Baby-Led Weaning Support Thread #1

[Erin (redstarfalling)]

Aleesa - I give her about 20 min or so to eat - if she's really not interested, then we stop sooner, and if it's with us at supper and she's happy, then she stays there until we're done.  I also just put a few things on her tray at a time, otherwise, she ends up just playing with it all and eating none!  With snacks, I didn't start them with Megan until after a year, I think - milk remained her snack for a long time (bf).

[Corinne's Mommy]

Aleesa-

I started by giving Corinne all the food on her tray at once and she went right for the fruit every time and never anything else.  Now I give her one thing at a time (the fruit last).  When she is done with one thing (whether she ate it or not), I give her the next.  Less confusing I guess! 

I let her eat until she seems disinterested which usually takes no more than 20 minutes or so.  My LO is so young though, so maybe as she eats more it will take longer. 

Ashlee

[Lolly]

I don't know if you remember but I posted a good few pages back about my LO and the gagging making him vomit. We seem to be picking up momentum with self feeding and had a nearly "proper" BLW day today! He had a fab time feeding himself pasta with cauliflower cheese at lunch and I'm attaching a picture from tea time! I am so proud of his gumming skills and his reflux has settled (he's been put on EnfamilAR as well as zantac) so it seems that now he can gag without throwing everything back up!

All I need to do now is get a bit more organised to keep going with the finger foods, this thread is a great help!

Laura

[Cornish smiler]

Well done Laura!  We had a good day today too as Sam dug into fishcakes, carrots and courgette with great gusto!  Sorry you had a problem with the potato cakes try the pizza, it's lovely and so easy and I reckon one of my young man's favourites 

[Lolly]

Ali - I would love to try the pizza but tomato seems to make his eczema flare up so we are avoiding it at the moment and I don't fancy pizza without the tomato! We will try him again soon and if no reaction pizza here we come!

Laura

[Freya'sMum]

Aleesa,

30 mins ish for meals, longer if she sits there signing/saying 'more, more' !

Snacks, well at nearly 14 months Eryn's snacks are still 7oz cow's milk mid-am and mid-pm, because she doesn't eat that much dairy in her solid food diet, so am keeping her 20oz from milk! When she can self feed yogurt, I'll likely switch these to a fruit and yogurt snack, but neither of us is in any hurry to do so!

Quick schedule:

6am milk (bf)
7.30am breakfast
10am milk (snack)
12.30pm lunch
3pm milk (snack)
4.30pm tea
6.30pm milk (bf + cows milk in an attempt to get her to sleep thru )

PS - I don't eat 10oz at breakfast, and I have a very healthy appetite!

Ax

[Aly Mac]

Thanks Alison.  You poort thing with her not sleeping thru yet.  We have a week of sleep thru's and then a week of nw or ew.  I think I am on the right *program* now - it seems to be working.  MInd you if she does wake I bf her - ap I know but it seems to be the only thing to calm her and put her back to sleep without me patting her for an hour - i figure both are props....

Will try not to stress about the amounts.  She (so did I) had apple pancakes this morning - she seemed to like them instead of the cereal I feed her.  I think timing is a big thing with L with feeding herself. If she is tired she does not want to do it and is quite happy for me to feed her.  Normally it gets her going - unless it's fruit. She loves the fruit.

have a good day all.

[Bryony]

Ashlee - wow, Corinne goes for the fruit first?  Katie won't even touch fruit - she just ignores it. What fruits are you giving her?  I think Katie doens't like the feel of fruit (a bit wet?) - on the odd time she's touched it she just pulls a yuck face and then leaves it ...

Laura - great to hear things are going so well!  And your little man is so cute  - what a lovely head of hair.

Have fun everyone!

Bryony

[jomummy]

Depending how you look at it, I am either very confident and relaxed in my approach to life, or rather complacent! It never occurred to me to worry about Eryn choking on food, I guess I just trusted that she wouldn't, and made sure I knew what to do if she did! And so far she hasn't, and I think she's only gagged once!

