BLW - Baby led weaning support thread

[charlie15]

Read the rapley book, it's great and answers lots of questions just like yours. As for your boy not eating and playing with food, that's fine, let him play, that's part of discovering food and try to approach it with the food before 1 is for fun attitude and don't worry. As long as he's having his milk, he's getting all his nutrition especially at his age. We went straight to BLW but I know others who have had to change from TW to BLW as their LO's eventually refused to be spoon fed and they have had no problems with the transition.

One of the key things with BLW is to be relaxed with food, especially when they are not eating much. You have to learn to trust your LO that he knows what he needs. I highly recommend reading Rapley for all mums and dads doing BLW.

 

[keese22]

I've ordered it from the library so hope it'll some next week

 

[Marie000]

We never tried TW but I was still always paranoid about choking. That's why I prefer to cut up her food into little bits. I also avoid hard foods.
Some people will also give larger chunks - too large to fit in their mouth - to force them to take bites. I don't tend to do that because I don't want her to take too large a bite. She will shove all she can in her mouth if I let her.

As far as playing with food, it's normal. Messy, but normal.

 

[Sambatiki]

I agree with Charlie. I think the key thing is to really relax with it. Hard I know! Especially when sometimes Pheebs will just push it around her tray, chuck it on the floor and not have anything. I worry she's not eating enough but I remind myself that food isn't important right now.

Just try and loads of fun with it. We gave Pheebs a chicken leg the other day, she looked so funny with it. But she had a good suck on it!

 

[kittylady]

Ellie loves whole tomatoes and plumbs, she can even eat grapes and cherry tomatoes now without me slicing them in half and raw carrot too, I think because we allowed her to explore her food at her own pace she is more confident and capable now. If she has days where she is not interested in the food I just take it away no fuss, no tantrums at the dinner table so far so I'm keeping my fingers crossed Relax and remember, eating should be a social and relaxing occasion not a stressful one for you or baby.

 

[keese22]

3 weeks in and he's still not really eating that much . Some days he's have a little
Nibble others just plays with it or ignores it! Is this normal? I'm also trying to offer 3 meals a day as then he has lots of opportunitys to practice. Should I just keep offering even though half the time he isn't that bothered?

 

[seaweed eater]

We are 7 months in and mine still doesn't always eat that much. Completely normal, keese -- don't worry about it! Just keep offering and let him play if he wants to.

 

[DaisyAnne]

Completely normal for them not to eat much the first month or so! The process is that they gum on their food, learn to take bites, learn to chew and then learn to move the food from the front of their mouth to the back to swallow- so swallowing is typically the last piece of the puzzle they learn. That's what's diff from TW and BLW- TW they learn to swallow first, chew last...BLW bite, chew, then swallow. That means TW they start eating immediately, BLW takes a little more process before they are actually swallowing. The good thing is that around 6 months the gag reflex is around the middle of the tongue (rather than back of the throat) so they are learning this with a more natural safety mechanism in place.

We love it and are SO glad we stuck with it! It's worth it!

 

[Anikonjo]

I started doing a dream feed after weaning my twin girls off their night feed cuz they seemed to not be able to go that long without a bottle. They are almost 8mo now and have been doing BLW for 2 months. They are just beginning to swallow little bits of food. They drink 4 bottles a day about 6-7oz each time and then I've been giving them a 4oz bottle around 10pm (they're pretty much asleep for this, but they still suck it down) before I go to bed and it holds them over until 7am. All the sources I've read online say that they should be off the dream feed between 5-7 months, 8 at the latest, but all these sources have them eating a few solid meals a day in addition to milk. But since food is still for fun at this point, should I continue to give them a dream feed or wean them off it? I'm scared they'll want to wake up at 5am and be starving, but they can't start the day then because they'll be way too cranky (I've tried it!) and then it will be like a night feed and they won't want to go back to bed, etc... From what I've read, continuing giving them a dream feed as they get older starts to disrupt their sleep cycles too much and can backfire. Has anyone else had experience with this while BLW? I don't feel like 24-25oz of milk per day is enough for them and the dream feed puts them up to 28-29 which I'm a little more comfortable with. How can I get them to drink more during the day and drop the dream feed?
Advice or experiences please?

 

[Anikonjo]

We never did TW, but I read the BLW book before starting my girls on solids and it gave me so much confidence to do it. I'd really recommend reading it...it'll put your mind at ease and give you all the knowledge and confidence you need!

I usually give my girls like 3 or 4 different things at once. Usually whatever we're having. So if we're having a meat, veg/fruit side, and bread side they get a try of everything too. I've found I cook healthier since they'll be eating some too...I don't add salt or much sugar to anything anymore as they can't process it yet. DH and I can add extra salt to our own plates if we want.

I would say read the book, and go slow so your LO can learn. He's at the perfect age to start BLW and chances are he'll surprise you with how well he does and how fast he learns. It's normal for him to play with his food. Its another toy at this point, but he'll soon learn it tastes nice and then eventually learn that its for eating and getting rid of hunger. Don't stress about how much he eats...its mostly for fun until he turns 1!

 

[purplelou]

I started doing a dream feed after weaning my twin girls off their night feed cuz they seemed to not be able to go that long without a bottle. They are almost 8mo now and have been doing BLW for 2 months. They are just beginning to swallow little bits of food. They drink 4 bottles a day about 6-7oz each time and then I've been giving them a 4oz bottle around 10pm (they're pretty much asleep for this, but they still suck it down) before I go to bed and it holds them over until 7am. All the sources I've read online say that they should be off the dream feed between 5-7 months, 8 at the latest, but all these sources have them eating a few solid meals a day in addition to milk. But since food is still for fun at this point, should I continue to give them a dream feed or wean them off it? I'm scared they'll want to wake up at 5am and be starving, but they can't start the day then because they'll be way too cranky (I've tried it!) and then it will be like a night feed and they won't want to go back to bed, etc... From what I've read, continuing giving them a dream feed as they get older starts to disrupt their sleep cycles too much and can backfire. Has anyone else had experience with this while BLW? I don't feel like 24-25oz of milk per day is enough for them and the dream feed puts them up to 28-29 which I'm a little more comfortable with. How can I get them to drink more during the day and drop the dream feed?
Advice or experiences please?

