BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Vee_Bee]

Please help ladies. my lo started weaning at 6 months and has pretty much refused puree since day one so blw really seemed good for us so have been offering a variety of foods ssince but although he has been playing and sucks, chews everything he is given, he screams in frustration during the whole thing. his screams are worse if he drops something down or cant quite chew it well etc and i am starting to find the process very distressing. I cant feed him out the house as its sooo stresful. any tips?? Thanks xx

Hi,

I googled this and found a similar thread on another site - the answers to the thread all seem to indicate that the baby just wasn't quite ready to wean.

Milk feeds are still the mainstay of a BLW baby, so maybe just leave it a week and try again, and then weekly after until your son seems happier? There's no rule to say that all babies are ready at exactly 6 months, so I think you can trust him to decide when he is ready! The motto of BLW is "food is fun until one", so you've got lots of time for him to get used to the idea.

HTH

 

[chocojen]

sweet potatoe wedges are going down a treat here!!!

 

[Vee_Bee]

sweet potatoe wedges are going down a treat here!!!

Same here! Ethan gets stuck in (unless I get to them first!!)!

He also seems to like raw red pepper - he eats better than we do! And he seems to love sitting at the table with us, he gets all xcited and flaps his arms about.

X

 

[chocojen]

I tried yellow pepper yesterday (also raw) and George liked that. And for breakfast he is having porridge oats done like this .https://www.babyledweaning.com/recipes/breakfast/hub2dees-porridge-pancakes/

He loves them!

 

[Dragonfly]

Well my son is near 1 and still not eating , I have him some pear yesterday in a nubby nibbler, not used it in a while just throught I would try and he was enjoying it then threw it up again. He seems to throw anything he tastes up its weird. I am worried. He will not take anything else and throws all food away. Any one elses baby throw up? he was like this months now and I thought it would go away.

 

[ChloeBaybee]

Can someone please explain BLW to me I really don't get it even with all the reading I've been doing on here! If it's Baby Led (which I'd assume is when the baby shows signs he wants food) why does everyone who does BLW say they wait until 6 months? Surely if it's baby led you'd start weaning when you feel your LO is showing signs there ready whether that be 4 or 6 months? Im confused x

 

[Tacey]

Can someone please explain BLW to me I really don't get it even with all the reading I've been doing on here! If it's Baby Led (which I'd assume is when the baby shows signs he wants food) why does everyone who does BLW say they wait until 6 months? Surely if it's baby led you'd start weaning when you feel your LO is showing signs there ready whether that be 4 or 6 months? Im confused x

You're led by their physical readiness to pick up, chew and swallow their food, and that tends to happen around the 6 month mark. Sometimes people may start them a couple of weeks shy, and see what happens. Generally, a baby doesn't eat very much food until quite a while after 6 months. You're led by hat they choose to eat (and not to eat!) and also how much of it. It's not so much about nutrition in the early stages as exploration and gaining skills.

 

[blondey]

WSS^

It's based on eating meals as a family and LO having what you have. Not puree'd or anything. You basically bung it on their high chair tray and let them dig in.

The reason you start at 6 months is because that's when most babies start showing the physical skills which are said to coincide with them being mature on the inside for food. Things like sitting well, good hand eye coordination. You wouldn't be able to start BLW at 4 months because you give whole foods and 4 month olds would only be able to handle purees.

Like PP said, there's an emphasis on food for fun as it's about exploring and learning. You are led by baby in that you don't have set amounts to feed them and they chose what they eat from their tray.

We BLW and it really works for us.

xx

 

[Natsku]

Pretty much what they said. I started at 5 and a half months as Maria had all the physical signs of readiness (sitting unaided, grabbing foods and taking it to her mouth and chewing/swallowing, and lost her tongue thrust reflex)

Sorry Dragonfly, I don't know, have you discussed it with the doctor/health visitor? Is there anything he eats?

