Worried BLW is progressing too quickly - please share your progression experiences

[TipTapTop]

Started BLW with my ds when he was around a week off 6mo as he was showing definate signs of readiness for a while. So we have been doing it for about 5 weeks to date.

This is DS2 for me and DS1 was weaned at 6mo but on home made purees and he was quite quickly on three meals with snacks a day (by about 7-8 months). However he self weaned from the breast by 13.5mo which I was disappointed about and which I put down to his good appetite for food and mixed feeding 3 days a week that I was in work. So I decided to do things differently this time as I would like to bf well into toddlerhood.

So I wasn't really sure what I was doing but I started by giving DS2 bits of veg or fruit once a day at tea time most days for about he first 2.5 weeks. I noticed he seemed a bit miffed when I missed a couple of days in the first week or so so I decided food at teatime would be every day.

I felt like I quite quickly ran out of veg to try with him without buying obsure things which I wouldn't usually buy. So as DS1 usually has something homecooked from scratch (or I would like him to more often!), I decided to just try him on a portion of whatever DS1 was having. So he has been having things like veg and cous cous, chilli con carne, pasta, and tonight fajitas and wedges - all home made sauces etc. made with things like passata, chopped tomatoes, dried herbs, ground cumin etc.

He has taken to these meals much better than expected, getting a fair amount in his mouth and not seeming phased by the flavours or textures. I had heard that most normally ends up on the floor and a fair bit has, but a fair amount is also going in!

So my question is, is this too much too soon? Can his gut handle all these different foods all at once and so soon? Should I be sticking to single foods or finger foods for a while longer? Is there too much salt or sugar in the herbs and spices and things that I cook with? It seems to have progressed much quicker than I expected. Please could you share your experiences?

[CMOTDibbler]

Thats fine - the more flavours and textures the better. My ds never looked back once he was given food, and we always shared meals.

[Fluffy24]

DS was the same and once we started at just over 5 months there was no turning back or slowing down - but I reasoned that it was hardly baby led if he was being restricted (which actually seemed to distress him) so we just went with it. DS is now 6.5 months, has three solid meals a day plus two snacks, and I'm purposely trying to expose him to as many different tastes and textures as possible and we've not really come across anything unpopular yet - yesterday we had toast and Brussels pâté!

[SaulGood]

We just sat the dc with us at mealtimes and they had what we had from 6 months. I cook from scratch, never add salt and everything we ate was appropriate. Both took to it happily from day 1. DD's first meal was a roast dinner (no gravy though). She tucked in with gusto.

[Fluffy24]

Sorry to answer your original question properly - I don't add salt to cooking, use unsalted butter, very low salt stock cubes (not just the low salt ones which are still really salty) but I try not to get to hung up about completely omitting salt (or you'd never feed bread, baked beans, cornflakes etc). Herbs and spices are all fine so far as I know and liven up what could otherwise be quite bland. I do take the crust of fish fingers as it seems to be where all the salt is and I find it very tasty.

There shouldn't be sugar or salt in the spices themselves and I'd doubt that he'd be eating enough of things like fajita mixes for it to matter.

[TipTapTop]

Thanks everyone so much for replying, that is brilliant to hear other people have have similar experiences.

fluffy24 thats what I was thinking - was wondering if I should slow it down a bit but he is really keen and not struggling at all and now seems to want to try any food he sees so I feel like it would defeat the purpose. I always cook without salt etc. sonce DS1 weaned anyway so he's been able to have everything so far.

I am on a BLW facebook group and everyone still seems to be giving single foods rather than meals even a couple of months in so I was wondering if I had raced ahead but I suppose it depends on the baby too.

Did anyone bf and if so how did you find the bf was affected?

[Fluffy24]

I BF and found DS wanted dramatically less milk - to the point where I was a bit worried but when I toted up what he was getting it fits with the guidelines, and there's lots of milk (some formula and some full fats cows milk depending on whether it's just for him or not) and cheese used in cooking. I know they say that 'food until one is just for fun' but unfortunately DS didnt get that memo!

