Did or Is anyone doing a mixture of BLW & TW?

[Mummy~L]

Bobby isnt ready for weaning yet but it wont be long so I am just trying to get as much info as possible.

I like the idea of BLW and am swaying toward doing this but im just wondering if anyone did BLW and traditional weaning?

If you did how did it work for you and how did you go about starting weaning?

Thanks xxx

 

[amandabrown49]

I had never heard of this before I just did the way I thought was best which was rice with milk for breakfast, bread and butter / biscuits / fruit in the baby fruit carriers for lunch and then mashed up dinner at dinner time. I like mine to use a fork or spoon to eat there dinners hate it when you go out and see 3 / 4 year olds eating dinners with there fingers (just my opinion). I have 3 and all have used cutlery from 6 months for there dinners and finger type food for there lunch.

 

[aimee-lou]

Hiya,

I plan on finding a happy medium tbh. If it can be held then it will be, if it needs a spoon then it will be offered on one either by me or pre-loaded so he can try for himself. I like the concept of BLW but I think that you need to do what's right for you.

First step is the traditional route to teach him what a spoon is for, then offer finger food and take it from there.

There really aren't any rules as LO will do what they are happy with, so I'll be following Earl's lead.

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

By all means do what you are comfortable with, and this is probably going to be a deeply unpopular opinion, but by definition, BLW means NO spoonfeeding. Combining spoonfeeding with finger foods is Traditional Weaning. The whole point of BLW is that LO feeds themself, from the start, all the time. So if you like the idea of BLW and believe in it, and like the sound of the potential benefits, I'd do it in its pure form and not do any spoonfeeding. (I don't mean offering a pre loaded spoon, that's still self feeding) That way, LO's progress will be quicker!

I'd recommend the BLW book by Gill Rapley if you haven't already read it.

 

[Lu28]

Agree with Claire here, BLW isn't something you can really do in half measures. It's either fully BLW or combining purees and finger foods as people do in traditional weaning. Whatever works for you hon

 

[celine]

Hiya,

I plan on finding a happy medium tbh. If it can be held then it will be, if it needs a spoon then it will be offered on one either by me or pre-loaded so he can try for himself. I like the concept of BLW but I think that you need to do what's right for you.

First step is the traditional route to teach him what a spoon is for, then offer finger food and take it from there.

There really aren't any rules as LO will do what they are happy with, so I'll be following Earl's lead.

Totally agreed! We arent pro one type over another, I did start with purees and still give a bit of puree for lunch & dinner but always followed by a holdable food (a finger of bread, a pasta, carrot depends on what we are eating)

 

[maccy]

Hi, I can only tell you what I've done, I'm not gonna try and sway you either way it's your choice.

My oldest who is 6 now is very fussy eating and was weaned at 4months with puree (as this was then recommended age) so I decided to do something different this time around.

I read everything I could possibly read on BLW and liked the idea, so from 4 months gave her food to play with and get familiar with, by 5 months she was biting thing like bananas but not swallowing, by 6 months she was swallowing and eating all sorts e.g. brocolli, toast, any other veg, and loads of other stuff, however there was things such as porridge which I felt she needed help with so I spoon fed her and she loved it. She's 9 months today and is a great eater, she'll eat mashed food that I feed her well and also handles finger foods so well and impresses everyone that sees her. She can even pick up peas and get them into her mouth. So in answer to your question, I did both mashed and spoon fed and finger foods and they have worked for me, my other daughter never ate pear or grapes or mince beef etc and this one now eats everything. I thing you should do whats right for you, your the mum...you know best!

 

[Mummy~L]

I'd recommend the BLW book by Gill Rapley if you haven't already read it.

I brought this the other day and have just started reading it!!

 

[sobersadie]

I had never heard of BLW till i found this sight. My last 2 babies had purees (from 4 months as was recommended then) and once they were able to pick up food themselves they did that too (at about 6 months). I wouldnt be confident that they were getting enough on BLW by itself so i prefer the traditional method which is pretty much a mix of puree and finger foods. Will be doing the same with my daughter. Both my kids could eat anything early on so i dont think BLW would have made them progress any quicker. I only used the purees to begin with and quickly moved onto to lumps and foods they could feed themselves as well as cups at 6 months old too.

 

[angelstardust]

Traditional feeding is not just feeding purees, you feed finger foods too, which is where the confusion starts.

I don't BLW, I feed Amber cereal for breakfast, finger foods for lunch and dinner along with a fruit pot which is spoon fed for desert.

Actually, I have never pureed, I mash with a fork. And Amber started weaning herself by grabbing stuff from my plate. Just go with the flow.

 

[Mummy~L]

Thanks ladies you have all been really helpful!

Dont know why but am just feeling a wee bit nervous about weaning
The more info I can get on it the better! hehe!

xxx

 

[Cinderella]

I'd have loved to do full on BLW, but with Max being weaned at 3mo for severe reflux it wasn't to be.
He's been on purees, porridge and jars since, and is getting very good at self feeding from a spoon, licking the bowl, grabbing from our plates etc. So I think he's ready for the next step, which although isn't full BLW, I like the approach of giving them everything and anything to experiment with. If it goes in his mouth (and stomach) then great. If not, he's still having his purees because he doesn't take much milk, so he does need the purees to top up his feeding.

I was really really nervous about feeding too, especially with him being so young. But it really is trial and error. What works for us, might not work for you, so just have a good read of the info, decide which route you want to take, and if it doesn't work, don't beat yourself up about it!