Baby-led weaning

[AnnetteK]

Where could I find some practical information about BLW (websites, books, papers, etc.)? I recently found out about BLW in my local NCT newsletter. I had no idea babies could go on solids and skip the purees altogether. I guess it appeals to my lazy side :)
Anyway now that Lorcan is just over 4 months old, I'd like to find out more before introducing solids.
Many thanks!

[petchy]

http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/vast_voedsel/rapley_guidelines.html

some info there, HTH!

[AnnetteK]

Many thanks, Solveig. This article answers most of my questions for now. I guess I only have to wait now for Lorcan to start showing any interest in food :)

[scaryt]

There's a blog written by someone called aitch on BLW which I've found really useful. Has good articles, handy tips and recipes. And it's just good to read about other people doing the same.

www.babyledweaning.com

[sparkypants]

I did BLW with Ruby, never pureed a thing it was amazing!!!

She now eats ANYTHING (except ice cream!) and I never have any worries about her eating enough - unlike her brother who had everything pureed, quite bland tastes and now is very picky and sooooooooooo slooooooooooooooooooooow to eat!!!

It is absolutely the way to go (IMO!) and if I were ever to have any more babies I would do it that way again.

Give me a shout if you have any questions you think I might be able to help with.

Laura xxx

[AnnetteK]

Originally posted by scaryt
There's a blog written by someone called aitch on BLW which I've found really useful. Has good articles, handy tips and recipes. And it's just good to read about other people doing the same.

www.babyledweaning.com

This website/blog is a gem! Thanks scaryt!

[Cat770]

Certainly looks like the way 2 go!
Freddie is only 18 weeks old at the mo though and a bit too young for it... love the Baby led Wining! V. funny!
Cat

[shamu]

Originally posted by scaryt
There's a blog written by someone called aitch on BLW which I've found really useful. Has good articles, handy tips and recipes. And it's just good to read about other people doing the same.

www.babyledweaning.com

Thanks for this - feel a lot better about the approach for my (sadly :( ) ff dd now :D
Shamu
;)

[HomebirthingMama]

We do BLW too, the links already given are great :D

[MoominHannah]

Love BLW! We followed this method and I have no worries about the food intake of my now two year old. Food seems to be such a battle ground for mums and kids, and BLW realy takes the pressure off.

DP and I are real foodies so we love the fact that Oz is happy to eat what we eat.

It's such a relief to relax and trust them to eat what they need/want. Oz even eats broccoli and raw spinach, lentils, and other foods that I love but don't seem to be traditional toddler fayre. He does like his chips (like any normal human being) lol! :P (he doesn't get them often though lol!)

Those links are ace! Goodluck with it - it's fun!

[baretrix]

Yep we are doing BLW too :D

[kaismum]

Never heard of this thing until you guys mentioned it.
I always give Kai whatever I eat. So far, he eats anything. ;)

[kl_gendron]

I am doing BLW with Robert as well - I spent two weeks trying to get him to take food from a spoon - carrots / parsnip / pear / baby rice...within about 2 minutes he learned how to clamp his mouth shut and dodge the spoon.

I have switched to BLW this week and he is a much happier baby - can't say how much he is actually eating, but he gets sooooo excited when I put his tray in front of him. Now he will happily suck on a carrot or piece of pear (he demolished a sweet potato today and loved every second of it). I would highly recommend it to anyone!

krista

[Becklesfield]

Originally posted by kl_gendron
I am doing BLW with Robert as well - I spent two weeks trying to get him to take food from a spoon - carrots / parsnip / pear / baby rice...within about 2 minutes he learned how to clamp his mouth shut and dodge the spoon.

I have switched to BLW this week and he is a much happier baby - can't say how much he is actually eating, but he gets sooooo excited when I put his tray in front of him. Now he will happily suck on a carrot or piece of pear (he demolished a sweet potato today and loved every second of it). I would highly recommend it to anyone!

krista


Krista that's so cool! It really shows that babies know what's good for them when we can compare two different experiences like the ones you describe above. Very inspriring :)

Today I took the plunge and gave Mila her first raisin! She was sooooo ready for it. I'm doing BLW with Mila but I have been a bit spooked about raisins so today I decided to feel the fear and do it anyway and she loved it! She chewed for ages and absolutely swallowed with no problems at all.

It was definitely a 'Mummy Milestone' ;)

xx

[MoominHannah]

Yay Raisins! ("I want candy" "eat your raisins" lol! ;) )

[bell2]

Originally posted by Becklesfield

Originally posted by kl_gendron
I am doing BLW with Robert as well - I spent two weeks trying to get him to take food from a spoon - carrots / parsnip / pear / baby rice...within about 2 minutes he learned how to clamp his mouth shut and dodge the spoon.

