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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Anyone doing Baby Led Weaning started before 6months?

13 replies

LexieH · 13/12/2011 09:28

My 4 month old is watching me eat intently and yesterday was desperate to have something off my plate, he just would not give up making noises until i held a bit of lettuce for him to feel in his mouth (i didn't let go or let him have it as it was floppy and i was worried he'd suck it in), he went crazy with excitement and when i took it away and gave him a rattle instead he cried and cried, so i gave him the lettuce back and he was very happy....

not sure I should be doing this as it says don't start till 6 months old but not sure i'll be able to hold him off for all that time if he is seeing me eat and wants to join in.....

any advice? x

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belindarose · 13/12/2011 09:31

Is he sitting up unaided? Can he take the food to his mouth by himself? We started at 5 mo, but the above are important. You don't hold the food for them if BLWing.

MrsRhettButler · 13/12/2011 09:34

Going to watch this as I cba with purees and dd will be starting soon.

fraktious · 13/12/2011 09:38

I held off until 24 weeks because there's a possibility the gut isn't fully sealed before then and we have a family history of allergies but he'd been demonstrating the signs for a good month before that - sitting unaided, pincer grip, able to move object to mouth, loss of tongue thrust reflex - so I'd say that if he can grab it then it's possible. Try giving him a spoon to play with.

Original poster

LexieH · 13/12/2011 09:43

hi beindarose, no he can't sit up by himself yet but he can take things to his mouth alone... i know about that stuff.... but wondered if there was any harm in him sitting up on my lap holding bits of food? i know you can start them on your lap..... but should i definitely wait until he can sit up completely alone? i don't think he'd actually eat the food but wants to hold it and copy me... i could also just hold the food so he can lick it at this stage but not actually give it to him?

OP posts:

worldgonecrazy · 13/12/2011 09:44

The important words in BLW are "Baby" and "Led". If your child can

Sit up unaided.
Hold their head up.
Have the necessary hand eye coordination to pick the food up off the plate and put it into their mouth by themselves

Then he's ready.

Lettuce is a bit of a weird texture for a starting food as it needs the molar teeth to make it into something you can swallow. Broccoli spears, cooked carrot sticks, etc. are probably better starting foods.

4 months does sound very young to have the above development. My DD was 19 weeks when she shoved her first bit of food in her mouth (garlic bread!) and she hasn't stopped eating since. We have no family allergies so haven't been too bothered by wheat/dairy restrictions. Early eating is a bit hit and miss anyway, I don't think they actually swallow much stuff for the first couple of weeks and then the nappies usually show that there isn't much being actually digested for a while.

Sim88 · 13/12/2011 11:06

I started feeding my daughter at 4 1/2 months, she can't sit yet but I couldn't hold off any longer. She was the same watching me eat and making noises. We started just on baby rice. She loved it. She is a lot moe contented. I think you know your baby best and should do what you think. My HV said to start at 4 months is fine.

whenPaschagotstuckupthechimney · 13/12/2011 11:09

I didn't stop the Boy playing with well cooked veg off my plate at about 22 weeks.

BertieBotts · 13/12/2011 11:16

DS was 20 weeks when XP first gave him a breadstick. I was in the toilet. FWIW it's not recommended to give them gluten before 6 months, so wouldn't have been something I'd chosen, but from there if he was awake and we were eating something suitable we let him sit with us when we were eating and if he was trying to get to the food we would give him something.

I just have to disagree slightly with worldgonecrazy, sitting unaided isn't the milestone, but being able to sit with support for longer than 20 minutes or so without slumping over in the chair, and you must never sit them reclined while eating. (DS didn't sit unaided until 9 months and he was able to crawl, climb and quite forcefully grab the food by himself by that point!)

I think it is best if you start before 6 months to go with baby led weaning as you know they're only taking what they're developmentally ready for then.

mnistooaddictive · 13/12/2011 11:21

I did, but the key thing is they must do it for themselves. They pick the food up, put it in their own mouth and chew. You can't put the food in their hand or their mouth for them.

heroinahalfshell · 13/12/2011 12:28

We started at just under 5m (he's had porridge/puree etc since 4m.

Started off with soft carrot sticks, brocolli, toast, cheese etc

CamperFan · 13/12/2011 13:57

Yes, at 5 months he was sucking broccoli, mango and the "wet" part of cucumber.

reallytired · 13/12/2011 14:08

Dd did baby led weaning at just under 24 weeks. She grabbed a handful of curry off my plate and 98% ended up on the floor/ me / clothes. She had no help in getting the food into her mouth.

However there are lots of ways to wean and if you want to do the puree method that is fine. Its one of those areas where people have lots of opinons with limited research to back them up. Ultimately its your baby and you know him best.

I think your son is just curious to know what lettice is. He isn't actually hungry. Lettice is very low in calories compared to milk. I think that what you did was did was completely harmless, but not baby led weaning such. He was exploring the feel and taste of lettice. Its not as if lettice has much in the way of meaningful calories.

camdancer · 13/12/2011 14:38

At 5 months, DD2 sat in her highchair playing with food during dinner. It was easier than her sitting on my lap trying to keep her away from our food!

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