To find blw wasteful?

[susannahmoodie]

So I read up on it and get the idea but after lunch today when sweeping up fingers of melon and mango from under my 8mo's high chair, I've decided I can't afford for food to just be thrown away like this, especially when it could have been enjoyed by me my 3yo.

I would say 80% of what I give him ends up licked once then on the floor. Am I doing it wrong?

At that age I chopped up whatever in a bowl, and literally gave DD one piece of each thing on her tray. If she managed to actually eat it then I'd give her another. If she threw it or spat it out I ate the untouched stuff in the bowl/froze it/kept it in the fridge for next time.

If you want to do it then 1 or 2 bits on the tray at a time.

Yep, as others have said just give one bit at a time.

I have found that the results ( ds eats anything and everything) less wasteful than your average toddler.

Agreed, just give a couple of bits at a time. I had a clean splash mat under the chair and thrown pieces were just returned to the tray.

Try something less slippy - I find picking up melon impossible without a fork. Also agree that one item at a time will save time having to sweep up after.

as the others - one or two bits at a time.

Seems to have worked here quite well if ds1 (3) and ds2 (7 months) eager reaction to brussel sprouts last night is anything to judge by.

I am with you, but something less slippy would help and stuff like carrot and sweet potato are much cheaper. I don't think she'll be missing much if you eat the mango for her for a few more months, and she's v likely to end up liking the expensive, yummier fruits whether you give them now or later.

YANBU. I did it with my 2nd and 3rd and we did not have money to waste. They got scraps off my plate(mainly cheese spread sandwiches and apple), not melon or mango.

I didn't do baby lead weaning as it wasn't really the thing when my kids were young and my children are very unfussy as well, the youngest (10) has recently got really into curry. Not what I imagined when he was 6 months and refusing everything but petit-filou.

I was also hard up when they were little and never gave the more expensive fruits like mango or raspberries - bananas are the cheapest. Now we do have more exotic fruits as we are better off and the kids love them all the more for the novelty value.

DD is nearly 6mths old and we will be BLW for the second time. She has started showing interest in meals so we give her one bit of whatever it is at a time. Once she can eat that one bit, she'll get a second!

I used to cut mango and melon fingers in wiggly sticks so DS could grip them better. And yy to the mat under the high chair - anything he dropped on there got put straight back onto the plate.

Sit the 3yo under the baby?

Echo the "couple of pieces at a time" advice. I also gave mine bits off my plate, which really works out cheaper than cooking a separate meal.

I used to buy a meter of oil cloth for about £4 and chop it into splash mats. I would clean it each time as I would the table etc so anything overboard on the mat would go back on the table!

No. I don't see food on the floor as waste. I cook it for DD. It's her choice whether to eat it or not. To me, wasted food is food I forget to eat or cook or freeze not food served up to a person.

What is blw?

YY we had no money when DS was little either. Small portions :) And a clean floor and you can chuck things back onto the tray.

But obviously I wouldn't scrape up yoghurt or something off the floor, that had to be written off once it was served! But yes I tended to keep hold of leftovers if possible.

I don't think a bit of food on the floor is a waste whilst the baby is learning, any more than all those scribbled on bits of paper are wasted when the baby is learning to write. But I totally appreciate that it feels that way when you are spending money and effort preparing food. A few bits at a time, and remember that the phase doesn't last all that long in the grand scheme of things.

The splash mat idea by sameday is brilliant!

Isn't the whole point that you don't do special food for the baby, you just give them bits of what you are eating to try? Liking the idea of sitting the 3 yr old on the splash mat to clear up the chucked stuff - genius.

Oops sorry others said it first - great idea, anyway

My dd is one and she still does this... !

I think the issue is "Baby Led Weaning" itself, as in its now a thing to read up on and prepare special food for.

The best approach for "Baby Led Weaning" is known as "Giving Baby Whatever You Are Eating".

So if you are having a cheese sandwich break a bit off and stick it on the tray, roast dinner ditto and on and on.

That way its really just a tiny portion of what the family would be having for dinner anyway so not really wasteful.

My 13mo dd is the same still KeepOn

Yy to the clean floor/mat/shower curtain underneath so stuff can just go back on the tray.

I did BLW by sitting down to my own meal with the baby on my knee or in high chairs either side (twins) and I'd put a bit extra on my own plate, and they could take from my hand little bits at a time. It all went in. I delayed solids until they were about nine/ten months old ( I looked into it very thoroughly and was ebf) so their hand eye coordination was good, and they could eat anything I ate, as long as it wasn't salted etc. I started this at six months so the food was available, but they didn't get it going til then, iykwim. I found it much easier than clarting about with purée or chopped fruits