BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Mum2b_Claire]

Eala - Ruby put very little in her mouth at first. She usually ignored the food completely! I had the same worries as you - but by 7 months she was putting it in her mouth and eating small amounts.

About highchairs - we had the same problem with our Chicco highchair, even though Ruby is very tall! In the end we ditched it for a Tripp Trapp and this helped massively. I'd just sit Romilly (love that name btw) on your lap until she's a little taller.

 

[Eala]

Thanks guys, you've really put my mind at rest And thank you for the compliment on Romilly's name too

 

[princessellie]

girls, i really need some help, lately leyla wont hardly eat anything, i just tried to give her some toast and a pear and she threw it all on teh floor, she had one bite of toast then threw it down and wouldnt eat, she started off so well but lately ive been spoon feeding her porridge in the morning (naughty i know but its surely healthier than other cereals?) since then she's really backtracked on her BLW, if i give her something she puts her mouth forward as if to bite it out of my hand, and if say to her to get it, she just throws it on the floor, yesterday she ate quite a lot of scrambly egg by herself, she ate the big pieces then threw the smaller pieces on the floor im getting to my wits end cos she just doesnt seem to be eating enough

yesterday she had one kiwi, 2 scrambled eggs and a bite of toast and some tuna mixed into mash which her dad spoon fed her oh and she had two 6ozs cows milk and her vitamins

then today she's had half a bowl of porridge, a bite of toast and 2 6oz bottles so far, im gna try her with soem chicken in a minute but im not convinced she'll eat much of it, most of it will go on the floor

what do you reckon? is this enough? shes 14months

thanks

x

 

[NIfirsttimer]

hellllllpppppp

im at my wits end with this throwing food thing... shes So intent of throwing each individual piece of food off her tray, that nothing gets eaten anymore! its like a mission for her, and its gone from being the window wiper motion where everything flew off at once, to a very precise session of picking up each individual item, pea by pea, and dropping it over the side! i thought it was because she had discovered the joys of feeding the dog, so he was out at mealtimes, but she carried on, and even does it when we are eating elsewhere.. we were out tonight, and her chicken and veg had all gone over the side within a few minutes, she sucked on a bit of tomato for about 5 seconds, fed herself some yoghurt and that was her.. its very unlike her!
ive tried picking it up and putting it back, but she just carries on, i think that no matter how many times i did that, she would push it off again every time.. ive tried taking it away and not offering more.. she doesnt seem bothered, and ive tried saying No, again, not bothered! I know in a way, its all about her figuring out how things work, and 'practising' her new skills.. which is great, but she needs to eat something at least!
i wasnt overly bothered at first, but this has been going on for 2 weeks now, and although shes a big girlie, so can afford a while of eating less, i dont want it to go on for much longer than it has already!
i feel like we are getting too close to the whole 'battling at mealtimes' thing that we were trying to avoid!

all help gratefully appreciated!!

 

[helen1234]

rhys was a terrible food thrower, he did it for quite a while but i noticed after a month or so i wasnt timeing his hunger on time, as if he was hungry he would eat lovely soon as he was done he'd chuck it over board either over the high chair or for some bizare reason over the back of his head and down his neck lol.
so ever since i dont overload his tray maybe one or two items, and i use 3 strikes and stop feeding my the third throw, i get him out of the high chair and try an hour later,

the throwing of stuff peaked when he was teething and he ate alot of yoghurts and soft banana and rejected anything that needed real chewing.

x

 

[craftymum]

We've noticed that everytime Jacob eats something he seems to come out in a little rash on his neck, back and tummy, it usually clears up very quickly and isn't causing him any distress, he has no fever. We thought maybe food allergy but he's not really had any potential allergens and surely veg and baby porridge wouldn't cause this? Could it maybe be a little heat rash or possibly caused by teething?

