BLW - When did you start and what did you offer your LO?

[Lovn.sunshine]

For BLW - what age did your little one start and what foods did you offer them? [ie at 6 months - this food; at 7 months - this food and so on]

**Our Dd is days from being 7 months old and LOVES to taste/lick whatever it is we're eating and she's always trying to grab at it and put it in her mouth. I know she's ready to try foods on her own, I just don't want to mess up or give her the wrong foods [chalk it up to ftm paranoia ]

Veggies and fruits - do you cut them small [seems like a choking risk, to me] or leave them as large chunks so they can chew at them?

 

[Rachel_C]

24 weeks with my first: she stole a veggie spring roll one night so the next day I started by giving her lunch, same as I was having, a salad-type thing - veg sticks and slices, rice cakes with soft cheese etc.

26 weeks with my second: veggie (Quorn or supermarket equivalent) spag bol.

Both went straight to three meals, normal food like we'd eat without salt, honey, big pieces of nut etc.

You really don't need to think too much about the size of food. A variety is best, I think. If LO eats all the big pieces and can't pick up or isn't interested in the small ones, give more big ones next time. Small pieces won't get stuck in LO's mouth as easily - imagine a baby with a huge chunk of apple shoved in their face! But big ones are less likely to be inhaled. TBH, both have advantages and disadvantages so if you really believe in the idea of being baby led, just let baby decide. If LO can't pick up a small thing, it probably means she's not ready to eat them yet. If she can, she is. Have you read the BLW book by Gill Rapley? It's a good place to start and explains why as well as how.

 

[MindUtopia]

We started right at 6 months. Her first foods were roasted carrots and parsnips and mashed potato, and I think a yorkshire pudding (it was Sunday lunch). Weetabix broken in half and softened in a little milk was also an early favourite. As was toast with cashew butter, or hummus, or avocado or mashed banana. Also, whole bananas cut into thirds so they were roughly fist sized.

To start, stick sized things are best. They have trouble initially eating what's inside their hand and mostly eat what sticks out the top. So anything in stick form - cucumber sticks, melon sticks, toast soliders, etc. Probably in the next month or so, your LO will develop their pincer grip, meaning they can pick up peas or sweet corn, etc., tiny pieces of things, and then doing smaller pieces is great. Until then, small pieces of food might not get picked up very successfully, so stick to bigger sticks and chunks.

 

[ready4lullaby]

I just started her on apple sauce at 6 months and purees and offered little chunks of things like carrots. The biggest winner (still a favorite at 10 months) is really soft broccoli! She could easily pick it up, and, I think, liked the texture.

Now she eats pretty much everything.

I do small pieces of just about anything now. As long as I can squish them easily in my fingers, I give it to her. She still doesn't have teeth, so I have to make sure.

 

[meli1981]

Weve done blw by accident really! Evan never took to purrees....we started at six months with gerber puffs...hes now had cheerios, noodles, peas, pears, chicken, hamburger, toast...

Basically he has what we are having, just cut up real small!