Traditional weaning V BLW

[golcarlilly]

Hi everyone, I weaned my DD who is 16 in the traditional way ie: purees then mashed food then finger foods then chopped up versions of our dinners and it was very successful, she has always been willing to try new foods and eaten a varied diet and doesn't have any allergies and so I intend to do the same with Myles (in fact we started two weeks ago). I don't really like the idea of baby led weaning, I tend to agree with what my husband said 'babies shouldn't be leading anything they need us to guide them!' and also think that maybe all this letting them play with their food and squish it etc... will lead to fussiness and them thinking that it is ok to mess around with it instead of eating it!

Anyway, that is just my humble opinion and I know many people are in favour of BLW, I just wondered how many are doing which kind of weaning and I would be interested in your reasons

 

[Aidedhoney]

I am doing a bit of both, Alex is on 3 purees a day and loves it, but when we have dinner he goes crazy to get some, so if its something suitable i give him a wee bit, he also is starting to love finger foods ie bread n butter, rice cakes and pitta breads which he picks up and licks at all on his own.

The BLW sounds fantastic and i can see how some people would prefer it but Alex had to be weaned early and was too young for BLW.

I think i have chosen what suits my lifestyle best all our babies are individuals and sadly babies dont seem to have read all the books lol

 

[golcarlilly]

I am doing a bit of both, Alex is on 3 purees a day and loves it, but when we have dinner he goes crazy to get some, so if its something suitable i give him a wee bit, he also is starting to love finger foods ie bread n butter, rice cakes and pitta breads which he picks up and licks at all on his own.

The BLW sounds fantastic and i can see how some people would prefer it but Alex had to be weaned early and was too young for BLW.

I think i have chosen what suits my lifestyle best all our babies are individuals and sadly babies dont seem to have read all the books lol

at the books!! that sounds like a good plan, M is always watching us eat and keeps reaching out for stuff i am eating (pickled onion monster munch yesterday!!)

 

[mommyof3co]

We did traditional with my 3 now, but in the future plan to do baby led. I think that babies can lead us to things, sure they need guidance with certain things, but I think they also are capable of letting us know what they need. I think allowing them to eat what they want, play with it, touch the new textures is all a good thing. It's not fully baby led, the parent is still deciding what to offer so if you're only offering healthy stuff and they are choosing from that I don't see the issue We use child led parenting in alot of ways, weaning from the breast, learning styles and how to teach certain things too. But traditional has worked well for us, the boys eat well and lots of healthy food, they aren't picky...but I think that's more us offering a variety of foods no matter which way we decide to wean

 

[Aidedhoney]

LOL Wait till the hands start trying to grab the packet of crisps........does wonders for the diet when they start making you feel guilty for eating.

 

[helen1234]

having done traditional and blw

i cant praise blw enough.

its a lovely way to wean. it learns baby's to chew before they swallow and actually leads to a less fussy babuy. my son has never refused any food, i havent had to stand puree'ing food to mush and then learn him to eat something solid form.
why not let your child take his time when eating as this is where the "led" part comes from, if you go back in the ages blw is actually the traditional way as there was no such thing as food processors. he tells me when he's hungry the same time as puree weaning, he just eats it himself at his own pace. blw also prevents constipation as when they chew it activates the breakdown acids in the stomach so they actually digest food properly

just to point out too, when my son had his 8 month check his hand eye coordination and motor skills were off the chart

 

[celine]

Im doing traditional, my dh is so worried about blw and says its far too 'hip' for him lol (I tried to coax him by saying hey since we are eating melon slices we can offer one to the baby and dh freaked)
saying that i personally want to do it this way, I like making purees and I am so paranois of him choking! I do give him a teething biscuity rusk (meant for babies) after dinner

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I do BLW and can't speak highly enough about it. Ruby chose it, not me, anyway - she refused to be spoon fed as she won't let us put anything into her mouth without a fight. Not wanting fights at mealtimes, BLW is a godsend. There are a million reasons why, but among my favourites are the not having to feed Ruby while my own food goes cold, not having to 'amuse' her during adult mealtimes if she's awake, giving her normal food means she eats my diet which I have made healthier, so good for us as a family too. No pureeing is good for me too, as is not having to go through different stages of weaning then giving finger foods.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not the biggest believer in totally child led parenting but when it comes to weaning I am. I do believe babies need guidance and encouragement from us as parents, as they don't always know what they need - but as mommyof3co says, we are still leading in some sense by offering a selection healthy foods.

 

[Kitten]

I'm doing BLW and loving it. I tried to feed him some spaghetti today and he tried to back away from me and nearly fell out of his bloody bumbo so I'm extra glad I didn't try purees. I had a feeling he'd be like that though as he refused the dummy, bottle, and won't take medicine which is part of why I chose blw.

 

[joeyjo]

My experience giving G calpol was enough to get me very scaredabout starting traditional weaning. He was gagging, coughing and screaming when the spoon went near him. I'd already been toying with the idea of blw after seeing how well a friends baby ate. I read up quite a lot and thought it would suit our lifestyle. I was particularly keen as my brother refused to eat spaghetti bol unless the sauce was luquidised until about age 12.

I believe the term baby led is a little misunderstood. As parents we read our childrens cues and make decisions to guide them in what we believe is the right direction. This applies to all aspects of their lives;
for instance I choose when to put george to bed but I base that decision on cues he provides such as tired signals, rubbing eyes etc.

With weaning G was showing a keen interest in foods so I started to offer him a few suitable options. Already after a week he is showing that he knows that it's for eating and as he gets better at swallowing and chewing I'll offer more adventurous things. He is leading the timing by showing me his abilities/readiness but I will be guiding him by providing a wide range of healthy nutritious options.

