Baby lead weaning

[hivisibility]

I have no idea where to start!

If you did this method - what was the very FIRST thing you fed your baby and when was it? I.e time of day etc.

A few sticks of cucumber and avocado in front of them, probably lunchtime I think. Not just before their normal milk feed but not just after- you want them hungry enough to explore and try but not so hungry they're agitated and cry for milk.

Just give them a few bits of whatever you're having whenever they show interest and go from there!

Six month olds don't need purees and I just don't see the point of them, I'd stick to proper food.

I think it was lunch time I did a combination of puréed and BLW

First meal was some puréed Brocolli, a diarylea triangle and some crustless toast cut into soldiers

I'm combining finger food and puree

My 7mo can’t swallow yet. Ive offered soft Weetabix and he gags on that so doubt if he’d be able to swallow chunks. I’ve tried stuff like avocado and he just sucks it, if he manages to put it in his mouth at all.

So I’ve offered purees for 6 weeks to get him used to eating and he’s finally getting the hang of swallowing. I’ve also given him baby rice wafers and puff crisps which he can hold himself, and chunks of soft fruit and soft cooked veg which I hold for him and he holds my hand and guides it to his mouth. I’m planning to transition off purees fairly quickly once I see that he’s able to actually eat his food and not just suck or play with it.

Combining finger food and puree is just traditional weaning. Blw if literally just giving the baby food on a high chair tray and letting them get on with it.

Anyway, dd1 had some toast fingers cucumber sticks and sticks of cheese for her first meal. Then some satsuma segments to suck. She gagged quite a bit to start with, but that meant she was learning to manipulate the food in her mouth and it stopped fairly quickly.
Dd2 had stir-fried veg including mange tout and carrot with some rice to mess around with and then some yogurt and raspberries.

Just give the baby whatever you are having with no added salt and let them get on with it.

DS was turning 6 months around Xmas time but had been showing the ready signs way before then, e.g. sitting up unaided at 4 months, but we waited till 6 months so his digestive system was ready, as recommended by NHS.

We started him on day 1 with literally giving him whatever we were eating just minus the salt, sugar and honey (also obviously being careful with things like whole nuts and grapes too). His first meal was breakfast which was scrambled eggs on toast. He slept during lunch so he missed that but he joined us at dinner which was casserole.

A few days later was Xmas day and he joined in having a full roast dinner, beef and all.

The NHS website really does have some good basic do and donts and general weaning advice. Worth a look

I fed DS1 exactly what I was having - just cut it up a bit. It was probably salad or ploughman's with fruit and veg cut into strips so he could grab it.

DSes are now nearly 6 and 2, and their favourite meals are the BLW-style pick-and-choose a bit of everything ones.

Toast cut into soldiers

We did butternut squash cut into grabbable bits and cooked in a foil parcel in the oven so it kind of steams in its own moisture.

Not fully baby led weaning here but have always given him bits to play with and feed to himself as he’s not into being spoon fed and anyway I’d rather be able to tuck into my own dinner!

We do all eat together at the table and he’s also always come on leaps and bounds after picnics where he’s watched other babies eating - I think they learn loads by watching and by being part of eating-as-a-social-experience.

@bigbluebubble yeah I had plans for blw, baby had otherwise. Loves a spoon, can’t really deal with bumpy textures. I figure it’s just a developmental/ preference thing. He’s almost 8 months now and I have to admit it’s slow going. Still mostly about breastfeeding. I did the same with going back to purée and recently he’s been able to deal with more finger foods. There’s always a 50/50 chance of gagging and vomiting if I don’t get in there quickly to fish out any erroneous bits though. So I figure it’s baby led as he was the one being more keen on purée than finger foods. He gags and vomits much less now, so I feel like the purée was a good idea for him and a useful transition. Apparently I was fed on premade baby purée for most of my first year, and I was (still am) the unfussiest eater. Go with your baby I say.

DD grabbed my pasta at about 5 months, at which point I figured she was ready. After that it was bread chunks and banana. Now it's whatever we're having mostly. She still has a lot of boob though--not sure how to reduce the boob and increase the food. Hopefully she'll figure it out.

