So, what's so great about baby led weaning...

[WewishyouaBUMPERLICIOUS]

DD is 6mo next week and I've talked about BLW to DH and we have decided to do it with DD, starting on Christmas Day, but in the face of opposition and weird looks from our family DH is wavering.

He only knows what I have told him which is what I have gleaned from here and Aitch's blog, and now he has started questioning it and askin g "is it dangerous? is she going to choke? is it going to be bad for her? what if she doesn't eat enough?" I don't really have anything concrete to tell him.

He asked me what was so good about BLW but I couldn't really say, I just kind of know that it is right for us. But DH likes to know that "professional" people recommend stuff (he was the same through pregnancy and in the build up to labour) What I really need is a summary of the advantages of it that I can give to him, and also to our skeptical family ("how can she chew if she hasn't got teeth?" "you're starving her" and "well, that sounds a bit weird to be honest")

Help me convince him it is a good idea and give us some ammo for our family (especially my mother who will be here on Xmas day when we give her her first food!)

[Snowmond]

We are just starting to baby led wean here. My dd is 6 months and she has been on solids for about a week.

She has tried broccoli, carrot sticks, cheese, rusks, parsnips, potatoes, banana, ham, sausage and chicken. So far she loves it!

I just give her a little of what we are having. I have recieved a lot of strange looks when I tell people I am doing BLW. My mum sat on the edge of her seat today as she was tucking into a big stick of mature cheddar

I heard her on the phone to her partner later talking about the choking risk. I don't think she is very happy with it but I don't care.

Just seeing the enjoyment that my DD gets out of bringing a piece of food to her mouth is encouragement for me to stick with it. I am not at all worried about her choking as she hasn't had any problems so far and I feel confident that a pat on the back would do the trick.

Sorry I don't have any tips, I am just winging it myself really!

Good luck

[HabbiChristmasToBu]

Ok, well, the professional bit is partly answered by the NHS, who recommend introducing finger foods at 6 months. So the choking/chewing thing should be the same whether you BLW or do "normal" weaning using up-to-date NHS guidelines. Secondly, get the "how can she chew?" people to try sticking their fingers in her mouth (no, not really, poor little thing!) - you get my point, though. Teeth right there under the gum. Ask if they'd expect a 1 year old to chew - they'll probably say yes, but lots of 1 year olds don't have any molars, and those incisors are no good for chewing.
You're not starving them. Lots of milk, offer food whenever you're having some, and generally that's more often than 3 meals a day. Some are quicker to get it than others, but I should think that's true of spoonfed babies as well.

Reasons I love it? It is so much fun to share a meal with my daughter. It's astounding to see her try new textures and tastes without so much as batting an eyelid. She clearly self-regulates her intake according to her appetite and needs, just as she did when breastfeeding, and as I can't really measure how much she's eaten, I've had to relax about this, and it fosters a healthy approach to eating in both of us. It's easy, and makes you eat a better diet as you're sharing food and conscious of your child's nutrition.

To be honest, I'd be slightly wary of giving her her first food in front of your mother at Christmas - the first few goes are often a bit unnerving - sometimes they've got a bit of a sensitive gag reflex, and gag then vomit quite quickly. Doesn't seem to bother the baby much, but might freak out a sceptical grandmother... They get the hang of it pretty quickly, and then you can do the public displays, but it may be worth letting her have a few goes in private first.

[JoyeuxNoelBiggy]

I can't give you the science (if there is any) of it, just to say that we did it, and DD is healthy, eats a huge variety of things, and will always give new things a try. She eats more, I think, than DD1 (4), and can certainly be left to get on with it more than her (she still often wants help). She can cope with whole fruit with skin, crusty bread, yogurt with bits in, anything really. From my point of view, it was so much better not having to prepare purees and freeze icecubes of it. And I trust her to eat as much as she needs, if doing this means she recognises hunger and fullness and eats accordingly then I think I'll have done her a massive favour.

I'd be very wary about making it a special occasion and having an audience - it could well be a case of lick it and drop it on the floor, which is fine of course, but do you want your mum seeing what she could claim as a weaning failure? I think most of us were literally baby led, as the baby reached over and helped themselves one day.

[HabbiChristmasToBu]

Snowmond, it's lovely to hear that you're enjoying it and feeling confident, but might I suggest that just to be on the safe side you do check out what to do if a child chokes? A pat on the back will help in a lot of cases, but it's worth knowing for all children what to do. I hope this doesn't come across as patronising - I think your confidence is great, but a little caution about the possibility of choking is probably healthy.

[HabbiChristmasToBu]

Oh, also wanted to add that as she's feeding herself, she's entertained and busy during a meal, so isn't super-distractible, which is really magic when out and about.

[Snowmond]

HCTB, I re-read what I wrote about the choking hazard and it sounded very flippant . What I should have said is that I am trying to be relaxed about the choking side of things this time. I was very nervous about weaning my firstborn and probably kept her on puree for too long! It is best not to panic if they do start to choke as you can deal with the situation with a calm manner.

I feel confident about dealing with it to the best of my ability should it happen. (I probably read too much about this kind of thing with number 1!)

