BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Tacey]

I sometimes give a preloaded spoon, but she's not great with it. With weetabix, I tend to mix it up with yoghurt and let her put her hands in it. More seems to go down that way! I stick rice together with sauce, or cream cheese at a pinch!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I use cereals that Ruby can pick up, like shreddies, or weetabix with a tiny bit of milk. She hates a big pile of mushy food, she won't go near it.

She has always ignored normal boiled rice, but we tried risotto at the weekend and she ate loads. I overcooked it slightly, and just put a couple of little piles of it at a time it in front of her.

 

[dom]

yeah, its more risotto type dishes I cook, or i sometimes make paella, but am I right in thinking Id have to take the prawns out of Gabriellas portions??

I hardly ever make plain boiled rice - me and OH find it a bit boring. If I ever do make it I always mix it into whatever im eating - which is usually some sort of saucy stuff, lol

To those of you that do just let them eat with their hands - do you just put it straight onto the tray then, so avoid them getting distracted with plates?

Im so sorry for all the questions, but Im just so excited by it all lol, Im like a big kid !!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I bring Ruby's food to the table on a plate obv, but then I put the food down onto the table in front of her, a few pieces at a time. She will put food she doesn't fancy back into the bowl / plate though!
If I give her a bowl she just tips it up, and she finds it hard to pick up pieces of food when they're all in a pile.

 

[Mary Jo]

At breakfast, I put Adam's cereal in a bowl and, depending on what it is, he takes a preloaded spoon for about half the meal, then he gets a bit difficult with it so I put the rest of the cereal in front of him directly on the table. I make normal porridge and mix with another cereal like Weetabix or Fruit & Fibre, and it goes really thick and gums together in gobs and he can pick it up pretty well. Or I do mini Oatibix with plain yogurt and a teeny bit of milk and he takes those straight from the table from the start (I don't use a spoon much on those days).

At dinner, when we might have a few different types of food in the one meal, I tend to put his portion on one plate (a small side plate), then take some of it - one or two pieces of whatever, or a small part of the main bit, say cottage pie - and he gets that in front of him. He gets very distracted and scattered - over-excited - if I present him with the whole meal in one go, but with just bits at a time he concentrates. Towards the end of mealtimes he wants to grab the plate and throw but he's only managed that twice because I'm too quick. My husband wants him to get used to eating from a plate, and off a spoon, while I'm not bothered about that and am fine with just the table and his hands.

 

[Poppy7]

Elliott is enjoying discovering tastes and textures so much. I'm so proud of him. At the moment I'm just giving him a selection of foods to try and dinner time. When he is 6 months we may experiment with breakfast and lunch etc...

Today he had some steamed brocolli (he loved this and consumed a fair amount!), roast potato wedges (sucked within an inch of their life!!), roasted carrot stick (again sucked and gummed very well), steamed carrot (not so interesting) and steamed courgette (he made some funny faces at first but then loved it!! I had to take it away in the end as it has been sucked and gummed so much it was becoming quite small and squished).

We all sat together (well Elliott sat on the table in his Bumbo). It was so lovely. What was hilarious was Me and OH had a glass of drink and Elliott kept reaching out for them. So, I got his doidy cup and put a bit of water in it and he merrily glugged away!! A lot went down his front but he managed to get the most amount so far in his mouth!

Also, earlier in the evening I gave him a raw stick of carrot to gum on (nice on his gums, he's teething) and when he dropped it I picked it up for him and he made a really funny noise until I gave it back. It was ridiculously cute.

So far, so good. Elliott is loving his grub and I can't wait to see what his nappy contains tomorrow (weird I know ) as I think he consumed quite a bit!!

Do you guys think I'm going too fast with this? He seems to be coping well and most of all enjoying himself.xx

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

You can't go too fast as you're being lead by your baby. If he wants to progress quickly, then that's right for him!

He may not be that interested every day though...

 

[Poppy7]

You can't go too fast as you're being lead by your baby. If he wants to progress quickly, then that's right for him!

He may not be that interested every day though...

Thank you. I just didn't know if I was introducing things too early. Like you say though, he's leading me and willingly accepting it so it must be the right time.

It was lovely to see him chomping away. However I do understand that tomorrow, next week etc may not be the same.

Thanks for your help

 

[triplemom]

We had to cut back to just one time at the table. My baby is not really interested on food in the morning.

So, We are offering dinner, and She seems a little more interested, but She will make puree of everything we give her and just try a little bit

I don't know If I should wait more, because She gets tired of the whole situation very fast, She explores, smashes and try, for 10-15 min, then She starts to complain and raises her hands, like saying "THIS IS OVER FOR ME"

 

[Shiv]

Triplemom, maybe you could try (if you haven't already?) moving her dinner time, maybe she is a bittoo tired to really have a good go? It is so difficult getting the timing right I find, between milk feeds and naps etc. Maybe try moving half an hour earlier and see if that helps.

 

[DottyLottie]

I bought a book about BLW and decided to take that route with my third baby, and oh how I wish I had discovered this when I had my first two!

