Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #1

[Bryony]

Alison - I really like the idea that our LOs eat what they need depending on what nutrients they need....  I know some days I am desparate for oranges and some days I can't even think about eating one - I have always put it down to whether or not my body needs vitamin C....   although on that basis Katie obviously doesn't need anytning right now as I don't think she's eaten any solids these last two days. Although interestingly I feel she's been having more milk - both boobs at every feed instead of just some feeds. Maybe she is saying that she wants as much room as possible in her tum for milk as she's having a growth spurt!

Ashlee - there's a lot of discussion about gagging a few pages back. I think it's normal and just one of those things they go through while learning . Even once Corinne can "bite" foods she will probably still gag sometimes as she will bite off bigger bits than she can manage... it won't do her any harm and is her body's normal reflex, even though it's not very nice to watch.

At what stage are you all dropping / thinking of droppping the DF?  Katie keeps waking around 9:30pm or 10pm in the evening so I feed her then, rather than spend an hour trying to get her to go back to sleep only for her to wake when I feed her at 10:30pm....  so sometimes she goes from 9pm to 7pm without a feed. So I am wondering how much she really needs it?

Bryony

[Aly Mac]

It is interesting Bryony, how they *know* what they need.  Like the difference between potato and pear.  I swear L know's on sight which is which and much prefers  the pear - in it all goes.  Where as the potato, she looks and plays but hardly ever puts it in her mouth.  And I made those yummy potato cakes just for her, but no.....

As for DF, L never had them but saying that she has woken during the night alot over the past few weeks and sometimes the only way to console her is to bf her. Wrong, but sometimes at 3am a girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do!!

[Bryony]

As for DF, L never had them but saying that she has woken during the night alot over the past few weeks and sometimes the only way to console her is to bf her. Wrong, but sometimes at 3am a girl's gotta do what a girls gotta do!! 

I'm with you on that one 

Bx

[Freya'sMum]

At what stage are you all dropping / thinking of droppping the DF?

Hahahahahaha! (At some point the laughter turns into hysterics then sobs of desparation!)

See my previous post!

Ax

[mikiweiser]

hi - been reading - my 2 cents

ashlee - wait with all dairy products, just wait. and eggs. - in israel the focus on allergies is really big. also wait with tropical fruit.

about spoon feeding - my lo likes to hold the spoon with me and put in his own mouth rather me putting in his mouth - try it.

about fruits and veges - they say not to start with all the sweet stuff so as not to give the kid a sweet tooth - go with your gut instinct

about slippery foods - may 'bread crumbs' out of the toast and roll the slippery food in it - it will offer traction so that they can grip

about gagging - it's a great instinct and reflex - trust in it and your baby will make sure s/he doesn't choke - but watch and help. gagging is good.

now my lo, adi. is 7.5 months old and does not sit yet, i have him propped up in a lying position and hand him veges... so i am not the best expert here - all the stuff i wrote is from previous experience and posts... go with what you feel is right.

take care to you all
xxx miki
about

[Bryony]

At what stage are you all dropping / thinking of droppping the DF?

Hahahahahaha! (At some point the laughter turns into hysterics then sobs of desparation!)

      So do you have a DF and a night feed too?  Maybe I am being a bit premature thinking of dropping the DF - would rather have a DF than a night feed!  Although I have cut down to one boob at the DF for now, to try and encourage her to take more in the day.

My DH is starting to give me a slightly hard time about the BLW      He was really up for it at first, but now sees other babies Katie's age putting away three meals a day of mush when Katie is hardly "eating" anything.  My hunch is that Katie would not be very interested in mush either, but I don't really want to try the experiment to find out....  she really does enjoy chewiing on rice cakes and toast (a carb addict, like her mum!) but nothing much else. I am also getting a bit concerned about her vitamin and iron intake...  how are/were your LOs doing at Katie's age?