I have switched to BLW this week and he is a much happier baby - can't say how much he is actually eating, but he gets sooooo excited when I put his tray in front of him. Now he will happily suck on a carrot or piece of pear (he demolished a sweet potato today and loved every second of it). I would highly recommend it to anyone!

krista


Krista that's so cool! It really shows that babies know what's good for them when we can compare two different experiences like the ones you describe above. Very inspriring :)

Today I took the plunge and gave Mila her first raisin! She was sooooo ready for it. I'm doing BLW with Mila but I have been a bit spooked about raisins so today I decided to feel the fear and do it anyway and she loved it! She chewed for ages and absolutely swallowed with no problems at all.

It was definitely a 'Mummy Milestone' ;)

xx

LOL - Will never bothered with chewing - raisons always came out the same way they went in!

With Meg we did the puree thing - she's always been a terrible eater and very very slow - with Will it was BLW all the way, he eats almost everything and eats so well compared to Meg (I put alot of this down to the way in which they were weaned)

[Becklesfield]

Originally posted by bell2LOL - Will never bothered with chewing - raisons always came out the same way they went in!

With Meg we did the puree thing - she's always been a terrible eater and very very slow - with Will it was BLW all the way, he eats almost everything and eats so well compared to Meg (I put alot of this down to the way in which they were weaned)

Yes, that's right too! I remember you saying at my house, that was also very inspiring. I was a TERRIBLE eater as a child and am definitely hoping that BLW will bypass the problems I had, so it's always nice to have that confirmed along the way.

xx

[Maximum]

I'm planning on doing BLW when ds is old enough. I read an article in our local NCT newsletter - it sounds so common sense. I got an email recently about a DVD you can buy too - here's the info from the email:

A 17-minute DVD/video about baby-led weaning will be available from 1st November. It explains what BLW is, why it is a sensible and logical way to approach weaning, how to go about it, and the benefits it brings. It costs £25 (including post and packing within the UK) and is available from Mark-It TV.
To order a copy, simply phone, fax or email your requirements (number required, in which format  DVD or PAL video) to Mark-It Television, at:

Mark-It Television
7 Quarry Way
Stapleton
Bristol
BS16 1UP
United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (117) 939 1117
Fax: +44 (117) 939 1118

Email: sales@markittelevision.com


A 30-day invoice will be dispatched with your DVD/video.


Do please pass on this information to friends and colleagues and feel free to post it on any relevant websites or email groups which you visit or are part of. I apologise if you have received this email more than once (probably because you are on more than one of my email lists).


Thank you all for your support and interest in BLW, and (if applicable) in this project in particular. If your baby was videoed for the purposes of making this film, your complimentary copy will be in the post to you very soon.


With best wishes,


Gill Rapley

[KNorman]

I pretty much did BLW with Erin 3 years ago - the advice to not start solids before 6 months had just come out, there were no books aimed at that age yet and we kinda made it up as we went along.

Partly just instinctive, - if it is hard work - it isn't meant to be that way - , and an unwillingness to do anything that would creat myself work!

Went to a great recent talk at the La Leche conference by Sarah Gill. Would say though that the six months mentioned and highlighted in the Gill Rapley stuff is at the early end of the spectrum - many babies are not ready until months later, probably 9 months, maybe up to a year. And for many it is about playing rather than actually eating anything.

A great book is the Carlos Gonzalez's 'My child won't eat' - highly recommend it.

[Denie]

I'm doing BLW too (with my now 8month old) and would have to say it's not only an approach that I love, but it suits LO brilliantly!! He's such an independent little fella that I doubt he'd let me spoon feed him anyway!!!

Not to mention it's soooo much easier than faffing about with puree. I don't know why people went and made things harder for themselves when it could be so simple.

Have fun, I'm sure your LO will!!

[brooklyn]

Bumping this thread up, there is a new article on the BBC website:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6762795.stm

[LindsD]

And this one from yesterday's Observer

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,2104953,00.html

[carlajane]

We started BLW with M a couple of weeks ago, when she dived headfirst into my Zinger tower burger with her mouth wide open. We've just given her bits and pieces to try of whatever is going and its lovely. she doesn't get many calories from it yet, but has fun with her food and is learning about textures and tastes. She'll try everything you put infront of her.
she can still quite happily skip a meal and just get by on breastmilk - its just a fun learning curve at the moment.
I'm far to lazy to puree!

[kl_gendron]

BLW is so the way to go - we started Robert at 6-months...he is now 13mo and we are able to go out to any restaurant and order him a meal, or he can share mine.

Not having to cook for 'a baby' is awesome as well.

k

[ht123]

We did not do BLW with Atty, because he had an aversion to putting anything to his mouth due to severe reflux, never even mouthed a toy, until he was about 1. No way would he have sucked on a pear! We tried offering whole solids but he found it frightening, which is the opposite of the BLW ethos! The other issue was his weight, which was very much too low since he couldn't keep much milk down. We needed to fatten him up and get in all the nutrition we could, so at 7 months I started pureeing superfoods which I mixed with expressed milk and spoonfed. He did trust me to put the spoon in his mouth for some reason.

