BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Mum2b_Claire]

Need some advice with a couple of BLW issues!

How do you all know when your LOs are all done? How long do you wait to wrap up the meal? What signs do your LOs give you that they are done?

My DS has been "wiping" food around/off the tray when he doesn't like the food offered or, it seems, when he is all done. But then, he sometimes does this for a few minutes then resumes picking at the food again!

My second issue is that DS is currently crazy about apples and pears. He is willing to put some other foods to his mouth (sweet potato, carrot, rice rusks, and zucchini) but doesn't eat them like he does apples and pears... he wolfs those pieces down and will zoom in on them, ignoring the other pieces on the tray. He won't even touch avocado after getting one taste.

I still keep putting a bit of all of those foods on his tray at every meal. Should I give the ones he doesn't like a break then try again in a few weeks? Or should I just keep offering all of them at every meal anyway?

I wouldn't offer apples and pears at every meal, as they need to learn to manage different things. I offered too much toast initially, mostly because I eat lots of it myself, and we had a few weeks where it seemed she would only eat stuff on toast, but once I limited it to one meal she soon started eating lots more other stuff.

Ruby does the 'wiping' of the table too - for her it is either because she's finished, is just having a little rest mid-meal, or that I've put too much food on the table for her to concentrate on!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I need some suggestions myself this morning - Adam seems to be constipated, he's not really pooed since Friday, other than a 1p-sized pellet yesterday, and he seems really distressed (yowling and screaming, trying really hard, but nothing). I seem to recall someone mentioned prunes somewhere, but how would I offer them? Should I hold off with carbs/protein today and just give him fruit & veg? Or keep offering what I'd normally offer and trust that his body will seek out the stuff it needs?

I would just offer more fruit in general. I've offered prunes a couple of times, tinned ones in juice, and dried ones, but she ignored them both times

 

[TigerLady]

Otter gets really spacey and distracted when he is done. I usually pick a piece of food off his tray and hold it in front of him. If he grabs it, he isn't done, if he ignores it, he is.

As for offering the same foods, I would offer a different variety as much as possible. If you give him only what you think he wants at the moment, he is likely to get stuck on that and start to refuse to try new things.

Otter went through TERRIBLE constipation problems for several weeks after he started to really eat. It was very frustrating. You can offer prune or apple juice (diluted) and that might help. I offered dried prunes, but he didn't eat them well. I gave him pureed prunes a couple of times with mixed success. In the end, I just had to let his digestive system work through it. If I thought it was REALLY bad (he was clearly in pain) then I would use a liquid glycerin suppository and it would always make him poo within about 10-30 minutes. There were many times he went 4-5 days without a poo, though. Before and after those struggles, he is normally a 1-3 poo per day guy.

 

[CloudyDay]

It's so amusing to me how the "wiping" action seems to be a universal behaviour amongst our babies! So cute. I guess I will have to just learn his cues as time goes on to figure out when he's done.

I'd also like to know, like Mary Jo, how long most of your feeding sessions are?? Mine also take 30-40 minutes, which feels reasonable to me. But, I know he could sit and poke at the food for up to 1 hour if I let it go on. Are we depriving them of adequate time/rushing them if we wrap up the feeding too early??

I had a feeling that I shouldn't keep loading him up on the apples and pears, for fear of creating picky behaviour. I will be changing that now but, I'm feeling some anxiety creep in when I think of offering him other foods that he's not so keen on. I keep thinking that if I only offer the foods he doesn't like at a feeding, he'll get frustrated and just spend the whole feeding pushing food around and dropping it off the tray. I don't have faith that he'll "give in" and give those foods a try!

 

[TigerLady]

Just make sure to offer a huge variety. Don't rely on the same 6-10 things. Keep changing it up as often as possible. Always put something new in front of him. And go back to things he has refused before after a week or so. He may like it later.

What has helped me most... learning to not be afraid to offer ANYthing (that is healthy). I gave him guacomole once, expecting him not to like it, and it turned out it is one of his FAVES now.

I think Otter gets on average about 30-40 minutes to eat. Closer to 30 for lunch and closer to 40 for dinner (as it is a family meal and generally takes longer anyway).

 

[CloudyDay]

I think Otter gets on average about 30-40 minutes to eat. Closer to 30 for lunch and closer to 40 for dinner (as it is a family meal and generally takes longer anyway).

Thanks TigerLady! You are a BLW guru! (And I just noticed all your blinkies, etc. in your siggie... OMG you are truly amazing!!! How the heck do you manage alllll that?? You're a superwoman!)

Just make sure to offer a huge variety. Don't rely on the same 6-10 things. Keep changing it up as often as possible. Always put something new in front of him. And go back to things he has refused before after a week or so. He may like it later.

What has helped me most... learning to not be afraid to offer ANYthing (that is healthy). I gave him guacomole once, expecting him not to like it, and it turned out it is one of his FAVES now.