Bryony

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Bryony, if you're still bf'ing then she's getting most of her vitamins and iron that way still (the iron in bm is incredibly well absorbed).  There's very little that she needs from solid foods in the first year that she can't get from your milk - and she's young yet.  As she gets older, you'll certainly see her start to take in more solid food!

[Bryony]

Thanks Erin - yes I am still BF - thanks you've made me feel better!  I think it's partly this issue with the vitamins as I have decided not to force Katie to take the revolting vitamin drops that are recommended for BF babies in the UK.  So I am feeling like a bit of a rebel and hoping she doesn't end up with scurvey or beri beri....  the sensible part of my brain knows she won't, and I am not sufficiently convinced by the evidence for the vitamins....  but there's always a bit of you that worries isn't there!

Bryony

[Cathy_D]

I have decided not to force Katie to take the revolting vitamin drops that are recommended for BF babies in the UK.

I had no idea they were meant to get vitamin drops - no-one (HV or similar) has ever mentioned them to us!!  But I'm not aware that our corner of the UK has a higher than average occurence of scurvy or beri beri, so I agree that they must be OK without.   

Complete aside - Don't you just hate the way that something is either utterly essential or a complete waste of time depending on who you ask?!!  I know research changes, and all babies are different, and what works for one doesn't work for another etc etc but wouldn't it just be so much easier if an organisation like the NHS decided you needed vitamin drops for babies (or, better still that you didn't!) once and for all, everywhere, instead of Bryony's HV or whoever thinking they are essential and mine never having bothered to mention them!  (Once upon a time I used to be almost a scientist and still prefer the world to be ordrered into neat, predictable little parcels. Can you tell?!  It seems not to be a character trait that's remotely useful when it comes to being a mum!!!)

Don't suppose our cave-dwelling fore-mothers had access to nasty-tasting drops in any case! So there's another reason not to worry

Am going to a weaning workshop this afternoon so will ask what they reckon on vitamin intake for BF babies in the early stages of solid food - Thanks for making me think of it in advance!  (In fact, maybe that's what the workshop is for ... to tell us we should be giving LOs vitamin drops )

Cathy

PS Bryony - sorry I've not replied to your last PM. Haven't forgotten about meeting up. But spent last weekend at the in-laws and didn't get round to finding the A to Z. Will do it this weekend, though!

[Bryony]

Cathy - yes it's bizarre how much the recommendations vary throughout the world isn't it!  It's recommended in the Department of Health "birth to five" book and all the NHS literature...   and yes our HV was very insistent that I force Katie to swallow them by some method or another!  I am afraid I am not going to force her to swallow something that even makes me gag, when I remain unconvinced by the evidence....

Bryony

[Cathy_D]

Just back from the weaning workshop, and guess what .... breast fed babies from 6 months 'need' vitamin drops! So clearly I know nothing 

Interestingly, of the literature that they gave out, the NHS booklet 'Weaning' which is pretty comprehensive in other respects makes no mention of vitamin drops, but the stuff from the British Dietetic Association says they are required.

Let us know how Katie gets on ... If she hasn't got scurvy by the time Anna is 6 months I'm very much inclined not to bother with them either   Seriously, though, I wonder if they 'need' vitamins on the way that adults 'need' to take multivitamin supplements (ie it might help some people, but because they are widely sold loads of people take them anyway because it is easier than eating a fully balanced diet). Or if they actually NEED them. (In which case, what on earth would Anna have done if I had happened not to go to this workshop and remained in blissful ignorance on the subject?!)

Not a very useful workshop, in fact - I've learnt more from you all than I did this afternoon, but I guess it would have been helpful for those who've not thought about weaning until now. But also very confusing .. the message seemed to be 'its fine to leave it till 6 months but start at 4 if you like' and the day-by-day instructions showing what to feed when in the early stages assume that you start at 4 months!  It was very 'pro' finger food (from 6 months) though, to guard against 'texture aversion' later on.

