BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[lozzy21]

Can some one give me the basics? All i know is that you dont give puree's just finger food.

 

[Shiv]

The basic idea is that your LO eats what you do as a family. You eat meals together as a family and eat the same thing. ALthoguh to start with we did modify things slightly so that Sophia had things that she could easily manage at each meal as well as things to challenge her.

Most people seem to start with fingers of fruit and veg and then rapidly progress onto normal everyday meals. You will quickly see what your LO can and can't handle and can adapt to their needs.

Another main idea is that the baby is allowed to eat without intervention from anyone else, so they will use their hands and when they can get food to their mouths theyare ready to eat. Spoon feeding is a no-no, but many people will use pre-loaded spoons (a spoon loaded with food that is placed back on the tray for the LO to pick up themselves) for foods that are naturally tricky to eat with hands (yoghurt etc)

I am sure others will add to this very basic outline, I can say that i thoroughly enjoyed weaning SOphia using BLW and it was very stress free for me as I really did let her lead me and if she didn't eat assumed there was a good reason for it and tried not to worry!

 

[aliss]

Got our Rapley book today and LO's gonna have dinner with us tonight! Whoo hoo. I'm sure he won't eat a thing but I look forward to it.

 

[Blob]

Can I ask Rosalie is already putting food in her mouth she puts spoons (nothing on it) in on her own....and puts anything I have on my plate in her mouth. My question is as she's so little would you just let her eat as she wants?

 

[Shiv]

Can I ask Rosalie is already putting food in her mouth she puts spoons (nothing on it) in on her own....and puts anything I have on my plate in her mouth. My question is as she's so little would you just let her eat as she wants?

It is obviously up to you, but i wouldn't. Great if she can get things to her mouth but I would say her gut is probably not up to digesting every food group. I personally waited until just before 6 months to start Sophia and wouldn't want to recommend weaning before 6 months (guidelines yada yada yada ). I know a lot of mum's who started BLW from about 5 months with success.

I would say if you do start weaning soon (and I would really say not before 4 months unless under medical recommendation) then stick to just fruit and veg before 6 months (wheat and dairy etc can cause allergies). I also think it is important that LO can sit unaided before starting BLW as this reduces any risk of choking.

 

[joeyjo]

I'd agree with Shiv on the point about LO sitting unaided before starting BLW. We started not long past 5 months but G was sitting unaided for a short while and for a good long time with minimal support (in an upright wooden high chair). some highchairs have babies sitting tilted back a bit which is not good. He had been briNging stuff yo his mouth for ages before we started.

 

[Blob]

See thing is she can already sit unaided for a while and just picks them up and tastes them... doesnt seem to really chew just seems to taste somehow maybe she's nosey

I didnt want her to start so early (I want her to stay a baby as long as I can this time) I didnt know about BLW first time round but seems i did it almost anyway. Her sister was pretty fast and started feeding herself about 4 1/2 months...but think you're right will try and keep her away from food for a while.

What I dont get is that she doesnt seem to be 'hungry' just nosey

 

[aliss]

Today was our first day of BLW and he loved it so much better. He hated spooned purees. He had a banana and sucked on it/ate off quite a bit. OH had so much fun (OH had a banana and was doing the same).

Love it!! Gonna read my Rapley book tonight.

 

[sun]

Bun didn't start eating until much later - 7.5 months. But that doesn't mean he didn't put anything and everything in his mouth as it's a babies way of discovering the world. Usually he would play with the food, check the texture, etc but never actually eat. If he did manage to get a piece off, he would just spit it out. I only gave him certain foods to play with though - like soft veg until he was 6 months. He also didn't sit unaided until much later than your girl xxx

 

[hivechild]

Blob until they are able to bite or gum bits of food off, chew and move it around in their mouths before swallowing they're not ready. Getting it to and into their mouths is just a small part of it and a normal developmental progression as they're starting to explore their world by putting anything and everything into their mouths!

I also disagree that a baby should be able to sit unassisted, however they should be able to sit with bare minimal assistance and more importantly for long periods of time, up to around a half hour +.

At your LO's age, I would stop with the food but continue offering her an empty spoon and/or a cup and bowl etc for her to play with if she sits with you at meals. The spoon is especially great as it gives her practice with hand to mouth coordination and is a safe way for her to get familiar with her gag reflex.