I gave him lots of garlic and herbs and spices since we are really into food and cooking. I quickly got him onto textures. I would puree one evening a week and freeze everything. I got REALLY into it. A typical meal would be asparagus with quinoa, garlic, and lemon, or sweet potato, butternut squash, lentil and coconut curry. I never did airplane spoons or anything, respected his wishes and cues. He is a very good eater now. He likes pretty much everything except yogurt, although he can be picky at times like most toddlers, mainly about things like my daring to tear his croissant in half instead of keeping it whole, or even worse, having a bite myself!

I'll definitely try BLW with my next one, if that day comes. It will be very interesting to compare.

H

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

Hi
Ive just found this chat and thought i would ask for some advice from you baby led mamas
I have started feeding my 6 month old with purreed pear and banana he hasnt been that bothered by it he just seems tyo cry through most of it!

He has had a go of a rice cake and a piece of banana and all ok but alot of it on the floor.

I dont know how to go baby led or what to start with or how to know how much

Any advice??

[MoominHannah]

Hi DTSV (Diners the sling virgin),

I could talk all night about BLW, but I think it is sufficient to say that really all you need do is provide a few options at meal times for your baby to try: steamed carrot stick, steamed broccoli spears, chunks of cheese, strips of toast, avocado chunks etc etc.

You could offer some mashed things too, to give textural variety, but the key is not to offer mixed mashes. By offering separate flavours, you are giving your baby the chance to decide for himself whether he likes the taste.

Your baby will decide what to try and if he likes it. As long as you keep the breastfeeds up until he starts eating "meal sized" amounts (not for a good many months) then you can be sure he'll be getting enough calories.

My son did not start actually properly chewing and swallowing until he was 9 months, but we started giving him table foods when he seemed ready and interested at 6 months. He could sit, was dextrous, had a good pincer grip and coordination. All of which are good indicators for readiness to start solids foods.

Babies need a fairly high fat diet and shouldn't really have too much fibre, so if you're veggie (like me) that is something to watch. Other than that.. let your baby lead!

I think Heather's experience with her son is a good example of how weaning can be "truly" baby led, and cater to the individual needs of your particular child. Heather's baby had particular needs and she followed his lead, which is really the essence of BLW :)

p.s always supervise your baby when he's eating, and although it can be scary to see him eating chunks of food, resist the temptation to hover and act scared. He needs you to show confidence in his abilities to feed himself. He won't choke!

BLW is so, so fun and has made for a good little eater in my experience.

[Maximum]

I can't better what Hannah's written about the approach ;)
But something I found useful when I was still feeling a bit nervous about the whole BLW thing was the transcript of the webchat with Gill Rapley (BLW researcher) in the articles on www.iwantmymum.com I think it's in the weaning/starting solids section.
It's been great so far - all the grandparents were convinced after just one meal with Max!!

[umleila]

Hannah I would love it if you could talk some more about BLW please.

I have a couple of questions. I am doing BLW weaning with DD (10 months) and it is going really well. I just wondered about the fibre and fat thing.

Doesn't breastmilk provide a lot of the fat? I am concerned about giving DD cheese because of the amount of salt in it (am I just being a paranoid mother here????). I have tried it once or twice but then gave her yoghurt instead (she eats it herself off the spoon). I have only just started giving her dairy in the last month or so.

Is it wrong to give her wholemeal bread/pasta? I read about too much fibre in the diet not being good and am now sometimes giving her DH's yukky white bread that I hate.

Last question :) Do you think that there is anything that she still shouldn't eat?

TIA

[LindsD]

I'm interested in the fat/fibre thing too as we are currently offering a huge amount of fibre to dd as she is constantly constipated. Personally I suspect it's because the CM refused to let her feed herself so the two methods aren't working well together, but I don't know. Maybe she just has a slow gut. I didn't know about the fat/fibre thing - another thing to worry about!

[MoominHannah]

Hannah I would love it if you could talk some more about BLW please.

I have a couple of questions. I am doing BLW weaning with DD (10 months) and it is going really well. I just wondered about the fibre and fat thing.

Doesn't breastmilk provide a lot of the fat? I am concerned about giving DD cheese because of the amount of salt in it (am I just being a paranoid mother here????). I have tried it once or twice but then gave her yoghurt instead (she eats it herself off the spoon). I have only just started giving her dairy in the last month or so.

Is it wrong to give her wholemeal bread/pasta? I read about too much fibre in the diet not being good and am now sometimes giving her DH's yukky white bread that I hate.

Last question :) Do you think that there is anything that she still shouldn't eat?

TIA

Hi there, yes you are absolutely right about breastmilk containing fat - it is an excellent source of DHA (omega 3 fatty acid) which is what the human brain is made from (mostly).