Now he has BF early morning, a couple of hours after his lunch (which at nursery is 11.30), sometimes just before bed at 6 pm unless he's too full of dinner, and normally either about 10pm if he wakes when we go to bed or at some point during the night. So normally about 4bfs, but sometimes 3 or 5.

Initially I tried to BF before a solid meal like the books recommended but he got quite upset and would refuse - clearly not what he meant when he said he wanted fed! I didn't force the issue and we save the BF for quiet sleepy times. With hindsight I wish I'd expressed and frozen more when we were exclusively BF as I can't seem to express much now and need to use formula for cooking.

[TipTapTop]

Hmm that's what I was worried about fluffy I do love the fact that DS2 is really into bf up to now as I would like to do it long term for health reasons. DS1 was really not that into it and loved aNd still does love his food.

DS2 does seem to have taken to BLW scarily well though and last night devoured a mini home made pizza and sweet potato wedges. I always make extra to cover for any droppage that he accidentally dropped or to offer if he finishes and he took it all and didn't drop much at all really! Luckily he will take a bf before food still though.

Oh well, it is BLW so I suppose i'll just have to go with it!

[eckythumpenallthat]

Sounds like ur doing great. I BLW with dd1 and hadnt read up much on it. I just gave her bits of what we were having and topped up with a bf if she was asking for it. Like yourself she picked It up quick and there was very little waste! Where as my friends were doing 1 food/texture a week. That seemed like a faff and long winded and my way seemed to work and 3 years later dd is like a garbage disposal and will eat anything and everything

[FurryGiraffe]

I did BLW with DS (now 2.3) and he took to food really well and was eating proper meals very quickly. He had Christmas dinner at 7 months and ate quite a lot of everything. The breastfeeding did cut down quite a lot- pretty quickly we were down to four day feeds and a night one I think. Night feed dropped about 9 months. He dropped down to 2 feeds at about a year and self-weaned at about 19 months. I'd hoped to get to 2 but he had other ideas

[Solasum]

Fluffy, you don't need to use formula for cooking, it is fine to use cow's milk. Just not to have cow's milk as the milk to drink.

[Fluffy24]

Solasum initially I'd been using cows milk but when I realised how much we were getting through (we do lots of porridge, risottos, cheese sauces etc) I thought it was a good opportunity to get some formula or ebm into him - last night he had 6 oz of milk just in his cooked dinner! I actually confess to doing it the wrong way round, the formula (which DS doesn't like that much) is hidden in food, whilst for a drink (because it's normally only an ounce or two along with his meal) I give him some cows milk.

I wish I understood a bit better what the differences between cows milk and formula are in the context of a diet where there are good quantities of a very varied solid diet, ie is it about getting something that's in formula or not getting too much of something that's in the cows milk.

[Solasum]

I think that milkwise, only BM and formula contain enough of the 'right' vitamins for very little ones. After one it is ok to go to cow's milk because they should be getting all the necessary vitamins from food instead. But, We went to the dr the other day, and she said children should have daily vitamin drops until school age. Since those are the same ones that are added to formula, giving formula is obviously not a bad thing. Just an expensive one!

[Fluffy24]

So are you now giving vitamin drops?

I find it all very frustrating - I understand that there will be a big difference in what some babies this age will be eating (or offered) and its probably safest to have a blanket 'just formula or ebm' advice but I think the formula is really unappealing and would like there to be more information given to parents so that they can make a judgement about what is best based on their own child's circumstances. Grump over!

[Buglife]

Baby Led means he's wating what he wants and needs... Perfect! I had an enthusiastic eater too and he's eaten like that since a very few weeks in, I did a couple of weeks of 'tastes' but just went for mixed meals soon after. Half this forum is about people worried their baby is eating too much and half worry they are eating too little! I like BLW as I trust DS to decide when he wants water, food or milk. I always offered sippy cup of water with meals though, never milk. He won't drink milk for thirst, he drinks it in the morning, before his nap and nighttime feed (and sometimes still one night feed if he wakes at 4 and I want him back to sleep). That's FF though and will be cows milk soon.

[Solasum]

I was, but they have fallen by the wayside a bit.