Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #1

[Bryony]

Thanks Ali and Aleesa. I'm not sure that she's tired as we have solids soon after a nap...  wake up , BF then solids about an hour later.  So I am not sure what it is!  Anyway will see how it goes.

Have a good time in Cornwall Ali!

Bryony

[Freya'sMum]

Aleesa,

Your schedule is virtually identical to mine, and mine has stayed like it for the last 4 months, Eryn still has 4 or 5 milk feeds per day (have to admit that the daytime ones are now cows milk - I think 6 months of expressing at work twice a day was a good effort!) of approx 4oz each - like Lilly, she doesn't ask for food or milk but clearly expresses when she doesn't want what is offered by biting my boobs   or chucking the solid foods on the floor - not desirable, but at least I know what she means!

So I guess the big swap never really happens, we just have meals and (currently) milk snacks, which will probably be replaced by cheese and fruit snacks at some point!

HTH?

Ax

[Corinne's Mommy]

Hi- my husband an I are interested in trying BLW with our LO.  She will be six months in a week.  We've given her banana in a safety feeder (I know...cheating!) and also some zucchini cooked, pealed and cut into strips. (but never pureed food)  We've done this for a couple days and she likes putting the food into her mouth, although I know she's not getting much now- but will eventually : )

For those of you who have found success with this method, what foods did you start with? ( I too have read the link with the foods and appropriate ages)  Did you introduce a new food in the morning and then only have them eat that along with the other foods they have eaten already for a couple days before introducing a new food to make sure there is no allergy? 

I have A LOT of food allergies and so want to be cautious with what I introduce.  Any suggestions?

Thanks!!!

[Aly Mac]

Corinne's Mommy,

first off WELCOME! You and your lo will love BLW. So good htat she is putting things in her mouth already! Don't push it, just let her explore.  Some of the best things to start with are exactly what you have and basically anything soft.  avocado, sweet potato, pear etc.  Try and make it a size that she can hold - so a large chip! - and soft enough for it to dissolve in her mouth but hard enough to hold.  hard iwth some things like avo.  if it's slippery, which is a challenge at first, roll in wheatgerm or cheerio dust etc.  anything that will take the slippery away.

And yes, personally I would at her age to intro foods every few days to gauge reactions. I'm a little more lax now, but still try and not intro new foods too close together.  If you have allergies, these are the ones I would leave until older and definately give by itself and give it a good few days to see for reaction.

hth

[Corinne's Mommy]

Thank you!  We're very excited about trying this approach to eating for Corinne. 
We went shopping today and got a lot of things we're excited to offer her. 
Has anyone tried zwieback toast as a first food?  Is it necessary of should I stick to fruits and veggies for now?
I'm SOO glad there is a support thread for this- otherwise I think I'd be too scared to try something so different!   


ashlee

[Aly Mac]

Not sure what zwieback toast is?  what's in it ashlee?

[Corinne's Mommy]

It's dry toast- found it in the baby section at the store (really thick- probably just gets soggy instead of breaking off).  It has barley in it though- and since I've not done any cereals, Corinne has never gone through the rice, barley and then oatmeal progression to test for allergies....should I hold off for a while on any breads?

Do most just stick with fruit and veggies for a while?  Does oatmeal ever get introduced- or not until my lo can feed herself with a spoon?

Thanks!!

[hhuckabee]

Can you tell me exactly what baby led weaning means?

[Bryony]

Hollie - see the FAQs section : https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=92560.0

Ashlee - I don't know the product that you mention, but we are giving Katie ordinary toast - cut into strips with apple puree spread on it. She loves it and it's easy for her to pick up.   however neither DH nor I have any allergies and so we are not being too cautious about what we introduce - and as Katie is over 6 months now my understanding is that it's reasonably safe to try wheat.

Speaking of which, Katie is not really eating anything other than toast, rice cakes and broccoli. We have tried all kinds of fruit and veg, but she doesn't like to pick them up. Not sure if she doesn't like the feel of slightly slippery things, or whether she *can't* pick them up.  If I coat them in oatmeal she can pick them up but after trying them once just drops them on the floor and grizzles - I don't think she likes the feel of the oatmeal in her mouth or hands.   The only veg she likes is broccoli!

Any ideas of other fruit and veg that are less slippery / slimy?  For now I will keep putting fruit puree on her toast sometimes so that she gets used to the taste and is getting some vitamin C.