I gave my son cheese and yes I did wonder about the salt content, but tbh he was getting so little salt elsewhere that I didn't let it bother me too much. Salt is essential for the human body, just not it enormous amounts. It's up to you really whether you want to give this food, but I will say that babies usually love it, and as a veggie (my son is veg too) I found it a good source of protein.

Yogurt is great and again, babies usually love it.

As for wholemeal bread this is IMO fabulous. Even better would be wholegrain. Small amounts of good fibre like this I think are fine. It's really the "traditional" veg diet, high in pulses etc, that may not be so great for babies, but everything in moderation is fine (including chocolate I believe)

I was a little careful about introducing dairy, wheat, and nuts but *only* because there is a history of auto-immune disease in my family (my sister has Crohns).

Peanut butter and other nut and seed butters (which you can make in your kitchen whizzer) are an *excellent* high fat (omegas), high protein food for babies and once again... they usually love it. I have fed my son nuts and seeds whole and in butters from about 1 yr. Obviously there are allergies related to these so be cautious.

Egg is another allergen, although it's usually the albumen (egg white) that is a trigger. You could try hard boiling an egg, scooping out the yolk and offering it. My son won't eat egg, and is only recently beginning to accept foods that obviously have egg in like egg-fried-rice and such. (funnily enough, he's always been fine with cakes and french toast... ;) )

Take things slowly and keep an eye out for rashes, and digestive issues (runny or hard poo) that may indicate an allergy or intolerance.

That's it really :) Also, bear in mind that this is the way babies in most non-western cultures are introduced to solid foods.

[mummyto4]

My baby is 22 weeks and is desperate to join in with our evening meals now. He screams throughout and is not at all interested when I stop eating to offer him a breastfeed. He can sit unaided and can definately find his own mouth, as he graps food from our plates given half the chance.

Can I try him with anything now? I really want to follow the BLW approach but cant bear his upset at mealtimes for much longer.

Thankyou
Amanda

[MoominHannah]

I'm interested in the fat/fibre thing too as we are currently offering a huge amount of fibre to dd as she is constantly constipated. Personally I suspect it's because the CM refused to let her feed herself so the two methods aren't working well together, but I don't know. Maybe she just has a slow gut. I didn't know about the fat/fibre thing - another thing to worry about!

Don't worry too much about it. Breastmilk accounts for a large proportion of a baby's fat intake. The recommendation from HVs and the Dep. of Health is that kids have higher fat, wholemilk for their brain development, but obviously if you can give breastmilk that's even better.

As BLW babies get so much of their mother's milk for longer, the small amounts of fibre, and wholegrains in their diets are made more that managable in proportion. It's really only the traditional veggie diet with pulses etc that *could* be unsuitable but tbh, babies usually only eat what their bodies need, so there shouldn't really be too much of a worry.

As for constipation, is there something she's eating that she may be having an adverse reaction to? Often new foods can cause digestive issues.

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

So instead of giving him mashed banana you would just give him the banana? I am sorry to ask such silly questions but its all new to me as i have had 2 previous babies and have mushed their food

[LindsD]

another article about blw - must be the season

http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2106028,00.html

[LindsD]

And who is this Roger Clarke who says babies need puree? Happens to represent Nestle and Heinz....where are his medical and research credentials. Grrrr.....

[LindsD]

As for constipation, is there something she's eating that she may be having an adverse reaction to? Often new foods can cause digestive issues.

Thanks Hannah. I hadn't thought about the reaction thing. We have had so much conflicting advice from HPs, pharmacists, BLW mothers. We've tried prunes, oranges, lactulose, weetabix, etc. etc. etc. I've even tried red wine (mother taking...) which was a terrible hardship. She is constipated for 2 weeks, and then fine again. Might have to try an elimination diet for a bit. *groan* or perhaps it should be the CM who does that as I let her choose what she wants to eat.

[bedilia]

My baby is 22 weeks and is desperate to join in with our evening meals now. He screams throughout and is not at all interested when I stop eating to offer him a breastfeed. He can sit unaided and can definately find his own mouth, as he graps food from our plates given half the chance.

Can I try him with anything now? I really want to follow the BLW approach but cant bear his upset at mealtimes for much longer.

Thankyou
Amanda

On the Gill Rapley Baby Led Weaning DVD there is a four month old sitting on her mothers lap at the dinner table. She swipes a piece of food from her mothers plate, sucks and chews it and then puts it back (if I can remember correctly). It's not until a baby is at least six months old (sometimes older) that they can grab, bite, chew, move food to the back of the mouth and then swallow all on their own.

Our son looked like he was eating with us at meal times and I'm sure he thought he was but he didn't actually ingest any food until he was about seven and a half months and we only knew because his poo had changed.