I started her on mini ricecakes, and steamed veg sticks/florets, but it very quickly progressed to all sorts of things. A lot is limited by their fine motor skills, Eryn could only eat 'sticks' until her claw grip developed, then she could scoop up chunks of banana, strawberries, pear, raw mushroom, bread, flaked salmon and cod (things that were too slippy as sticks), and then her pincer grip allowed for peas, tiny cheese cubes, haricot beans, raisins, grape quarters etc.

Another thing that limits is teeth, Eryn got her 4 'biting' teeth fairly early, so found it easier to bit pieces off sticks of harder things like celery and apple, but ended up chewing them ineffectively with gums until she got bored then spat them out! This made introducing meat tricky too, until I found my chicken and apple sausage recipe, which involves foodprocessing an apple, an onion, 2 chicken breasts (or you could do the equivalent amount of pork), 2 slices bread and some fresh herbs (parsley, sage, thyme), then forming into little sausage shapes and shallow frying in a dribble of olive oil! These are fab, they can be chewed easily by gums, and are really tastey! I also made cheese and beef sausages in the same way, but with oregano and basil, and lamb and mint ones too - everyone loves them in our house!

I guess I should emphasise that she didn't really 'eat' much to begin with, just fiddled with it in her hands and mouth, but at her own pace worked out what to do. She clearly states when she's full, or bored with the selection, by throwing it on the floor, I just clear her tray at this point and offer her some water to wash it down, then offer dessert!

Eryn's typical diet is now soggy (milky) cornflakes followed by a handful of raisins for breakfast, cheese and ham chunks with toasted pitta bread and cucumber sticks for lunch, and flaked salmon with green pesto pasta and steamed veg for tea. It is amazing how she stuffs whole pasta twists into her little mouth and seemingly swallows them whole - but she's never choked, and they don't come out whole the other end! Desserts are usually chunks of fruit.

I'm fortunate not to have any food allergies in our family, but I was diagnosed as wheat intolerant a couple of years ago, so we use wheat-free products routinely anyway (bread, pasta, flour) so I haven't really worried about giving her anything to try, the only thing she's not had which will likely become a staple part of her diet is eggs, because she threw them on the floor immediately!

I hope this gives a bit more of a personal insight into the 'how to' process, it's been so much easier than all the messy purees first time around, and much more sociable at mealtimes too!

Hi there - I make these sausages for my older kids - and had thought they would be a great idea for BLW  They do crumble in the mouth.  I have given Iona a chunk of chicken breast to suck on so far, but will def be making some of these again soon!
Jo xx

[Lydiasmom]

Welcome Jo - just read your post on the main solids board so thought I'd say hi!

I was at a friends house yesterday whose DD is 10 days old than Lydia.  At lunch time I got out a box with carrot sticks, broccoli and rice cakes and just held it while Lydia munched away happily............opposite us was my friend shovelling a very unattractive bowl of what looked like wallpaper paste into her DD's mouth.  The LO was loving it but my friend looked exhausted trying to keep up with her, I hasten to add that the poor LO started gagging, coughing & spluttering and we both got quite scared by it all.  I think I left a converted friend when she saw how 'advanced' Lydia seemed in comparison

[jomummy]

Welcome Jo - just read your post on the main solids board so thought I'd say hi!

I was at a friends house yesterday whose DD is 10 days old than Lydia.  At lunch time I got out a box with carrot sticks, broccoli and rice cakes and just held it while Lydia munched away happily............opposite us was my friend shovelling a very unattractive bowl of what looked like wallpaper paste into her DD's mouth.  The LO was loving it but my friend looked exhausted trying to keep up with her, I hasten to add that the poor LO started gagging, coughing & spluttering and we both got quite scared by it all.  I think I left a converted friend when she saw how 'advanced' Lydia seemed in comparison

That's great to hear - and how funny - I have had a similar experience today - I was at a friends house too and her DS is also 6 months. My friend was amazed at how well Iona ate her finger foods and said she would never dream of giving such food to a 6 month old child - and was i not scared she would choke?!!!  I understand where she is coming from as I puree-fed my other two - but I am happy to have taken this route this time.    She wasn't completely converted but I think I may have left her something to think about!  Its def all about having an open mind!