It is just SO easy, my youngest daughter is 19 months old now and she eats anything and everything and feed's herself like a pro!

I cannot recommend it highly enough, especially for busy mum's who don't have time to faf about making puree's.

 

[Shiv]

Hi everyone - lots of new people doing BLW which is always great to see

Things are going well with us, SOphia now eats a decent amount at 3 meals a day. Since we started weaning 2 months ago she has jumped from the 25th centile to the 50th (can she be eating too much?)

Can she have too much fruit? She absolutley loves it, I generally only give it at breakfast but she will eat tonnes. For example yesterday she had a whole peach, half a plum and a banana (plus some shredded wheat and yoghurt).

Also I am now considering giving snacks in the day? Is it too soon? and what sort of snacks do you give?

 

[TigerLady]

Otter has been on snacks for a couple of months now. If she wants them, I don't think it is too soon. He gets cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, dry cereal, etc. Things that I can portion out into small sizes, make less of a mess, provide a snack, but don't overfill him.

 

[Lucy Lu]

Hi ladies, sure this has been covered elsewhere but I wondered if peeps could suggest some sensible 'first' BLW foods to try???

We've been doing purees mainly since just after 5 months, but since 6 months I have given LO rice cakes to chew on and he is total pro. He's at the point now where he actually eats the whole rice cake, you can see him chewing it round his mouth and swallowing and he's not just playing with it. I am a nervous wreck with choking, but his competence gave me real courage and also made me really excited about the prospect of doing more BLW. I've tried him with solid banana and cucumber in the last few days and he seems to have taken to these too.

I don't want to drop spoon feeding altogether though as he's taken so well to it and getting this solid food into him has been really good for his reflux (he still throws up a lot of milk if we rely too heavily on milk alone to fill him up) - but would be great to do a combination of BLW and traditional weaning.

 

[Rebaby]

We're having so much fun! And Toby is too which is the most important thing In fact i have some pics to share...but wasn't sure if this was the right place for them??

Also got a couple of observations/questions: How long did it take you to be able to recognise your baby's "finished" cues? Toby swipes food off his tray (he sits in his bumbo with play tray) which at first i thought meant he was done...but then he leans over the side of his bumbo looking for the stuff he's just knocked off and can get pretty angsty if we don't collect it back up and hand it to him! So i am finding it difficult to know if he's done or just exploring what he can do

Also- how long was it before you stopped jumping up every time LO gags?! Toby has gagged on some cucumber and some pitta bread (2 seperate occasions) the first time with the cucumber i was on my own and he seemed to be really struggling so i patted his back and then when i could see it right on the tip of his tongue i hooked it out with my little finger...but then today he gagged on pitta and although my instinct told me to "help him quick!" OH stopped me from intervening and made me wait and (eventually) Toby sorted it himself (swallowed some and spat the rest out) and to be fair to OH, Toby wasn't what you'd call distressed when he was gagging, just gagging/coughing and pulling an awful face...so will that "eek!" feeling get easier soon?

And (last one now i promise!) did anyone find their LO were sick more frequently once they started BLW? Toby has reflux (used to be on medication but not any more) but that had really settled recently and we had some pretty much "sick-free" days but since we've started BLW (and i don't know if it's just coincidence) it seems like he is vomiting more often throughout the day. It isn't projectile vomiting and tbh seems unrelated to meal times (sometimes before, sometimes during, sometimes shortly after but sometimes ages after) and what he vomits is normally just milk (although i did spot some toast crumbs in there the other day!) I guess like poppy i am worried we are "rushing" him...he's tried lots of different things in a short space of time, but nothing crazy, mainly veggies really...Just looking for some reassurance i guess (and perhaps some help with my laundry pile Teehee)

Thanks everyone

 

[TigerLady]

Fresh fruits and steamed or roasted veggies are always good things to start with. Just look for "softer" things and avoid the really tough stuff (like raw apple or pear). If you get harder fresh fruits, bake or steam them for a bit to soften them up.

I don't remember how long it took me to figure out Otter's "I'm done" cues. Probably several weeks? He's gotten more clear about it as he has gotten older and more expressive. He does one of two things: throws a fit until you clear his tray and get him up or just stares off into space with a blank, vacant look on his face.

It probably took me a few rounds of really good gagging before I stopped jumping up. Even now, when he starts to gag, it gets my full attention and I watch him closely. But I don't worry, panic or jump up anymore.

Otter wasn't more sick on solids, but he doesn't have reflux either, so that might not be a good comparison. Can you link the sick to any particular food or food type? i.e. dairy or acidic, etc?

 

[triplemom]

Today was the first time I saw my baby really "excited" about food

I bought some pureed fruits to teach her to dip pieces of bread on them, but today I offered pre-loaded spoons with peach puree on it and She was so happy!! She loved it, She gave me the spoon back so I could dip it again in the puree and gave it to her, THAT WAS AMAZING! She ate a lot ( it seemed to me )
I also gave her a banana, and She smashed it (as always) but not even tried it, well, I pre-loaded the spoon with the pieces and She ate them too!!