The girl running it had never heard of Gill Rapley and BLW so so much for me finding out what the 'official' line on BLW is in the NHS hereabouts, which is really why I went ... I wanted to be able to quote her saying it was a marvellous idea!  (I guess I could still truthfully say she doesn't have a problem with it  ) She seemed quite interested though, so I'm going to send her all the stuff I've read. So, from being a bit of a sceptic here a few weeks ago I seem to have become a BLW ambassador and we're not even doing it yet 

She quoted the thing about breast milk not being sufficient from 6 months onwards. But when someone asked what benefits there are to breastfeeding beyond 6 months she said there weren't really any other than the 'closeness'. Which suprised me as I thought that there were continued health benefits (though struggling to think what, as I'm no expert). So maybe she and I have read things based on different research on breast-feeding after 6 months.

So, having become an inadvertant advocate of BLW we're going to have to do it!!  Roll on 10th September and Anna's 1/2 birthday!!

Cathy

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

She quoted the thing about breast milk not being sufficient from 6 months onwards. But when someone asked what benefits there are to breastfeeding beyond 6 months she said there weren't really any other than the 'closeness'.

Well, Cathy - if you're going to be sending her info on BLW, I can give you info to send her on the incredible benefits of bm after 6 months:

https://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=65363.0

http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/21pdf.pdf

As you can see there are HUGE benefits to breastfeeding after 6 months!

[Cathy_D]

As you can see there are HUGE benefits to breastfeeding after 6 months!

I thought there might be!! And I just knew someone here would know    Thanks

[Freya'sMum]

Good grief! The variation in 'professional' advice even within one country is astounding !

For the record, Bryony, I've never dreamfed (Eryn always woke up if I moved her ), but she does wake for a feed still anytime between 21:30 and 02:00 hours, I hang on to the thought that she won't do it forever, and have become accustomed to the perpetual tiredness!

And also, Eryn has never had vitamin drops, Freya did but she was 13 weeks prem so it kinda made sense in terms of her reduced immune system, and for Eryn they've never been mentioned and she was EBF until 6 months, and had 5x BF until 12 months, and now has 3x BF and 2x full-fat cows milk, and a very healthy balanced diet (currently she's off salad but really into fruit, particularly cherries ), and she's not got scurvy or beri-beri yet (altho' does have a persistent cold, so might need a bit more vit C?), oh I dunno!

Bring it back to common sense everytime and I reckon it'll be just fine! Btw, am going to try out a paella recipe next week, will let you all know how it goes!

Ax

[Cathy_D]

Just been reading all the leaflets etc properly and it seems that vitamin drops are meant to be given from 6 months to 5 years!! Surely, surely, surely a 5 year old ought to be getting enough vitamins from their diet by then?

Am finding the whole subject increasingly mystifying, though - the leaflets are full of lists of how many portions of different kinds of things they should have over a week but no suggestions on what constitutes a 'portion'.  I have a vague idea that for adults a portion of fruit or veg is a handful - are there any similar rules of thumb for babies and children (not just for fruit and veg but also protein etc.)?  I think I was taught all this stuff at school aged 11 but that is far too long ago to be useful!!!

I guess if she's self-feeding then she'll choose how much of what she eats anyway, but I presumably ought to be offering a balance of things in approximately sensible proportions right from the start.

Have realised I never stop to consider whether I'm feeding DH and I a properly balanced diet - just try to vary the type of meat every day, balance out potatoes, rice and pasta over the week and cram in as much fruit and veg as he will tolerate. Seems to more or less work!  But thinking about deciding what to feed Anna seems, for some reason, much more complicated. So, whilst I love the idea of her eating what we eat from early on, what if we're eating all the wrong stuff already?!     

I agree that common sense ought to rule here ... I just seem to lose mine when presented with too much conflicting information 

I retract the comments in my previous post  - I hope 10th September roll around very slowly indeed