Baby Led Weaning Support Thread - Part 8

[my3girlsjde]

When do you start teaching what behaviors are not okay?

I always ignored improper behaviour from babies until they are old enough to talk about it. It worked so far for us, although certainly raised some eyebrows from time to time. Throwing was the worst but was broken quickly by simply ignoring. I looked after a little girl who was a big thrower and the parents finally had to take the dog out of the room as he was just eating everything she threw and it was an immediate reward for her.

HTH

OK so we're up to banana 'boats', toast fingers, rice crackers and a sippy cup. Still doing tons of purees and I'm glad this time I'm combining the method of feeding. She's so contented to sit with a piece of toast and gnaw away.

[my3girlsjde]

Oh, and ignoring was very painful at times to do lol.

[Hester]

xx will be reading back, but as a first question, what foods did you start with?

[Kimberlina]

Hi Hester! We started at the VERY beginning with some roasted pumpkin, actually! He loved it! The following morning, we all had french toast as a family, but made his with: 2oz formula milk/breast milk, mashed banana (I added some vanilla and cinnamon), then dipped bread in it on both sides and cooked like french toast! When cooked, cut into 4 vertically and let him go for it! He really liked that, too!

From there, literally anything went. Did lots of al dente carrots or broccoli. He loves meat, so gets whatever meat we eat (we don't salt anymore). We're introducing pasta, rice, and noodles - that's quite an adventure! We've also started with a few cheerios on his tray after the yoghurt to practive pincer grip and dealing with smaller things.

HTH!

[my3girlsjde]

Oh I love the idea of 'french toast'. I'll have to try that one

[Hester]

So with BLW you don't do one food for a couple of days? i.e. Carrot sticks for 4 days and then cauliflower etc?
I did get some brinta, which is a wheat based cereal, since he'll be eating that a lot We also eat oatmeal and things like that, so I guess I would feed him then.

Pumpkin is a good idea. I was also thinking sweet potato, squash etc.

[~inbalance~]

So with BLW you don't do one food for a couple of days? i.e. Carrot sticks for 4 days and then cauliflower etc?

Not really.  The point is that if you're waiting until 6mos, then your baby's system should be able to tolerate anything really.  They really don't swallow enough for it to have that big of an effect for quite some time anyway. 

[Edesanja]

So with BLW you don't do one food for a couple of days? i.e. Carrot sticks for 4 days and then cauliflower etc?

Both my 2 have had issues which have meant I have been cautious about adding foods (both intolerant to various things through BM plus DD had skin reactions when starting solids and DS has digestive issues) and so I have done minimum 3 days for each food before adding another. It's a bit boring at the start but doesn't take long to add more foods.

[my3girlsjde]

If it makes any difference, I did purees first and then the blw next. Purees are something I can measure. Then if she's been on carrotts as puree for a couple of days, then I give cooked carrott sticks.

[zoeselina]

Hi all. Hoping for a little support and/or advice.

My LO is 8.5 months old and has never been a very good eater or sleeper. We're having to do BLW because she refuses spoon feeding almost all the time. We went to Australia in November and she started eating purees there, but refused again when we got back. Last week she had a cold and couldn't breastfeed well, and I got her eating some chunky purees again, but now she's stopped again.

She enjoys BLW, but hardly actually eats anything, just mooshes it around and spits it out. I know this is pretty much the point of BLW, but she is really getting NO bulk or calories from solids. Shouldn't she be actually eating stuff by now? We've been doing this for over 6 weeks now...

I know everyone says milk is the most important food for babies until they're a year old, but how on earth am I supposed to drop the dream feed, for example, if I can't get her to eat more during the day?

Feeling discouraged and more than a little tired.

[~inbalance~]

Hey Zoe, she may be eating more than you think.  I hear your worry though, my DS2 was very much the same, and it was only recently around 8mos that he's started to eat anything in any real quantity. 

[*Amy*]

Hi Ladies,
With DS I didn't start solids until almost 6months purees and he wouldn't eat lumps until well over 1 year of age!
So with DD I was planning on BLW from 6 months. I have the two books and the full bibs etc. She is 5 months and 1 weeks old. This morning when I was eating my food she started to cry cause she wanted some, she was reaching out to grab it. I didn't give her any. But the last week or so I started to think that perhaps she is hungry. Dr said to wait until 6months but he is only going by the recommendations.
I really really want to do BLW as it makes COMPLETE sense to me! So I am wondering what should I do - should I hold off for another few weeks? should I offer her a cereal? or a puree? what are your thoughts?

[zoeselina]

At the moment my LO eats approximately half a grape and about 3cm of breadstick per meal. She sometimes gets some carrot or avocado down, but mostly she seems to just like to squish the food around in her mouth and then let it fall out again. She also likes to drop the mooshed bits on the floor when she's done with them.

There seem to be plenty of foods she's fond of "eating" but very little actually makes it down her throat. She's already small for her age and I really worry about her not getting enough, especially since it's so hard to know how much breastmilk she's getting.

[zoeselina]

By the way, just for a bit of light entertainment, I thought you ladies might get a giggle out of this: Ella doesn't like apples

This is my Ella eating apples. She REALLY doesn't like them.

[Kimberlina]

oh bless her!!! That's too funny! In contrast, here is Jack LOVING some fajitas:

http://youtu.be/4290cp_yVsU   (I can't figure out how to embed...  )


Zoe, I know how you mean - that most of it seems to be spat out... but I think as she carries on she will figure out what her tongue, cheeks, and throat all have to do at the same time to get it down her - soon after that she'll learn that doing that will fill her tummy, too. Wish I had more help!



Amy, I'd say give her a bit! If it were me, I'd start with something very plain that will not upset her tummy - like maybe squash or parsnip. I'd cook it al dente and let her have a go -just make sure she's sitting upright - maybe in your lap with DH sat opposite so he can watch that everything is ok, or vise versa.

My own thoughts are at her age, she'll not equate what you're doing to something solving her hunger - but more curiosity... but I'm happy to be wrong!