Talk to an old lady about baby led weaning please?

[bloodywhitecat]

My kids are all grown up (28 and 30) and I weaned them at 4 months as per the protocol back in the day with purees and a spoon. I now have a 5 month old living with me and he is going to be hitting weaning soon, he already reaches out for food when sitting on my lap at the table. When the time comes do I just let him go for it with soft foods like vegetable sticks, breadsticks etc?

WHO recommends not starting weaning until 6 months, your plan sounds good though. I did purees l, quickly moving onto lumpier foods as well as finger foods.

Yes.

I was waiting until just after 6 months as we were going on holidays...lo decided not to wait and started taking food off our plates. First food was a chocolate chip cookie (we weren't fast enough!) and a slice of lemon (quite liked that!). We started offering more appropriate food then.

There's a book you can buy for dead cheap on amazon or ebay. "Baby led weaning"

Basically supervise closely, ensure baby is fully upright not slouching at all, know what the signs of choking / gagging are and what to do.

Watch out for salt and sugar content in e.g. breadsticks. You can buy baby versions of most snack type foods. But I wouldn't have those for baby's first tastes!

Personally I think combi weaning is best. There are advantages to purees. In blw you let baby drive the spoon as much as possible. Best to have a non carpet floor!

Should you not discuss this with the baby's parents?

Ohio I gathered from the OPS post and tone that the parents are not around although I may be wrong

I was sure it was all rubbish and wanted to do purées but fitting of baby led, my baby refused to be fed! I basically just introduced new foods usually one at a time. I overcooked everything so it was softer and let her play.

Remember to cut round things in to quarters, no honey before 1 and no whole nuts but other than that you can in theory let baby eat anything!

There will be gagging so read up on the difference between gagging and chocking and also read up on baby cpr, baby Heimlich and what not to do if baby is choking. Watch some videos on this too. It's just babies instinct to gag at this age as their gag reflex is very sensitive and it can look like choking. Don't leave them unsupervised with food though as real choking is silent and easily missed if your back is turned.

Am I glad we did this? Not sure we had a choice and my girl certainly didn't take from it a love of all food because she's a right picky little toddler now but it did feel very natural and right for her.

www.nhs.uk/start4life/weaning/
official advice here, which as far as I can tell is pretty much baby led weaning
are you not getting any support or advice OP?

Gill rapleys book is good

Basically they can eat normal adult food, cut safely to avoid choking (quarter grapes etc), no honey before 1, and watch out for salt and sugar.

I weaned a few weeks before six month with my second but didn’t do purées. He was sitting up right, mimicking chewing, and showing interest in food. I didn’t want to do the baby food route again and started with soft foods like mashed potatoes, soft bananas, berries, peas. My youngest is 2.5 and eats and tries anything that you put in front of him. He will even go into the silverware drawer and get a spoon for himself before climbing into his high chair and start eating.

The only food he really isn’t keen on is peanut butter but loves the biscoff biscuit spread.

Baby led weaning is really simple, they just get a bit of what you have. Cut into baby friendly bits and without things like whole nuts and honey.

For example a typical day with my little one would look something like:
Breakfast: portion of my porridge, cup of milk
Am snack: little bit of my banana
Lunch: sandwich (deconstructed) or portion of soup and bits of tangerine
Bottle of milk before nap
PM snack: raisins and veggie crisps (the ones aimed at toddlers)
Dinner: small portion mac and cheese
Bottle of milk before bed

I try not to snack in between meals but I know as my LO has got older she needs the extra fuel so will buy things in or make things specifically for snack time.

It can be messy but it's fun! Look up choaking versus gagging in babies, they can gag a lot but it's just their sensitive reflexes for when they are learning. If you worry, do a baby first aid course before starting

Can babies have garlic and onion?

There's a baby led weaning group on Facebook that's a great source of info. The Gill Rapley book already mentioned is also a really good starting point

Grumpy my DS is just on adulthood now too, but from what I can remember, they can eat garlic and enjoy it, but it can make them a bit hyperactive. Can't remember about onions though he's never been keen on them.

Just buy this book and you never need to feel anxious about it - full instructions, safety tips and great recipes www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-led-Weaning-Cookbook-delicious-recipes-ebook/dp/B007Q2830Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=baby+led+weaning+cookbook&sprefix=baby+led+weaning+coolb&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1586115403&sr=8-1

I joined a Facebook group for baby led weaning and got lots of great recipes there

Garlic and onion are fine. Just cut appropriately. My lo has always loved onions, especially in a bolognese.