BLW - I chickened out !!!! Yikes...

[puffylovett]

Hi all, ds is 23.5 weeks, the size of a giant (21lb but v stocky) has 2 bottom teeth half through and can sit up unaided for about 30 secs.. he's been interested in food for a while, watching me eat etc and grabbing for my food. He's not sleeping through either although i know that's not a motivation !!

so, i have given him odd bits of fruit, which he's just pushed around his tray so far.

the other day i gave him pitta bread and he gagged a little so i took it awya. this morning i gave him toast which he picked up, stared at, pushed around tray and then started to chomp and suck on. He looked like he was enjoying it - no gagging - but then spat a couple of bits of mush out, so i panicked and took it off him.

don't really know why i'm posting tbh, just that i seem to be lacking in guts at the mo and am paranoid he's going to choke ! deffo want to go down this route as it makes total sense to me, but wonder if i'm being impatient ? should i wait a while longer ?

hes breastfed btw but seems hungrier than normal, altho it's hard to say for sure cos he's at the 'i want to watch the world go by' stage !!!

[Chirpygirl]

It's up to you really, there's no harm in offering him something once a day, it might be easier to start with steamed veggies (broccoli, beans, babycorn) as they are less likely to turn to mush when soggy!
This is how I started with DD, she was on purees for about a week when she nicked a handful of my marmite on toast while she was on my lap and wouldn't give it back! I don't think anything got swallowed but it was hysterical to watch!

I think the main bonus of BLWing it's it's so much more amusing to watch than puree!

[puffylovett]

going to try brocc tomorrow i think. he just seems to want harder stuff but then i suppose he is teething so it would make sense !! v scary, did you panick or just sit on your hands ?

[Catilla]

Why are you concerned that he spat something out? Surely it's as likely to fall out as get swallowed at this stage. You said he didn't gag...

[Indith]

Loads got spat out when we started, it takes a few goes to get the hang of each food. Ds 7 months now and going well with it but some things still confuse the hell out of him.

[Chirpygirl]

I only panicked once when she gagged on a bit of nectarine skin that had somehow got wrapped around her tongue!
Def sit on hands as if you panic, they will panic!

Just remember, gagging is noisy, and gagging is good, it means he is learning not to swallow huge lumps!
Choking is silent, DD has never choked, thanks god.

[puffylovett]

catilla think i just panicked as we're not at the fabled '26 weeks' yet !! worried that toast bit's might make him choke i suppose

[WanderingTrolley]

If you want to wait another few weeks, try to not let him see you eat until you're ready to start weaning him.

His main source of nutrition will be milk for a long while yet.

Also, ime, size and appetite aren't always linked. Some v big babies have small appetites, and it's normal for babies of all sizes to go through 'I want to eat the whole world' phases, as well as content hunger strikes.

[Aitch]

you might want to lay off the gluten until he gets to the (somewhat arbitrary, i'll admit) six month mark. what everyone's said was our experience too, lots fell out in the beginning. its what they do a lot when they've got something a bit big, just open their mouths and let it fall out.