Baby Led Weaning Support Thread - Part 6!

[debo620]

loub--my son is 9 months and we did a sort of BW approach. I started off with some purees and still do give him some jarred casseroles if we are out and in a hurry, but for the most part eveything is finger food.
I basically just give him what we are eating (within reason) and he does fine....and yes I just prepare it at the time..
if you have lots of freezer stores or purees and casseroles, then you can always try usieng these as a spread on toast.

[Peek-a-boo]

This blog has some great starter ideas.   http://babyledweaning.blogware.com/blog/GettingStartedFingerFoodBasics

Generally, I think the idea is to give baby some portion of what you're eating. 

[*Liz*]

Hi - my ds turned 6 mths the other day and I would like to do some BLW! We actually started weaning (with purees) 4 weeks ago on medical advice due to reflux. Sometimes he likes, this sometimes not, always wants to hold his spoon and won't let me feed him. Does quite a good job feeding himself though if I fill the spoon for him. Anyway, it actually make his reflux worse not better, and the rice cereal was a disaster - very constipating for him. I gave him a rice biscuit for his first attempt with finger foods and he did very well, but the next time he gummy bit a big piece off and started retching. He just didn't stop and was sick 2-3 times when my mum noticed the rice biscuit bit stuck on the roof of his mouth right at the back. Obviously he doesn't have enough tongue control to flick it off like you or I would. So I ended up fishing it out for him to stop him retching. Quite scary and kind of put me off a bit. Has this happened to any of you guys? Perhaps I just need to try different foods? What do you think?

Thanks

[Peek-a-boo]

Haven't had any thing like that happen.  Sounds scary! 

My criteria, esp at the beginning, was to only give something that I could easily mash with my tongue against the roof of my mouth.  I figured she's be able to gum it if it was soft enough for me to do that. 

I'm not familiar with rice biscuits, but sounds like they are a bit firmer?  Perhaps start with something softer like roasted carrots or sweet potato or banana.

[*Liz*]

Thanks for your reply - I'll try other foods for now. I did give him a toast finger this morning and he managed to get a bit of a big bit off and retched but then pushed it out himself. I assume that is normal as they work out how to do it?

The rice cakes do go very soft when sucked on bit I suppose are firmer at the beginning.

[Peek-a-boo]

I think it does take them a bit to get the hang of how to move food around in their mouths.  A little gagging--not choking, but gagging--is normal as they figure it out.

[Mrs Coops]

Hi
I started BLW three weeks ago. My LO is 27 weeks old tmrw. She gags/ retches frequently! Tonight she swallowed a huge chunk of avocado down the wrong whole THREE times! It didn't stop her, she kept trying to swallow the dam thing! I eventually went in and fished it out!
  It does take them a little while to figure it out and it varies from baby to baby. I would maybe try foods that are quite smooth and less likely to get stuck in their mouth. So far my LO has had carrot (boiled, roasted and raw), banana, parsnip, pears (gnaws on the whole friut, not just chunks), broccoli (is my LO's favorite), cauliflower, avocado, orange, potato waffle, bread, toast and crumpets! She's managed to gag on most of it, but just carries on!

HTH

[*Liz*]

Argh - it happened again - but worse this time. Tried a little toast. He gagged a few times like you would expect and then it just kept happening. Again and again and again even after the toast was long gone. I couldn't figure out what was happening. Tried to 'fish' something out but nothing their. Tried to ake him have a bit of water but he went nuts. Kept on retching - and although it was happy retching at first he got upset as it kept going on.

Evetually when he was lay on my lap having a good cry I saw well mushed up food stuck to the roof of his mouth (kind of behind where the top teeth will be). It was stuck there and irritating him. I had to scrape it off and then he was OK again.

Any ideas? Anyone else had this? Do you think I should just stay away from carbs? DS was 2 weeks early - do you think this might be impacting?

Getting a bit stressed with solids really - he likes the finger foods but this sticking food is a bit worrying - but is refusing spoon feeding. He's not a big milk drinker either though, and has reflux, and his weight gain has plateaued and he is falling the charts. I've been told to try and increase his solids - but what can I do. I can't force him to drink more milk either for that matter.

[Peek-a-boo]

I wouldn't think his age is the issue.  I would personally stay away from carbs.  I'd focus more on veggies that tend to dissolve more in salavia rather than forming lumps like breads tend to do.  You might also try limiting the amount he's given and checking that his mouth is clear before offering more as I know that my DD sometimes stockpiles food in her cheeks/rough of mouth and that get led to trouble.

[mum101]

it does sound stressful!  It took leo a long time to get used to foods, so I just kept up the milk intake and it took (from memory) until after 7 months before he grabbed stuff easily and ate it. Now you wouldn't know he was slow to get into solids. I agree with doing some vegies, perhaps cooked potato and pumpkin in thick sticks? Or thick slices of ripe pear and banana?