[HabbiChristmasToBu]

Yes, absolutely, Snowmond - I'm actually probably a bit too blase about it for my own good right now (baby is 14 months) - and you're so right about calm and not panicking over choking.

[TinkerbellesMum]

Without reading replies.

She has got teeth, they've just got a layer of skin over them. Put your finger in her mouth and find out how effective they are!

At some point she will have to start eating solids and the danger of choking will be there then. As it happens you are more likely to choke on liquid than solid at any age - think about your own chokes.

The latest NHS weaning guide is pointing towards BLW. In some areas they are actively promoting BLW (South Birmingham for one) even in one part of London (I think it is) there is someone employed to support BLWing parents (someone posted this on Aitch's blog).

Gill Rapley IS a professional, she is a Health Visitor with over 25 years of experience as well as Deputy of UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative.

Food is fun, milk is for nutrition within the first year at least. Keep up the milk intake and there won't be any risk of starving her. Babies won't allow themselves to starve, they are built for survival.

At the end of the day she is your child and you have the responsibility to bring her up as you see fit. You can listen to what everyone else has to say but you have to take it on advisement. If it's not for you then just make the right noises and leave it filed away.

Join the forum on Aitch's site and you will meet many other BLWing parents that have been successful with BLW, it's sure to put your mind at rest. There are also regular meets which are there to help people meet other BLWing children, older to help you through and younger so you can help them through.

[WewishyouaBUMPERLICIOUS]

Thanks for the info Looking forward to trying it. Will consider starting before my mum comes for Christmas but DH has got his heart set on Christmas day - bless him!

[Sidge]

We did mostly BLW for DD3. I started with purees at about 5.5 mths (as I had done with the previous two) and after a week or two thought sod this, it's such a faff! I basically put whatever we were having in front of her and let her get on with it.

She is now 15 months and eats a whole roast dinner, mostly with a combination of fork and fingers. The only things I spoon feed her now are yoghurt and weetabix/porridge, but even then she feeds herself 50% of that. There is nothing that she won't eat yet, a far cry from DD1 who was and still is incredibly fussy.

She has rarely gagged and never choked (big difference between gagging and choking remember), and actually babies that feed themselves are more in control and less likely to gag and choke as they regulate their intake, not you.

I think BLW is fab and would recommend giving it a go. It's a lot less hassle than pureeing and cheaper too as babies just have what you have (within reason).

[ruddynorah]

ditto what the others said about not doing your first foods in front of an audience. she will most probably gag a heck of a lot and not eat very much at all. your mum will only make unhelpful comments. try giving some bits and pieces before the big day.

other than that have you read the gill rapley stuff? link on aitch's blog. that gives you all you need to know really. have fun

[madamy]

I started BLW with gusto on ds about 5 weekas ago.(now 7 mths). He's great at eating the bits he can hold but how on earth do you do blw with yoghurts etc? He loves them and anything similar but can't feed himself. I've tried him with a spoon, as a dip etc but he gets so cross and just wants it shoveling in from a spoon as fast as possible! He opens his mouth, leans forward and yells for more - is that 'baby led' even though he's not actually doing it himself?

[PrisonerCellBlockAitch]

personally i think so, madamy, he's your baby, you know what you're doing.

and amen to everything that's been said, but also for me with a dd of 2 years old i really like the fact that i gave her a bit of cake tonight (chocolate with rasps, delish) along with blueberries and more rasps. she ate the berries, cake, rasps all together, none was greeted with more joy than the next, but she didn't finish the cake and did finish the fruit. for me, as someone who was brought up being told to clear my plate, who was denied dessert if i didn't and who has the sweet tooth and waistline to prove it, i absolutely adore the fact that dd stops eating when she is full.

it seems to me that a lot of weaning info we traditionally use is formed of food shortage, which is not somethign we suffer from in the west. obesity will be a big health problem in the future, i'm really hoping that by not making a big deal of food and just letting her enjoy it for what it is, delicious, sociable but also fuel, that it might help her in the future.

[turkEgyptlets]

dd has had q a bit from a spoon. tbh, i tried spoonfeeding her one time as she desperately wanted to eat but just couldnt manage to get enough by herself - i thought. BUT i've never been able to get any in her mouth without her grabbing the spoon and doing it herself. she holds onto it for dear life, sucking it like a straw and then hurling it over the side until i refuel. so, i figured this was babyled and do give her yogurts on a spoon. sometimes though she just sticks her hands in the pot and feeds herself.

sorry not helping op, but i would echo not starting with an audience. chances are she will gag and eat very little, if anything. it would be the perfect opportunity for criticial rellies to criticise.

[ocomeALLYebabies]

i did BLW with ds2, it was absolutely fantastic, he didn't start untill 7 and a half months as thats when he was ready, it was sooo much easier than anything i did with ds1, i dont have to puree anything or mash things up, he has now started using a spoon (he's almost 10mo)i can eat my dinner at same time as everyone else without having to worry about feeding him, so i actually get a warm dinner!

i think it works really well, will definately do it next time round. df and i didn't talk about it, i just kinda got on with it, there was never a set time to start just when he let me know that he wanted something. would totally recommend it, if not for other benefits only that it saves so much time and faffing about!