Baby Led Weaning Support Thread - Part 8

[Mrs Coops]

We like pictures of babies covered in food take a look here
http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=178354.0

[Kimberlina]

Hiya! Been a looooong time, so thought I'd pop in!

Emma, Heinz do stick cubes now that are suitable for babies if you're worried! I got one through as a sample in the post after signing up for their baby club!

[*Amy*]

Hi ladies - been quiet from me here to for a while!

Things still going well - she is getting pickier with her food though
Knows what she wants and what she doesn't want and I am beginning to recognise when she is finished or when she actually doesn't want to eat!
She is biting huge chunks of cuecumber and trying to chew them but because she has no molars she isn't getting further than the chunks!
doing some veggie burgers for dinner later so going to see how she likes those and some sweet potato french fries mmmmmm

[julieong]

Hihi

BLW has been great.  But now my 8 month old baby loves self-feeding and it's hard to get her to accept food from a spoon.  When should i start getting her to use a spoon herself?  She's not really interested in holding the spoon.  Occasionally, I get her to use her fingers to self-feed mushy food, like porridge and some purees.

[Kimberlina]

Hiya!!

I'll be honest, I'm in exactly the same boat! Jack will be 11 months (!) on Saturday and I'm too chicken to start properly with the cutlery - because I know it's going to be messy!


Anybody out there successfully transitioned? I'm trying to offer a spoon or (very blunt!) fork with mealtimes, and we're not particularly getting anywhere...

[*Amy*]

I have done a yogurt with a spoon from the get go - very very very very very very very messy LOL and always done right before bath! it goes everywhere but I have to say she is improving she knows now which end has the goods on it! LOL

[Mrs Coops]

Ooo cutlery is fun My childminder gave S a spoon long before I dared as I didn't want the mess! But J has been playing with the cutlery since he started, mainly because he's very whiny at meals and having something shiny to play with seems to keep him happy!

I'd say just give it to them, or leave it on the tray to play with. If you're eating sloppy food dip it in a little bit and give it to them with only a tiny amount of food on. J likes to take a loaded fork/ spoon off me and generally gets it in his mouth but he also like to bang it on the side of the high chair and I have to battle it off him before the food goes everywhere! His high chair is in front of a book shelf so I try to avoid food being launched!!!!

They do get it eventually.

J has turned into a pig He stuffs his face now and eats just about everything. Thankfully he's not at the choosy stage, but if he's anything like his sister I'm expecting him to go through favourite fads!
 Amy S used to have favourites and she would eat all the current food of the day before scavanging from us! We ended up saving whatever she currently craved on a seperate plate in the kitchen and when she had eaten most of her dinner the favourite was revealed so she did eat all her dinner.

That phase passes too!

[bexandlucy]

Ooh I have to share... Lucy 'dipped' for the first time today!! To be honest we;e not tried before and I didn't think she'd really grasp what she had to do, but I armed her with a breadstick and she dunked it into the houmous! It was hilarious, I sort of angled the pot so she accidentally dunked it a few times then she cottoned on how it worked. Very proud mummy :-D

I did, however, accidentally give her honey today, was reading the list of ingredients on the houmous after she'd eaten it and it contains honey :-/

At what age do they stop enjoying vegetables? She loves broccoli and courgette at the moment, I'm hoping it stays that way but not going to hold me breath!! x

[Hester]

At what age do they stop enjoying vegetables?

That completely depends on your baby. This might not happen at all. I must say BLW-ers are overall less picky than PLW-ers. My oldest still eats anything. He has certain things he doesn't like, for example mushrooms, but we all have that. he never went through a picky stage and is willing to try new things and things that he didn't like before, but he figures he might be old enough for it now.

DS2 is a bit pickier but he will also try anything. He eats most vegetables and fruits, just has a less adventurous mind. DS1 encourages him regularly though, "try it, you might be big enough now to like it"

Also NEVER EVER make a fight out of food. I am a firm believer that this will prevent many picky eaters. And never use dessert as a reward. If you have dessert, it's part of the meal and they get it no matter what.

So Noah has two teeth now, and he's sailing through that. He eats anything and everything. I bought a steamer and I must say that is a lifesaver! LOVE it!

[Kimberlina]

WELL DONE, LUCY! (And well done, mama!)

Funnily enough, Jack is going through a not-mad-about-meat stage! Whatev'!

And SO right, Hester! I think it's a lot about respect, too - respect that LO will eat what they want. If they're hungry, they will eat! If they're not hungry, they shouldn't be forced!!

That's what I love about BLW - I know for a fact that Jack knows how to eat and enjoys food, so if he's having an off day, I don't sweat it because I know that he knows what eating is about - and that it'll pick up! (On those days, I try to offer snacks through the day if he wants and try to make sure he gets all his milk down...)

YAY for BLW!!

[Mama Kate]

I have been giving M a spoon but never put much on it because she likes to flap her arms and fling things everywhere!  The last few days I have been trying a fork and she's doing really well with that - she cottoned on right away.  I've just been putting tiny squares of bread on the fork and she pops it right in her mouth and then takes the fork out.  So spoon not going well but fork is great.  Hopefully the fork will help her learn about the spoon.

On a separate note, do any of your little ones without teeth eat a lot?  M is just cutting her second bottom tooth but still doesn't eat any great volume of food.  We are having a small problem with early waking and I think it's related to her not eating that much.  Is there a strong correlation between teeth and volume of food?

[Mrs Coops]

Kate it's very baby dependant, some babies stop eating while teething. My daughter only stopped eating whilst ill, teething never bothered her!

She also eats ALL veg (except fungus) which I'm not bothered about. She's a little fussy, but if I want her to eat meat I'll give her less of everything else so she eats the meat. It works!!

[Hester]

ALL veg (except fungus)

I don't eat veg with fungus either

[bexandlucy]

Also NEVER EVER make a fight out of food. I am a firm believer that this will prevent many picky eaters. And never use dessert as a reward. If you have dessert, it's part of the meal and they get it no matter what.

I really agree with this, and sometimes she has something sweeter after her main, sometimes she doesn't and she's never looking for it. The amount of stick I get over telling people (namely MIL) to not coerce her into eating is unreal. Apparently I'm 'mean' because I don't do 'aeroplanes' with her spoons (I' just preload and let her do whatshe wants with it).

And re teeth, Lucy has just cut her first and is working on the second - I've not really noticed any difference between volume before she had the first and since it cut really, i suppose when she has a few more she'll start to be able to chew tougher things a bit more?

[*Amy*]

DS is a great eater and at 3 years of age loves all veg and is willing to try new things (this I like, he can say he doesn't like it but he has to try it first!)

So lots of sweet potato in the nappy this morning!that stuff is ORANGE - I think her face is permanently stained LOL
She wasn't mad about the courgette (zucchini).