BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[Irish Eyes]

Hey, I am just looking for a bit of support. My LO is 6.5 months and hasn't shown a massive amount of interest in food, but I'm offering him one meal a day. He will take the spoon from me and usually put it in his mouth but will spit the food back out, (I also try and offer finger foods, but I'm mainly giving brekkie at the moment). I go through phases of being depressed by this, and others of thinking, it's fine he is just getting used to flavours and textures.

However I went to the Hv to get him weighed today and got a stern lecture about how he should be on 3 meals a day by now, and only take 4 BF's. I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing so hard, but I have been stewing away on this all day.

I shouldn't be worrying yet about him not eating a lot should I??

No worrying necessary!! My HV told me that my LO should have been weaned already when he was 4 months due to him being a "big boy"!

At 6.5 months most would be offering one meal a day with baby not eating too much. I offer 2 meals a day but more for the social aspect than food aspect as he hardly eats anything. He really enjoys sitting at the table with me so in the morning I'll offer him a bit of banana to gum and in the evening he'll get some veg (brocolli, carrots & sweet potato so far).

There's a lot of pressure when it comes to weaning, yet it's "food for fun until they're one"

As long as you're getting a good amount of dirty/wet nappies and appropriate weight gain then you're fine! He's getting all the goodness he needs from your milk.

 

[Aidan's Mummy]

Hi ladies

I have been weaning Oliver for just over 3 weeks now since he was showing all the signs. Initially I was going to to BLW from the start but Ollie wasn't picking things up lets alone putting them in his mouth no matter how much I tried him. But he needed food so I started with purée's. Today I gave him a rice cake and he started eating it all by himself . So I was wondering what you ladies give your LO's for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Total newbie at this so advise would be much appreciated Thank you x

 

[Leids]

Hi ladies, my LO has dropped percentile (from 97th down to 80th) however my pediatrician wasn't at all concerned. It did get me a bit worried though and I'm trying to do more with BLW.

Some questions:
-I live in a Chinese household, and things like dumplings, dim sum, and wontons are frequently cooked. All of these generally have a good amount of salt in them. If we didn't add too much salt, would they be okay for him to eat?
-Kind of going along with above, is fried rice alright for him to eat even though there are eggs in it? Everything I've read says no eggs. It has me worried! He's had a few egg boro biscuits and was fine with them but they were given to him without my knowledge/permission by my MIL.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Irish Eyes]

Hi ladies, my LO has dropped percentile (from 97th down to 80th) however my pediatrician wasn't at all concerned. It did get me a bit worried though and I'm trying to do more with BLW.

Some questions:
-I live in a Chinese household, and things like dumplings, dim sum, and wontons are frequently cooked. All of these generally have a good amount of salt in them. If we didn't add too much salt, would they be okay for him to eat?
-Kind of going along with above, is fried rice alright for him to eat even though there are eggs in it? Everything I've read says no eggs. It has me worried! He's had a few egg boro biscuits and was fine with them but they were given to him without my knowledge/permission by my MIL.

Thanks in advance.

Eggs are okay as long as they're fully cooked through, so in egg fried rice, you're fine. I have the same issue with hubbys family cooking a lot of african food which has high salt levels. Now he's 6 months he'll be having the same but cooked separately. no extra salt added and you can get things like stock cubes made for babies food with very low salt levels. Certain things like salt fish are a definite no-no for us though!

 

[Nvr2Late]

This is a great thread My twin girls are 11 months (9 months corrected age), and I've been doing BLW. One daugter is a great eater -- eats pretty much whatever I put in front of her. The other is really picky and gets tired of the meal very quickly. I don't want this to become a battle of wills with her. I know formula is the primary nutrition source for a while longer so I probably shouldn't worry, but it's hard not to.

Anyone else have problems when introducing solids/real food? Thanks!

 

[Nvr2Late]

Also, for mashed things like potato, do you put it right on their tray, or feed them with a spoon??

 

[BigAl]

Also, for mashed things like potato, do you put it right on their tray, or feed them with a spoon??

I dunno what to do about stuff that needs spoons, as my LO isn't ready to use one himself yet. However I have given stuff like mash potato, I just made it slightly thicker and rolled it up into little sausage shapes that he could pick up.

 

[Irish Eyes]

Also, for mashed things like potato, do you put it right on their tray, or feed them with a spoon??

You can put it on a pre-loaded spoon to feed themselves. However my LO hates that so I just put it on his tray to use his fingers!

 

[biliboi2]

Just upping this thread!

Started BLW with LO, at the moment he is just playing with the food in his hands. Did bring a carrot to his mouth once, but not much went down ha.

 

[Marie000]

Hey ladies,

My baby is still a little ways from weaning, but I am already thinking about it and I decided I prefer BLW.

