Baby-led Weaning Support Thread Part 3

[VickyB20]

Great to hear all the stories about Christmas dinners!!  The boys were also great.  We stayed at my parents' house for 3 days and nights (with both my sisters and their husbands too) and everybody remarked on how well-behaved the boys were!  All I took with me was a packet of Oatibix Bitesize for easy breakfasts and at every other meal, they joined in!  They particularly liked ham (not processed stuff - the real stuff!) and yorkshire pudding!!

I just love giving them 'grown-up' food.  I think they ate more than Ella (who mostly stuffed herself with chocolate and other terrible things!)

Vicky
x

[Lippy Chick]

Good for you Vicky.  I don't really understand why people are so cynical about this approach, it feels totally natural to me.

Pauline

[VickyB20]

Here here Pauline!!
Sooooo natural.
xx

[lovedtodeath]

Wow look at Alice growing!!

[beccarman]

hi guys!
dd is nearly 6 months and bfed on demand. shes not seemed much hungrier lately but is very interested in food and so we gave her a banana to chomp on yesterday (supervised obviously!) she loved it!! shes just done a poo....i wasn't sure how much she ate but if the size of her poo is anything to go by she ate lots, i was really nervous since shes not quite 6 months but i guess she must be ready otherwise she wouldn't have actually eaten anything, right? all the info i've read on blw says that lo's will only really eat when they are ready for it. i do still feel  bit nervous though, like sad about her having other things apart from my milk, and hoping that shes not too young    shes not been gaining weight well (shes currently 13lb) and i suppose i'm worried....will not be cutting back on milk feeds though don't worry so she'll still be getting all her calories that way. i assume banana is an ok first food?!

a bit of info about me:

name:bec
age:28
location:york, uk
dh:phil
2 dd's: anwen is 2 and a half (didn't do blw weaning with her) and lucy - nearly 6 months.

any ideas of what to feed her would be great - i feel a bit like i can't remember much abiut weaning plus i don't want to do the whole puree thing this time anyway.

talk soon

 

[beccarman]

just read tylersmommys post on how to know if your lo is ready for solids, two things concern me, she suggest lo's to have doubled birth weight...dd was 7lb 6oz and now is 13lb, she also suggests that 8-10 ( i think) bfeeds a days is good before introducing solids..thats a lot!! we have about 5 feeds a day......am i just worrying too much? 

[Lippy Chick]

Welcome Bec,

Good for you for wanting to do BLW.  You won't find anyone on this thread with a bad word about it, we are all soooooo pleased we did it.  I'm with you, once I realised what it was and got my head round it, I didn't want to do purees either.

Yes, banana is a very good food to start with.  Be prepared for Lucy to go on and off foods though.  Alice is quite slight too, she was between the 25th and 9th centile, was moving down towards the 9th, but now she's eating properly and swallowing foods she's moving back up towards the 25th.  So don't worry about her weight and weight gain, that will fluctuate too, as long as you think she's healthy, don't worry, it will sort itself out.  Alice isn't a hungry baby and she was nearly 7 months before she started swallowing anything and today for dinner she's had about 10 pieces of pasta and at lunch had about half a pancake, she doesn't eat much at breakfast.  I think this is a very good time to start her on BLW and she will only eat when she's ready anyway.  Good to hear that you are willing to keep up the milk feeds.  It does get a bit frustrating at times, when you feel all you're doing is feeding, but it's only for a relatively short time.  Also be prepared for others to think you're totally mad for not doing purees, but how many 9 month olds do you know will sit and eat pancakes and have a full Christmas dinner?

First finger foods:
roasted: courgette, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, parsnips etc,
pear, peach, avocado, bananas, plums, soft fruits, with skins on, she would suck the flesh off the skin and spit out the skin.
Petit filous on the tray and watch her lick it off her fingers.

Move on to:
bread, toast, pancakes, french toast, pasta, oven chips.  You can also put spreads on the bread and toast like; dairy lea, fruit purees, mashed up banana, unsalted butter.

then on to:
meat; Alice has tried lamb, turkey, beef, chicken, pork and sausages.  We haven't done bacon or ham as they're very salty.

I'm sure others will have more ideas for you too.

We're a friendly bunch and will try to answer you questions, if we can.   

Lovedtodeath, I know, she is really growing up fast, her grandpa (my in-laws) said she's really strong and then asked what we were feeding her.     My sis-in-law keeps asking what she's going to have for dinner and we keep telling her whatever we're having.  She asked about Christmas Day and we said turkey, brussels, roasted pots, parsnips and carrots.  People struggle to get their heads round it.

Agh, am supposed to be doing the bottles for tomorrow.

Pauline

ps, just read your latest post Bec, yes I do think you're worrying too much, but you're a mummy, it's your job.  Lucy, will only eat when she's ready, and Alice only has 4 bottle feeds a day and has done for months.

[beccarman]

thank you sooo much pauline!!  just put lucy to bed and rushed back down stairs to see if there was a reply - thanks!

your list of what to give is ace - i've been looking for something like that but haven't mananged to find any sites willing to give such a definite list....i need things spelling out!

looking forward to sharing the blw journey with you all, and yeah to no purees! i had a freezer full of food for dd1, it was crazy!

