Baby Led Weaning Support Thread - Part 9

[dburseth]

ok thanks.

[amayzie]

I've given H some puree meat to have with his pumpkin (we were having bolognaise... i did it with chopped onion and carrot). I know it's a puree but i was getting panicked about the iron (i have since calmed down) and currently hamish is not really holding big chunks and more sucking mushed stuff off his hands...

Also- on the scared of the family front- i'm a bit the same- but i'd suggest just have a good practice of your 'confident' face.. it's all in the way you play it!!

At 6 months if you had a day that was crazy busy would you sometimes miss solids? I've had a couple of big days where i just haven't fitted it in!! I try to make sure that it's not 2 days in a row tho... Or should i really work harder?  He's at the end of week 2 (wow.. it feels like longer!)

[amayzie]

oh and also- there really is a HUGE difference between gagging and choking- Gagging looks really bad but is actually totally fine! (or at least hamish seems happy enough to go back for more!)

[Khalam's Mama]

We definitely missed meals at 6mo. It says this is ok in the book. Now we have hit 7mo i am finding b really gets cranky if he misses them though. Puree is ok if you let them feed themselves in blw terms. I used to use it as a dip for things that k could hold and eat. Or a sauce for pasta or spread inside pitTa bread.

[beckygatt]

I miss meals sometimes. I try to do at least 2 meals a day and if possible 3, but don't always manage. When she was sick last week I just stopped for a few days

[creations]

Question, What is the best way to serve roast beef?  Do you cut it up in small bits or just hand them a big slice, or a chunk?

DS had a piece of beef at just under 6 months.  It was sliced from a joint and then a finger kind of shape cut from the slice if that makes sense.  He had a good munch on it and quite a bit was eaten.  He didn't eat much meat for quite a long time though, he just wasn't that interested in it.  He will eat bits now, thinly sliced meat seems to be his preference.  I would avoid cutting into small pieces until you feel a lot more confident about his manipulation skills.

Khalams mama, that's so lovely about your DS eating what the bigger kids were having at play group.  A similar thing happens at one of the rhyme times we go to, the helpers there are always careful to ask if DS can have the snacks and anyone with a similar aged LO there looks on aghast as they spoon feed yoghurt.

Caused a bit of a stir in hospital when the meal staff came around to ask what he'd have.  They had real food for the big kids and jars of purée for the babies.  Of course we needed real food for DS but I had to question them over the salt content with him being so young, they don't cook to cater for a reduced salt diet.  As it turned out he couldn't eat for a few days so it didn't really matter and when he did start eating again I just got him a bowl of mixed veg, a pear, a piece of toast.

[Khalam's Mama]

B really enjoyed the frozen yogurt lolly i made him. I think it really helped his teeth. He ate more yogurt than he would have on a loaded spoon too.

[amayzie]

oh god... My grandmother was over for tea with the rest of my extended family tonight- so heaps of people... never going to be a great night for BLW.. soo much more to look at! Anyhoo- my grandmother was standing over him saying 'go on... go on... eat it... eat it... show me how clever you are... go on.. go on... etc' !! In a sweet tone- she's a classic grandmother... but AAHH!! Followed by 'katy- can i hold some up to his mouth to help him?'  THen after i said 'no he''ll be right.. just leave him' I turned to see her holding up a square of food to his mouth!!! AAHH!!!

I knew it was never going to gel with my grandmother... on the upside- he LOVES kiwi fruit and actually grabbed a stick of it (my advice- leave the skin on that slippery little baby) and put it to his mouth and ate it!! YAY!! The seeds in the poo are also quite amusing!!

[Khalam's Mama]

Yes we enjoyed seedy poop here too.

[londonlady]

Hi all...

I'm reading along at the moment and just trying to work through my worries and questions before starting Sofia on the road to weaning. She is 5 months and 2 weeks, and absolutely desperate to start eating, she has acquired what we now call the "Death Stare" when we are eating, and accompanies it with lip smacking and the odd lunge in the direction of the food...

I've been to see the BLW DVD at my baby clinic, but the health visitors weren't particularly helpful about specific questions I had - probably because they've not actually done BLW themselves so can't speak from experience. So I am sure you will all have much better thoughts and advice as you're doing it right now. I've also had a read of the babyledweaning website recommended on here, but still had a few questions. If anyone has a moment I'd really love your thoughts...