 

[Dragonfly]

Pretty much what they said. I started at 5 and a half months as Maria had all the physical signs of readiness (sitting unaided, grabbing foods and taking it to her mouth and chewing/swallowing, and lost her tongue thrust reflex)

Sorry Dragonfly, I don't know, have you discussed it with the doctor/health visitor? Is there anything he eats?

6 months trying to get a hold of her and after standing me up again 3 weeks ago she is suppose to come tomorrow morning. If she dosnt I wont be playing nice any more. though I dont see the point on her she just tells me its not right he should be eating, what does she want me to do force spoons fulls in him?
he eats noting just breastmilk.

 

[Natsku]

Pretty much what they said. I started at 5 and a half months as Maria had all the physical signs of readiness (sitting unaided, grabbing foods and taking it to her mouth and chewing/swallowing, and lost her tongue thrust reflex)

Sorry Dragonfly, I don't know, have you discussed it with the doctor/health visitor? Is there anything he eats?

6 months trying to get a hold of her and after standing me up again 3 weeks ago she is suppose to come tomorrow morning. If she dosnt I wont be playing nice any more. though I dont see the point on her she just tells me its not right he should be eating, what does she want me to do force spoons fulls in him?
he eats noting just breastmilk.

Well she sounds useless! You must have a really good supply of milk if its keeping him full! Is he gaining weight well? The only thing I can think of is to cut down milk feeds so he would be hungry but that might not work anyway and seems a little too harsh.

 

[Dragonfly]

No idea what weight he is as I havent seen hv in ages and she dosnt weigh him anyway. I wont cut down on breastmilk he hasnt got that much in him either he isnt like my oldest he was a boob monster. Its the gagging thing I am worried about every time he gets food. He does lift food and look at it, I always put him out food but hates sitting in high chair so tried sitting him on me only he rather feed it to the dog or me.

 

[Natsku]

Maybe he has an overactive gag reflex? A doctor might be better at figuring that out than a HV. What about eating while he's playing? Maria will refuse to eat food in her high chair sometimes and throw it on the floor but then happily eat it off the floor when I get her down.

 

[Dragonfly]

we have a dog and dont want him eating off floor, I do keep it clean but course theres hair about. he pulls food off plates but throws it away. he does play with it and i seen him nibble rusks but nothing now. My doc is an idiot and knows nothing about children and I cant change as they wont let me. I am rather frustrated and worried at the gagging at this stage, this i feel will put him off eating.

 

[Natsku]

Ah not good, hmm I don't know then

 

[Vee_Bee]

Dragonfly - my LO gagged and threw up all the time at the beginning but he soon learned to push the food to the front of his mouth and now, only a couple of weeks later, it doesn't happen at all. You can see him start to gag and then the food either gets pushed out of his mouth or it comes to the front and he starts chomping it again! They do learn, and the vomiting didn't put him off at all.

With regard to food getting on the floor, you could buy a splashmat or a cheap shower curtain to put under him when he eats. Keep the dog out of the room while your LO is eating and problem solved!

x

 

[Dragonfly]

but he is near a year old not 6 months old. I know the health visitor is going to give me crappy answers tomorrow , probably blame me on breastfeeding him.

 

[Vee_Bee]

So how often do you try giving him pieces of food? Has there been a long gap between attempts, or have you been trying every few days since he was 6 months?

x

 

[Dragonfly]

most days I try, its been every day this past while now, He would get dinner to and finger foods, toast and all. He really liked his pear sadly it didnt like him to much. He did always eat from that nubby nibbler thing, I think it helps his teething to. Should see his face though looks like he hates the taste of everything. I let him take the spoon to when I have rusk and milk and he does stick in the mouth but hard to get spoon again to refill. I have tried everything here. I didnt BLW my first and he dosnt hardly eat at all so I didnt want this happening again to me. They are both fit and healthy though.

 

[Vee_Bee]

Hmmm, he's a little monkey isn't he!!

Ethan likes to take the spoon too when he's having weetabix or mushed peaches. He chomps on it, and then we load another spoon and he takes that one instead. We then retrieve the empty spoon and alternate them. Works a treat!!