There's a BLW moto that goes "until they're one it's just for fun". As long as you are breastfeeding on demand (ie not omitting a breastfeed in favour of real food - as advised by Annabel Karmel) then it should be a gentle enjoyable experience.

They don't eat that much to start with but that's the point. Conventional weaning methods (in this country) lead babies to wean far too quickly. It's a bit frightening to trust your baby especially when you have an older child who was on three spoon fed pureed meals a day by the same age as we have. He's nine and a half months now and it's all going fabulously well. :D You might want to consider getting a plastic floor mat so that dropped food can be picked up again!

Emily x

[mummyto4]

On the Gill Rapley Baby Led Weaning DVD there is a four month old sitting on her mothers lap at the dinner table. She swipes a piece of food from her mothers plate, sucks and chews it and then puts it back (if I can remember correctly). It's not until a baby is at least six months old (sometimes older) that they can grab, bite, chew, move food to the back of the mouth and then swallow all on their own.

Our son looked like he was eating with us at meal times and I'm sure he thought he was but he didn't actually ingest any food until he was about seven and a half months and we only knew because his poo had changed.

There's a BLW moto that goes "until they're one it's just for fun". As long as you are breastfeeding on demand (ie not omitting a breastfeed in favour of real food - as advised by Annabel Karmel) then it should be a gentle enjoyable experience.

They don't eat that much to start with but that's the point. Conventional weaning methods (in this country) lead babies to wean far too quickly. It's a bit frightening to trust your baby especially when you have an older child who was on three spoon fed pureed meals a day by the same age as we have. He's nine and a half months now and it's all going fabulously well. :D You might want to consider getting a plastic floor mat so that dropped food can be picked up again!

Emily x


Thanks Emily, well I decided to go for it tonight and gave him a spoon to hold and some carrot sticks. I dont think he actually ate a single thing, most was dropped on the floor but he was happy enough which made all the difference so I guess I will just go with the flow now..

Amanda x

[umleila]

Thank you Hannah xxx

[GreenPlover]

A late input here, but here is my experience:

My DS would not touch any solids or runnies (LOL) until he was 12 months old, so exclusive breastfed until that point. He went straight onto finger foods, cheese on toast, fruit slices, bread sticks, raisins. His sister started finger foods at 6 months and she tries everything that is given to her, she likes chicken and steak, lots of fruit, basically if she can hold it she will eat it or try it. At 17 months she is what I call a brave eater, but her brother is still not a foodie person at all. He has always been independant with his food though, and I think that is what is important.

I have seen so many parents spoon feeding a baby, and baby looks very disinterested. Let baby take control, they love it and it makes us happy at the same time.

Good luck with BLW.

[scatty]

:D You might want to consider getting a plastic floor mat so that dropped food can be picked up again!

Or a dog ;) saves loads of time at the end and makes clean ups much easier :D

[MoominHannah]

Thanks Emily, well I decided to go for it tonight and gave him a spoon to hold and some carrot sticks. I dont think he actually ate a single thing, most was dropped on the floor but he was happy enough which made all the difference so I guess I will just go with the flow now..

Amanda x

Perfect! Sounds like it's just what he needed. Babies are natural mimics aren't they - they love copying us. Sounds like your family mealtimes are much more fun now :)

Emily - "until they're one it's just for fun" that is a BRILLIANT motto ;)

[MoominHannah]

Or a dog ;) saves loads of time at the end and makes clean ups much easier :D

I have my mum's Penelope Leach "Baby and Child" book and she actually mentions that a dog is a good idea when baby starts solid foods :D

[MoominHannah]

So instead of giving him mashed banana you would just give him the banana? I am sorry to ask such silly questions but its all new to me as i have had 2 previous babies and have mushed their food

Hi, TBH I've given both for variety's sake. I don't know if the rest of you BLWers found this, but my son would (and still does) get hooked on a particular food sometimes and eat an ENORMOUS amount of it, almost to the exclusion of anything else. He did this with banana when we started and I got bored of giving him the whole thing, so I mashed it sometimes.

As long as your baby is the one scooping it up in his fingers and putting it in his mouth, and he is also having other textures, chunks and strips of food, then mashed foods are not an issue IMO. It's the smooth purees, given on a spoon for months and months on end, at the exclusion of anything else that should be avoided.

Avocado is another one I offered loosely mashed - it's very slippery to hold and he found it easier to eat by grabbing fistfuls of it and spreading it on his face:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1190/577786225_9dbec84a6f.jpg

[mummyto4]

Hi, TBH I've given both for variety's sake. I don't know if the rest of you BLWers found this, but my son would (and still does) get hooked on a particular food sometimes and eat an ENORMOUS amount of it, almost to the exclusion of anything else. He did this with banana when we started and I got bored of giving him the whole thing, so I mashed it sometimes.

