Spoon refusal...switching to blw?

[keese22]

We started tw about 3 weeks ago. Lo was doing great he was really enjoyin his food and we had made our way through lots of fruit and veg and was waiting till he was 6 months (which is Tuesday) before we started to introduce protein and dairy.

As of Monday he's completely refusing food. When the spoon or sippy cup goes near his mouth he clamps his mouth shut. I don't want to push him and have him associated eating with feeling pressured. I think it could be down to his teeth as he's showing lots of teethibg signs. I spoke to the health visitor and she wasn't too concerned and suggested I tried finger foods and to come back next week If I was still worried.

We've tried some finger foods today (banana, rice cake with pear puree(from the freezer!) and carrots. He mushes it up a bit and throws them on the floor. Is this normal? Will he eventually eat them? What other foods would you suggest as first finger foods?

I'm a bit worried that as we have tw lo has learnt to swallow before
Chewing that when he had finger food he will just swallow and choke.
Has anyone who has switched from tw to blw able to shed some light on this?

Those who have done blw have you all read the books or just gone for it? I feel a bit out of my depth and I don't really know what in doing!

Do I still need to introduce one food at a time or does it get to a point where you just go for it?

Sorry for all the questions I'm
Just a bit lost!

 

[missk1989]

I had to introduce finger foods due to food refusal so chose food that would "melt" in his mouth like american style pancakes and homemade rusks or savoury muffins. It worked great and i kept trying with spoons and now he takes both fine.

 

[pinksmarties]

My Lo had a 'solids strike' for nearly 2 weeks when he was 6.5 months old, refused anything puree or finger foods and that was after 3 weeks going great guns before. It was so out of the blue. I just kept offering and eventually he started eating again and is doing really well. I thought teething too but 2 months later still no teeth!!!

As for trying blw I do Tw but give finger foods too, eg toast. He had occasionally gagged but I trust his gag reflex and he has never chocked or had any problems. Steamed carrots or pears are good to start off with.

 

[MindUtopia]

The instinct to not choke is just that, an instinct. They have the inbuilt abilities to learn to move food around their mouths safely with practice and also how to chew and swallow safely with time. Having spoon fed won't override that, so just keep doing what you're doing. If you're concerned, you might try offering some foods on a spoon and let him feed himself (it's called 'spoon loading'). We do this for breakfast sometimes when we have yogurt or porridge. I put a tiny taste on a spoon for her, then she takes it and feeds herself. I actually tried to give her a little bit of my breakfast cereal the other day (she was sitting on my lap and kept reaching for it) and I just didn't think and tried to just spoon feed it into her mouth from my spoon and she wouldn't have it! She grabbed the big and heavy grown-up spoon and fed herself. She's 6.5 months and has worked this out in just two weeks of BLW.

But really, just keep trying. They won't eat much at all for the first month or two and that's fine. Just let her explore and get used to the idea of feeding herself and keep her milk feeds going on demand. It could also be teething maybe? Solids don't seem to be an issue for us, but my daughter has been teething lately and flat out screams (like turns red and hyperventilates!) when she has her bottle. It can just be really uncomfortable for them, so that could be part of it too.

Oh, and no, you don't have to do one food at a time. Just try anything you have available. We usually do 2 different things for breakfast (toast, yogurt or porridge, and then fruit slices) and then 3-4 things for lunch (mostly steamed veg and then something like rice cakes, toast with hummus, cheese on toast, or maybe some more fruit). Sometimes it's stuff she's had before, sometimes it's all completely new.

 

[keese22]

Thank you. I bought the book on Monday and I've had a read and I'm feeling more confident. Today I have him a weetabix with a little bit of milk soaked In to make it softer. It was messy! I think he may have licked a little bit but he had fun with it. I found cucumber sticks went down well, he loves nectarine, banana is tricky as its so sticky! Going to keep going with it and just keep offering I'm expecting him not to eat it so its a nice surprise when he does (I was shocked when he picked up the broccoli!)