To think that ‘food for fun until they are one’ isn’t really meant to be taken literally

[ElderflowerRose]

It isn’t (surely) literally true that babies need nothing but milk until their first birthday, is it?

Or if it is true, why don’t we start weaning at around 9/10 months not 6?

My ds isn’t engaging with weaning at all and if I hear the above again I might just scream!

They get all of the nutrients they need out of formula/breast milk but I agree it shouldn't be taken literally.

They don't suddenly get to 1 and need 3 meals a day that they've never needed before.

My little one was on 3 meals a day plus snacks by 9 months (but she was always super greedy) and people will probably say I was wrong to let her do that.

Is your LO just not interested at all?

I think a lot of it is exploring and learning, but they do need the nutritional benefit of food. I wouldn't be worried at 6m, just leave a few bits on his tray for now and see if he's interested. If not, leave it a week and try again, and so on until he seems to be taking notice and willingly helping himself.

I think some people take it literally despite. At 6m lots of babies won’t be eating that much and that’s fine. By 9m both of mine were on 3 meals a day and eating well. I wouldn’t have been happy if they hadn’t been eating by that point. I loved blw but saw some slightly worrying things on some of the forums where people were sticking doggedly to it despite their babies eating nothing.

Because it is a slow slow process that if we started later we may not be where we need to be at 1
But yes milk is important until 1 (and if you get to into weaning that is forgotten) but this part is getting them used to and exploring tastes and flavours of food

My dc1 weaned at 16 weeks (when that was the guidelines) and was on 3 meals a day within a week - and was much happier for it, he was a big baby and was hungry. Ate whatever he was offered.

Dc2 started weaning at about 6m and had absolutely no interest in food, it wasn't any fun for any of us. He was at least 10m (and probably older, I just remember a holiday where he was 10m and not interested) before he showed any interest in food.

They are now 15 & 18, and the younger one who had no interest in food is by far the more adventurous in his tastes and has an interest in cooking.

There are some real evangelists of BLW. Obviously when it works it is great but if it just isn’t it would be sensible to consider alternatives.

Did it the old fashioned way, so by 6 months mine were eating 2/3 meals a day so I can see where you're coming from.

We didn't wean DD2 until 10 months as she wasn't interested. She eats the best of any child I know and has varied tastes

You can consider alternatives, but they might not work either. The idea is that you have a good few months where developmentally they can eat, but it will not do them harm to still just be 95% on milk. You can spend that time gently moving them onto food, however works best for all of you.

No it shouldn’t be taken literally, they aren’t suddenly going to know how to eat solids on their first birthday! I work in a nursery and we are seeing more and more toddlers who have issues with food, when we ask how the weaning process went we are hearing a lot of “well we just let him play with bits of food but he never really ate it” or “we didn’t want him to develop a sweet tooth so we didn’t give him” cue a long list of foods they had decided their child was never going to be allowed to eat….
There is way too much fuss made over when to / how to wean, what foods to give, what to avoid blah blah… it’s become a totally unnecessary minefield. I wish we could go back to the traditional ways, we could still keep the 6 months guideline (and it is a guideline not a rule set in stone).

No, they don’t “need” it. It has lots of benefits, but not essential (although offering it is!). There is huge variability, some kids aren’t all that interested at that age.

We start at 6 months because all the exploring takes a while. You can’t give them no solids and then expect them to want/be able to do so all of a sudden. So if your baby isn’t ready, don’t worry and just keep at it.

I've always thought that the whole thing is over thought.

As a parent, you are raising a baby who you hope will eventually turn into a functioning, healthy, thriving adult.

So, when they are ready to wean (4 months in the case of my eldest, who was literally grabbing food from people's plates if he could, 7 months for my laid back DS2), you wean.

A range of flavours, textures, based on what your adult meals are like. So, some blended, some mashed, some whole - provided they are ready and no risk of choking.

And you move them on to adult type meals (obviously low salt etc) when they are ready. And they eat with the adults when possible.

I really never got the angst tbh.

I think you're misunderstanding the phrase. It's meant basically to indicate that until 1, it's ok to be in the phase where babies are playing around with food, they don't need to be eating 3 balanced meals plus snacks. It's not meant to indicate don't bother weaning till 1. Because it takes time for babies to adjust to food. That time is between 6 and 12 months.

