Has blw worked for anyone?

[Pyjamaramadrama]

I'm starting weaning with ds2 and I'm confused which approach to take.

I hated weaning ds1 it was soul destroying preparing mush and him point blank refusing it.

Realistically though what can I give him? I'm a bit skeptical about it. So far as I'm not sure what approach to take, I've given him baby porridge, mashed sweet potato and butternut squash. He refused all 3! I've put soft chopped pear on his tray and also a finger of bread. He just looked at it like wtf is that. Didn't even pick it up.

Has this approach really worked for anyone?

[ppandj]

I have kind of embraced BLW in a fashion. My DS is hit and miss as to whether he will let me feed him with a spoon (I can sort of play a spoon game and get some in and he laughs). Best thing I did was to put him in his high chair and put an array of rusks and mush and just let him get very messy trying the flavours with mushy fingers. This has worked because he has got used to the tastes so when I do the spoon game he actually likes the mouthfuls of food. He is my first though so I'm just winging it.

[ppandj]

He is also quite independent and will feed himself bits off a spoon, but also likes to bang it on the tray and loses a lot of food.

[Micah]

Yes it worked brilliantly for me.

How old is he firstly? If he's under 6 months you might need to leave it a little longer.

I just sat mine in a high chair when dc1 ate, and put little bits on the tray for them to play with.

Don't stress about how much they eat. It does start going in eventually. Just keep giving them stuff to play with at mealtimes.

Also means you can eat without having to feed them!

[CheeseEMouse]

I've had to go with blw for no2 because he won't be fed (independent second child!). I'm not sure how much goes in but some does. Mainly he likes waving food around. But it's fine, and in some ways easier as I just give him a bit of what everyone else is having and he's happy watching the toddler eat.

[Pyjamaramadrama]

He's 6 months to the day next week (don't shoot) I started at the weekend so just slightly early. He seemed ready, he is sitting up independently, able to put things in his mouth.

I've no idea how my mum and mil managed to wean their children at 2 months old which they did back then. Neither of my boys seemed remotely interested in eating, both big hungry babies too.

[glentherednosedbattleostrich]

Dd decided to wean herself at 23 weeks. Reached and nicked a piece of steak from my plate. She carried on picking from my plate as she fancied and then we carried on with baby led.

She's 5 now and has lovely table manners mostly

[HeadDreamer]

It worked for both mine. As in they both survived and are now 4 and 1.

I didn't choose BLW however. They chose it as they are both spoon refusers. Both DD went to nursery after maternity leave, and both had nursery nurses tried to feed them too. DD2 just started, and her keyworker told a story where one day she walked into an new staff trying to feed DD2 and her having a full scaled meltdown on the high chair. Both DDs would shook their heads, and wave their hands all over their face when anyone tried to feed them.

It took a while for them to get eating. I just put what we eat on the high chair. Obviously I tried to avoid very hard to pick up food like couscous. It will get much easier once they have pincer grip.

[HeadDreamer]

Realistically though what can I give him?

Anything they can pick up. Initially, omelette strips, chicken, roast meat, toast, cheese, roast vegetables, cauliflower/broccoli florets, shredded wheats. They are all a bit chunky and doesn't fall apart easily.

[Shiraznowplease]

It didn't work for me but then ds didn't like food and only wanted to bf

[crumblybiscuits]

I wouldn't force it on him if he won't take it, he might just not be ready yet. All he needs is milk at the moment anyway so just keep offering and hold on.

[Jw35]

Blw didn't work for me. I started in purée and at around 7 months she was on 3 meals a day and 3-4 bottles. When I tried blw she went from 3 bottles to 6! This was despite the fact she had about 4 teeth by then. I still don't understand blw although at 11 months dd does have lots of finger food and evening meal is usually something self feeding (only because she has a bottle an hour later though).

I know others will slate me for this but I think it's all hype. It's crazy to expect a 6-7 month old baby to self feed enough to nourish themselves. Some say it doesn't matter at that age but personally by 9 months I do think babies should be having 3 small meals a day with milk.

In your case is say your baby is just not ready yet. I started at 5 months on plain baby rice then single vegetables, then 2 veg mixed together.

[Pyjamaramadrama]

Thanks all.

I told myself that I absolutely wasn't going to stress this time around. Not about weaning, or about how much he eats as a toddler.

Ds1 refused so many foods and now at age 7 although he'd prefer fish fingers chips and beans, he will give most things a go but it's been a long slow process and there were times when I thought he'd never eat.