Offering variety is where I get stuck. I've created myself a problem... since starting solids, I've made an effort to only offer organic foods to DS. I have done some research into the amounts of pesticides in various types of produce and I can't bear to feed DS any "regular" produce. Unfortunately, that means it takes me much longer to offer new foods because it takes a special trip to the organic grocery store and the selection is much more limited.

The other nutty thing I still do is prepare DS's food separately. I no longer do the purees but I still wash, peel, cut up and steam his foods for him. I can't bear to feed him the same stuff I eat at my meals. I eat very healthy but I still add in salt, spices and other flavourings to my meals. I fear that offering that food to DS would not be healthy for him... especially since the BLW book discourages adding extra salt or other flavourings, so baby can get used to the taste of "real food" and not have to rely on the unhealthy habit of adding salt, etc. to all food.

I don't know if I can ever get myself off these hang ups. The organic food hang up especially...

 

[TigerLady]

It is amazing what you get used to!

Hmm... the organic thing is a problem. I can understand offering as much organic as possible to minimize those nasties, but can you realistically feed him only organic until he is out of the house at 18 yrs old? Probably not.

If you eat healthy, then that is good enough for baby, IMHO. As for salt, just avoid adding it to dishes as often as you can and let the adults add it at the table. That is what I do now. I don't stear clear of spices and such. I figure it is a way for Otter to experience real food and get a taste for many things.

For example, yesterday we had flaffel, hummus and naan for lunch with applesauce for dessert. And for dinner I had done a pot roast with all the flavors in the slow cooker with potatoes, carrots, onions, and celery. He really liked sucking the juice out of the roast and eating the celery.

Honestly, if you never offer savory foods, then you are like to create a picky eater, I would think. He won't like any spices when he gets older if he never tries them???

Some of Otter's favorites:
anything with cheese! blocks of cheese, grilled cheese, etc
soft tacos
sandwhiches with either guacolmole or flavored cream cheese
fruits of all kinds (really likes pineapple and pears)
steamed asparagus drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice
tortillas with guacomole and sour cream
red meats to suck on (like steak and roast)
Roast beef sandwhich

What you give your LO is ultimately your choice, but part of the point, IMO, of BLW is to offer as wide a variety as possible and offer adult foods. That way they learn to eat and participate in family meals. Otter gets very frustrated if he is given something other than what the adults around him are eating. He thinks it is totally unfair!

 

[Mary Jo]

thanks for the advice on Adam's constipation - I have acquired a tin of prunes but have not needed to press it into service yet because he finally "went". x3. poor baby, but he's settled right down now. am going to make sure I offer fruit & veg each time he eats; he had plum, pear and nectarine for lunch today.

TL, I have been trying to offer Adam exactly what we have but when you start reading labels it's hard! I keep looking to see how much salt is in stuff and trying to calculate how much would be in Adam's portion, and of that how much can I expect he'd have... and I put most stuff back on the shelf. He LOVES cheese as well, he'd eat quite a chunky stick of it, but it's not low in salt... as a family we are definitely eating better in the last few weeks though. More variety, for sure.

 

[TigerLady]

I know. The salt thing IS a problem. I try to limit block cheeses to a couple of times a week. And bread to once slice per day. And I try to cook from fresh ingredients as much as possible. I limit canned, box, and frozen things as they all have loads of salt.

I'm not saying it is easy. And there are days that Otter goes over that salt "allowance." But there are other days he is under it. So, I just do the best I can and try not to obssess over it.

 

[joeyjo]

Sounds like things are going well for most

MJ & TL - Like you I try and offer G as close to possible the same as we have. I only really watch the salt and sugar; I don't worry too much about other seasonings.
I always check the salt on things as the same stuff varies so much with brands - I have found the cheapest own-brand crumpets tend to have 0.5g or less per crumet where as premium brands seem to have more than 1g.

George was trying to load his own spoon today - except he wasn't dipping it; he was using his hand to put stuff on it

 

[TigerLady]

@ George! That is SOOO cute!

 

[CloudyDay]

I've made a choice! I can no longer go on w/ BLW if I restrict myself like this!!! TL: hee hee... though I can be nutty, I definitely would not have tried to go organic until he flew the nest! I plan to only do it for about the first year or so, until his little digestive, immune system, etc. was given time to develop more. I just feel better knowing that I gave that little body a chance to grow as naturally and chemical-free as possible. I'll now allow myself to feed him more non-organic foods, going organic only with those foods that are especially high in pesticides (e.g. strawberries).

I called a dietitian just now to discuss my other BLW concerns and she has completely put me at ease. I feel as if a huge weight has been lifted and I can't wait to start truly including DS in our meals by sharing everything we eat w/ him!