A few questions though
- I talked to OH about BLW and he agrees that it seems like a good idea BUT he doesn't want to miss out on the fun of spoon-feeding the baby. He did it with his son and he liked the bonding experience. I understand his point of view and I don't want to take that away from him, especially since our baby doesn't like bottles, so he rarely gets to feed her at all.
I thought that maybe we can have a little bit of spoon feeding for occasional yummy things (applesauce, yogourt, etc). Nothing we would need to "force" her to eat. I really want her to see food as a positive experience. I like BLW because I want her to learn to taste new food at her own pace and develop healthy eating habits. Would the occasional spoon-feeding take away from that?

- I know 6 months is the usual age to start BLW. But is there anything you can do before that? I am hoping she will soon be able to sit in her high chair so I want her to sit for dinner with us as soon as possible. Is there any harm in putting food in front of her earlier than 6 months? (at say 5 or 5.5 months) I guess she just wouldn't eat it if she's not ready?

- I live in Canada, where BLW is pretty much unheard of. So there is no written guides available about how to do it. Does anyone have something to suggest?
I would be especially interested in getting my hands on "official" guidelines from health agencies. That would help me in convincing my family that it's not just another crazy idea I found on a random website.

 

[seaweed eater]

Marie, if you want LO to participate at dinner, you can put her in a high chair and give her a cup or a spoon to play with. She could even "eat" EBM in various forms -- in a cup, in slushie form with a spoon, or frozen with cheesecloth wrapped around it (good for teething from what I've read).

 

[biliboi2]

https://www.babyledweaning.com/

Good website!

 

[Marie000]

Marie, if you want LO to participate at dinner, you can put her in a high chair and give her a cup or a spoon to play with. She could even "eat" EBM in various forms -- in a cup, in slushie form with a spoon, or frozen with cheesecloth wrapped around it (good for teething from what I've read).

thanks for the tips!

at what age can she start drinking from a cup?
how do you make slushie? just put frozen breastmilk through the blender?

It will be so hard to wait another 2 months. She seems so interested in food already. She is fascinated when she sees us eat. The other day OH let her suck on a piece of potato (with nothing on it she would ingest) and she was so happy! But giving her some form of breastmilk seems like a better idea.

 

[seaweed eater]

I believe they can use a cup whenever they are physically able! And, yes, I suppose you could put it in the blender, or maybe mash it up with a fork?

Happy 4 months to our LOs! I don't know about yours but mine is still drooling a lot. Supposedly one sign that they have lost the tongue thrust reflex is that they stop drooling as much. So that makes me feel a bit better because I think he probably is not ready yet anyway.

 

[Marie000]

I believe they can use a cup whenever they are physically able! And, yes, I suppose you could put it in the blender, or maybe mash it up with a fork?

Happy 4 months to our LOs! I don't know about yours but mine is still drooling a lot. Supposedly one sign that they have lost the tongue thrust reflex is that they stop drooling as much. So that makes me feel a bit better because I think he probably is not ready yet anyway.

Happy 4 months to your boy as well.
My girl has also been drooling like crazy. I didn't know it meant she still had the tongue thrust reflex. That's interesting.

 

[seaweed eater]

I don't think it will go away completely, because then they start teething! Just something I read somewhere. Maybe someone with more experience can confirm.

 

[Dumpling]

Hi! :waves: We haven't 'officially' started weaning as LO is only 5 months, but she does sit up with us every dinner time and has a spoon to play with and EBM every now and then from her doidy cup. I have been giving her little bits of finger foods when we've had them - mange tout, cold raw carrots for her gums and baby sweet corn. She had a baby corn on Monday and when I changed her nappy today there were bits of corn in her poo! I don't know whether to be proud or guilty because she was only supposed to be playing and not swallowing it!

 

[Faythe]

Hi ladies, we've started BLW'ing with our nearly 5 month old. Never planned it this early but he stole food from me at the beginning of the week and has been eating it. He's also been sitting unaided for a while so he's able to sit up and put food in his mouth

Here's a wee piccy (ignore the v pillow - that's there for if he gets tired and falls back so he doesn't wack his head)

https://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss306/Phoenixbaby123/DSCF8559_zps6c22ed24.jpg

https://i586.photobucket.com/albums/ss306/Phoenixbaby123/DSCF8555_zpsbc2bbf08.jpg

Can anyone suggest a good book for blw recipes?

 

[charlie15]

Jumping on this sticky thread to hear stories and tips. My daughter is only 4 months old so a couple of months away, but have read the BLW book, checked out the website and I really cannot wait to start

 

[seaweed eater]

Curious whether anyone else has a cautious eater? We've tried somewhere close to 10 different foods so far, some a couple times, and LO doesn't seem to like anything -- just makes a yucky face and loses interest. He's not the most adventurous baby in general so I'm guessing it's just his temperament.

Any tips other than to just keep trying? I've read about how it can take __ exposures (I've read different numbers) before they will accept something new. If your baby started this way, are they a more willing eater now?