!

Thanks

7.5 months for us. I think that was the first time Ruby ate a whole slice of toast, and now whenever I give her bread or toast she eats a whole slice 90% of the time.
Other examples of quantities she often eats -
about a (adult's) handful of pasta, half a 2 egg omelette, a whole weetabix, 3-4 big chunks of roasted veg, about a quarter of a chicken breast...
Hope that helps!
I'm so with you about it being annoying throwing food away, but as the BLW book says, our LOs eating like this will mean they are less fussy eaters when older, and fussy eaters waste loads of food.

 

[Lu28]

Aisling eats the same kind of amounts as Ruby, some days more than others. It's annoying throwing food out but then the amount of purees that are thrown out too is huge so I doubt there's too much of a difference.

 

[fantastica]

Sorry I only seem to come in here when something's wrong...will have to start popping in regularly!

LO will only seem to eat things if I hand them to him..if I put the plate in front of him he just throws it everywhere...how can I change this? It seems like he's not getting anywhere with it...I can't even imagine him learning to eat things like lasagne like everyone else seems to give theirs...how do they do it? Should I just keep going?

Also...we don't tend to eat as a family..so he gets fed earlier, so i'll have a snack with him...should I change this and just cook for the two of us? So we're eating the same thing..(i know that's the idea of BLW but haven't always stuck to it)???

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Sorry I only seem to come in here when something's wrong...will have to start popping in regularly!

LO will only seem to eat things if I hand them to him..if I put the plate in front of him he just throws it everywhere...how can I change this? It seems like he's not getting anywhere with it...I can't even imagine him learning to eat things like lasagne like everyone else seems to give theirs...how do they do it? Should I just keep going?

Also...we don't tend to eat as a family..so he gets fed earlier, so i'll have a snack with him...should I change this and just cook for the two of us? So we're eating the same thing..(i know that's the idea of BLW but haven't always stuck to it)???

Ruby wouldn't pick food up herself, all the time, until closer to 8 months.
It's had no bearing on her progress. When you're handing them food, they are still putting it into their own mouths, and practicing chewing and moving food around their mouths.

Ruby STILL won't eat things like lasagne. She doesn't do 'mixed up' dishes or runny foods, she likes proper 'pieces' of food, otherwise she will just do a 'windcreen wiper' action with her arm to clear the table. I don't think thats got anything to do with me handing her food in the beginning, more to do with her needing to concentrate on separate pieces of food atm, and wanting to clearly see what food is. She also dislikes licking food off her fingers.

OH and I eat too late for Ruby to join us because he isn't home til almost 7,a nd Ruby is waay too tired to join us then. I give Ruby tea at 5pm. I try and cook various different stuff at lunch so I can just give her bread or toast for tea. That way I'm not spending all day cooking!!

 

[Shiv]

Hi everyone - thought I would give an update of how BLW is going for us................
well we started nearly a week ago and here is a list of foods that Sophia has tried
cucumber
banana
brocolli
melon
sweet potato
courgette
carrot
chicken
pear
toast with blackcurrant fruit spread
quessidilla with cheese
rice cake
red pepper
baby corn
mange tout

most days I try to have SOphia sit with me at the table for her 3 meals (although some days she is just so grumpy that dinner gets skipped) and most of the time she is very happy to chomp away for 15 minutes or so before she gets the hump. She isn't really eatng anything yet although I have found bits of broccoli, carrot,blackcurrant etc in her nappy. I think this is more through luck than actual intent on Sophia's part!

Sophia is being such a grump today though!

Anyway that is my update, thanks for reading

 

[Shiv]

oh and a quick question about water
Sophia is breastfed so I have never given her water before - how do I introduce it, does she need it at every meal, how much should she be drinking?!?!?

 

[Lu28]

Fantastica, he'll get there in the end, don't worry! I remember wondering how people gave their LOs lasagne, cottage pie etc but it just came to a point where she was doing things well so I thought I'd give it a shot and she was great. I don't think I tried until after about 8 months though. Now she really seems to prefer stuff like lasagne and isnt' great with plain chicken and veg etc.

Shiv, sounds like Sophia is doing great! With the water, once Aisling started eating things, I started offering water at every meal. If I remember right, it's not particularly necessary until they start eating proteins. We have only ever used a doidy and we'd offer every meal. For a couple of weeks, she'd just waggle her tongue in the water, if she did take any in her mouth, she'd just spit it back out. It was just a case of persistence really and she loves it now

We had our pancake day today and Aisling had 3, she couldn't get it into her mouth fast enough!

 

[TigerLady]

I started offering water at every meal pretty early on with Otter, too. We tried a few things and the doidy ended up being a life saver! I just fill it most of the way, offer it, he'll drink it... usually not all but most. Sometimes he will drink it all and ask for more. I just go with what he asks for.

 

[KimE]

Shiv, I offer water to Poppy after each meal as she loves it that much she'd just sit drinking it rather than eating. She has a pink free flow sippy cup and a doidy.