The dietician told me something that threw me for a loop. Am I the only person who DIDN'T know this?? She says that for about a couple years now, they've done away w/ the belief that we shouldn't introduce allergenic foods such as egg whites, nuts, wheat, etc. until 12 months. WOW... that opens up so many options for DS now!

 

[TigerLady]

I'm glad you are excited and less stressed about it now. BTW, I knew you wouldn't keep him on organic that long. I was being a bit of my silly sarcastic self. Sorry.

The only things that I am restricting for him due to allergens are things that ppl in my or DH's immediate families have allergies to. Which basically means rye bread. He has had nuts (not whole due to choking, but in other forms), eggs including the whites (scrambled), eats wheat bread regularly, loves strawberries, etc.

I won't be letting him drink regular cow's milk until he is a year. But I use it in cooking so he is exposed to it regularly.

 

[CloudyDay]

I'm glad you are excited and less stressed about it now. BTW, I knew you wouldn't keep him on organic that long. I was being a bit of my silly sarcastic self. Sorry.

No need for sorry! I did have a chuckle when I first read that! Could you imagine how much it would cost to feed a teenage boy an organic diet?? And nooo way would this mama continue making separate meals just for her precious teenage son!!

I am still kind of in awe of that new info I've learned about allergenic foods! Is this just common knowledge now?? Because, while I was pregnant, I read several recently-published books stating very clearly that those foods should not be given until 12 months or later. The dietitian says it's changed because there's no scientific proof that this strategy was effective. She does recommend that I still introduce new foods one at a time, several days apart.

Having no known food allergies in my or DH's family history, I think it's pretty safe for me to start introducing each of those foods now!

 

[TigerLady]

My pediatrician still recommends waiting on those foods, too. He even goes as far as to say a BFing mom shouln't have them. And he is a really good doc in all other things.

I think old wisdom just dies REALLY hard. I didn't realize it was okay until I read the BLW book. Then, it just made sense that it would be okay.

 

[TigerLady]

Oh! I will admit, though, if an allergy pops up, it might be very hard to sort out if you are doing BLW.

Otter developed an allergy .... and in the day until I figured out what it was, I kept thinking, if this is food, how will I EVER figure out what food it was????

But it turned out to be penecillin.

 

[joeyjo]

She does recommend that I still introduce new foods one at a time, several days apart. :

see I never understood this with TW and it's part of why I chose BLW; if u just add 1 food at a time at what stage do you take the plunge and just let the kid eat? You could introduce new foods individually for years

 

[diz]

We had 'the grandparents' visit on the weekend.

Matts dad was well impressed at how Noah was able to put a loaded spoon in his mouth, and pick up pear sticks and eat them, his Mum (god bless her) who is 65 and has had a victorian upbringing started to shovel Noahs yoghurt in his mouth. So i politely said 'Maggie' could you help him load his spoon, but then let him guide it to his mouth?' which she did But her poor face when he shoved half a rice cake in his mouth... she nearly jumped out of her skin! She was itching to shover her finger in his mouth (but refrained). Noah just chomped the rice cake, spat half out, munched the rest, then swallowed.

 

[Kitten]

Hi ladies, hope you don't mind if I join you! Leyla is 6 months in 2 weeks time and I'm so excited about starting BLW and my husband is too. She has had a few sneaky tastes of things (she loved licking a salad leaf!) but I'm really glad I've ignored what my mum and MIL said about traditional weaning at 4 months.

I'm a veggie so we (well, I!) have decided that Leyla will be vegetarian too until she's old enough to make her own decision, but my husband eats meat at least four or five times a week. Is anybody else in the same situation? How would you deal with it? I think mostly Leyla will eat with me as her dad gets home at about 8pm during the week, but there's bound to be times when she sees what he's eating and wants to try. Don't know how I'd handle that! I'll definitely try cooking more proper meals (as opposed to the naughty ready meals we often eat now) and hubby will eat those but he'll never give up chicken wings!!!

We're raising Theakston veggie My OH eats with me so Theakston doesn't witness meat meals but presumably it will happen eventually. I eat biscuits and chocolate in front of him but never let him have those, but he mainly eats "with" me anyway in that he watches me etc. I don't think he'd really notice what OH is having and reach for it but I could be wrong.

 

[Komatsu]

Hi Ladies ,
I have a bit of a question for you .

How long did it take before your little one's really started to eat any substantial amount of the foods you offer ?

We started weaning Willow at 6 months , I'll admit we tried doing traditional weaning at first but quiet quickly saw that that just wasn't going to work . She hates being soon fed but will quiet happily feed herself . We've been doing BLW ever since .I've noticed she is eating more but not a whole lot . I know that babies primary source of nutrition for the first year should be milk . She's healthy , happy , gaining weight well and meeting all her developmental milestones but being the perpetual worrier that I am I still worry she's not eating enough solids . We've been offering three meals per day and a snack or two . I'd say 90% of her diet right now is still breastmilk .