As long as your baby is the one scooping it up in his fingers and putting it in his mouth, and he is also having other textures, chunks and strips of food, then mashed foods are not an issue IMO. It's the smooth purees, given on a spoon for months and months on end, at the exclusion of anything else that should be avoided.

Avocado is another one I offered loosely mashed - it's very slippery to hold and he found it easier to eat by grabbing fistfuls of it and spreading it on his face:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1190/577786225_9dbec84a6f.jpg

Great Photo :)

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

well last night instead of giving the mashed pear i had in the fridge i gave him carrot sticks and a bit f pasta because the the other children were having pasta too and i have never seen him so excited about dinner he didnt eat a thing and all of it ended up on the floor as he was able to pick it up he seemed unable to coordinate to get it in properly but i resisted the temptation to help and he really was so much happier so thank you to hannah and the rest of you to encourage me. I dont think i would have done it had it not been for this thread and the encouragement i got from mummytofour (amanda) on msn. Im sure i will need more help yet but thank you for the first steps

[ht123]

Great shot Hannah, now I want to post pics! How?! I don't seem to have an attachments option.

H

[GreenPlover]

well last night instead of giving the mashed pear i had in the fridge i gave him carrot sticks and a bit f pasta because the the other children were having pasta too and i have never seen him so excited about dinner he didnt eat a thing and all of it ended up on the floor

That sounds brilliant, I am sure he will have taste it and may even have had a nibble too. Our floor gets messy but the kids are happy. Pasta is always a big hit here too.

Mix the mashed pear into some youghurt :) yummy"! Put some old newspaper on the floor or an old sheet to help with the mess, I did this until I got an easy clean floor.

I have a mug that says good mothers have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids ;)

Good luck.

[Ana Karina]

Hi for the second time!, yes, the first time my message was erased somehow, anyway...
This is for those of you who have already tried BLW!
My little Amaya is almost 5 months and I'm really excited to start BLW, I read a loooot about it, and I should say that most of the things I heard/read are possitive, but there's one, one BIG issue I have. Once I read of pro BLW mum who gave an apple to her little one and the baby started choking, she was able to do what she learnt in one of her first aid courses, it took a few back blows, what an awful experience for both of them.;(
so, question #1: (honestly)
Have you had similar experiences? how common is this?
Last one: Hannah already answer this one, thanks (btw, great photo). so, for the rest of you. R u a 100% BLW? or have you also mashed a few things? Because I'm thinking on doing both if needed.
Than you all for your answers and quesions.;)

[GreenPlover]

there's one, one BIG issue I have. Once I read of pro BLW mum who gave an apple to her little one and the baby started choking, she was able to do what she learnt in one of her first aid courses, it took a few back blows, what an awful experience for both of them.;(
so, question #1: (honestly)
Have you had similar experiences? how common is this?

Babies have a very strong gag reflex, and this is what stops them from choking, it may seem to an onlooker that they are choking but it is just nature stopping them from swallowing anything too big. Of course you need to excersise caution and watch them whilst they eat, but it should not be a problem at all. HTH

[LindsD]

Honestly? Never. Really never. The odd gag, but no choking. You need to be sensible about what you give them obviously, and stay around, but it's just a bit of a leap of faith to let them get on with it. If they gag, they just sort it out themselves. And it doesn't happen after the first couple of weeks anyhow ime.

[kl_gendron]

I agree with Lindsay - Robert is wicked at gagging now! But it happens really rarely... It is usually because he has stuffed too much food in his mouth.

The first time the gag thing happens just take a breath and put your hands by your side....

If you think about first aid for a choking adult, you are not supposed to help until it is clear their airway is blocked...trying to interfere can often make it worse.

k

[lilyslings]

Hi,
I find the expression "I start baby-led weaning" funny. By definition, weaning is led by the baby, so how could anybody else start weaning for the baby?
I guess this is an insidiously surviving expression from parent-led weaning :)
Cheers,
Souad

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

is it normal for health visitors to look at you in disgust when you tell them what you want to do????

[GreenPlover]

is it normal for health visitors to look at you in disgust when you tell them what you want to do????

Oh Yes indeed, they look at you odd if your baby has not eaten mush the day after they are 6 months old. They also tell you to make them eat egg custard and fillet steak to get your baby to gain weight......

Go with your instincts and what your baby indicates to you. HV's don't count for much on food advice in this household.

[scatty]

Joe has initiated the ultimate in baby led weaning.

He can now open the fridge and help himself to anything that he feels like, ie: squashed strawberries and actimel yogurt drink or maybe cheese and mini sausages or another favourite raw corn cobs :)

I'll be getting a fridge lock asap, before he discovers the joys of cat food or raw eggs ;)

As for the HV, solution = don't see them ;)

[ht123]

ok, pics!

