Was your baby able to sit up when you started weaning

[Hope54321]

Also, did you choose to do traditional weaning or blw?

I hear it’s not recommended to do blw with a baby who is unable to sit unaided.

Two yes, two no. One blw couldn't sit unaided but could sit upright in a high chair.

They dont have to sit completely unaided if they're in a highchair as it will give a lot of support

No, DS1 couldn't sit unaided until he was 9 months old, I started baby led weaning with him when he was 5 months old.

It doesn't say anywhere officially that they need to be sitting unaided, just sitting with support. I read the original Gill Rapley book that came out at the time and I remember a lot of discussions about this.

They need to not slump over when seated, and they need not to be in a reclined position. This is to avoid choking. If they are leant back and they can't manage something, it will fall back into their throat, whereas if they are sitting upright, it will just fall out onto the highchair tray.

Sort of but not totally unaided he’d flop about after a little bit, we actually used food times to practice strengthening stomach muscles because he would sit forward in his chair to get the food quicker 😂 we mostly did blw unless we were having something salty

My baby can’t sit unaided but is ok in a high chair and has good head control. Looking back I wish I’d waited 2 weeks to start as even in 2 weeks she seems more stable.

DD was sitting fairly well but we propped her up with a cushion in her high chair for extra support. They don't necessarily need to be 'sitting unaided' at the point where they'll sit on the carpet for a few minutes without wobbling over, but do need to be able to hold themselves up in their high chair with good head control and strength in their core so they can manage to swallow the food properly.

Yes. Unaided means can sit up in a high chair without slumping forward/ needing lots of support. Dd1 I blw, dd2 a mix of both - she loved food and just ate whatever went her way!

Well no, unaided means without help. But since sitting unaided is a milestone that surpasses 6 months for a lot of babies, it's not actually a recommendation for baby led weaning nor is it related to any weaning.

People say that it is but they have just misunderstood the sitting ability requirement or they are repeating something wrong that they have heard.

Yes, mine could sit unaided and we did blw. I think there’s a choking risk with blw if they can’t sit up, but purées etc should be fine.

No he couldn't sit even in a highchair so his physio provided him with a specialist seat for weaning and we followed BLW as he completely rejected a spoon (or anything except his bottle being placed in his mouth).

Not completely unaided no, but in a high chair with a bit of back support (small pillow so they weren’t leaning backwards) or on our laps, fine enough. We did blw with both. I would imagine it’s rare for babies to sit completely unaided at the start of 6 months. They just mean they should be able to support themselves well enough to not be reclining in a bouncer, for example.

No she wasn't sitting up
If I'd have waited till she was sitting up I'd have waited till she was 10 months old!
But she had the kind of highchair that was squishy so provided support
I started weaning at 6 and a half months

(and she insisted on feeding herself)

Unless told otherwise they need to be able to sit up in a highchair and hold their head up and steady, but they don't need to be able to sit completely unaided.

I've always done a bit of both purees and BLW. Just go with what works at that time, for that baby. It's not like a religion where you have to pick one or the other! Do a bit of both.