You'll probably find that somewhere between 5-6 months she will really be ready for food and become insistent about not wanting what you give her to play with in favor of wanting to get her hands on your food. From my experience and hearing from others, from that point babies start eating and exploring food but quite often don't actually "get it" and begin eating in significant quantities for anywhere between 6.5-7.5 months in general and some take even longer!

 

[bambino156]

Does anyone have any easy meat ideas? I don't get the time to cook proper meals very often so LO has mostly had cheese, peanut butter or houmous for his protein.

Ruby loves meat!

I make a simple chicken curry (onion, chicken, curry paste, tinned toms, any veg and a bit of natural yoghurt) I serve with rice and / or naan bread

Casseroles - take time but not in the prep, just a few minutes chopping then let it simmer until it's cooked

Roast a chicken (again, time in the oven but very little prep) and the leftovers are good for sandwiches, in pasta dishes etc

Meatballs and burgers are very easy and quick to make (and also to make in bulk and freeze)

I've done a few stews that he's tried and I do cook curry, but I'll have to tone down the heat for LO as we like it hot

Would you believe I've never roasted a chicken?? I was vegetarian for a lot of years and I'm still squeamish about meat that's in animal shape!

Meatballs is a good idea and I know OH would love them too, so might give that a try.

Still, it would be great if you could buy cooked meat that wasn't packed with salt and other nasties for those times when I don't have anything made.

You can make up things like meatballs and chicken nuggets yourself in big batches them freeze them in smaller portions for quick meals.

Hivechild, would you mind sharing your recipies for the meatballs and chicken nuggets?
Thank you

 

[PepsiChic]

heres my recipe, its really easy:

meatballs:
1lb mince beef/lamb/pork (hamburger for USA)
1 cup bread crumbs
salt pepper
garlic
1 cup water
1 large egg

To make the bread crumbs:
toast 2-4 slices of bread till golden, use a potato masher/fork/fingers and crumble up as small as you can

to make meatballs:
mix by hands the meat, pinch of salt and pepper and garlic together
add breadcrumbs and egg, mix by hands well
add water 1/4 cup at a time (you may not need all of it!)
untill mixture is moist
roll meatballs into quater/10p sized balls - dont make them too big or they wont cook through properly!!!

Cooking:
Fry meatballs in batches fo 4 on a medium heat untill browned and almost cooked through
Heat pasta sauce of your choosing (i use a jar brand)
add meatballs to warm pasta sauce
bring to a slow boil and turn down heat to a simmer
cover and leave to cook till meatballs are cooked all the way through or as long as you want for flavour.

server with pasta, noodles, mashed potato, whatever you want!

 

[CocoaOne]

I'm worried about LOs solid intake.

I still can't seem to strike the right balance of timings between BF and solids. I've tried feeding solids 30/60/90 mins after BF. She only seems to eat ok-ish if she hasn't had BF for 2.5-3 hours, so I end up BF after giving solids, which I know you're not supposed to do.

Even when she does eat solids - it's still really tiny amounts. She loves yogurt and happily shovels that into her mouth on the spoon, but she's really hit and miss with other foods. I gave her a sandwich a few days ago, and at first she just kept chucking it off the tray, but eventually she started pulling tiny bits off and eating them. He hasn't got any teeth yet, and she prefers sucking over munching with her gums. So I think she just doesn't bother with foods that she can't suck.

I'm starting to stress about it a bit. I might have to go back to work in a month or two, and she won't take milk (or anything) in a bottle/sippy cup/normal cup, so what happened if she doesn't eat enough solids OR milk while I'm at work?!

I'm thinking about introducing pureed food just because it'll mean she's getting more sustenance, but it feels like a step backwards.

Yesterday, this is what she had:
Breakfast: 1 petit filous
Lunch: offered (mild) chilli and rice leftovers. Just played with the rice so ended up giving her a organix biscuit/rusk which she sucked most of. Also had a small chunk off a cucumber stick and about 1/4 of a small plum tomato.
Dinner: about 1/3 of a soft cheese sandwich (made with 1 slice of bread folded in half), 1 organix corn crisp thing, 1 petit filous.

I don't know what to do!

 

[Shiv]

Cocoa one - my advice is to try not to worry. Your LO is still young and even if she just had milk she would be getting everything she needs.

Food is for fun until one!

