BLW?? How?

[lola0109]

Hi all,

Basically can you give me your experiences, tips etc?

I'm giving my 5mo DD2 purees just now but feel that I want to combine purees and BLW. Not really sure how to go about it but do know I want to avoid the fussy eater that I have with DD1.

TIA

[hobbgoblin]

I combined the two.

I didn't wean until 6 months but when we did we started with whatever was going, from toast to bits of fruit and veg to strips of steak. Anything goes except salt and honey.

It is messy but very worth it as I rarely have to pack food if we're out because DD can have a bit of what everyone else is eating wherever we go.

You just need to be brave about mess and worrying about them gagging and remember that they will self limit in that if they can pick the food up themselves then they will cope with it okay. We have only just started doing stuff like chicken drumsticks in the last couple of months for example as DD not strong enough to hold them.

Is this the sort of advice/anecdote you were after? :)

[lola0109]

Yes thanks hobbgoblin,

I have tried DD with toast, rice cake, apple, carrot so far but only in past few days, but tonight she choked on apple. I got such a fright but read somewhere that try not to worry about choking/gagging. But I will admit i did! So now I'm not so sure.

She is 5.5 months and has great head/neck control etc so just sat her in highchair and let her have a go.

The mess certainly doesn't worry me as I have a 2 year old! :o

[hobbgoblin]

DD struggled with even cooked carrot and apples for several months I think. She is 13 months now. Her dad cannot bear it when she gags and I just watch on and he starts frantcally whacking her back. If they do gag if you can it is best to let them sort themselves out unless of course they are actually choking. I do have a weird non-maternalistic ability to be VERY relaxed in this situation. No idea why. Nevertheless, every time DD has swallowed more than intended she has been able to retch it back up (nice!)

This has happened a few times with meat.

The reason I combined with feeding her by spoon also was because I wanted to give her sloppy stuff sometimes such as runny pasta sauces and really she only ate the pasta with a teeny bit of sauce if I left her to it.

She now eats spag bol by hand and in the last couple of weeks has been able to spoon feed some things herself, such as rice with chilli. I gave her soup yesterday but put bread in it to soak it up so she could feed herself. Some use a Doidy but DD just cannot get to grips with it so we don't do that.

Is very fun and I, like you, have older DC who didn't get BLW so is quite a change!

[Octaviapink]

Gagging is important for them to learn to move food around their mouths BUT at 5.5 months the gag reflex hasn't moved to the back of the mouth fully yet. So if you're weaning below 6 months you should stick with purees. Once dd gets to six months then she will be able to cope with solids, but it must be stuff that she can turn into goo in her mouth. Bread, toast, rusks, porridge, well-cooked veg. Definitely not apple, but ripe pear (skinned) and banana is ok. No grapes, obviously, at least not whole. Mashed peas with mashed potato was always popular with ours.

[MoonFaceMama]

There is a huge a v helpful threadin weaning about blw. lots of experiences, advice and ideas.

[lola0109]

Thanks for replies, usually it is softer stuff but she is teething really badly just now so thought carrot and apple would help, but she chomped right through it in seconds. usually she has a wee suck for a while then I take it off her before she gets through it, but her gums are obviously really hard at the moment so I'll not be trying that again.

Thanks Moon, I'll have a look for thread just now! :)