Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #1

[Cornish smiler]

Alison, I hope you don't mind but I have a question for you.  Sam is still having a dreamfeed at 10.30ish but only has around 3oz or so.  Do you have any idea when I should drop this?  He's having solids at each meal (not a lot, granted!) but it is definitely getting through the system iykwim  !!! 

He's done well today and had toast soldiers with Philadelphia on and woofed them down (picked up himself and everything!)  Then had yogurt, dropped the spoon on the floor 6 times, dropped yogurt on big sister's foot (after she'd not long been out of the shower and was in her PJs) so a good teatime has been had by all!  I love BLW 

[Freya'sMum]

Ali,

Am really the wrong person to ask about dreamfeeds - Eryn has 6 months on Sam and still wakes for a feed between 9pm and 2am every night! I know that on the bottle/breastfeeding forum there are FAQ stickies on how to wean off the dreamfeed - as you can tell, I haven't done this (hence the enormous bags under my eyes!) - sorry not to be able to help directly:

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=54662.0

Altho thinking about it, I think she still needs that top-up, it's definitely not a sleep prop (altho the 5am feed is - oops!) even tho' she feeds herself like a pro in the day, so I wouldn't try to cut it out, I think she'll do it herself eventually! Sam might not need his 3oz tho' so you'll have to try it and see!

I so agree with you that BLW is fabulous!

Ax

[Cornish smiler]

Thanks very much Alison, I'll check it out! 

Ali x

ps hope Eryn doesn't wake you too early for much longer!!!!!

[Freya'sMum]

Ah, 'tis my own fault, she wakes at 5am for her breakfast milk feed which only takes 5-10 mins (greedy guzzler that she is) and then she's back to sleep until 7am, otherwise she'd be awake from 5am hungry and cross - is better for everyone this way at present!

Ax

[Cornish smiler]

Sam's an early riser too but I make him hold out until 6.00 before he has his breakfast milk feed.  Quite often he falls asleep too ..... ahhhh bliss ...... then Zoë comes in at 6.30    Mind you, today he didn't demand his milk til 7.00 and it was so nice to have extra time before I had to get up and about.

Kids - don't you just love them!

[Freya'sMum]

Yeah... but couldn't eat a whole one!

Ax

[Cornish smiler]

Great news - I decided to be very brave and didn't DF Sam at all last night - he slept all night long!!!!!!!! 

I however didn't because I was sure I'd have to be up to give him a feed so from 4.00 onwards I hardly slept.  He got himself stuck in the bars and was banging his head (still stayed asleep though) so it was Mummy to the rescue! 

OK, off to commit more cereal carnage in the kitchen with young Samuel.

Ali x

[Sharondp]

Just checking in - glad to see everyone's doing well!
Leo is a big fan of pasta twists as they're easy to pick up.
Still no teeth yet
So far the only thing he doesn't like is avocado - absolutely anything else, he demolishes in seconds!
He also gets very cross if he sees us eating and he's not! Hence the ready supply of cooked pasta in the fridge!
Ali - great news about the DF - Leo sort of weaned himself off it so I'm not going to be much help!
Aleesa - what sort of cheese do you put on your toast? Leo likes Philadelphia or Laughing cow - I haven't tried 'proper' cheese yet.
Happy eating everyone!

[Bryony]

Ali - great news on the dream feed!  Katie has taken a step back with lots of night wakings but I think she may be teething...

I have started giving Katie bits of things to hold / suck / eat / spit all over the floor....  so far I don't think any of it has gone down (I don't think she has worked out how to move stuff to the back of her mouth with her tongue) but it's fun for both of us to try!

Bryony

[Cornish smiler]

Bryony, that's great that Katie is having fun with her food.  You may actually be surprised that she is eating something - I was sure Sam wasn't until I changed his nappy one day  !!  (sorry, I'm not nappy obsessed honestly!)

Got a few pictures of lunchtime today.  Very pleased with Sam as he did everything himself (apart from I helped him with the pear when it got slippery).  He ate bread and butter, tomato and cheese sticks.

[mikiweiser]

hi all,

i was recommended by ali to come to this amazing site and boy do i wish i had arrived earlier. What you mom's have written here is so helpful and supportive, thanks for starting this thread.

adi is 6.5 months old. at 5.5months i decided to start feeding him solids and felt that as a responsible mother i should do the mushy stuff vege by vege waiting 3 days .... then he got constipation, so i stopped, and now he hates i mean HATES the spoon.

so we use the mesh feeder with frozen banana - which he loves - and other stuff. my hubby is a very paranoid person and has a severe fear of choking - which i don't since i believe in babies instincts.

anyway - i want to start blw - now i just need the motivation and courage to deal with the mess. i have become a very sterile person (which i don't like to be) and so this will definately be a bit tough on me - luckily i have the best vaccuum in the world - a boxer

i will check out the blogs, the links, the recipes.... and hope to come back with amazing stories.

