Help Please With TW/BLW Mix

[natasha82]

I started off TW LO at 4 months very slowly. At 6 months i introduced finger foods aswell as still feeding him with a spoon.

I'm not sure what you would call how i feed LO now as this is roughly what he has to eat.

Breakfast - Porridge or Weetabix which i spoon feed him. Sometimes i load the spoon for him and he feeds himself that way.

Snack - Sultanas or biscuit or breadstick or cucumber sticks. He holds and feeds himself these.

Lunch - Scotch pancake - he feeds himself, fruit of some kind usually melon - he feeds himself, fromage frais pot - i spoon feed him.

Snack - Sultanas or biscuit or breadstick or cucumber sticks. He feeds himself.

Dinner - Whatever we have, so say it is a roast dinner. He has chicken, carrots, peas, yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes. I just put it all on his tray and he feeds himself. Then he has rice pudding afterwards which i spoon feed him.

He enjoys holding his food and feeding himself best. But if this is kind of BLW how do you all get on giving your LO's sloppy foods where you need a fork or spoon? Like LO's breakfast - he couldn't feed himself porridge yet. What about pasta in sauces for dinners? I am getting stuck for ideas on dinners becuase he likes picking up the foods and feeding himself but he can't do that with pasta can he? Help/advice please.

 

[MiniKiwi]

My LO easily feeds herself pasta, we just make spirals for her cause it's easier for her to hold. Other foods you can just make thicker, weetabix with only a small amount of milk etc.

We do a bit of what you do. We completely blw from when she started eating at 7 months but now I help her with her yoghurt, I load the spoon for her and also spoonfeed her cause it's faster! If I just let her loose on a bowl of yoghurt, it'd be an absolute disaster and she wouldn't get much to eat. She enjoys the occasional spoonfeed and there's nothing wrong with how we're doing things! For breakfast she usually has porridge and OH makes it thick so she can feed it to herself once it's cooled down.

 

[lozzy21]

I would pre-load a fork with the spiral pasta on

 

[natasha82]

It's just when i go to some baby groups, all the other Mums are spoon feeding their babies, some are older than mine. I wonder why nobody seems to let baby feed themselves?

 

[MiniKiwi]

At my baby group it's the same

I like the way we feed LO, she learns so much touching and holding the food and choosing to eat. It's great

 

[BigAl]

People don't like the mess it can cause.

We just had pasta with tomato and tuna sauce, lo fed himself beautifully (and with only one hand because the other is all bandaged up).

I think it's a great experience for them to get stuck with their hands, good development for their coordination too.

 

[natasha82]

People don't like the mess it can cause.

We just had pasta with tomato and tuna sauce, lo fed himself beautifully (and with only one hand because the other is all bandaged up).

I think it's a great experience for them to get stuck with their hands, good development for their coordination too.

I know this is why i like LO to get stuck in at home. I feel like i can't feed him at these groups because the food he has for lunch isn't spoon fed to him, only his fromage frais. So i always have to give him lunch at home first which makes it awkward sometimes because i don't want LO to make a mess when all the other LO's are spoon fed.

 

[pink_rulez]

We always did both for Sophie, i would spoon feed her and the offer her the meal in whole pieces (we always ate the same)
It didn't occur to me it was part BLW I only did it to keep her happy while we ate lol
Xx

 

[natasha82]

So what could i give LO to eat at lunch time while we are out that he can feed himself. He doesn't eat sandwiches yet.

 

[Maviyildiz]

So what could i give LO to eat at lunch time while we are out that he can feed himself. He doesn't eat sandwiches yet.

My LO only takes food off a preloaded spoon, she won't be fed and she loves to grab it and feed herself. When we are out, that is too messy, so we just have little hand held, pale colored foods: cucumbers, shredded cheese, cold baked chicken, things like that. You could also do a sandwich, deconstructed: bits of bread, meat, cheese, and tomatoes. We have an insulated bag that we pack all the cold foods in.

We also use Ella's Kitchen purees, only when out and about (because she can suck them instead of using a spoon) but it sounds like you are past that stage!

 

[Gc85]

I usually take non staining foods out with us, and just let LO have a little picnic for her lunch, things like

Baby bels or cheese chunks/fingers LO loves feta!
Rice cakes
Cucumber sticks
Fruit pieces (pear, bannana, Satsuma, apple, plums etc)
Breadsticks
Melba toasts
Cold meats, sandwich meat or cold roast chicken etc

My LO loves sandwiches so they are usually a good option too if he'll eat them, a few of the above and a yogurt is usually enough to fill her up! I wouldn't worry about being the odd one out regards spoon feeding, I always just explain that we like LO to choose her own foods and feed herself as we feel its important for her development and it suits us. Plus you will be the smug one when you get to sit and eat your lunch while your LO happily sits there eating and everyone else is faffing about spoon feeding, that always seems to silence any critics ha ha!

 

[belle254]

We do this too, I started out making purées and spoon feeding at nearly 5 months. At 6 months. Started offering her finger foods and now she eats them beautifully. Well, maybe beautifully is pushing it a bit
But a typical day is like yours. She is 6 1/2 months and has:
Breakfast of weetabix or yoghurt, spoon fed.
Snack of a rusk, toast or banana, fed herself.
Lunch of a fruit pouch or homemade purée, spoon fed. Plus a bit of cheese or bread herself.
Snack again of rusk, toast, whatever people in the house are eating at the time (there's usually someone eating!)
Dinner of meat/pasta jar of some sort, spoon fed yoghurt or fruit for dessert if shes still hungry, spoon fed.

So we do a bit of both too, it works for us! I'm ensuring that LO is getting some food in her but she's also developing the skills needed for independent feeding.
I think you're doing great xx