Happy with his broccoli and garlic!

http://i185.photobucket.com/albums/x298/ht123_bucket/greenface.jpg

If you are really anxious about choking, you could get this 'Baby Safe Feeder,' which is a mesh bag attached to a plastic handle. The idea is that baby can chew and suck as normal, without risk of choking. We never used it for its intended purpose, though - just as a good way to hold frozen cubes of breastmilk for teething. I think it would also be good for frozen banana or carrot.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9167102@N02/582548651/

love H

[ht123]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1329/582548651_41ac244cba_o.jpg

trying this pic again x

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

sorry for my paranoia just went to weigh in and she looked at me like i was the devil when i told her i didnt mash the carrot. Another thing does a BLW baby put on as much weight as a pureed baby (not a baby put in the blender a baby who eats things mushed from the blender!!)

[kl_gendron]

I was in the opposite situation where my HV was over the moon - she has been advocating BLW for years (she is old school - ie, 'I never ate mush!')

She was telling me hilarious stories of how she visits homes and tosses food from the pot on the stove in front of babies who 'won't even eat a thing' and are extremely underweight only to watch them devour it.

[Diners the Sling Virgin!!]

my own HV is lovely but this lady was being a cow!

[LindsD]

Don't see HV and don't have your baby weighed. Trust yourself. You know whether your baby is happy and healthy. The survival instinct is strong, no baby will starve (sorry, came over a bit Star Wars there). My ds has always been v thin but he has loads of energy, some days eats lots, some days nothing. Just like his Dad. Go figure.

[MoominHannah]

Just to clarify - I still consider mashed foods (single food items, no mixes, mashed with fork to preserve some texture) to be part of the BLW process.

BLW does not IMO necessarily equal ONLY chip-shaped chunks. The *Baby Led* aspect of it is that the baby does the feeding. Not the mum. If we were to only give chunks and no runny or mashed foods for fear of not being Baby led, then yogurt would be out, wouldn't it, and that would be silly.

They key is to simply offer the foods. Let your baby pick it, scoop it, spread it, and eat it at their own pace.

The other thing is that as I am veggie, Oz has been raised veggie. I have come across those who find it debatable whether this is truly baby led. He has been offered fish and meats (just not by me) but won't eat them - no doubt influenced by me of course. Can't you just hear me saying "would you like some dead pig darling?" whilst offering a sausage... lol!

I personally consider BLW to be a process that introduces the child to the table diet of his family, whether they're veggie, vegan, or meat eaters; or eat the traditional foods of other countries.

[MoominHannah]

well last night instead of giving the mashed pear i had in the fridge i gave him carrot sticks and a bit f pasta because the the other children were having pasta too and i have never seen him so excited about dinner he didnt eat a thing and all of it ended up on the floor as he was able to pick it up he seemed unable to coordinate to get it in properly but i resisted the temptation to help and he really was so much happier so thank you to hannah and the rest of you to encourage me. I dont think i would have done it had it not been for this thread and the encouragement i got from mummytofour (amanda) on msn. Im sure i will need more help yet but thank you for the first steps

Yay! That sounds wonderful :)

[MoominHannah]

There's one, one BIG issue I have. Once I read of pro BLW mum who gave an apple to her little one and the baby started choking, she was able to do what she learnt in one of her first aid courses, it took a few back blows, what an awful experience for both of them.;(
so, question #1: (honestly)
Have you had similar experiences? how common is this?


It has happened to us. The key is not to panic, and to trust your baby. They are not helpless, and learning to move food around their mouths is a developmental milestone they all go through.

Babies have a very strong gag reflex that will protect them from choking. In fact, it is spoon feeding purees that is actually more likely to cause choking.

Push a spoon of puree into a baby's mouth and you have taken the control away from him. A baby is perfectly capable of controlling how far into his mouth he is willing to put something. With spoon feeding, he has no say.

Purees also encourage the baby to suck the food off the spoon instead of biting, chewing and moving the food around using muscle coordination. When a baby sucks the puree, it very quickly shoots from the front to the back of the mouth and can be inhaled.

It can be a bit scary at first giving your baby a chunk of food to eat all on his own, but it very soon becomes a natural process for the mama as well as the baby.

Babies are learning to eat solid foods this way ALL over the world!

[mamadillo]

Puree-ing/blending/mashing no I didn't. Never saw the need or point, generally served food that would be grippable and part of our regular diet. I tend to avoid dairy so yoghurt's not an issue *grin*

[ht123]

Hannah has mentioned starting with single foods rather than mixes, so baby can decide what he or she likes or doesn't. Another good reason is because by introducing foods one at a time, you can more easily detect a food allergy or intolerance. Combinations come later. When you know your baby is ok with the ingredients, do try offering some of what you're having - curries, casseroles, etc (unsalted of course). Lots of fun especially if baby is involved in the cooking.