Fantastica, I'm still new to BLW so I'm as confused as you!! From what people have said I think it finally clicks with lo and they start eating more but I'm still waiting for that!!

A quick question guys, how many "options" do you put in front of lo at each meal? Do you offer everything at the same time? Poppy has taken to picking each thing up, not really tasting it and dropping it over the side ... everything ends up on the floor. Has anyone dealt with this sucessfully? I was wondering if I'm offering too much choice ... I usually make sure there is a carb, veg, fruit and something protein but she could end up with 5 or 6 different things. She does better at breakfast (only 3 things offered) but thought that may be because she's hungrier at breakfast????? Lunchtime is the worst - dinner not as bad but she tends to have something cooked then whilst lunch is cold finger food. Should I only put 2 or 3 options in front of her at a time?

Thanks xx

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Shiv, I offer water to Poppy after each meal as she loves it that much she'd just sit drinking it rather than eating. She has a pink free flow sippy cup and a doidy.

Fantastica, I'm still new to BLW so I'm as confused as you!! From what people have said I think it finally clicks with lo and they start eating more but I'm still waiting for that!!

A quick question guys, how many "options" do you put in front of lo at each meal? Do you offer everything at the same time? Poppy has taken to picking each thing up, not really tasting it and dropping it over the side ... everything ends up on the floor. Has anyone dealt with this sucessfully? I was wondering if I'm offering too much choice ... I usually make sure there is a carb, veg, fruit and something protein but she could end up with 5 or 6 different things. She does better at breakfast (only 3 things offered) but thought that may be because she's hungrier at breakfast????? Lunchtime is the worst - dinner not as bad but she tends to have something cooked then whilst lunch is cold finger food. Should I only put 2 or 3 options in front of her at a time?

Thanks xx

I offer Ruby a few different bits per meal but I can't put down more than 1-2 pieces at a time, otherwise she just sweeps everything onto the floor with her arm. She just can't concentrate on too much stuff at once!

I would definitely try offering fewer pieces of food at once.

 

[juliespencer9]

Hi all, I will join you all here and have a good read up to see whats what with BLW.

 

[candyfloss]

What a day! W has been doing really well and we've shared crumpets, roasted veg, shreaded wheat, mango, pear, peach, nectarine, toast, beans on toast(!) and breadsticks and he's tasted all of it and loves his fruit! So today we tried scrambled egg and toast...and within less than 5 minutes he was rubbing his face and came up in hives Bright red face, itchy eyes, swollen eyes and around his mouth and hands, really not nice.

Washed his hands and face with cold water, sent OH off to get piriton (which they can't sell OTC as he's under 12 months we discovered) while I BF W to keep him away from his face and to 'dilute' any egg inside him and I figured if he's feeding I know his airway is ok. Then had to ring on call drs who said to come in, but it did go down quickly so he was fine by the time we got there!

He's been sleepy today but otherwise fine but has scared the hell out of me! No more eggs for him, seeing our normal dr on Monday for something else anyway so will chat then about what to do next..........

 

[juliespencer9]

Hi already, 2 questions....
When you are out for the day how do you go about BLW? as its a messy job.

Also Today when my Lo had toast she bit off a massive piece and i panicked and tried to take it out her mouth, should i leave it with her or take it out mouth ?

 

[Shiv]

candyfloss that must have been really scary, but sounds like you handled it well. I am glad that the reaction went down quickly. DO you have any history of egg allergies in your famillies? Has W tried anything else with eggs in it? pasta etc? I guess it is all trial and error with BLWing - well done for realising what was happening and reacting so well

As for BLW when out and about - well I owuld try to tak ethings that are less likely to create mess (hahaha easier said than done), amke sure you haev wipes with you and you can always ask for a dustpan and brush afterwards

I tryto let SOphia just get on with it, she too bites off big bits and gets a panicy look on her face, but I leave her to it (whilst sitting on my hands so as not help her !) and she will eventually spit it out. I think unless there is a choking incident it is best to leave them to it

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Hi already, 2 questions....
When you are out for the day how do you go about BLW? as its a messy job.

Also Today when my Lo had toast she bit off a massive piece and i panicked and tried to take it out her mouth, should i leave it with her or take it out mouth ?

When we're out for a meal Ruby just shares our food - we just make sure at least one of us picks something suitable. If we think there may be a problem finding suitable food then we take some bread, non-messy fruit and cheese.
Personally I don't think, provided you don't give messy foods, that BLW is any messier than feeding a baby mush on a spoon!

You really have to try haaaard not to panic. If your LO bit off a piece that was too big for her to handle, then it would have fallen out of her mouth. This still happens with Ruby.

 

[candyfloss]

Thanks Shiv No other history of egg allergy but I'm allergic/intolerant to cheese (very bad migraine from any little bit!) and my family has a history of asthma so thought he might get something TBH. He did have some spag bol the other day, but due to slippery-ness(?sp!) played with it rather than ate any I think!