weaning at six months - help!

[maxmissie]

Hi My dd is six months old and I'm just starting weaning.

I fully intended to start just with BLW, having printed off loads of ideas for first foods and recipes from Aitch's blog. However now it has come to the crunch I'm losing my nerve (as I'm a natural worrier!) to just go with BLW and therefore am intending to do a mix of spoonfeeding and finger foods until I get my confidence up and my nerves go away! My dd is hardly eating anything and I know that milk is still the most important thing but for my sanity I'd like to go with both options for a while.

However I just wondered if anyone had weaned the 'conventional' way at six months, i.e. giving purees, then moving onto mashed stuff etc. Although the guidelines say wait until six months, pretty much all the info actually gives advice based on giving purees from four months and assumes that by the time they're at six months they'll be moving onto mashed and more lumpy stuff and finger food. There isn't much advice on what to do if starting at six months - do I start with purees and single foods or do I go straight to more lumpy and mashed foods?

Thanks very much.

[tiktok]

max - what is making you feel worried about BLW? Nutrition, safety, how to prepare....what?

[Aitch]

just start with mashed, that's the most up-to-date advice. have a look at the blog again, on the front page at the right there are a few weaning guides (not BLW). and look at these ones too.

[maxmissie]

Thanks for the replies! Had a bit of a crisis of confidence on Thursday, after two weeks of teething, trying to start weaning, dd waking in the night to play (and then I can't get back to sleep!), guilt about going back to work and leaving dd at nursery (even though I want to go back) and hv being useless when I asked about the night-time playing, by saying try introducing a third meal, when I'm barely giving dd what I would consider one meal. All this got a bit much for me and for some reason made me want to rush for what looks like the easy(!) option of spoonfeeding.

However after trying to spoon feed dd yesterday, it seems the BLW is the right way for her as she refuses me putting the spoon in her mouth but is quite happy to put it in herself and to eat some banana, cheese on toast and jam on toast with her fingers! So my gut instinct of trying BLW seems to be right, I just need to calm down a bit and think straight, which is hard when I'm physically and mentally exhausted! I know it'll be alright in the end though! x

[Aitch]

do you do a dream feed? we hadn't done one but when i started weaning i found dd's sleep went wonky and it helped.

[maxmissie]

We kind of do a dream feed by accident as dd wakes up between 10pm and midnight anyway but it only lasts a few hours as she's hungry again with 3-4 hours. Me and dh have both been ill yesterday and today with winter sickness bug so am not giving dd any food other than milk for a day or two anyway. Am feeling better about everything now, especially as yesterday she was happy trying jam on toast, cheese, cucumber and chicken. Not much being eaten but I guess this will change over time. Now just got to deal with the night-time playing session that's keeping me awake....!