BLW - too late to switch to purees?

[Eminybob]

I've been doing BLW with DS for 4 weeks now and I'm having a wobble.

I know it takes a while but I am concerned about the amount of food he's eating (or not). Some meals he's fine, others he doesn't touch a thing. He must be ingesting something as his poo has lumps in and is more frequent. But this morning I have him toast and melon and he barely nibbled it.

I'm also worried he's becoming fussy (which I thought was the opposite of what blw is supposed to achieve) as he definitely has favourites and done stuff he refuses to touch.

I have been contemplating starting to give him purees, which I wasn't planning to do, just to see if he would be inclined to eat more. But the problem is now he's used to feeding himself he won't really be spoon fed. When he has yoghurt he has to have control of the spoon (but usually unsuccessfully) so I think he'll refuse to eat purees anyway.

Any advice? Or reassurances? I really want to continue blw if I can help it as I like the principal behind it, but I am a worrier! I have read books etc so I know it's a longer weaning process but some days I think DS is going backwards!

[Hakluyt]

Is he still getting plenty of milk?

[JimmyCorkhill]

"Food is fun until they're one."

He is fine. He is learning so much from investigating real food. His stomach is tiny and doesn't need much. You would know if he was hungry.

I did purees with DD1 and BLW with DD2. Both of them have foods they won't touch.

[Eminybob]

He's bf on demand still, with a bottle of formula (that just autocorrected to donuts lol!) in the evening.

He does seem to be feeding less some days though.

[Eminybob]

Thanks jimmy. I'm just a worrier and don't want to get weaning wrong! I've stressed about it since before DS was born!

[cosmicglittergirl]

I did a bit of both with my daughter, difficult to do BLW with yoghurt! She would sometimes refuse the spoon or ignore the finger food and vice versa. She uses a spoon to feed herself now and enjoys finger food, but doesn't eat everything.

[MinceSpy]

With yogurt I found that two spoons worked well. One for baby to use and one for me to shovel some in.

[headoverheels]

Try not to stress about 'getting weaning wrong'. I honestly believe that toddlers pick on your feelings of angst, and that is more likely to make a fussy eater than the approach you take (purees or BLW), as it becomes an emotional struggle between you. Try to not make a big deal of whether he eats anything or not.

[Orangedaisy]

We started on purée and dd refused spoon, so tried BLW. After a few weeks I tried the spoon again having had similar concerns to you. She was then happy to be spoonfed sometimes but actually took lumpy food better. We now have a combination which seems to work ok.

[poocatcherchampion]

Doesn't matter what he eats for ages yet. Just keep offering him a varied diet and you will be fine. I wouldn't start going down the road of "he prefers", try " today he fancies". If he is or isn't eating something.

[dementedpixie]

It doesn't have to be one or the other. You could give puree alongside finger foods

[justabigdisco]

I did BLW with my first. She didn't eat anything substantial until she was about 10 months. Just keeping giving him milk and he will get there eventually. As PP said 'food for fun until they're one'. Don't stress!

[ipswichwitch]

With both of mine I did a mix - some things I spoon fed, with them holding a spoon with a bit of food on, and me with another feeding them. They also had lots of finger food, and particularly liked having things off my plate (even though it was mostly the same as they were eating!)

They were both bf on demand, and as they gained weight and had plenty of filled nappies I didn't worry about how much they actually ate. I'm sure they do eat more than it looks anyway.

DS's are now 3 and 13mo, and pretty good eaters but they do have the odd few things they won't have. I just put a bit of those things on the plate with other stuff they will eat and let them crack on. They gave started eating a few things they previously refused this way. I think the key is to try not to stress and make an issue of mealtimes. Let them go at their own pace and explore food. DS1 wasn't on 3 meals a day until he was 11mo, DS1 from 7mo as there's no filling him!

[noreplacementsfound]

We started at six months and didn't get much interest til nine months.

Now (18m) he can use a fork and spoon and be trusted with a real plate (stealth boast)

Don't give up, sounds like you are on exactly the right path.

[CultureSucksDownWords]

If it helps, you could try and rethink the purpose of weaning. I found it helpful to think of BLW as a process to expose my DS to lots of different tastes and textures, and to help him learn about food, as well as develop his fine motor skills. I didn't think at all about how much he was actually eating, as that wasn't the focus of it. He was bfed on demand alongside so he was never going to be hungry or not thriving.

Also, if he wasn't into one particular food for one meal, I didn't take that as a definite preference, I kept offering everything. At 2.5 he does now have some definite preferences but they aren't very many at all.

Of course you can always swap to offering purees alongside finger food if BLW is not helping you feel relaxed about weaning. I agree with the previous poster that it's more important to be relaxed and not anxious, than the method that you use.

[Eminybob]

Thanks all. I think I'll crack on with it. With hindsight though maybe blw wasn't the best route. For a stress head like me .

But he did eat a fair amount of his lunch (rice cakes with soft cheese and some orange segments) so I feel a bit better about that now.

It's a roller coaster this weaning malarkey isn't it?

[cosmicglittergirl]

I worried about it quite a bit at first and read a book about combing the two methods. After a while I didn't worry and now at 16 months I'm not bothered at all as long as she eats something. The pickiness and mind changing about once loved foods on a daily basis becomes even more fun!

[Mehitabel6]

Surely BLW means that you take your lead from the baby? No harm in seeing if he likes a purée. It isn't something to beat yourself up about- it is a very short period and it really doesn't matter. It has no bearing at all on future eating habits.

[BazilGin]

Have you got the blw weaning book? It is really reassuring, I just got it from the library to refresh memory for my DS2.
It is difficult if you have friends who do puree weaning, I was convinced I was doing it wrong as my DD barely touched food until she was 11 months whilst other babies were inhaling puree pouches.
With DS2 I am also dojng blw and not stressing too much. Some days he seems to be inhailing everything in sight, usually followed by a day or two of not wanting to touch anything.
He is not consistent, so I just carry on giving him bit of what we are eating.
You are doing it exactly right. Think of it less as of feeding and more as sensory experience of textures and tastes. Also great excersise in dexterity! MY DS 2 is doing so well with handling food after 2 months of practice :-) he had chicken curry with rice for the first time yesterday and handled it very well.
It's worth perservering imho. Good luck!

[Littlef00t]

I interpreted blw as sensory play with food until dd was eating more.

With yoghurt, I loaded the spoon and held upright with yoghurt facing me, she would naturally grab and tip towards herself so at least she was getting the right end and the right way up.

[Spindelina]

I'm quite a bit further on than you, but just a view from the other side...

DD (2.7) was BLWed. She's had phases of eating nothing, of eating only carbs, etc etc. For the last few months, the only veg she would eat was cucumber. We've just kept on offering her whatever we were eating. One day last week she ate all her broccoli and most of mine too. "my like broccoli!"