BLW: where to start?!

[GimbleInTheWabe]

We're going to start weaning DS this week and I read a great book on BLW which covered many bases but not really how to start from day one, as it were. So I guess what I want to know is: what do I give him as his first meal?! We'll obviously have the adult version of what he has so that we're all having the same but I wasn't sure where to begin really. I've had people say not to give hem sweet potato as one of the first things they eat otherwise he won't want anything else. Any other BLW tips and advice greatly welcomed! TIA

I did carrot, broccoli, cauliflower and sweet potato, mashed it and put it in ice cube trays. One ice cube per meal, only doing dinner at the moment. Alternated each one, then as he got hungrier and liked his food, I mixed carrot and cauliflower etc. He now has 2 ice cubes of whatever, then some stewed apple which he adores.
We haven’t given him what we’re having just yet, but in time he’ll have mushed up lasagne etc, with no salt added obviously.

Thanks @AutumnalTed I don't know if I've got the wrong end of the stick with BLW though as I thought it was whole food, as in if it's cauliflower you steam cauliflower florets until soft and give them that, rather than it be pureed? I was planning on probably doing a mix of both though tbh. I guess with the ice cube method you can gauge how much they've eaten which is a bonus.

Watching as we'll be doing this in a couple of months!

Generally you want to start with things that are easy to pick up and soft to eat. Mine both started on stick-shaped bits of banana, but carrots cut into sticks and boiled until a bit softer than you would usually eat them would be good if you don’t want to start with something too sweet. Just be prepared for them to look at it/play with it rather than immediately eating it- at which point you realise why all the advice is just to bing them a bit of whatever you’re having!

Just cut down the salt in your cooking and offer them a bit of your plate. So a roast potato and a couple of carrot sticks or a piece of broccoli. Chunky or finger shaped food is easiest for them to grab at first. Good luck! It's messy but so is any weaning and I loved the sharing element.

I'm purely BLW and I've joined the BLW UK Facebook group. I jumped straight in and she's had a whole host of things now. Cheese and kale omelette, porridge, banana and cinnamon pancakes, falafels, red pepper turkey burgers also she's had a range of finger foods, melon, carrot, pineapple, strawberry, broccoli, mango, sweet potato, cucumber, frozen ice lolly (Greek yoghurt and plum) avocado and banana.

Everything is homemade and we add no salt. I started with finger foods but also jumped into meals as this is what I've been eating so she shares my meal. I've bought the river cottage baby and toddler cook book as it has a section on BLW and also Holly Willoughby's book as well.

She's just tasting at the moment / studying and playing with the food. I was concerned about choking so did a daisy first aid course and the lady who came to my home was excellent. She worked for the met police had young children herself. You need a minimum of 4 people and it's £25 each, but she teaches you CPR how to deal with a choking baby and toddler plus a lot of other things over 2 hours.

Thanks for the input and advice everyone. So it seems like that the first foods we offer him don't need to be anything specific, just a bit of what we're having? I'll probably make sure we have something simple like carrot and broccoli.

Thanks for the book recommendations @Ebony12 and good idea about the first aid course. I've watched a few videos online but obviously getting the proper training is much better. Sadly I don't actually have 4 other mum friends (I'm the first of my friendship group to have a baby, not just a billy no mates!) but I think my local children's centre run a course so hopefully I might be able to get on to that. Chocking has been worrying me.

Did you just start offering food once a day to begin with? Or do you offer food st every normal mealtime from the start of weaning?

I began with a bit of avocado, though she found it quite slippery. Stuck with veg for a while but even so the mess was truly incredible. I did blw and began offering twice a day quite soon as so little was actually getting eaten!

Don't worry about trying to track how much they've eaten. The idea is to let them eat to their appetite at each meal, and not get hung up on quantities.

I started off with one meal a day, the NHS advice is to build up to 3 meals a day by around 8 to 9 months.

@Ebony12 you had Hannah? You must be in my area because we've just done a course with her too, in preparation for weaning DS in a couple of months. She was fab!

Hi,
When at home all day I offered food twice a day (my LG is 6 months and a half months) I also have a sippy cup filled with water) I offer twice so she can get as much practice. She's gagging and spitting out the bigger pieces she can't handle which is normal. But if I'm out, I only have time to offer once a day (because of the mess) and that's breakfast usually as mentioned they build up to 3 meals a day gradually by 9 months. But with BLW they really only eat small portions so following the group on Facebook gives you answers to many questions and allows you to post anything that's specific to your journey. It's strictly BLW only.