Yes, banana is a very good food to start with.  Be prepared for Lucy to go on and off foods though.  Alice is quite slight too, she was between the 25th and 9th centile, was moving down towards the 9th, but now she's eating properly and swallowing foods she's moving back up towards the 25th.  So don't worry about her weight and weight gain, that will fluctuate too, as long as you think she's healthy, don't worry, it will sort itself out.  Alice isn't a hungry baby and she was nearly 7 months before she started swallowing anything and today for dinner she's had about 10 pieces of pasta and at lunch had about half a pancake, she doesn't eat much at breakfast.  I think this is a very good time to start her on BLW and she will only eat when she's ready anyway.  Good to hear that you are willing to keep up the milk feeds.  It does get a bit frustrating at times, when you feel all you're doing is feeding, but it's only for a relatively short time.  Also be prepared for others to think you're totally mad for not doing purees, but how many 9 month olds do you know will sit and eat pancakes and have a full Christmas dinner?

lucy was born on the 50th and is now down on the 2nd!! she very healthy though in so much as she sleeps well, poos and wees, her hair is growing and i feel like i'm always cutting her finger nails!!

 

[Lippy Chick]

Bec, no probs at all.  Just glad to be of service.  I'm a bit like you too, I need to feel very prepared in every new stage that's coming up and need recipes etc.  Alice was also born on the 50th.  I guess if your health visitor isn't concerned and she seems to be growing etc then it's fine.  I can understand your concerns though.  My HV suggested giving her cheese.  I forgot to put that on the list.  I cut a few thickish slices and then cut into wee long chunks for her to hold.  She loves cheese, well this week at least anyway.  I would add that into the "then on to" section.  Also broccoli spears and cauliflower spears, she can hold on to the stem, I would put them into the "moving on to" section.  It goes every where.  Pancakes, pasta, french toast and cheese are really great less messy foods to take out and about.  Another thing I forgot to mention was that some days she eats loads and then some days (like yesterday) she barely touches anything, but slept better than she had for days.  Think she was tired.  Just go with the flow and let her determine how much she wants to eat.  It will become clear when she's finished too.  Alice tends to stop and push her food around the table.  We're also doing baby-signing and so hoping that she can learn the sign for finished instead.

We got in touch with Gill Rapley (the lady behind BLW) and she's putting out a book later next year, but not sure if she's got any recipes in there, or spelling out which foods to start with first and how to progress.

Also don't be concerned if Lucy gags a lot.  Alice gagged a lot in the beginning and barely ever gags now.  She did gag the other day on some parsnip and I had to go in and scoop it out, I think a strand went down the back of her throat and she couldn't get it back up, she was fine though.  Not deterred at all, she came back for more.

Happy BLW.  Indeed looking forward to sharing the journey too.

Pauline

[beccarman]

re:gagging - i read that the gag relfex is near the font of the tongue and gets further back as they get older so are less likely to gag now than later! saying that she did go a bit red on the banana last night and her eyes watered!

i'm struggling with the realisation thats shes 6months old  - where does the time go? its made me feel quite sad actually 

going to stock up on fruit tomorrow....peaches and pears i think

got an early start tomorrow so going to bed now

 

[Freya'sMum]

Beccarman,

Hello! There is this Recipes Thread which should sort you out with some BLW ideas for first and progressing foods!

Milk is the 'food' that babies need - until one food's just for fun! - so if dd eats something or nothing, it matters not as long as she has her milk! Try thinking of the milk as the Eat in EASY and the finger foods as an Activity (preferably one where she sits with you at the table joining in with the social aspect of mealtimes too!).

Once you get into it, you'll be totally converted by how natural and easy the whole thing is! There is always the FAQ if you lose your way

Have fun with food!

Ax

[lovedtodeath]

Welcome to BLW Bec. Here is my solids link that I give everybody...it says 5 nursings in 24 hours is the minimum, so even though I was surprised to see that, it could be fine! You know your baby. http://www.mother-2-mother.com/samplemenus.htm

We started at 5 months and 3 weeks too. Pancakes are his favorite but I am amazed at what a mess he can make with them!

One good pointer I have used is to soak cold cereal in something to soften a little before giving to baby. I use soymilk or formula.

Have fun I know Lucy will!

[Lippy Chick]

Hi Bec,

About the gagging.  A few times Alice's eyes watered and she went a bit red, but she was fine and went back for more.  It can be distressing to watch, but honestly stick with it.  If you think about what they have to do, they have to chew off some food, mush it down at the front of their mouth, push it back and swallow.  Alice would get as far as pushing it back, but would then gag and spit it out.  I kept putting those wee bits back in and she would swallow some of them, it was a few days after that that she started swallowing properly.  It did take a month or so in total.  I know what you mean about time going quite fast, Alice is nine months old today and I just don't know where the time has gone.  I felt quite excited about BLW, have to say didn't feel sad about it, but then not sure how I would've felt if the breast feeding had worked.

Try not to stock up on too much, as they go through phases, we have a freezer full of sweet potatoes and she's gone off them now, however, she seems to like carrot again, so can start using those.

If there are no allergies in the family you can also give peanut butter spread on things after 7 months.  You can also use cow's milk in stuff, like porridge etc, but not as a main drink.

Pauline

[grahamsmama]

Welcome Bec!

I have a question, ladies.  How do you prepare chicken?  I've just broken off little bits of roasted chicken and handed them to her.  She isn't interested.  Any other ways to make it more appealing?  She's also refusing beans, if you have any ideas about that.  I just took canned kidney beans, warmed them and handed them to her.  She took them into her mouth, but just spit them out, same with the chicken. 

[Freya'sMum]

Link to Famous Sausage Recipe - is a sure fire hit! No rush with beans, or anything remember, just keep offering and she'll eat them when she's ready!

Ax