How long did it take your baby to learn how to chew/swallow?

[Fizzyfefe]

We started BLW just a couple of days ago. It's so much fun! My son has already tried slices of bananas, peaches, and pears, and preloaded spoons of applesauce and rice cereal mixed with pear. He mostly sucks on the food, and only managed to bite a tiny chunk out of the pear (which he then promptly spat out). He obviously hasn't managed to swallow anything yet.

It made me curious: how long did it take for your little ones to actually chew and swallow their food?

 

[MindUtopia]

We did BLW as well and I started to see a change in what came out the other end after about 2 weeks. She may have eaten some before then, but not enough for it to make an obvious difference in her poos. She didn't really eat a sizeable amount (enough that her milk started to decrease) until about 9 months though, and then there was no stopping her. It really is a process and I definitely worried back then that she wasn't eating 'enough' or that I had to encourage her to eat more. In retrospect, it all picked up when she was ready. She's 2.5 now and is such a fun, adventurous eater. So it really is a great experience, even when it feels like it's slow to start.

 

[Fizzyfefe]

Thanks for responding! I absolutely love letting him explore foods. Perhaps it's because I'm a chef and such a foodie at heart! I'm not worried about him eating too little yet, as he takes plenty of milk.

 

[smawfl]

Straight away. Started weaning at 5 months and he was making the chewing motion and swallowing immediately.