Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #1

[Aly Mac]

Welcome Rachel!!!!!  I look at some of the baby food with meat etc in it - looks horrible!!

I looked at the Trip trap but thought it looked a bit odd....not to mention about 150 more expensive than the average.......  add it to the list of things that *if I had my time again*

[Cornish smiler]

Welcome to you Rachel!! 

Aleesa, I don't have a Tripp Trapp either so don't feel left out! 

[Freya'sMum]

No Tripp Trapp here either - my highchair is rubbish tho so perhaps I should've got one! Anyway...

...can some of you seasoned BLWers offer your thoughts to this mum who is considering using this approach to introducing solid foods:

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=96753.0

as you can see I've already told her how great it is, but she might benefit from someone else's encouragement, and you guys are also just starting out - thanx!

Ax

[smarrero]

Hi!  We just started today with steamed pear sticks as the first food!!!  He ate/tried to eat some this morning, do we do them for dinner too today or just in the morning for a couple of days? 
I think we may be a little behind on the solids...my baby is 6 months and 3 weeks...
Do we need to continue steaming the fruits/veggies to make them soft at first? What would you recommend as a good second food? Also, can we do purees at the same time or is it one or the other?
Thank you!

[Cornish smiler]

Hi Smarrero!!!  Glad to see you over here.  Firstly, don't worry about your lo being a bit behind at 6m 3w as that's not a problem at all.

That's great that your baby enjoyed his pear sticks today - well done!!!  As for when you do them, I'm sure someone more in the know will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think it matters how often you try the food.  At this stage they're just playing with it really and not eating a huge amount - just exploring taste/textures and how far it will throw  !

I would steam apples as I've heard they can cause some choking, but personally I don't steam other fruit as long as it is ripe.  As for vegs, I steam them but not as long as I would do for us (ie carrot sticks/broccoli florets 7 mins instead of 10).  Another good thing is to roast some wedges of vegs at, say 180 for around 25 mins or so having first drizzled them with olive oil.  I know Sam loves them and they're easy for him to hold and eat (despite having no teeth yet!)

As for a second food, hard to say but sweet potato always goes down well as do carrot sticks and broccoli (leave the stem on so he can hold it himself).  It's really up to you what you try.  Apart from making the vegs stick shaped for him to hold, I don't really do special for him - we have our normal meal and Sam has a bit of whatever we are having.  Mind you, it is making us eat healthier and I've just started an organic fruit & veg box delivery; very nice and tasty!!!!

Re purees, personally I don't use them but that's just because Sam was never really into them iykwim.  I'm afraid I don't know for sure if you can do both, but suspect you can - maybe you could use the puree as a dip?  Sorry, not helpful for this bit.

Anyhow, have fun and come on here and let us know how it's going.  A lot of us are taking our first tentative steps and I think we can all say we're loving it, as are our babies!!!

HTH

[smarrero]

Thank you HTH!  Well Lino just had a BM and out came the pear chunks just like they went into his mouth! Is this normal?? Did he not digest them?  Thank you!

[Aly Mac]

HI there Smarrero - welcome!.  yeh you get that even when you spoon feed.  Don't worry about it unless the BM was really loose... have fun!

[Sharondp]

Welcome smarrero 
This is a very supportive thread so feel free to ask any questions - we'll try and help out where we can as we're all fairly new to this - Except Alison - who's fab! 
Your questions have already been answered so i won't say anymore - just wanted to welcome you to the thread!
 

[Cornish smiler]

Grrrrrrrrr, Sam's loving his food, but I'm getting rather fed of him having some and then lobbing it straight onto the floor even though he likes it.  He was doing it with peach segments this evening - gum it, yum yum then fling it.  I get some more and the exact same thing happens PLUS he's developed this wonderful whine when he wants something (which he had but has dumped on the floor) which is driving me mad!!!!!  Course I love him to bits, but just wanted to share it with you guys.  Anyone else going through this?  Good job we haven't got a dog or it'd be the best fed dog in the UK I'm sure!!!!!!!!!

[Freya'sMum]

Hello Smarrero (& everyone else ),

A pure BLW approach does not use purees with finger foods, this is because BLW is about babies feeding themselves, and they can't feed themselves purees! As an older baby/toddler you could use a puree as a dip (as suggested above), or as a sauce to coat pasta, that baby can feed himself, but to start with it's all finger foods because that's all he can do without help!

