weaning... Questions

[yrose20118]

Hiya,

Right well ive got a few questions on weaning ladies which I hope you can help me with?

1) Can you mix BLW with "normal" weaning do you think???
2) What foods are a big no no for a 6 month old???
3) How long does it take to fully wean???
4) Typical first few days plans anyone???
5) I feel scared to give LO proper food... i.e. a banana.... what can I give him as snacks etc???

Im a little scared really about weaning (as you can probaly tell)... ive tried a few purees (orgnaic range jars) to see if LO likes anything... so far he's had about 5 teaspoons a day of fruit purees... not so fond of the veg ones...

Ive not done anything ither then this and kinda dont know where to really begin...

Really need help ladies!!!

xxx

 

[Ganton]

I wouldn't consider myself an expert, as we haven't got off to the greatest start with weaning, but you may find some of the following useful:

(1) Yes, I would say you can mix traditional and BLW. The reason we've not got to a great start is because my LO will only let the spoon go anywhere near his mouth if he is holding it with both hands! If he doesn't want it, we have no chance. He loves finger food though. I therefore persevere with some sort of purée at set meal times, but also offer finger food and bits of what I eat if I think it's suitable.
(2) we were told that the big no nos include honey, nuts, too much salt, undercooked eggs, liver (I think?), blue cheeses. There are probably others I've missed.
(3) we waited until 6 months to wean, so I've been told by health visitors that it should be a quick progression - 3 meals a day after a few weeks, and introducing meat by 7 months.
(4) expect a mess!! Don't expect your LO to eat much at first. They may even completely turn down something a few times, but give a break and then try again. My LO gagged and spat out broccoli the first few times, but now he picks up pieces of steamed broccoli and happily munches away.
(5) the snacks that I've felt most comfortable giving are the carrot puffs, sweet corn rings etc by Organix. They literally turn to mush in their mouth. We've also tried biscotti (but my LO can now break off big chunks, which worries me), rice cakes, toast, banana, melon, steamed apple and pear segments, steamed broccoli florets and steamed carrot and parsnip sticks. A chunk of cheese is also a huge hit. We have had a few gagging incidents, which are quite scary at first, but my LO has always sorted it out himself without any back-slapping assistance from me!! I'm told that gagging is an important part of the learning process.

 

[Casey3]

Hiya,

Right well ive got a few questions on weaning ladies which I hope you can help me with?

1) Can you mix BLW with "normal" weaning do you think???

Techinically no.. if you're a die hard baby led wean-er. BLW means zero spoon feeding, just preloaded spoons and whatever they can get into their mouths is what they eat.. no parental help (other than loading the spoon). If you're spoon feeding and offering finger foods than you're really just traditional weaning with finger foods. I will say we have cheated but we ONLY spoon feed the odd bite of yogurt (mostly when I'm eating one and he wants some lol) and the odd applesauce container when we're out and its not appropriote to have applesauce spilled head to toe

2) What foods are a big no no for a 6 month old???

The only thing they can't have like the PP said is whole nuts (choking hazard) and honey (due to bacteria). Everything else is fair game! (unless you have a history of allergies, just be careful but even with allergies they say go ahead and introduce it early because the allergy will be there regardless of what age they are!)

3) How long does it take to fully wean???

What do you mean 'fully wean' like the full transition from milk to solids? As long as you're still offering milk I guess? I don't consider my LO fully weaned yet. He still breastfeeds on demand (every 1-3 hours) but is also offered 3 meals a day.

4) Typical first few days plans anyone???

We just started out with some veggies and fruit the first couple days, his first food was steamed broccoli and then I think he tried some watermelon, cucumber sticks, sweet potato french fries (homemade) and red pepper sticks.. after that we moved to regular meals! He only had dinner for the first 2 months and then we introduced breakfast around 8 months and then lunch around 11 months. We moved really slow because I wanted BF to be more important

5) I feel scared to give LO proper food... i.e. a banana.... what can I give him as snacks etc???

It's really not that scary! Once you get past the initial fears it's really fun! If you're nervous start out with some mushier foods like banana, sweet potato fries, melon sticks, steamed apple slices, avocado etc. We never really did 'snacks' in the beginning but fruit and veggies make the best snacks

Im a little scared really about weaning (as you can probaly tell)... ive tried a few purees (orgnaic range jars) to see if LO likes anything... so far he's had about 5 teaspoons a day of fruit purees... not so fond of the veg ones...

Ive not done anything ither then this and kinda dont know where to really begin...

Really need help ladies!!!

xxx

Start slow! I see your EBF so you don't need to move fast, breastmilk is still most important (and wayyyyy easier!) THIS kellymom site helped me a lot If you're not in a rush, just take your LOs lead, if he's ready he'll eat the food offered, if not he'll just play with it.. just don't stress and have fun! Hope that helps a bit!

 

[helen_beee]

1) Can you mix BLW with "normal" weaning do you think???
Ofcourse you can if that's what you want to do. I really wanted to do BLW but to be completely honest I've found it a bit crap. He gets barely anything into his system and I think all this 'food before one is just for fun' is nonsense, my baby is hungry and BLW was starving him. So I do a mix - porridge for breakfast, finger food for dinner and home made purees for tea

2) What foods are a big no no for a 6 month old???
Honey is the biggest no no. Nuts, cows milk and salty foods (stock, gravy, added salt, etc) are also a no no.

3) How long does it take to fully wean???
I'm taking it quite slowly. I did baby rice for a week to get him used to something substantial in his stomach. Then I started with veggies and fruit (carrot, broccoli, sweet potato, apple, pear). Introduced breakfast after a week. I'll introduce meat in a couple more weeks. I imagine the whole process will take about 2 months. Especially if I expect him to eat anything through BLW!

4) Typical first few days plans anyone???
As I said above


5) I feel scared to give LO proper food... i.e. a banana.... what can I give him as snacks etc???
Although he's not taken to it yet, I offer my LO sticks of fruit and veg (steamed so they are nice and soft). At the minute he is just playing with his food. Banana is a good one because it turns to mush in the mouth. And although I know I'll probably get slated for this but rusks are good finger foods, they totally melt in the mouth. You can get a low sugar version xx