Some point she will realise that solids fill her up and cure hunger but until then food is really no big deal to her.

Sophia still has days when she eats very little - and to be honest if your LO is managing to eat third of a slice of bread then that is more than SOphia has had for dinner tonight!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

and to be honest if your LO is managing to eat third of a slice of bread then that is more than SOphia has had for dinner tonight!

And it would be more than Ruby ate on christmas day and boxing day put together!

 

[hivechild]

bambino, I tend to cook the way my mum and grandmother (both greek) did by eyeballing a lot of things and just mixing and tweaking as I go which makes it hard to give recipes, but one of my favorites for meatballs is for greek meatballs (keftedes).

Here's a recipe I dug up for you online:

Ingredients

* 4 slices white bread, torn into pieces
* 2 tablespoons milk
* 1 clove garlic
* 1 onion, quartered
* 4 teaspoons dried mint
* 1 teaspoon salt
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 pound ground beef
* 1/2 pound ground lamb
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
* vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. Moisten the bread pieces with the milk in a large bowl, and set aside. Mince the garlic in a food processor, then add the onion, mint, salt, and pepper. Process until the onion is finely chopped. Add the onion mixture to the bowl with the moist bread, along with the beef, lamb, and eggs. Mix with your hands until thoroughly blended.
2. Roll the mixture into balls measuring 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. Place the flour in a shallow pan, and roll the balls in the flour to coat. Shake off any excess flour, and place the meatballs onto a plate or baking sheet, pressing to flatten slightly. This will keep them from rolling away.
3. Heat 1 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs, 8 or 10 at a time, and cook until nicely browned on the outside, and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.


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I often use pork mince instead of lamb as it's hard to get here, and sometimes even use turkey or chicken mince! I also use fresh mint or parsley rather than dried, and sometimes chop a little finely diced tomato into it. I tend to use olive oil for cooking too instead of vegetable oil but remember that if you use olive oil, it has a lower burn temperature so you may have to reduce the heat and cook them a little slower. You may want to reduce the salt in there as well.

They are really good served at room temperature (perfect for your LO) with tzatziki (yoghurt cucumber sauce) and pita bread!


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As for chicken nuggets. I cut raw boneless skinless chicken breasts into bite sized chunks, dredge in flour, then beaten egg and then roll in breadcrumbs. You can also mix grated parmesan or any herbs and spices to season the breadcrumbs to your liking and experiment with using regular breadcrumbs or panko.

Spread them out on a tray on parchment paper and put them in the freezer (still raw). Once they're frozen you can put them all together in a bag or container then take out what you want/need as needed to bake or fry.

I keep meaning to have a go at making chicken croquettes one of these days too. I'm still hunting for a baby friendly recipe though without too much sodium!

 

[hivechild]

Cocoa, it sounds like she's eating just fine to me and a lot can and probably will change in another month or two!

As the others have said, try not to stress. Some days Ronan picks at food like a wee sparrow and then there are days like today where he's a right gannet and I'm wondering where he's fitting it all!

 

[CocoaOne]

Thanks girls

I seem to think that everyone else's LOs are tucking in to mountains of food, and mine is stuck on a few mouthfuls! She loves her milk though, she one of those that would probably quite happily stay on booby milk for a long long time yet.

I keep hearing that by 9/10 months, babies should start dropping a milk feed or two and M definitely shows no sign of that. My friend has a 5 month old that's she's started TW with, and she thought he'd be down to 2-3 BF a day by 6 months! Bless her.

 

[hivechild]

we're still not down to 2-3 bfs a day!

If you don't already, by around 9 months, I stopped offering boob before meals if he was due a feed within an hour of a meal and would just push giving him food a bit earlier and then milk again about a half hour after he ate. He would usually eat a lot more then. I also realized i was offering far more than he was asking to nurse and that he can go 5-6 hours without if he's got more important things to do, like chase the dog around, find cables to try and chew through, or wear mummy out climbing the stairs over and over again!

 

[CocoaOne]

We went out the other day, and we went got home at 5pm, I realised that she'd not had BF since 11am. But I'm so scared that if I don't offer BF at least every 3 hours, she'll wake even more at night to make up the calories!

I think I'll try it for a few days and see what happens - only BF if she asks for it. She finally being a bit more interested in water from the cup, bit still only manages a couple of sips.