However she is doinig really well on the toast and broccoli, I am so impressed! 

Bryony x

[Aly Mac]

Bryony, I've found that if I cut sweet potato and pumpkin into big chip shaped chunks and microwave gradually until a good consistency to hold and eat, that works well.

hth

ps, you are not alone with the toast. Lilly loves it with melted cheese...

[Lydiasmom]

Hi

Welcome Ashlee & Hollie

Just a quick update.  Lydia is loving broccoli & cauliflower.  My dad grows his own veg and runner beans seemed to be a big hit too!  I also give her toast, usually with fruit puree as not too dry but yesterday I gave her some of my toast that had been covered in baked beans - I'm sure she would have had the plateful if I'd have let her!

At my nephews 5th b'day party yesterday, he very kindly handed her a jam sandwich while my OH was in charge - he let her suck away quite happily and all I could do was smile to myself when I washed the remains out of her hair! (Not the best 1st foods hey!).

x

[Bryony]

Thanks Aleesa... have tried K with sweet potato and she didn't seem remotely interested - will try it again though and will try pumpkin.

Rachel - sounds like Lydia's really doing well!

Bryony

[Corinne's Mommy]

It's nice to know that only a few foods are fine for now Bryony (obviously with the goal of finding more),  - we're going to try peach today- and then I guess will keep trying new things every few days until we find what she really likes (hopefully all of it- yeah right!!)

Sounds like regular bread crust is the way to start, and then when she's a little older we can give her some puree spread on it. 

My LO just started waking twice in the evening when she only used to once.  I wonder if she's needing more to eat as she grows...?  Will this method (BLW) give her enough to get her through the night again eventually?  Anyone else run into this?

Ashlee

[Freya'sMum]

Hello All!

There is a tendency with spoon-feeding to feed los more solid food than they actually need for their age, and filling up with solid foods, their milk intake tends to decrease. The lovely thing about baby-led weaning is that los naturally don't eat too much too soon, the self-feeding process means that their solid food intake increases as their motor and oral skills develop, and maintains milk as the primary 'food' for an extended period, which is what they need.

Some research suggests that milk alone is insufficient from 6 months, and needs to be supplemented with solid foods (mainly for iron), whilst others claim that babies could be EBF until 12 months as long as the mother has a healthy, balanced diet herself, Gill Rapley's small study found that from about 6 months babies started to be able to feed themselves and would regulate their own diet in terms of quantity and nutrition.

So, for those of you expressing concern about the limited variety of your los diet, I think it's fine while they are still practising the techniques and you continue to offer a choice - I know she's a lot older than most of your los now, but yesterday Eryn ate nearly a whole salmon steak, today she wouldn't even touch it (obviously has sufficient omega 3 in her system!), some days she loves broccoli, others she throws it on the floor (I guess those days she's overflowing with iron and Vit C )!

I didn't do the cereal progression thing either, for a number of reasons... 1, I've never heard of it , 2, cereals in that state don't fit into BLW until babies can use a spoon independently, 3, there is a lot of research to suggest that EBF babies aren't too struck on cereal because it's a bit bland for their developed tastebuds having got used to your yummy milk!

Also, the sleeping thru' the night thing with solid foods is a bit of a myth, at a young age, if babies are waking more frequently it's usually because they need more milk, and in fact, solid foods can cause tummy discomfort (especially with spoon feeding) as their little digestive systems get used to these alien substances! You might not want to know this, but Eryn has only ever slept thru' when she's poorly/got a temperature, the rest of the time she still wakes once a night for a milk feed (and she's 13 months!) !

Does this answer everyone's recent queries?

Ax

[Corinne's Mommy]

Thank you Alison- lots of answers!  And all of it makes perfect sense.

Corinne LOVES shoveling food into her mouth- I can't even imagine what she would do if I tried to put a spoon in her mouth for her.  I'm sure she'd try to grad it right out of my hand!

We introduced steamed carrots today and she loved them.  It was a bit scary though because she is still sucking on everything (we've only been doing BLW for a couple days).  She sucked the end right off the carrot and them immediately started gagging. 

Could it be that because she is still sucking on things (not gumming in a chewing motion yet) that she is going to gag a lot?  It's scary to watch!
Does this happen with all babies right away? 

Ashlee