Also my baby will not eat the mashed purees and finger foods I’ve so lovingly cooked! In desperation I offered him junk food pouches and wafer biscuits from the supermarket and he gobbles them up! I feel like the worst mother but I have to feed him what he’ll eat. I’m hoping he’ll transition to home cooked food after a few weeks.

Go with your baby I say.

This. It’s easy to get really stressed, but now he’s nearly 1 I’m way more relaxed - he still has loads of boob so he gets good stuff nutrition wise that way, and eats mostly what we’re eating but sometimes purée, or just chopped up tomatoes and bits of pasta ignoring everything else he’s given, or last night, exclusively peas. He’s bright and healthy and growing at a ridiculous rate so I think he must be fine.

Interestingly there was a piece on BBC news this week about fussy eaters and the research showed that doesn't matter how fussy they are as kids they'll turn out as normal eating adults later on and how best way to combat fussy eating is to just be as relaxed about food and what they say as possible (so i guess i will stop trying to encourage DS to eat more greens lol)

Fajitas! He cried to sit on my knee one day when he was about 6 months, as I was eating he just started grabbing my hands and directing them to his mouth. There's a hilarious picture where we're both covered in Mexican food, I look baffled and he looks delighted with himself.

Toast, steamed veg, weetabix without a spoon. Expect the first few weeks to be messy play. The bottle is still the main nutrient at the min. So. Something will get tested eventually

Ds sat in his high chair and played while we ate meals from about 4 months. Around 6 months we just started giving him the same as us and letting him play/explore the food. I cook from scratch every day so it's easy to just not add salt/honey. I think his first meal was broccoli and cauliflower cheese tart but not sure.

I second the being relaxed about food. Ds is a total veg and fruit avoider and a total carb monster. I grate lots of veg into sauces and he's happy to have veg in stews and the like. Plenty of time for him eat them separately.

Banana
Avocado
Tenderstem broccoli
Cucumber
Toast
Boiled egg

I then moved on to sandwiches/pasta/frittatas etc

@bigbluebubble haha snap! He’ll eat my purée but he’s clearly thinking of delicious purée from the supermarket. I wouldn’t worry too much. Baby food is highly regulated and it’s not really the same as junk food. Although my mil seems to pick up all the junk snacks that sit alongside the food. It’s ok because they’re all ‘natural’ ;) yeah fruit juice is natural but it’s also all sugar soooooo.

We've started baby led weaning while on holiday in France! Dd has had:

Croissant
Choux bun
Beef bourguinon
Escalopes
Chaumes cheese
French toast
Tarte tatin

As well as lots of fruit and veg. She's also had some chicken, boiled egg... a few other bits.

I had to do traditional weaning with ds as he was a month premature and his motor skills were no where near where they needed to be for blw. This is much more fun!!

My dad is 10 months now and her favourites are:
Pasta
Cheese (started with grated now on fingers)
Strawberries
Blueberries
Bananas
Toast
Omelette
Spaghetti Bolognese
Roast potatoes
Potato waffles
Mango

I find if you buy frozen fruit and defrost it in the morning it's quite squishy so less worry about chocking. It's just about having fun with food, showing them it's enjoyable. As pp said eating with them so they can see how it's done

I started by sharing my food. So when I was eating I would put a few of my veg on there, a slither of chicken, a potato etc

First real food DS1 had was chunks of apple from an apple pie and the strawberry on top. Then it was pumpkin, potato, rice and mince - basically some of whatever we were having for dinner.

DS2 - cucumber sticks that were technically for his brother, but he was absolutely desperate to have one for himself. TBH, I don't remember what else there was - he took to eating immediately, so anything placed in front of anyone became fair game for him!

With my first one, Yorkshire pudding and roasted carrots and parsnips. With my second, cucumber sticks and toast fingers with butter. One was lunch and I think the other was dinner. Generally we only did one, sometimes two meals a day the first month or so.

Re: reducing the boob.

Mine didn't reduce it noticeably for quite a while. Food tended to be fun until about 18 months when I started gently night weaning (DS2 is 27 months and still feeds at night due to molars coming through ).