[Pyjamaramadrama]

I agree he's probably not ready and I won't force him.

How did people manage to wean so early years ago?

[Artandco]

He's a little young. Mine I started weaning at 6months. Mainly blw but with runny stuff spooned in like yogurt/ porridge/ soup. Tbh they played with it most of the first month, started eating around 7 months better, and were fully eating meals by 9 months so no rush.
Just don't feel disheartened when they leave most at the beginning. That's why it's good to just offer a bit of what you have so your already making it anyway

[MoreChilliPlease]

It worked fantastically for us. Started at 6 months and by about a year old DD was eating pretty much anything. We didn't do the purée/soft foods thing at first (doesn't that negate the whole point of BLW?) - we just gave her anything she could pick up: toast, fruit, veg, pasta etc, even small foods like mince.

She's 3 now and will at least try any food put in front of her and her appetite is fantastic - she never overfeeds or loses interest in her meals. Will definitely be doing it with DC2.

[HeadDreamer]

I know others will slate me for this but I think it's all hype. It's crazy to expect a 6-7 month old baby to self feed enough to nourish themselves. Some say it doesn't matter at that age but personally by 9 months I do think babies should be having 3 small meals a day with milk.

Jw35 Well, have you seen all the babies and that they aren't eating with BLW? DD1 went to full time nursery at 7mo. She manages their food from 7mo, 3 meals and 2 snacks a day. She's also BF, and took very little formula during the day. (Didn't finish one pre-made carton for the full day at nursery).

Both DDs have 3 small meals by early 7mo. They are both very enthusiastic with feeding themselves.

[unlimiteddilutingjuice]

It didn't work for Ds but is working like a charm for Dd.

Ds much preferred mush from jars and had difficulty accepting even small lumps.

Dd is much more adventurous and was happily tucking into boiled broccoli yesterday with her two teeth.

You can always mix and match. Both of mine have enjoyed being given a spoon loaded up with mush and being allowed to investigate for themselves.
Or you can give finger food for fun but spoon feed to make up the calories.

In terms of what to feed, mine have enjoyed:
toast, banana, peach slices, avocado, bread sticks, cooked vegetables, pasta, rusks, strawberries, pancake. Basically anything sort and not too stringy that can be held in the hand.

[crumblybiscuits]

How did people manage to wean so early years ago
I've watched a relative wean their three month old baby. They were just choking on it while she forced it into their mouth, it was really awful
Try not to stress, you are doing the right thing by just continually offering and everything will naturally fall into place soon.

[wtftodo]

Worked brilliantly for us. I did have a wobble after an allergic reaction to something and only fed her ella's pouches 7-8 months but went back to food after that and she was fine. Feeding herself mess free by 11/12 months. Brilliant eater and minimal stress and fuss for us.

[CultureSucksDownWords]

Chose to do BLW and it worked great for me and DS. He now eats a wide and varied diet at 3.5 yrs, and will try new things happily.

I found it helped if I thought of BLW as a process of exploration and learning rather than being about getting a certain amount of food into them. BLW is about letting the baby lead and go at their own pace. So it might take a little while for them to work out how to pick things up and to eat a decent volume of food. But then again it might not, just depends on the individual baby.

If you eat the same food as them at the same time that helps to model what they're supposed to do. I would read the Gill Rapley book about BLW if you haven't already, as it gives a clear explanation of the ideas behind it.

[Pyjamaramadrama]

Well we gave him a few pieces of pasta this evening which is what we had. He did show a real interest. His little mouth was going and he picked pieces up and tried to put them to his mouth.

[LBOCS2]

That's a great start.

Fwiw, I did a bit of both. I gave purées at lunchtime (when I was just nibbling on toast or a sandwich) and then I did finger food in the evening when DH and I ate dinner so we could actually eat. It worked well for us, and DD didn't struggle with either.

[Missanneshirley]

I loved it! And dds aged 4 and 8 have lived to tell the tale. I used the gill rapley book a lot with dd1, it's a big help if you are unsure, there was also a website with a chat forum. Dd2 just lived on scraps

[Blueberry234]

Both my boys BLW'd with great success I found the key was to not stress about how much they ate for the first year!

[BertieBotts]

Yes I did BLW - it was great! :)

Just keep putting bits of what you're having on his tray, talk to him during meals and include him and make him feel part of the family mealtime. Don't stress if he doesn't eat yet. Not all of them do.

DS did go through a hugely fussy period from ages 1-4, though, so don't believe the hype about it preventing fussiness, but it was easy and hassle free and even fun and I'd definitely do it again.