Curious about BLW

[~inbalance~]

Hi All

I read through the BLW FAQ's and related information and am interested in maybe trying it with my LO, but still feel a little confused and was wondering what experiences you may have had with the process.

DS will be 6 months next week and started solids almost 2 weeks ago now.  I have given him pears, rice cereal and sweet potato, and I think everything has gone relatively well, although he is not as enthusiastic about it the last few days as he was before.  The last two days or so he just kind of sits there with a blank look on his face, where as before he was happy, opening his mouth and making lots of noise ("mmmmm!!!").  Also he's only finishing half of what I give him where as before he ate it all (I know it's ok if he doesn't eat as much because he is just trying it out, but he was eating so much more a few days ago).  I was wondering if BLW might be something he would enjoy more, and it sounds great but I'm still a little skeptical.  Here are some of my questions:

- What foods do I start with?  I haven't found anything yet as to what is good to start with.  I know veggies and fruits, but does anything go more or less?
- Does doing BLW mean absolutely no more pureed foods, or is there a little flexibility in what I can try?  Is it ok to experiment with both?
- Do I stop giving him cereal?  I think it is an important part of his new diet because of the iron, so I'm not sure what to do with that

Anyways, I would like to know how you went about BLW with your LOs, maybe it will help me decide if it's right for us.
Thanks!!!

[Lolly]

We did a combination of BLW and puree so technically not BLW but it suited us! I gave roasted sweet potato "chips", other veg he could hold in his hand and chunks of fruit (plums/nectarines/peaches cut into quarters or eigths) to begin with. I don't think there is really an ideal food to start with, it just needs to be pieces that are big enough to fit in their hands with a bit sticking out to get into their mouths. We also gave jarred/homemade food on a spoon and he was able to move onto chunkier/mashed food fairly quickly. I also found that he wanted to spoon feed himself quite quickly too!

I think you need to do what suits you and your family, so if a combination works go for it! I think I will probably do just BLW weaning with No2 and not bother with the cereal, it's not as important for iron as used to be thought!

HTH!
Laura

[~inbalance~]

Thanks!  How old was your LO when you started?  And did you worry about choking at all?  I've read that choking isn't usually a problem, but I know it's something that will freak DH out when I suggest BLW to him, so I need to be able to reassure him that it's ok. 

[Sarah - Enfys' Mum]

We started around 6 months and Enfys never choked on anything; just make sure the pieces are big (think spears not chunks) and you'll be fine.  There is a BLW support thread here and I think Gill Rapley's book is out now too. 

[Lolly]

We didn't have any choking either - lots of gaging at times, it is hard to know when to intervene and when to leave them to it but they are generally able to sort themselves out. I'm probably too laid back, but the thought of choking didn't make me stop at all - just make sure you know what to do!

We started purees at nearly 5 months, realised it was too soon so stopped for a few weeks. So he was just 6 months when we started with the chips/spears of food. Little bits are absolutely worse for choking/gagging than bigger spears and we found banana the worst of all in the early days. With bigger chips/spears they are in control!

Laura

[Mrs Coops]

Hi
I started BLW on saturday. My LO was just 24 weeks. Her first food was half a small banana, she sucked on a huge piece for a while before spitting it out. That night we had potato waffle's for dinner. I wasn't going to give her any as it was hardly healthy, but she kept grabbing at it. So I chopped of a strip and off she went, she sucked off a huge chunk and swallowed it, I was really surprised.
 She did the same with a bit of toast and had a good suck on some roast carrot and parsnip tonight. You can give any food you eat as long as you can make it a shape they can handle, just keep the salt levels low.
  Cereal isn't recommended too much as it might fill them up too much without being that great nutritionally. At the start of BLW it's all about playing with food so their milk feed is the most important thing they need. They can get iron by sucking on meat strips. If it's cut along the grain they probably won't swallow any meat but they can get a lot from the juices.
   It's really good fun watching their faces as they discover each new 'toy' is flavoured. My LO usually looks disgusted at first, then just shoves a bit more in. In fact she forgets there is already something in there and just keeps putting more in until she looks like a hamster!!!

Good luck with whatever you do

x x x

[~inbalance~]

Do I introduce foods one at a time like with purees, or is it ok to offer a few at a time?
Is there anything that is not ok to offer?
Sorry about all the questions...I'm trying to gather as much info as I can before starting!

[jobi]

We didn't have any choking either - lots of gaging at times, it is hard to know when to intervene and when to leave them to it but they are generally able to sort themselves out. I'm probably too laid back, but the thought of choking didn't make me stop at all - just make sure you know what to do!

Yup!!, i wasn't too bothered about the choking. I'd not done blw with the boys, but did offer them the odd finger food and they did fab. Shelby just scoffed everything i gave her, or spat it out, no choking!

I'd say its a better way to go with weaning imo!!!!


Edited, i put a couple of new foods together, then added some .....

[Mimi 2]

I did BLW & spoon feeding (yogurt & such) with both of mine and we never had any choking.  There ere gagging bt like pp mentioned, they figured it out fairly quickly.  Do make sure that you know wht to do should choking happen but I think that should be a given for any parent, kwim?  You can start by introducing one food at a time to check for any adverse reactions (one new food every 3 days) and avoid the usual foods that may cause allergies (especially if there are allergies in the family) and nuts.

I was pretty laid back when it comes to introducing food but I did avoid offering nuts, peanutbutter and shellfish (I''m allergic to it) until closer to 12 mos.

Do check out the BLW Support Thread at the top of this board.  You will find more tips and suggestions for moms doing the BLW route.  Remember that it doesn't matter ho much food your ds eats at the moment as formula/bm is more important for his brain and body development then solids.  Solids is just for fun and taste until 1.

Good luck.

[Mrs Coops]

Hi
I think there is too much hype these days for babies. Everything you read is telling you to panic about one thing or the other. I wouldn't worry about allergies too much if you don't have any in your family history. But the obvious triggers like nuts and shellfish are best avoided if you are concerned. 'Normal' food like thoroughly cooked meats, fruit and veg should be OK. I'm just giving my LO food as and when we eat it, like last night she had three new foods to play with if you include the gravy!
  Research has shown that babies can have a natural aversion to foods it's later discovered they have allergies to. There is a book called 'baby Led Weaning' by Gill Rapley that tells you more. It's well worth a read.
  I also give my LO sips on good old tap water, fresh from the tap. Usually because she wants to 'chew' my glass so she gets some of the contents while she's at it. But then I've never been one for sterilising anything! Only pumps and bottles with breast milk are given that treatment, everything else is given a wash in hot water.  At 24 weeks she's only now just getting over her first virus/ cough, she's been fine otherwise.

HTH 

x x x

[~inbalance~]

Thanks!  I'm not overly paranoid about sterilizing everything either.  DS is almost 6 months old now and hasn't gotten so much as a sniffle (knock on wood).  Allergies don't run in my family so I guess I'm not too worried about them, just always trying to do things 'right' I guess!
I'm excited to be able to give him an opportunity to feed himself, he is very hands on so I think he will really enjoy it.  Sitting there letting me spoon stuff into his mouth isn't really interesting him at the moment, lol.  Thanks for all the help!!