Jo xx

[Corinne's Mommy]

Bryony- I cheat a bit with the fruit and often give it to her in the safety feeder.  Whenever I gave her fruit on her tray, she would chase it around for a while and then get frustrated and give up or cry.   She has mastered the safety feeder and I figure even though I'm sure it's not 'proper' I'd rather have her enjoying fruit instead of feeling frustrated. She's still feeding herself and in control of how much she eats.  She has peaches, nectarines, pears (her favorite- so juicy!) and that's it so far.  She really enjoys melon, but thats an easy shape for her to pick up and isn't too slippery so no need for the safety feeder. She also eats bananas on her own.   As she gets older, I'll stop with the feeder- but for now she's loves it.  Sometimes I have to fill it up a couple times during one meal.

[mikiweiser]

hi all
i'm lurching and learning
i'm aslo a bit of a naughty mum cause we do blw and gerber... so don't get mad at me.

i just wanted to say - Bryony - the tone in your text gives me the impression that you are a confident woman who trusts her head and instincts and does what is right - and you know what is right. it's nice to hear that kind of a tone... at times i feel weak and i've allowed others to influence me and affect the little confidence i have - and well, i am happy to hear your voice. stay true to you, since i think you know exactly what to do.

about spoon feeding. when i started feeding adi with a spoon he hated it. that was around 5 months. now he is 8.5 months and loves the spoon... [1] spoon handle is great for chewing and rubbing the sore gums where the teeth are trying to come in [2] spoon is fun to grab from mommy and put food in mouth on my own [3] spoon in his hand picks up the food on his cheeks and refeeds him while i try and feed him with my spoon. but it did take 3 months until he loves the spoon. and it happened when he saw his big brother eating with a spoon, then he wanted one to. i want him to continue feeding himself with the spoon i hand him... it's almost blw, no?

Ax - when you say cow's milk does that mean you don't give formula?

i'm still waiting with the milk products until 1 yr old... and still in israel they do not condone cow's milk... so i never even thought of that option

take care
miki

[Bryony]

Bryony- I cheat a bit with the fruit and often give it to her in the safety feeder.  Whenever I gave her fruit on her tray, she would chase it around for a while and then get frustrated and give up or cry.   

Ashlee - maybe I should try that.  I need to see if anyone in the UK sells them - I've never seen one here but I am sure it must be possible to get one somewhere. Katie has never managed any fruit at all - even banana and melon seems too slippery for her and she just chases it around just as you describe.  She doesn't like it coated in oatmeal, which I also tried - she touches it, pulls a "yuck" face and then ignores it!

My parents are very impressed though that she can feed herself and sits with us at mealtimes.  Although surprised - apparently when I was little my parents were told by the local health clinic that the little jars of babyfood were much better than anything that you could cook at home, so we had those for a very long time...  funny how things change!

Bryony

[Lippy Chick]

I'm just joining this thread too.  I'm in the UK, so some stuff might be a bit different.  I saw my Health Visitor on Friday and she told me about BLW, very briefly (as I was on my way out the door!!!).  I have been reading a bit about it and wondered how it fits with the whole BW way of life. 

First of all, I must apologise that I haven't had time to read the whole of the thread on this, I've read a few pages and more recent ones.  So if my questions have already been aired, please be patient with me. 

It does sound very interesting and flying in the face of everything we're told about weaning.  I'm all for different and radical, as long as it benefits Alice.  She'll be 5 months this week and we're going to start solids in a couple of weeks when we get back from a holiday.

A couple of questions:

A) What about sterilising, a lot of people talk about putting the food straight onto the high chair tray?
B) The stuff I've read says to start with white/yellow foods, then in a month move to orange, then another month green, light red and dark red.  Would this still be the same with this method of feeding?  It seems as though they can eat anything straight off, near enough.

I think that's probably enough to start with.

I'm quite excited about it actually, as it sounds so much fun too.

Pauline