Starting BLW

[Chickensoup85]

Hello,

My baby is 5 months old and so I am beginning to think about weaning. I am keen on blw but have many, many questions!

The guidelines say start at 6 months, when they can sit up, show interest etc but at a weaning talk a friend went to, they said you need to start before 6 months, giving them baby rice or purees because they use different muscles for swallowing and that if some sort of solids aren't established by 6 months, you could hold them back developmentally, including in speech. Is this true??? I wasn't going to give any solids at all until 6 months.

Personally, I can't see the point of baby rice as it doesn't seem to have any flavour or nutritional value. Do you have to start on some sort of baby rice or cereal (or even some puree), or can you jump right in on the good stuff?

Is the difference between choking and gagging obvious?

What are the best foods to start with?

I'm excited to see him try new foods but nervous about the whole thing!

Thank you

 

[petersmamma]

Hello,

My baby is 5 months old and so I am beginning to think about weaning. I am keen on blw but have many, many questions!

The guidelines say start at 6 months, when they can sit up, show interest etc but at a weaning talk a friend went to, they said you need to start before 6 months, giving them baby rice or purees because they use different muscles for swallowing and that if some sort of solids aren't established by 6 months, you could hold them back developmentally, including in speech. Is this true??? I wasn't going to give any solids at all until 6 months.

Personally, I can't see the point of baby rice as it doesn't seem to have any flavour or nutritional value. Do you have to start on some sort of baby rice or cereal (or even some puree), or can you jump right in on the good stuff?

Is the difference between choking and gagging obvious?

What are the best foods to start with?

I'm excited to see him try new foods but nervous about the whole thing!

Thank you

I also saw an article that suggested starting transitioning to solids around 4 months, otherwise you're risking developmental delays in other areas like motor skills and oral development. Can't find that article now though :/

I decided to introduce solids around 5 months with a kidsme Food Feeder. It's like a small sac with little holes in it, so I wasn't super worried LO would choke. Later on, avocado plus banana in the Food Feeder was very popular. (sounds gross to me, but hey, if they eat it...)

 

[minties]

I'm sure that breastfeeding or drinking from a bottle works the muscles of the mouth just fine. The mush that you would give to a baby under 6 months could hardly do a better job?

Sophie was weaned (BLW) at 6 months and talks very well! Nothing wrong with her development there.

Her fine and gross motor skills are excellent.

 

[Chickensoup85]

Thank you petersmama, I'll have a look into those.

I thought it sounded wrong minties, especially with the work they have to do with breastfeeding, it must use lots of muscles!