Ah yes knowing a few people is tricky. I asked my NCT group and Hypnobirthing group and without being part of those groups, I would have struggled to get people - plus my partner joined. Yes try your local centre as I'm sure they offer this training free looking locally. Tbh I think it's something I'm going to do yearly as a refresher as it's so important.

Oh purchase some bibs that have arms so you can keep the mess to a minimum and my first aid lady said make sure the straps of the high chair has some slack so your little one can lean forward should they need to dislodge an item.

And even though I jumped in straight away I haven't tried peanut butter yet, I was going to do a patch test on her arm (probably being over cautious but want to be safe) We have no allergies in the family, but if you do I would be careful. When introducing foods that may cause an allergy like eggs I did one offering that day, but otherwise we just carried on as normal.

It's really fun and a but nerve wracking at first, but it's so much better than purees as they learn how to manage food, chew and eventually swallow.

@sleepymummy1 - I didn't have Hannah, but Jenny and the training is amazing. It's a well thought out 2 hrs hey🙂

I would offer things from whatever you’re eating that are relatively easy to pick up. Think stick like shapes or fist sized pieces, not too slippery. My dd is 5 now but her first meal was roasted carrots and parsnips, a Yorkshire pudding and mash (which actually wasn’t very easy to eat) plus cucumber and melon sticks. Plain pasta is good, omelette, toast with various spreads, pieces of banana, plums cut in half, etc.

@Ebony12 ah, they must recruit lots of ex police officers then!

Can I ask: how much milk would you be expecting to offer by 9 months when LO is on 3 meals a day? I go back to work when my DS is 9.5 months and would love a clearer idea of where we'll be on the breast/ food balance.

We started off at 6 months, basically sitting DS on his chair every time we were eating (3 meals a day + snacks) and letting him have a slice/taste of whatever seemed suitable. I bought a crinkle cutter which was quite helpful for slippery things like avocado and carrot. Also a steamer was and still is very helpful. I used to make different types of savoury muffins/patties/omelettes which he could gnaw on. We built it up from there, following his lead! He was BF and I didn't really drop any feeds until 9-10 months.

@sleepymummy1

My DS is just coming up to 9mo and still just chomping bits and occasionally eating a bit so mostly still on milk but i BF so don't know how much he actually takes. He is feeding a bit less now, but last week was a mare as he was ill and actually pretty much ate/ drank/ bf nothing for two days

Generally though, most of their nutrition comes from milk until at least 1 so assume it'll be plenty. Are you Bf/ bottle/ combination?

@arbrighton exclusively breastfeeding and he won't take a bottle. I'm also a teacher so expressing at work really isn't an option so I've no idea what I'm going to do if milk is still going to be the main part of his diet.

Thanks everyone. DS had his first experience of smushing some avocado today. Probably a bit of a slippery choice but he liked touching it and skyhook gah he did bring it to his mouth it kept slipping out his hand like a bar of soap! Think I'm going to try him on a bit of porridge tomorrow morning. We make it with almond milk though so could that be an allergy risk? No but allergy in either family but I know you still have to be careful. I suppose I could also make it with breastmilk?

Sleepymummy, milk from cup?

Who/ where will they be going as that might influence answers?

But noway would DS survive a day without milk yet, he's 8.5 mo now. Luckily he does take a bottle

gimble DS just isn't bothered about porridge at all. Complete waste of time. And to be fair, I don't like plain gloop either. He started with Xmas dinner and then soft cooked carrot sticks etc.

@arbrighton my mother is going to be caring for him full time at my house. I don't see how I'd be able to express at work so maybe he'll have to go onto formula.

I'm on dd2 6 mo doing blw and would recommend the bibetta bibs with arms, catch everything then chuck in the wash.

I was strictly blw with dd1 but more willing to use a spoon when appropriate this time around e.g. porridge or rice meals.

I give dd food whenever she's awake when I'm eating. Usually breakfast and dinner (early for dd1).

A big dinner def improves sleep!

Well that was a success! He had steamed carrots and, whilst he pulled a yuck face when the carrot went in his mouth, he kept going back for more and was working hard at picking them up. He didn't eat any really, not that I'm bothered, it was just great watching him work at it and his chew instinct and everything was perfect. Can you tell he is my PFB?!