To ask you what your baby's first food was??

[ethelfleda]

DS is 5mo and we are going to start weaning at 6mo. He is already showing a big interest in food and is showing all other signs of being ready so want to try as soon as he is old enough.

I like the sound of BLW and maybe a bit of spoon feeding as well but.. well where do I start? Offering food just once a day? And should I put a few different finger foods in front of him or let him try one at a time? How did you wean your baby?

As you can probably guess by my tone, I am a first time mum so I have no idea where to start!

I gave my first born purée foods, and now he's rather fussy.

I followed baby led weaning with lots of textures, never puréed with my second and she eats anything.

I don't know if there's a connection, every child is different and my second is still young (almost 2). But I would recommend letting the baby feed themselves and lots of textures, stews, fruit and veg, etc

@DwangelaForever No worries, I figured you had. No biggy

Puréed pear or apple
Puréed courgette and rice
Porridge
Puréed red lentil or split peas
Cheesy mash
Mashed banana
Mashed avocado
Cooked and blitzed herring roe
A bit of smushed-up 'whatever we'd had for dinner the night before'

Ah ok maybe I didn’t blw.....
can someone help me ..... so if my baby has his high chair tray with mash, stew and veg on it for him to eat as he wishes and I load a spoon of mash and stew gravy and leave him to it? Is that blw?? Also risotto - all on tray to eat with fingers but also encourage self feeding with spoon..... That’s what I’ve done with all three of mine but maybe it’s not blw

Glitterypoop thanks for the confirm regarding food is for fun. I’ve had people say they couldn’t blw because ff. I just assumed something must be different.

Think we worked our way through veg first, then fruit (so as not to give them a sweet tooth), can't even remember what's next...possibly yoghurts and dairy and bread, think she tried meat at 1 year + as I'm veggie and didn't really know when/if to bother introducing it, think eggs come in later and honey is last?! Don't quote me, it was 9 years ago....recall grapes having to be chopped in half until they're 50 or something! Probably all changed now and you just give them a fruit basket and they get on weith it!

I did purist BLW. DS had whatever was suitable off our plates, whenever he was awake at mealtimes. If he was asleep, he didn't eat! I can't actually remember his first food, but there are lots of photos of him wielding a spoon and covered in yoghurt from 6 months on. We gave him a fork at 10 months. And an open cup. He drank better from that then than he does now, as he likes to tip it out on purpose now when he started nursery at 18 months, the staff commented on how well he could use cutlery. BLW is great, and I would definitely do it again. But it ISN'T a guarantee that a child will not be fussy and always eat well. We have had definite fussy/eating less phases.

Oh, I know one of his first foods was peanut butter on rice cake.

@Pikehau pre loaded spoons are part of BLW, it would only not be if you put the spoon to his mouth for him

I don't think that "food is for fun until 1" phrase is particularly true - from 6 months babies need to be getting nutrition from food.

My DS didn't agree with the 'food is for fun' thing. Food was serious business to him from the get go.

Baby rice at 4.5 months. But apparently this is a big no-no on MN! I was a really stressed first time mum and not coping well, formula didn't seem to be satisfying him and I will admit I thought it would make life easier starting him on rice.

Doesn't seem to have had any negative affect, he's almost 5 now and has a good varied diet. I think BLW is a good way to go though. I did used to make my own purees, started with carrot and parsnips which he loved.

I do remember the first time he had pureed peas, he vomited everywhere. Wasn't a fan

Mollydaydream oh dear I hope I haven’t started a discussion off the op...... but....

Mine have never had an issue with food and been v good eaters and get plenty of nourishment, are offered a balanced diet and colourful plate

So what they eat they eat and what they leave they leave and what they mess around with they mess around with.

For me it’s something to remind myself not to stress that most of the porridge is on the floor or we are at the shops and it’s 12 and have half a breadstick....or at the restaurant and I can offer what I choose to them. Eg the steak will give them vitamins and hey have fun sucking or chewing it.....

Anyway maybe it should be “mostly for fun or partly for fun / exploration” but that doesn’t rhyme .... I don’t think anyone is suggesting that by saying that we think that they need 0 food or a breadstick .... as a blw I think my children have fun and nutrients.... but that’s just me and my experience.

The favourite for mine at the very start was pureeed pear. It can be added to lots of other things as well if they're a bit fussy... Most babies seem to just dive in but mine didn't and so a bit of pear chucked into yoghurt/other veg or fruit/porridge helped to get them started.
For baby led, steamed vegetables at the start, then add other food groups

I didnt blw as such but mixed purees, pouches, gave him bits of our dinner, whatever. Don’t stress :)

Banana for both of them, couple of chunks that they picked up and smooshed into their faces. Blw was not well know when dd1 was weaned (13 years ago) but we loved it!

Oops I don't remember think maybe porridge

DS1 - chocolate. Thanks Nan.

DS2 - no idea.

Avocado for both! I followed a book called on preventing allergies (can't remember the name) - as I have a few food intolerances (milk in particular) - and lot of asthma / exzema both sides of the family. May be a coincidence but neither of the DCs have a problem with any foods - so achieved objective!

Avocado, banana, sticks of steamed courgette! Blw worked great for us, although anecdotally by I know friends whose babies have just seemed to get on better with puréed - they’re all different. After veg sticks we introduced things that are easy to hold and chew on independently,like breadsticks, bits of pitta and hoummus, chunks of tomato worked aswell, he just sort of slurped the flesh off! The problem with just putting an ‘adult’ meal in front of them is just that it will be physically harder for them to pick up and eat with their hands so might be frustrating for them until they can manage a spoon, but other than that it’s fine if you don’t mind the mess (there will be mess!)

Actually I think the book was 'Allergy prevention for kids' by Leo Galland (I read it when pregnant and followed the advice for myself when pregnant /BF - though was years before could eat herring as ate a lot during the brain development weeks!!).

First baby; Apple and pear steamed with cardamom then puréed.

Third baby; a whole truffle to gnaw on.

lostherenow Yep, my MIL tried sneaking chocolate into DS when he was about 4 months. I screamed when I saw her lol!

She always said that she would give him whatever she wanted when he stayed over... She's cut off now, so that worked out well for her!

‘Food before 1 is just for fun’ has been thoroughly debunked. Babies need nutrients, particularly iron from sources other than milk from 6 months old. Iron deficiencies can lead, in severe cases, to cognitive impairments. Those who BLW in a purist way and declare it doesn’t matter if their child doesn’t swallow a thing until their 11 or 12 months are wrong and it’s a dangerous thing to push to other parents.

Reality is most people do a mix of feeding, purées, mushed foods, finger foods and it works perfectly well.

they’re