H

[metalgreymon]

Butting in on this thread.
My DS is 6 1/2 months and he watches me like a hawk when I'm eating a meal. The other day I had some cool mashed potato left on my plate and I offered him the plate he had great fun smearing the mash everywhere but didn't actually put any to his mouth despite his fingers being coated in it.

I gave him a square of toast yesterday but what was scay was he had broken a bit of into his mouth and before he had chewed and swallowed he was ramming the square back in with it. I chickened out at that point and took it away.
BLW is so new to me as all my others were raised on smoosh.

[L66TTY]

Dexter has been offered food from 4 1/2 months he is desprate to eat it now at 5 1/2 months but can't quite get it in to his mouth so I do cheat a bit by holding the food in my fingers he then holds my fingers and puts the food in his mouth.

I do let him play with his food lots with his own hands though!

He doesn't swallow much if any but brocolli OMG he can't get enough of the stuff!! He definately swallows it as the evidence is in his nappies!

I have a question I want to give him some baby rice with BM cos errrrrr its easy to prepare and I have some free samples!!! So how would you go about it? Make it stodgy enough for him to smear everywhere (poor mummies precious expressed BM) or spoon it in with him holding the spoon with help as I did tonight???

He really loves sucking on bits of fruit and takes quite big chomps out of stuff that is as soft as banana. He jsut struggles to hold the food as its so slippery, should I be waiting for him to have the skilss to pick up slippery food of helping?!!

[ht123]

Atty used to guide my hand (holding spoon) to his mouth. He still uses me as a tool sometimes! lol

Re breastmilk in baby rice, don't bother. Breastmilk dissolves baby rice. Try and it you'll see what I mean. You'll get it to the right consistency, then after a minute or 2 it will be totally liquid again. Put more rice in, same thing happens. My lactation consultant explained why this happens but I've forgotten. If you want to give rice, just use water. I used to save the water from steaming vegetables (in my FANTASTIC BabyCook gadget, AP police on their way), freezing it in ice cube trays so the rice would get a little flavoured vitamin and mineral boost. BTW Babynat make a lovely organic baby rice with quinoa (gluten-free and lots of protein and calcium) and vanilla. It's yummy. Atty still eats this for breakfast everyday, with fruit puree and whole fruit on top, sometimes a bit of cream!

H

[jessirobin]

Just joining the thread late (because DD is still asleep Yippee! and I'm getting some me time). BLW is fantastic.

DS eats whatever she wants. I give her what we eat and she eats. She goes through phases, so she used to eat chick peas from a vegetable casserole and nothing else. At the moment, though, she's off chick peas, but loves pasta, mackerel, curry, mango, egg sandwiches, anything. She will try anything, because she knows that she isn't going to have anything forced on her. My baby has eaten rollmop herrings, smoked mackerel and olives! And she will go to the kitchen cupboard, open the door and eat alpen straight from the bag. And then some days, she doesn't feel like eating much and just has breast milk. And that's just fine.

Someone mentioned their baby had constipation earlier in the thread and I just wanted to mention that apparantly, long-standing constipation in children is USUALLY caused by a reaction to cow's milk protein. THis is not lactose intolerance (lactose is a milk sugar and it is the same in all milk, breast milk included). For some reason, the protein in cow's milk more than goat's or sheep's, causes constipation in a large number of children. Worth checking out.

HV's - how can so many of them be so badly informed?

Baby rice - DD loves it! I mix it up to almost the consistency of wet cement with rice milk or equivalent and she loves it. I didn't give her any until maybe 10 months, (when she was happily able to shovel fistfuls of pillao rice and curry into her mouth) when I had very little time and an unopened box gathering dust. So sometimes she has it for breakfast.

[greyspeckledhen]

My ds is 28 weeks and we've just started the blw thing (2 weeks in!) So far he's loving bread sticks, cucumber, tomatoes, carrot and cherries! He throws bread straight on the floor and looks at pasta like I'm crazy for thinking it could be food! Brocolli and potato, meanwhile, he enjoys squishing up but doesn't actually put any in his mouth! Not sure how we get from here to a balanced diet but we're having a lot of fun!

[LindsD]

Someone mentioned their baby had constipation earlier in the thread and I just wanted to mention that apparantly, long-standing constipation in children is USUALLY caused by a reaction to cow's milk protein. THis is not lactose intolerance (lactose is a milk sugar and it is the same in all milk, breast milk included). For some reason, the protein in cow's milk more than goat's or sheep's, causes constipation in a large number of children. Worth checking out.

.


Thanks Jess, I willl keep an eye on the dairy intake - she doesn't have cows milk yet but does have cheese and yoghurt. (it was my baby who is constipated). It's a bit of a problem as I'm veggie and whilst she isn't, it does mean I don't often have meat to hand so give her dairy for protein. Will buy some soya yoghurts/cheese. Also she is with a cm all day and we've thrown away the bottles so she isn't getting bm during the day (plenty at night though I guess).

Thanks