Moving to BLW

[iheartshoes]

I started giving DD purées when she was 5.5 months , she is now 6.5 months and I have been trying to change to more of a BLW approach. So this morning for breakfast I cut up some banana , some small strawberries and some toast strips and put them on her high chair tray. But while she seems to have fun playing with the food the vast majority of it just goes on the floor / down her / smushed all over her! I don't mind the mess but I'm worried that she won't be getting proper nutrition as she's not taking enough food in ? Do they get better at feeding themselves quite quickly or am I better off spoon feeding and trying BLW again in another month? I'm getting so worried I'm just doing it all wrong would really appreciate any advice

[ilovepowerhoop]

why cant you just do a mix? Give puree with finger food alongside - I did that with both of mine.

[notadoctor]

I did BLW but just continued regular milk feeds so I was sure she was getting enough nutrition. They also don't actually need to eat that much if you look at the portion guides so she may be getting more in than you think! My DD did get better very fast but having said that she was incredibly independent at the time and wouldn't take a spoon even when I tried. There's no reason not to do a bit of both.

[gallicgirl]

BLW is about learning to chew, handle food, experience new tastes.
The nutrition comes from milk/formula which is far more nutritious than watered down and mushed up veg.

Baby's manual dexterity skills will improve on a daily basis if you give them a chance. Check out //www.babyledweaning.com for tips and ideas.

[iheartshoes]

Thank you for all your replies, I will try and do a bit of a mix I think and see where that gets us !

[DeathMetalMum]

One of the mantras of baby led weaning is 'food is for fun up until one'.

We take a mixed approach purees/mashed/baby food/spoon fed where appropriate and finger foods blw when appropriate. We had chilli con carne this evening an spoon fed it to dd (7.5m)