There's a lot of variation and a lot of parents panic about it. One of mine ate 3 meals a day from 7 months, one took till 12 months and still basically preferred milk. Both BLW.

How old is your baby?

I’m not @MattyGroves - that’s my point! I think others do take it literally and I don’t think that is accurate.

He is eight months @Zhampagne

What @MattyGroves said. If you introduce food at 6 months, by 12 months pretty much every baby will be getting most of their nutrition from solid food unless there are medical reasons why they can't. Some will be on 3 meals a day plus snacks at 6 months, some (like DD) will be refusing pretty much everything but milk at 9 months. But as long as you keep giving them the chance to eat, and to explore food in other, less nutritious ways that often require a bath afterwards, they will get there in the end. It's just another way of saying don't stress if your baby starts solids on their own schedule rather than yours.

Depends on the baby really. Ds1 weaned at 4 months on paediatric advice as he had terrible reflux and wasn’t holding his milk down. He never drank milk again after 8 months (I used to mix it into food) when he self weaned from the breastfeeding. He was on 3 big meals at 4 months.

Ds2 was 6 months but again straight onto proper meals and not interested in milk anymore.

Dd was totally different. She wasn’t interested in food till well past 1 and it was a very slow process. She still breastfed every 20-60 mins till she was 3.

All of them were big hungry babies (all around 10lb give or take) but they filled their needs differently. I just went with the flow and followed their lead. I was never worried any were malnourished because they all were massive and happy. If their weight dropped or they seemed unhappy then I may have changed things.

I think these things are guidelines and you just adapt it to you without getting too hung up on rules.

I think some people do take it far to literally. Certainly b/f babies do need to start eating solids before 1. However between 6m-1 they are learning to eat. I remember reading that babies are most receptive to new flavours around 4 -7 months. So balance that with choking risk/sitting up/ risk of developing allergies some babies will be ready to try solids earlier than 6 but all the advice I’ve received from paediatricians /read is no later than 6 to start trying foods. I do think BLW evangelists often spout lots of stuff that isn’t really backed up by the most recent research (for example late weaning increasing risk of allergy). I agree with posters above that far to much stress can be attached to the whole thing.

I always just assumed it was a reassurance phrase to help parents of kids who maybe don't take to food straight off realise it is not necessarily a massive issue? For example, my ds took to food very well, we didn't do blw he had puree/blended /mashed along with finger food and it was a mix of home made and pouches. He was 3 meals a day by just before 9 months. My friend from nct (so ds the same age give or take a few weeks) had alot of anxiety because he just wasn't interested at all, but he had his milk, they kept trying different things and now the boys are 20 months and honestly there's not much difference in how they eat. Some days they will eat everything offered and ask for more, others everything goes on the floor 🤦‍♀️

That's how I read it, I've never took it to mean it literally doesn't matter if they never eat before 1 so don't bother trying, just that you keep trying but don't get too worked up, unless you really feel there is a problem.

Also strangely my dd who wasn’t interested in food at all now is a good eater at almost 5 and eats a varied diet. The boys who loved food so much now have a very self restricted diets to only 5 or 6 dry foods. So it’s no indication of what they will be like after 2 years old, when things often change wrt to eating.

I thought it was just to reassure parents who's kids took a bit longer and also to remind them to still give them their milk

I don't know if the person who came up with it meant it to be taken literally, but it's incorrect either way. People mix up babies being able to get the majority of their nutrients from BM or formula between 6 and 12 months, which is true, with them being able to get everything, which isn't. They won't get sufficient iron from BM, for example, and the higher iron formula isn't recommended for that age group either.

I don't even know where the phrase came from in the first place, but just because it rhymes and sounds reassuring, doesn't mean that it's true!

In fairness I can categorically say it is not fun!

By about 9 months DD was on about 3 meals a day (rarely ate a lot of each meal), and now she's definitely on 3 meals at 11 months but has a few days a week where she is silly with breakfast and slaps it away. On those days she gets a snack after nap 1 to make up for breakfast but otherwise I don't do snacks, just fairly big balanced meals. Fruit carbs and dairy/small amount protein at each meal. No meat really though now I come to think of it but we don't either. Can't wait till she will properly eat a bean chilli (not too keen just yet)