I'm impressed that ds managed to actually swallow some solid food on his first go, things do pop out the other end apparently undigested for some time - at this early stage (6 months 3 weeks is still early on in the solid food journey) it's all about exploration and practise, not about eating - you might find it helpful to introduce ds to solid foods as part of his Activity time rather than his Eat time, which should still be a milk feed!

The rest of your questions have already been answered!

Ali, sounds like Sam is having fun with his release reflex and playing some games to see what you do in response! React in the way that you want him to learn, eg. "we don't throw food on the floor, we eat it, if you do that again mummy will take the food away", and then do it consistently until he gets the point (this is just an example, not a response that I am suggesting you use!)

Off to bed now, have fun with food!

Ax

[Freya'sMum]

Eryn ate real chicken today, not chicken nicely ground into those very tasty sausages, but just bits of chicken - so you see, I still have feeding firsts too, even at 12.5 months!

Ax

[Aly Mac]

That's great Alison!  Lilly loves pieces of chicken.  SHe loves turkey too - prefers to suck them and them gum them for what seems like forever....

[Bryony]

Hello all.  Can I just check that we are going about this the right way?  I know there's a lot of you with a lot more experience than us and I am having a slight confidence crisis...

We've been trying Katie with bits of food (carrots, broccoli, apple, banana and rice cake) for the last two weeks.  If I just put it on her plate she ignores it - she seems to be more interested in watching me eat and in eating the paper towel       If I put it into her hand she puts it in her mouth straight away and seems to enjoy sucking and licking whatever it is, making little mmmmm mmmm noises which are very cute. She bites bits of sometimes and mashes them around with her gums but then doesnt seem to know what to do with these little bits of food on her tongue - she either spits them out or starts grizzling and sticks her tongue out as if to say "yeeugh, wipe them off please mummy..."

So 95% of my brain thinks "hey, she's just not quite ready yet, she's not even 6mo old until next week, let's continue and keep it fun and about exploring and one day she'll work out that she can get it to the back of her mouth and swallow it and will be so pleaed with herself".  The more paranoid 5% of my brain feels a bit left behind as most of our birth group and my friends locally are shovelling down what seems like bowlfuls of puree! 

We try a bit of food twice a day - she sits with me when I eat my breakfast around 8am and I give her a bit of something to play with then, and then usually after her catnap at around 5:30pm I have a cup of tea and some fruit and she joins me then too. Katie has BFs at about 7am, 11am, 3pm and 6:30pm so she's not going to be hungry at the time we have solid food, and I see it as A rather than E.

I think as I'm typing this I feel I have answered my own question, that we need to try and keep it as a fun activity and she'll eat when she is ready - but just wanted to check out with you all.

Should I not be putting it in her hand and waiting until she wants to pick it up?

What age did your LO's start actually swallowing some?

Thanks 

Aleesa - I just have to say that I love the new Avatar!  Yes she is cute...!

Bryony

[Freya'sMum]

Bryony,

I reckon that Katie is probably at the right stage of 'eating' for her age, and that the rest of your birth group might be a bit ahead of themselves - I agree that introducing solid foods is more of an Activity than Eating, and it really is fine that she hasn't swallowed anything yet, Eryn was 6 months when I tried purees, I tried without success for 2 weeks, and then researched BLW, so she was 6.5 months before she even started - tbh I can't remember when she actually swallowed anything, but from the other posts on this thread you'll note that Sam certainly does already , for Katie it might take a bit longer!

Again, the pure BLW method would be for her to pick it up from the tray, but I reckon handing to Katie is fine, the more important thing is that she's in charge of putting it to her mouth, not you!

Think positive, I reckon you're doing just fine!

Ax

[Aly Mac]

You're doing fine Bryony.  I would say that others in your group are a little ahead of themselves.  And as for others shoveling puree, I feed Lilly puree too (cause I started, wish I hadn't now  ) she eats heaps more being *fed* as to feeding herself.  But it doesn't seem to bother her.  She would just drink more milk anyway.  It took Lilly awhile with the mushy stuff too, to figure out what to do and I started at 6 months.

I would just keep doing what you are doing and you will be surprised how she will just get the hang of it.

ps> thanks for the compliment.  We think she is cute