 

[purple_socks]

i am doing babyled weaning fo a number of reasons: firstly its much easier IMO...for all the reasons claire pointed out but also i think it leads to a much healthier mental relationship with food.
A biggy for me tho is that i want Kian to stay in touch with his body's signals abt being full. i know that might sound weird but me and DH never know when to stop! I am scared of forcing Kian to eat past the point of comfortably full if i was spoon feeding (i'm concerned i wouldn't know the difference between a normal battle of wills over food or him trying to stop because he's had enough).
i also think BLW is great for making u look at ur own diet and for not making foods forbidden (and there fore desirable).
there is alot more to BLW than just skipping purees. theres some great psychology behind it.

Ever other skill that babies learn (rolling over, crawling etc) is baby led...they learn by us allowing them the opportunaty (i.e giving them tummy time) and then they do the rest. So i think it makes sense to do the same with weaning. u offer them foods and they learn by watching u and by experimenting. the concept of making a child eat by feeding them seems strange to me.

 

[golcarlilly]

A biggy for me tho is that i want Kian to stay in touch with his body's signals abt being full. i know that might sound weird but me and DH never know when to stop! I am scared of forcing Kian to eat past the point of comfortably full if i was spoon feeding (i'm concerned i wouldn't know the difference between a normal battle of wills over food or him trying to stop because he's had enough).
.

you have a good point there, I don't have a 'Full-ometer' either!!

So far Myles just doesn't open his mouth when he has had enough though or just turns his head away and then I stop

 

[Kitten]

Double post

 

[Lu28]

Like Helen1234, I also did both traditional and BLW. I started on the traditional route on the advice of HV and GP due to poor weight gain and I have to say I found it very stressful. I spent so much time coming up with recipes, cooking them, pureeing them, freezing them only for Aisling to point blank refuse to eat some of it and being at a loss over what else to give her. I found myself getting very stressed that she wasn't eating enough and mealtimes were becoming a battle quite quickly.

Things have been great since moving on to BLW. My main reasons were:
- Aisling was and still is breastfed and in that has always been in control of how much milk to take. If I trusted her to take the right amount of milk (and not having a bottle have no idea how much that is), then why shouldn't I trust her to take the right amount of food she needs.
- LOs tend to eat more slowly with BLW which means that they're more likely to receive the full signal from their brain at around the right time. If they're being fed puree, there's more of a chance that they were actually full long before they receive the signal from the brain (takes 10 minutes for adults)
- I was an extremely fussy child and if there's anything at all I can do to encourage Aisling to have a different relationship with food then I'll do it!
- I love the fact that Aisling is a part of family meals, it feels like this is how it's meant to be instead of her having to eat on her own

 

[faille]

We do BLW and cannot praise it enough.

In just 3 months, there's little that my LO can't eat without much trouble. She'll try anything offered, she loves exploring and learning about food (different textures, different tastes, different ways to hold things, the strength of her grasp on 'squishy' food and hard food etc.). Meal times are a great learning time for her, as well as eating.

She loves mealtimes and being 'involved' in mealtimes. She loves watching us eat the same thing she is, at the same time as her.

Like many of the others have said, there's much more to BLW than just "skipping puree". I'm really hoping this leads to a healthier relationship with food for her as I was (and still am) a very fussy eater. I'll do whatever I can to help avoid that issue with my LO.

I have trusted her to have milk when she wants, how much she wants, to reach milestones in her own time etc. Why should I suddenly "be in charge" when it comes to food? Why should I suddenly stop trusting her to take what she wants? Babies do not need mush to 'learn to eat' - it's a skill that develops when given the opportunity.

To me, BLW is a much more natural way to wean that "traditional" weaning and I'm so glad I found out about it. I agree so much with the theories and psychology behind it, it's 110% the best route for us. I've never tried spoonfeeding and never will.

(this is just my opinion... not preaching or saying one is "better than the other" etc - just my feelings on the subject)

 

[Babyshambelle]

We do BLW, and the girls above have put it perfectly well. She has fed herself from my boobs for 6 months, so why shouldn't she continue doing this with her 'proper' food??

xxx

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

OT but congrats babyshambelle!!

 

[Sovereign]

We did traditional weaning as I didn't know much about BLW and also Charlie has only started to put things in his mouth the last couple of weeks, he didn't even put toys in his mouth before then or anything!!! Since he was about 7 months we have given him finger food in addition to purees but he never put it in his mouth, ever!!!x

 

[Babyshambelle]

OT but congrats babyshambelle!!

Fankies Claire

 

[ryder]

Hi everyone, I weaned my DD who is 16 in the traditional way ie: purees then mashed food then finger foods then chopped up versions of our dinners and it was very successful, she has always been willing to try new foods and eaten a varied diet and doesn't have any allergies and so I intend to do the same with Myles (in fact we started two weeks ago). I don't really like the idea of baby led weaning, I tend to agree with what my husband said 'babies shouldn't be leading anything they need us to guide them!' and also think that maybe all this letting them play with their food and squish it etc... will lead to fussiness and them thinking that it is ok to mess around with it instead of eating it!

)

I completely agree with everything you said.

Jasmine is a fine eater, I started with baby cereal, then purees, then mashed and then chopped etc. I did start giving rusks and toast in the process for her to have a chance of first finger foods. I also had a "le nibbler" for fruit which I set up.

She is never forced to eat anything, im not sure how, when people are reasoning BLW, they think traditional fed babies are somehow forced to eat purees and are unhappy...

Jasmine is perfectly happy, healthy etc... And the traditional way is what worked for us! She also likes feeding me now which is cute and we take turns.

Babies are only babies for so long and rely on us to help and teach them... I dont know why people want them to grow up so fast and eat by themselves.