Baby led weaning

[JunoBJB]

I have been weaning my little girl for the past month and a bit. She’s nearly 8 months old but 7 months corrected as she was premature. She was letting me spoon feed her but now seems to be refusing that and much preferring to feed herself. My question is - is it ok if she doesn’t eat a lot? I’ll give her avocado on toast for breakfast which she loves but I’m not sure how much actually goes in? I can get a bit more in with the spoon but I’m not really prepared to make her upset by doing it! Any advice much appreciated x

We're doing BLW and for the first couple of months she was eating a little and playing with food a lot. Now at 9 months she's eating really well. I still don't know exactly how much is going down but we can tell from her nappies that she's having enough. My advice would be to provide plenty of opportunities to explore food and just relax. My baby now spoon feeds herself yoghurt and thick soups. I just hand her a pre loaded spoon- might be worth a try. Good luck xx

Thanks so much for the reply - I think it’s definitely the way forward for us. Last night she ‘ate’ pasta with courgette, tomatoes etc. It’s really lovely to watch and I must say has been a much nicer experience for us than spoon feeding her myself. Glad to know it’s quite normal! She’s definitely getting some down her just not sure how much. Do you find your daughter still drinks quite a bit of milk? Thanks for the reply xx

@junobjb no worries! Oh, it's such a lovely experience! I see it as an extra fun activity to break up the day a bit.

Yes, she still has lots of milk. She usually feeds about 4 or 5 times a day, although I have recently weaned her off night feeds. She is breastfed though so I couldn't tell you how much she's having in oz. Remember that milk is their main source of nutrition in the first year so if you have a day where she isn't interested in food, it's not the end of the world.

I'd recommend having a look at a couple of BLW recipe books or apps too.

Sometimes if they have their own spoon, you can still use one yourself to get a bit extra in.

@ASomers thank you!! Do you have any book recommendations?

@Seeline thanks for the reply! I have been trying this and she gets very upset so I’m trying to stop doing it. Thank you for the suggestion though! Xx

Yes, I've been using:

The Baby Led Weaning Cookbook- same authors as 'Baby Led Weaning' which I found really useful at explaining the principles of BLW. The cookbook does contain a brief overview at the start though and good recipes.

What Mummy Makes- a bit more of a modern cookbook. I've only just started using this but seems to be very popular. It's also not anti puree.

Baby led weaning Cookbook-probably my most used app

Baby led weaning kitchen-also good app. Don't necessarily need both to start with though.

Oh sorry, its just called 'Baby Led kitchen'... There's probably tonnes of apps though!

Thank you so much for your tips and recommendations! I’ve made a few what mummy makes things and love them so I’ll try the others too. Thanks again x