It is so funny, maybe She knows that a "princess" has always to use a spoon to eat

I love her!!

 

[Poppy7]

It's great hearing how much fun everyone is having with BLW. Elliott is also enjoying it very much and I have some cracking photos of him.

He gagged a lot the first day but now he just does a cute shudder when he has a lump of food in his mouth that he's not sure of. I was like you Rebaby; I would jump up every time he gagged but my OH started stopping me so Elliott could work it out for himself. Sure enough Elliott is now getting efficient at removing food from his mouth that he isn't sure off.

He also swipes food off his tray and I wonder if he I'd finished only to see him looking for it!! I'm also trying to figure out the "I'm done cue". I think it is when he really does start playing and banging his tray!

Favourites so far are pear, courgette, carrot, roast potato, chicken, brocolli, avocado, toast, banana and pepper. In fact he always gives everything a good go!! He's not so sure of rice cakes or natural yoghurt.

He is really enjoying glugging water out of his doidy cup too.

I find myself inspecting his nappies . It's suprising how much is definitely going in and being swallowed!!

 

[polaris]

Hi girls.
Well I am going to be joining you soon! I have been holding off until Thomas is six months but to be honest he has been showing signs that he would be able to manage solid food for a few weeks now. He is confidently sitting up on his own and was able to chew and swallow a piece of baking paper that I gave him to play with because I found bits of it in his nappy the next day (eek!).

So Tuesday is his six month birthday and we will get started. I know he probably won't actually eat much for the first few weeks and I'm fine with that because he's obviously doing fine on just milk at the moment. I have a few little questions that have been playing on my mind a bit though.

Is it best/OK to stick to simple foods like fruit and vegetables to start with? I am a bit worried about whether OH will be willing to modify his cooking to make it suitable because he tends to use a lot of salt, soy sauce, curry pastes, etc. which are all going to have too high of a salt content for baby. So I'm thinking it might be easier to keep it simple to begin with and then once Thomas is actually eating something it will be easier to convince OH to modify family meals (he does about 75% of the cooking - lucky me!). I guess with most things we could just take out a portion for Thomas before seasoning it but not for dishes like lasagne or fish pie, but I'm guessing he won't really be able to manage them until he's a bit older anyway in terms of hand-eye coordination etc?

What about foods like porridge/yogurt? When did people introduce these - is it better to wait for a bit or can you start giving a pre-loaded spoon straight away? I have given Thomas a spoon to play with before and he loves it and is very good at getting it into his mouth, so I think he would definitely manage to get some in. Also do you use a plastic weaning spoon or just a normal (tea) spoon, Thomas seems to like the normal spoon better!

I was also worried about temperature of food. I like my food very hot but I presume Thomas's portion will need to be left to cool down a bit so he doesn't burn his hands/mouth. How do other people manage this so that you are still all eating at the same time? I obviously don't want to leave Thomas waiting for his food but I don't want to be eating my dinner when it's cold either!

Sorry if these are silly questions - just little things that have been playing on my mind.

 

[loopy loulou]

I'm coming around to the idea of BLW now and am getting quite excited! I like the idea of just giving Eve what we've got and watching her discover things for herself.

I must admit since she's been about 3 months I have been looking forward to her eating real food and couldn't wait to start weaning, I bought purees and ice cube trays and spoons etc.. all sitting in the cupboard waiting...

But now it's getting closer I am thinking - 'hassle!' - and am now thinking I quite like the ease of her just drinking milk!

Anyway, after reading lots of threads on here and looking at other websites I think I would quite like to ditch the purees and icecube trays etc and go for 'proper food'! Sounds much more fun! And easier! (I'm lazy... )

My question is - (first one of many I predict!) Is it safe to start offering her bits and bobs a bit earlier? Because am I right in thinking that if she can sit up, pick up a piece of food and put it in her mouth, she more than likely has the skills to eat it? I wouldn't put anything in her mouth myself, just let her explore. She already sits in her highchair and watches me tidy up and I have put a few pieces of banana on her tray to see what happened. She did manage to grab a piece and it did go towards her mouth, but she kept dropping it.. So obviously she's not quite there yet, but was thinking it probably won't be long.. maybe a few weeks (she'll be 5 and a bit months then).

I don't want an 'early weaning' reply because I don't really believe it is.. I'm not force feeding her, and probably not much would go in! It was more about the safety of it...

She can pick up her tommee tippee cup by both handles and put the spout in her mouth too! Which I was quite proud of!!

Sorry, just one more thing... I read somewhere (can't remember which site, will try and find it again) that if your baby is FF then BLW may not be the right thing for you, and you should speak to your HV if you wanted to do BLW. It was quite a pro-breastfeeding site so wasn't sure of the reasoning behind it. Anyone here found any problems with BLW whilst FF? What are the reasons why it may be difficult?

Sorry for loooooong post!

Thanks so much ladies. xxx