How did you all get started? Did you follow the same kind of pattern as the old style of weaning of offering a new food every few days, and start with breakfast time. Then add dinner / lunch later on?

Sofia doesn't have great hand co-ordination as yet, and on the few occasions I've put food on her tray, she cannot pick it up for herself and get it to her mouth. If I place it in her hand she can grasp it and move it to her face (although not always her mouth!) but she struggles to keep her hands there at her face and the food just falls in her lap. Does this mean we can't really get started with BLW yet - should I wait the 2 weeks til she is 6 months or get started and just see what happens?

When offering sticks of steamed veg, how far should they be cooked? I am thinking that too soft and they will just be mush in baby's hand, but harder in the centre might cause them to gum off a big lump which is not ideal to start with surely...?

Does the gagging go quickly? I've literally only offered her a couple of things, but we've already had her gag and then throw up the food and some of the milk feed she had earlier. I'm sure it's all part of the process, but just not sure what to expect / whether to worry if she ends up doing this every time we sit down to eat?

Thanks,
Rachel. xxx

[amayzie]

I'l tell you what we're up to- we started him a week off 6 months when he launched at my banana and gave it a good gumming. To start i offerred banana and avocado on his tray and he mainly squished it. I soft cook the foods (vegies) and he does squish them in his hands- but i find at this point with him it's fine as he can then suck it off his fingers as he has only just started to be able to put a stick to his mouth. I'll even sometimes put some mashed food on the plate- especially if we're having it!

On the introduciton- the book suggests that as they're 6 months and their guts are ready that you can really just introduce whatever (other than things that you avoid till 12 months+.. here that's cows milk, rare meat, whole nuts etc..). So i've nt been doing the 4 day wait really at all and iknow beckygatt didn't either. But Hamish has not appeared sensitive to stuff previously. If you were concened about reactions i'm sure you can take it a little more slowly.

I think with how much/often that you give them it's really the more the better- I think that they are gaining skills every time they eat- that said i usually only do 2 meals and some days have missed it all together..

With the gagging i'm not sure how fast it will go- Hamish seems unworried by it and if it's something he likes gives it another go... The important point to remember is that they need to feed themselves as one of the main safety ideas is that they can't put in their mouth what they can't manage.. so at 6 months they can't use a pincer grip to pick up a blueberry or a pea- but if you put one in their mouth they'd take it- but probably choke! I think though that the gagging looks orse than it is- especially if your LO has a sensitive gag it probably will be being triggered quite close to the front of her mouth- and it helps to push the food out.

I find Hamish does better when e're doing our on thing- best if eating dinner.. rather than people staring at him!!

[Khalam's Mama]

We haven't waited for days between foods but no family allergies here. We just went straight to offering food when we eat. At 1st the dont really eat much so it isn't the same for their gut as if you spoon feed. We do hold the food out and let b take it but dont close his hand on it if he doesnt take it. We do veg slightly more than we eat them al dente.

[beckygatt]

We don't really wait in between new foods, and started at about 5.5 months (although broccoli gave her a bit of gas before 6 months, fine now). I steam veg so that a fork goes in easily but won't fall apart easily. She manages this although swallows small chunks as I find them in her poo . I've found coordination and dexterity improve really quickly with blw. And more food is starting to go down.

Today I gave her avocado; she loved it! I gave it in finger like slices and she did really well. For dinner she had avocado and meatballs and managed to chew on a bit of the meatball too. It was funny; I was having to feed dd1 with a fork using the old aeroplane trick, while dd2 happily fed herself! And I don't consider dd1 to be a bad eater either... But this blw is great

Oh and she does gag a bit but I keep my eye on her, stay calm, and she always sorts herself out

[londonlady]

Thanks all.

So bizarre that she can spend half the day with her thumb in her mouth and yet if you put something in her hand (food) she can't seem to get it to her mouth...! I guess another 2 weeks when she's 6m might make a difference? I just can see she is so ready to eat, but she's not capable of doing it herself yet and I don't want it to be frustrating for either of us before we even start.

Beckyg - it's great that you're enjoying it all so much with Sophia.

KM - love the avatar of B, munching away!

Rach. x

[beckygatt]

Rach, I'd just start giving her some simple food to experiment with. She'll soon figure it out