Baby Led Weaning Support Thread #11

[*Ali*]

Hi Vio. When did you start giving purées? Just wondering as BLW is really than absence of purées.

[creations]

Hi Vio. I was wondering the same as Ali. I think if your LO has been eating puree since 6 months your question may be better positioned out on the main board so you can get some advice about transitioning from puree to regular meals from mums who have done traditional weaning with purees.

[Vio]

Hi,
At 6 months he started with BLW. When he was 11 months I was planning to remove 2 breastfeeds and leave only breakfast and dinner. Since he had been eating very little quantites of solids and is low weight and size, I was worried he wouldnt eat enough.... so I tried with purees which he eat very well. Now, it seems to me he only fills with purees. With finger foods, he gives 3 bites and then starts playing with it or dropping it on the floor. He also bites for example a piece of meat or fish and then spits it out. If i try to help him and put a bit in his mouth, he spits it too....

[*Ali*]

It's not unusual for some babies to not take that much by 12mo. I would just keep offering and eventually I'm sure he will take more. My nephew was similar in that he did BLW for 4 months and hardly ate anything. Then my sister started doing mashed food or purées with bits and spoon feeding him and he took a lot more that way. Then she just carried on giving finger foods and leaving ever increasing lumps in his food and by about 18mo he was eating the same as the rest of the family.
What you could do it set aside some of the food you purée and leave it whole for finger food. If he has the taste from the purée he may try some in its more natural form.
Is the meat you are giving him cooked so it is tender? Some meat can be chewy and hard especially if they only have a few or even no teeth. Slow cooked meat that falls apart is easily gummed and steamed fish with no crispy top (like you would get in a grill or frying pan) is also easier.

[Vio]

Thank you very much!!!

[TB9]

Hi ladies, I am joining in because I started dd2 on blw this week.  I originally started her on purees, but shes a very independent little girl, so blw is working out much better for her 

So far she has eaten banana and toast.  I was going to wait a bit longer before I introduced wheat, but she was throwing a fit while dd1 and I were eating toast one day, so I gave her some and she loved it!  I am finding it difficult to stick to the 3 day rule, because whatever we are eating she wants.  I steamed some carrot sticks, and baked some apple and pear slices for her, hopefully that helps keep her occupied and distracted from the food that we have so I can stick to the 3 days rule!

She is actually really good at , moving food around in her mouth.  She has a very strong gag reflex so hopefully that will keep her from choking on anything, lol.

[Fiver]

Hooray!  Welcome to the lovely journey
Honestly, I didn't bother with the 3 day thing.  Just gave DD whatever.

[creations]

I didn't bother with the 3 day thing either.  The current UK guidance on weaning doesn't suggest it unless there is a known allergy with LO or in the family, different places have different guides though.  Here they can have just about anything from 6 months.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

We haven't done the 3 day thing except with wheat (I left it 3 days after introducing that before adding anything else people are commonly allergic to) cos we have a gluten intolerance in the family. Otherwise he's had everything we have.

I have a question about highchairs. Not sure if it's really blw related or if I should post elsewhere but jack doesn't seem to like staying in his highchair for long.  It's a wooden one with very little support and I think he gets tired.  After a while he starts pulling his ear and whining and doesn't eat any more but if I get him out and put him on my lap he carries on eating.  Is that ok to do or should I not allow him any more food once he's out of his highchair?  I don't really feel right being that strict on it so early in his food career (!) but don't want to teach him that he can move to my lap whenever he fancies it cos that will start being a problem at some point!

Also,  completely unrelated but can I just say how much I'm loving blw?! Jack is loving it and it's so much easier!  I love the variety of food he's had already and seeing how enthusiastic he is about it all. The only slight issue is that he's already cutting down on milk cos he loves eating so much but he's still getting plenty so it's all good

[TB9]

LL - dd2 wasnt really keen on her wooden high chair either.  I ended up getting a plastic one that attaches to a chair and will convert to a booster seat when she is sitting at the table to eat.  Its made life so much easier

[Fiver]

I think we must have a similar chair to Tinkerbell!  The tray on the standard highchair we have was just too high for DD to reach and she loves her booster (although she's starting to be ready to move to a normal chair now, even if she's a bit short still!)

And glad Jack's enjoying himself

[creations]

I love both our high chairs. We have a baby dan wooden chair which also has little support. And an IKEA antilop, again no support.  With both I stuffed a folded towel behind him to wedge him in. He could sit unaided but yes it's tiring and if you can make it a little more comfortable you might find he is happier there.  Just don't make it so that he is leaning back on the towel because obviously they need to be upright.  The towel rarely needed washing either, the food never reached that far behind him so I just used the same one over and over.

I also found that DS just got really tired when eating (Jack's ear pulling and whining sound like tiredness don't they). If you think about the level of stimulation it must be sky high - all those smells, textures in hand and textures in mouth, flavours, colours, muscles they haven't used this way before...it's a mental and physical work out.  I think DS became OS/OT quite often in the early days of BLW, and I think his dreams were filled with food too, processing all that new information! I reduced our A time a couple of times and put him to nap straight after a meal he was so exhausted by it.  It's pretty amazing really, what an experience to have all these foods after an entire life of just milk!

Great to hear you and Jack are having fun

[Papaya]

Same as Creations - I found my LO was tired out after a meal for the first couple of weeks! All that chasing elusive bits of food around the tray was hard work It is a lot of new stuff for them to concentrate on.

[LovelyLilyandJack]

Yeah it does seem to be tiring him out.  He's just dropped his cat nap too so it doesn't take much at the moment! Good idea with the towel,  creations.  I'll try that I think. I guess it is a lot for them to get used to. I always forget how stimulating every day things can be when you're only 6 months old!

[Violet's mom]

I'm back!  Giving it another go.  Vi has really liked eating vegi straws and organic rice rusk which dissolve pretty easily so she gags a little but no choking.  Do you think these are good or bad things to give a baby if you are trying BLW?  Also, I'm going to try pears because she seems to like them (sucked on them in the net- used to get her used to flavors) - should I peel them before I steam them slightly?  Thanks ladies!