My LO is 10 months old and still has 2 feeds (I'm BFing) during the night. She's been blw since 6 months and only now is really starting to swallow foods. Until recently she was eating 3 times a night!
I think you know your girls best...if you think they still need it, then they do

 

[ChelliBelle]

Hi all,

My little girl is almost 6 months and I am planning on starting with BLW in a couple of weeks. She is certainly ready as she is trying to grab what she can off anyone's plate! lol

I've been wondering about her milk feeds- she is bottle fed. Do I change her onto follow on milk as they advise when babies go onto solids?

I'm unsure as she might not eat much solids while learning to swallow, but I think the follow on milk has extra vitamins etc that are needed once they get to 6 months.

I may have just answered my own question lol

 

[sophiebowaus]

Hi all,

My little girl is almost 6 months and I am planning on starting with BLW in a couple of weeks. She is certainly ready as she is trying to grab what she can off anyone's plate! lol

I've been wondering about her milk feeds- she is bottle fed. Do I change her onto follow on milk as they advise when babies go onto solids?

I'm unsure as she might not eat much solids while learning to swallow, but I think the follow on milk has extra vitamins etc that are needed once they get to 6 months.

I may have just answered my own question lol

I think changing milk is not necessary. Milk is the basic food for babies up to 1 year old. Solid foods are complimentary feeding or should I say introduction to a better food. Do not expect that on the next few weeks your baby will eat the same amount adults eat.

That is why when doing BLW they recommend to give your baby's milk first then solid foods. Otherwise, your baby will become fussy during the meal time. Hope it helps.

 

[MelliPaige]

How do you get started? What signs show LO is ready?
Do I start with breakfast, lunch, dinner, maybe a snack?
I know Leo isn't ready yet, but I'm pretty clueless on it!

 

[charlie15]

I would wait until he is 6 months or older. He shoukd be able to sit up well, show interest in food and put food to his mouth.

It's up to you how you start. We started with breakfast as that was easy for me. Stated with fruit pieces, such as mango, strawberries and bananas etc. I also did a porridge bake as easier to handle. So you put porridge in a flat dish mix with milk, flaten out then put in oven for 20 mins. Cut into finger slices and voila! The rest goes in the fridge for breakfast for the next few days. We then gradually introduced snacks, and then lunch and diner. I think by 8 or 9 months my dd was on 3 meals a day. But everyone is different, some babies won't start any solids until much later if they are not ready. The main thing to remember is food before 1 is fun. So let him play with food and try to relax about eating. The thibg I did try was to eat the same thing anf eat together and let the mess and fun begin!

 

[lily28]

My son is 14 mo and I have both fed him with a spoon and given him finger food to eat on his own, he is exclusively BF since birth. Because he had a low weight and I had to somehow control his caloric intake until he was in the safe zone I was giving him mushed food so I could count the quantity/mls. From the 13th percentile 6mo he went to the 50th before his birthday by my method and now he seems to prefer to feed himself with rare exceptions (I give him eggs sometimes). Problem is he is not eating much, either on his own or when I try to feed him. He drinks a lot of my milk, and I've had the suspicion that the milk intake might interfere with his food intake. I don't want to refuse boob meals, they are not that many anyway, around 4 or 5 during day time, and 1 or 2 at night.
I'm reading toddler menu samples for the ages of 1-2 year olds, or the UNICEF recommended quantities of food for this age and I want to cry, because he barely has what other kids eat for 1 meal the entire day.
His growth as I said is fine, weight at around 50% he is tall at the 85%, he has hit all his milestones on time and he is very ahead in speech and fine motor skills, doctor says he is like a 18mo in many aspects, he plays football, he is very extroverted and sociable, he doesn't even shows signs of separation anxiety. I know I shouldn't worry and trust my child in this, but I worry because his solid food intake is so little. any words of wisdom?

 

[pokatobug]

I didn't even realize that we were doing baby led weaning until I saw it on a website. I tried everything to get my lo to eat pureed fruit, veggies, and meat...she wasn't interested. Finally I started giving her well cooked fruit and veggies, low and behold she ate like a champ so we tried meat again she ate like she had never tried this amazing food before. Now she feeds herself (with hands) and chews (even though she only has 2 barely there teeth). She mostly eats what we are eating for lunch and supper and I manage to convince her to eat baby cereal with fruit mixed in for breakfast. I started purred food at 6 months until 7 months, she is almost 9 months now.

 

[Popples1]

My LO won't be spoon fed at all so I'm a slightly reluctant BLW-er. Some days I love it but I'm still quite anxious when he has a big chunk of something in his mouth. I don't think he's swallowing much yet (7 months old) but has fun smooshing his hands around in it and chasing things round his tray. I do find it a bit hard seeing friends' babies wolfing down purée but try to remind myself that BLW is a different process altogether and he'll eat when he's ready...

 

[MelliPaige]

Popples! My Leo is BLW and just started eating everything I put in front of him, until recently he wasn't interested at all. Maybe it's a developmental thing?

 

[Popples1]

Yeah, I'm sure you're right. He ate most of his grated cheese today but I guess that melts in the mouth so not much chewing required!