 

[Eala]

Proud Mummy moment! Gave Romilly some avocado on toast today, and she started sucking on it! She spat it out again after a bit (or rather, it dropped out of her mouth), but seemed to be mainly bread with very little green bits, so I think she probably swallowed some avocado without meaning too hehe. She picked up the slices of avocado and banana I put out too, but was more interested in waving them around

Om nom nom?
https://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i192/lynne_turner/Baby/blw5.jpg

Nom...
https://i72.photobucket.com/albums/i192/lynne_turner/Baby/blw4.jpg

I'm not getting too hung up on it, I do fully appreciate that she might not take anything next time. Just so amazed, especially after her total disinterest yesterday

Sorry I've no advice for anyone else, am too new to this myself

 

[pinkbow]

hey ladies, in need of some advice...if u can lol

since mason has started eating more n more ive noticed her doesnt want milk at all during the day(he is BF btw)...he will in the morning, late afternoon and then at night still though, but there is a loooooong gap in the day where all he wants is his juice or water...is this ok...i know most of the calories are in my milk for him so is he getting enough...he has just drank about 8oz of juice and he seemed to be reallllly thirsty i cook his things with no salt etc so im stumped lol

thanks xx

 

[lfernie]

Hi Ladies,

I'm Lauren and Im hoping to start BLW with Ryan in the next couple of weeks, he's already picking up food and putting it his mouth but mostly just mushes it up. I've read the book and I know it says give them pretty much anything from 6 months but what did you all find the best things to start of with.

Thanks x

 

[CloudyDay]

I'm back, in desperate need for advice again! I posted this thread in the main Weaning & Nutrition forum: https://www.babyandbump.com/weaning...ving-enough-eat-w-out-catering-pickiness.html. If you have time, PLEASE have a read... I'm feeling so unsure about how to handle baby's pickiness!

 

[TigerLady]

Re: food throwing, I haven't had to deal with that yet, but I think I would just ignore it. Chances are it is either because she isn't hungry enough or because it gets some sort of reaction from you (even just a sigh, a tense up, or a roll eyes -- they can pick up very small cues). I would put a waste bin out near the table. Everytime she threw a piece over the edge, calmly pick it up and throw it away. Don't comment, do it in a neutral tone. If that didn't work after a couple of days, I would ignore the food going over the edge entirely. After the meal is over, take her out of her chair and into another room. Then go back and pick up all the food and toss it. That way she doesn't even get the 'reaction' of seeing you throw it away after she tosses it over the edge.

Re: Picky eater, I haven't had to deal with that, either. But Otter does go through phases sometimes. I just let him. I continue to try to offer a variety and leave it at that. The only time I will repeatedly offer the same thing is when he is sick. He seems to want to eat only fruit then and I allow it. I always offer other stuff, too, but provide fruit at every meal and don't worry if that is all he eats. He always starts eating other things when he feels better again.

 

[joeyjo]

LO has been poorly (cough/cold) & woken demanding a full BF about 4/5am last few nights

1sr night he did it I offered BF again in morning when he woke at usual time - so BF at 7:45 then solid breakfast at about 9:30 - he was fussy & unintrested in both

yesterday he didn't wake again till 9am so I decided to offer porridge 1st & followed it with BF - he wasmore interested in both

I amthinking to do the same today - but I'm worried he's too young for that?

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Re the throwing - Ruby doesn't throw, she drops food over the edge of the table, sometimes even when she is hungry. My best way to deal with this now is to give one piece of food at a time, and if she throws each one a few times then I leave her with no food for a while, until she starts making a certain face / gesture she does that she wants more food. I then give her another piece and usually she eats for a bit, then reverts back to dropping it, so I repeat the same. Annoying, but this way less food gets thrown and more eaten.

I think it is a phase because atm she is obssessed with putting things places, not just grabbing them. When Ruby doesn't want a particular food, she makes a neat little pile of it to her left hand side for some reason, OR she drops it over the edge of the table.
I see the same sort of theme in her play, she empties the toy box then puts it all back in, and stacks her bricks instead of just grabbing and trying to eat them!

She also constantly wants to feed me!

 

[NIfirsttimer]

thanks girl! shes getting a bit better with it.. im putting it down to teeth as her 5th & 6th teeth appeared last week, which coincided with this throwing / dropping obsession!

last few days have been much better, shes eaten a lot more, and been less picky, as well as only throwing it off the side when shes actually finished! yay!

isnt it amazing when they start to recognise foods, and know which ones they like best.. Ruby is VERY into potato wedges at the moment, and she gets so excited to see them on her tray, and always eats those first, ignoring anything else thats there until the wedges are all gone! i just roast them with olive oil garlic & paprika, and she goes nuts for them!

i got the annabel karmel book 'top 100 finger foods' (i think someone here recommended it?) and there are lots of yummy ideas in there which we can also eat & enjoy.. she especially liked the krispie fish fingers & lemon dip (the fish fingers are made with rice crispies! yum!)

im back to work on 19th so im just hoping that the transition to Cm giving her some meals doesnt mess things up again! Claire.. hows your Cm situation going hun?

also.. anyone else getting HORRIBLE teeth grinding while eating? i cant bear it, but she insists on doing it between mouthfuls lol...

