Baby Led Weaning Support Thread #11

[amayzie]

yes- hamis thinks it's quite fun to have it fall out i think!!

[allm416]

So I'm looking to start LO on solids this weekend (6 months tomorrow) & want to follow the BLW approach. I have read through some books but I'm not quite clear about how often I offer solids to start. Do I just start with once a day for the first week & build it up or do I start straight away with offering her something at each of our 3 meals?

Thanks

[anna*]

Just do it whenever's convenient. For the first few days we did once a day but after that we just gave her bits of what we were having, whenever we were eating - if she was napping, she missed out!

[Whatbit]

I would agree.  Start with one and then see how that goes.  We also did about 1x/day for a week and then did 2x/day for another week and then 3x/day.  it just worked out well byt then because of how she was napping.

[amayzie]

Remember shw probably won't eat much to start- so that's why offering every meal is a good idea- she might get SOMETHING!! But i found too at this age (6 mo) if you are busy and can't manage it then it's fine to skip it.

[Papaya]

We started with 1-2 times a day, depending on what was convenient and how keen she was! It wasn't until after 7 months that I was consistently offering 3x a day.

[anna*]

OK I won't be the first BLW mummy to have said this but... I'm worried that Audrey is hungry!?

Last night at tea we had cauliflower soup, she was really tired and crabby in her highchair so sat on my lap, and every time a spoonful of soup headed for my mouth she was leaning forward to nab it, so I fed her a few spoonfuls. She was just gobbling it down, leaning forward with her mouth open for the next bite like a hungry little baby bird.

She doesn't usually get desert but Stan had a home-made custard and again I gave her some of that on a spoon (it was only sweetened very slightly with maple syrup) and again she wolfed it down. She definitely ate loads loads loads more than she usually does at ANY meal with BLW.

And I do definitely see that it could be coincidence, but we did have a slightly better night last night - yes she still woke but there were no 1.5hr long wakings etc.

I dunno.

[Whatbit]

Aiden was ALWAYS hungry, Anna.  He coudl finish off half a chicken breast in one sitting when he was 9 months old plus veggies!  How many times/day are you gving milk?  BF or FF (I can't remember- sorry!)

[amayzie]

Hamish is also always hungry- you know how they suggest you keep offerring food till the baby stops eating- well i often think we'd run out of food first She should still be getting most of her nutrition from the milk- and may have been eating the soup because it was tasty and easy to eat- not because she is starving...

[anna*]

She's still getting BF 4 x per day plus 2 at night... But I don't think my supply is that great.

[amayzie]

I would think that she is eating because it's 'fun' rather than hunger- that's still plenty of feeds.

[Whatbit]

I think that sounds good, Anna.  Maybe it's GS?  Some days Neve is all about solids and others she's all about the mommy juice.  Keep an eye on her poops and pees and make sure all is well there and if it is, and she's still BFing that much I think even if she's eating a lot on a regular basis that could be her new 'normal'.

[allm416]

So our first few days on BLW seem to have been quite successful. LO has been practicing with an empty spoon for a while now & was so excited when she discovered some creamy Greek yoghurt on it yesterday.

She loves strawberries, carrots & pear went down ok but she wasn't especially interested in green beans or chicken. Tried some banana too.

Just one question though; DD is getting quite frustrated because a lot of foods are a bit slimy & she's having difficulty picking them up (I ended up putting mushy strawberry on her spoon & letting her spoonfeed herself). Any advice on making these foods easier to handle or do I just have to stick to non slippery foods?

Thanks ladies. X

[Fiver]

Certainly with bananas, I've known people crush up something like Cheerios (or a non-Nestle alternative) and dip the banana in it so that there's a bit more to get hold of.

[Whatbit]

Rolling items in baby cereal worked well for us!  And sometimes the bigger the piece, the easier it is to hold, even when slippery.  But it's really mostly about practice.  Neve can finally hold onto the slipperiest avacado now!