[Mrs Coops]

Maybe he's just not ready for solids yet?
BLW can take some babies months to catch on. I think I've been lucky with my little one she just shovels everything down. Even tried some pork and chili sausage last night and didn't seem to notice the slightly spicy kick!
  What milk does he drink(or not)? Maybe you could increase his formula or breast feeds for a while to keep his weight from dropping too much.
  The other thing is to try not to worry! How do you respond when he gags/ chokes? I just keep smiling at my LO when she fights with a huge bit of food and she coughs it up smiling most of the time. Maybe he's picking up on your worries.
  I have found food with skins to be quite good. They can hold it and suck the food off. My LO has just discovered tomato's. She sucks it to death and then drops it with only the skin on one half left.

HTH
x x x

PS Just a thought, does he have a high palate? Maybe you could get him checked? It could be why the food is getting stuck!

[*Liz*]

I think he is ready - shows all the signs - and is really really keen on it - just can't move the food around his mouth properly.

He is just drinking so little at the moment. No more than 15oz in total yesterday, and there is no way of increasing as he just arches his back and screams. I combo feed so try breast and bottle but not interested. He has reflux and I'm sure that is responsible. Thats partly why I hoped BLW would work for us as shovelling in purees when he is feeling sick after a feed doesn't seem very fair to me.

I tried some broccoli yesterday and he did much better - spent ages 'de-flowering' it! Swallowed some huge bits with a bit of gaging but nothing got stuck. I think it must be something to do with the clumping of carbs.

[yorkshire]

Hi

Would like to introduce myself to your thread.  I can't seem to figure out how to get to see the first 5 so apologies if I seem really naive about this topic. 

Having planned to do purees because it went fine with ds, and having prepared loads for the freezer, I found last week that dd will not accept being spoonfed one bit.  Though I was interested in BLW, I felt it would be too time consuming and labour intensive with a SPIRITED toddler around.  But given her refusal I tried her in a high chair at the table with some bits of broccoli and she gave it a really good go.  She still gags and vomits but keeps trying again and again.  I have not managed to give 3 meals a day over the last few days that I have been trying and have not given much variation but there has been a tiny bit of evidence in her nappy that a bit went in.

I know I should probably read a book, but my time is so limited and I feel some sense of urgency not having planned this route so wondered if I could ask a few basic questions:

- with the puree route last time I first introduced veggies and fruit and baby rice then gradually introduced more difficult to digest things like wheat and meat.  Is there no gradual introduction in BLW, just go straight for everything?  (except I know for common allergens)

- can you use normal cows milk or goat milk for making porridge or does it have to be formula?

- and really really basic...what would be good things to start off with if there is any gradual introduction? (I didn't find one of the links suggested on this site worked)

I know you are supposed to give them what you eat but we have a lot of chilli in our food so thinking it is not very suitable for a baby? 

Feeling bit anxious about all this particularly because she doesn't really seem to be eating anything and because of the mess and time it takes (after just 5 mins her brother is climbing all over her and starting to whack her with toys etc).  Though I really like the philosophy, I am not sure it is suited to our lifestyle and family situation at this stage yet I also want to follow her message to me and she seems to be saying this is how she wants to do it.

Any advice for this novice greatly appreciated.

[Mrs Coops]

Hi
If you're short of time BLW is the way for you, although the clean up operation can be a bit of a problem!

I started with banana. But have discovered that it is one of the messiest foods to give in a high chair so now I sit my LO in my lap to feed her a banana. She eats it as adults do in about 5 minutes!! It only takes a few minutes to wipe her hands and face.

As for introducing foods I have just given her food either as we eat it or when needed, specially cooked. Broccoli is a winner, as is par boiled carrots and parsnips. Other food we've tried that are fab are tomato's (deseeded to save some mess) pears (the more ripe the better as they are softer) potato's, boiled, roasted or chipped she's loves it all. Other foods that work are cucumber, avocado, courgette, fish, pork, chicken (meat is usually sucked to death) baby sweetcorn, bread was better lightly toasted otherwise it stuck to the roof of her mouth.

I found bell peppers and mange tout pretty useless as she couldn't 'gum' off any flesh or pull apart to swallow.

I have given her cows milk to drink just to introduce the taste, she couldn't get enough of it. You can use cows milk in cereal or porridge, but they would need spoon feeding so might be pointless!

As for spicy food, was your little one breast fed at all? I gave my LO pork and chili sausages, she didn't seem to acknowledge the spicy kick and sucked away. Apparently bf babies are more accepting of stronger flavours especially if mum has had a spicy diet throughout the pregnancy and while bf'ing.

My LO only had solids once or twice a day to start with. Now at 30 weeks old, she can have it four times a day depending on how she's been sleeping. One of those will be a banana that doesn't take long, other times are usually in the high chair. She can take up to an hour to eat sometimes but I use that time to either cook for myself or tidy the kitchen. You are supposedly meant to sit with them the whole time they eat but that is not practical!

The mess is a problem. It can take a while to clean up but I've learnt a few tricks on the way. I wrap a clean cloth around the buckle holding her in. This can stop the food getting ingrained in it. I only fold it over the buckle, just in case she ever choked and I needed to get her out in a rush! I use an old tooth brush to scrub around the nooks and crannies.

HTH

x x x

[Peek-a-boo]

Goblin gave some great answer.  I would just add that on the spice issue, I'd just offer and see how baby reacts.  If your LO's willing to eat spicy food, I don't think it's a problem.  Actually, both my LOs have seemed to prefer slightly zippy well-seasoned foods over the more bland traditional baby foods.