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Ruby's got her first proper session tomorrow with the cm, only 2.5 hours but I'm terrified! I'm back to work on the 28th...

Yeah Ruby goes crazy for any meat, and butternut squash! She grabs it straight away and can't stuff into her mouth fast enough.

We have a random food dislike though - potatoes! She'll only eat them roasted, when my mum does them, she won't touch mine.
Boiled - nope. Wedges - nope. Cubed and baked - nope. Jacket - nope. Dauphinoise - nope. she definitely recognises potatoes and avoids them like the plague! If they do make it into the mouth they get spat out in disgust!

 

[pinkbow]

hey what does everyone put on there LOs toast....ive tried him with plain butter, cheese spread, marmite, and even banana smooshed on it...is there anything else i can try?

and also sandwhich fillings....i want to start introducing a lunch for him as he seems to be getting hungrier and also something easy for taking out with us...

any ideas would be fabby thanks

 

[Mary Jo]

we've tried mashed avocado, houmous, fruit spread, and mashed hard boiled egg mixed with creme fraiche on toast. will be trying tuna in creme fraiche when I get some!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

Ruby loves cheese on toast, it's her favourite. We do tuna too, I find I need to mix a little mayo in with it or it just all falls off the toast or out of the sandwich. Creme fraiche didn't hold it together properly and tasted a bit bland to me, but maybe that's cos I used half fat. And tuna mayo on toast topped with cheese then grilled, yum

 

[Rebaby]

Hello!

I've been following this thread with interest for a few weeks now as (after much deliberation) we're planning to do BLW with Toby

He is still fully breastfed but we assembled his highchair a couple of weeks ago and he's been having a little sit in either that or his bumbo every day and watching me eat either breakfast or lunch or occasionally watching OH and i have dinner.

He's been fascinated watching us eat since he was about 4 months old, and i know it isn't a true sign of readiness but more recently he is showing some real signs that he's not long away from being ready for food, like making chewing motions with his mouth when he watches us eat and trying to grab for things, plus his hand-eye co-ordination seems to be improving a lot. OH let him have a lick of an apple he was eating last week and he seemed to think it was great if a bit tangy (!), so out of curiosity a few days later i was about half way through eating an apple and i held it in front of him and he grabbed it with both hands, one at each end and started sucking it like mad

So after that we have decided that maybe it is time for me to start putting my lunch within arms reach of him and see if he wants to help himself to some?

I think i am just feeling a bit funny about it as i always imagined we'd wait until he was beyond the recommended "6 month" mark but i really do feel like he is ready to at least be allowed to have a go (i'm aware that 99.9% of it probably won't make it anywhere near his mouth at first anyway!)

Also another thing i am wondering is if a steamer is an absolute must-have for BLW? We don't have one so i was going to boil veggies for him to practice with at first but the book seems to suggest boiling them will make them too soft to handle at first? What does everyone think?

Looking forward to getting to know you all better

 

[boltonlass]

Well im halfway through the book again. And yesterday leila had her first try of real food - hard bread crust yum. She has been watching me eat for weeks now - seems really fascinated by it. Also tries feeding herself whenever we try and give her calpol on a spoon.

I really wanted to wait till 6 months before introducing regular mealtimes but yesterday i thought i would just give her a finger of bread to play with while i had my sandwich and she loved it. She sucked on it and was really coordinate with getting it in her mouth. Dont think she actually ate any of it but it was all mashed at the end and soggy and ended up all over her face she had great fun!

So not going to do it on a daily basis just yet but when i go shopping i will stock up on vegies and let her have a play with some more. Just need to sort out a highchair, the one we have been given is massive for her - her chin only just reaches the tray!

Off to post pics in the pics thread.