QUICK QUESTIONS - here in israel there are so many foods that you are not allowed to give babies before age 1:
milk products, yogurts, honey, eggs, strawberries, grapes.... all in fear of allergies and babies being too sensitive to handle prior to age 1.

- can you please tell me why you are not afraid to introduce: butter, milk, cheese, yogurt - and why in your country it is not warned as a danger?

I'll start with steemed veges and fresh veges... to be on the safe side, but i want to make the suasages and the broccoli and chees and i want to give him yogurt too... i see the way he looks at me when i eat and i know he wants some.

I will probably have a lot of questions - hope you have the patience for me

xxx - miki

[Cornish smiler]

Hi Miki, I thought you'd like it over here!!!  I use dairy products on Sam and have done since he was 6 months old but I know that he is not allergic to dairy products.  I'm not sure why dairy products aren't warned as a danger here in the UK I'm afraid so not much help to you.  Sam adores yogurt (I get him the Petit Filous pots - not sure if you get them over there) and put into a bowl - I load the spoon, pass to him and he puts it into his mouth.  He does drop the spoon straight after so if I don't catch it I have to get a fresh one!!! 

Hey, don't worry about the questions - I post loads here too and I figure it's just how we learn isn't it.  Everyone is really helpful and supportive and I look forward to you joining in our BLW chats!!  Oh, and the mess - just goes with the territory I'm afraid and you do get used to it.  I can't explain how lovely it is sitting down to a meal and watching Sam dig in too with great gusto; you'll love it 

Ali x

ps we don't give honey over here and eggs are fine as long as they're well cooked.  I haven't given grapes yet (don't think Sam's ready for them) but he had chopped strawberry yesterday with my help and loved it.  I know they can be an allergy risk but, again, no history here so just went for it.

[Sharondp]

Love the pictures of Sam Ali!!

Welcome Miki!! Hope you enjoy this thread!
I feel quite strongly about all these 'guidelines' that are given about what babies can or can't eat. Leo will eat just about anything that I give him, and I am wary about a few things, but my feeling is that if you're too paranoid, then you're gonna end up with a fussy eater!

I guess having 2 kids makes me a bit more laid back than new mums ( I was over-cautious with Toby who is a really fussy eater!)

I think as long as you ccok things correctly and never leave baby unattended when eating, you'll be fine. Obvioulsy if there are allergies, then take a bit more care with new things, otherwise, just enjoy!!

I must take some photos of Leo eating and post them for you!

Hope everyone else is doing OK!

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

I actually avoid a number of things and plan to keep doing so until somewhere between 9 months and a year (depending on the item). I won't give dairy until at least after 9 months - the protein's in cow's milk can interfere with the absorption of iron in infants, and I don't want to deal with anemia.  I will also avoid egg whites until at least a year because it is a known and potentially very dangerous allergen.  Some fishes and seafoods I'll wait too because of the mercury and allergens in seafood.  Honey - DEFINITELY wait until a year - the risk is too high with honey, and I also won't risk peanut butter.  I don't have many allergies in my family, but as I see it - this should be a fun process and I want to avoid unnecessary complications.  It's only a few months, but developmentally, it can make a huge difference in how their bodies respond.... So I just pick and choose the recipes that fall within my "comfort zone"! 

[Elvira]

mikiweiser, Erin seems to be in the same school of thought as I.  Right, cows milk has been shown to produce low blood counts in children under a year.  In Spain yogurt or fresh cheese not recommended till 9 months because they have live bacteria.  Very good bacteria, but they can cross the lining of the intestines to other part of the body and THAT can create a lactose intolerance which will last all his life.  At about 8 months, it does not happen anymore.   

Honey is dangerous, and some fruits are more dangerous than others, for instance strawberries.  In fish, some have  more potential than others, but it is specially true in shellfish and molusks.  Gluten is introduced here (here, is Spain) at 8 months.  Later not giving it may mask celiac symptoms, earlier it is dangerous. So they say. 

Egg: here they say to add at 9 months cooked yolk, but not the whites till one year old...they are more allergenic than the yolk.  They say add half a yolk to begin with, and go up to one after a couple of tries if everything goes well. 

Now, with allergies, the thing is that they are growing and contamination may have something to do with it.  I mean, the number of sufferers is growing, of course.  And there are more in the cities than in the country, even for hay fever, asthma etc. 

But still, there are plenty of things for you to try.