Weaning

[Nicola999]

Hi all,

Not sure if this is the correct place for my query but I am feeling so worried about weaning. My baby is 6.5 months old and I have been feeding her purées as I just feel quite anxious about BLW and just offering her finger foods in general. I offered her a finger food at the start of her weaning journey and she really struggled with it and made me feel so worried that she was going to choke.

I understand that in regards to traditional weaning, foods will need to be progressed from puréed to mashed/ lumpy etc, however a friend recently told me that if I don’t offer finger foods soon then my little one will not meet milestones such as delayed speaking. Does anyone know if there is any truth to this?

It's not as cut and dried as all that, but basically yes, offering finger foods from 6m benefits babies in terms of fine motor skills and oral development. That's why it's currently recommended. your child isn't going to miss milestones due to purees, but they won't be helping in the way BLW does.

Thanks @MolliciousIntent for your response. I honestly didn’t realise how scared I would feel about weaning and have such a fear of my baby choking. Normally I am so level headed as a person but my anxieties around weaning has blindsided me to the point where I am starting to feel a bit ridiculous but I’m really not wanting my anxieties to become a disservice to my baby and delay her. She is constantly reaching out for food I am eating so I know she is definitely interested in finger foods but I just feel so worried! Do you know roughly the latest point I would be able to offer her finger foods so she would meet developmental targets? Basically at the point where my partner is offering to sit with babe for dinner and give her finger foods as I don’t want to panic her and put her off, and when she’s more adjusted to finger foods I can take over- ridiculous I know. She just seems to take the biggest chunk of food in her mouth and struggle and all I want to do is snatch it away, but I understand this is important for her to learn and manage food intake etc.

She does play around with the spoon in her mouth so I know this is good for oral mapping, I have lots of knowledge on blw, have bought countless books on it and how to serve portions correctly. I also have familiarised myself with the difference between gagging/choking and first aid but just afraid to take that leap!

According to the nhs website BLW is no better or worse than starting on pureed, then going to lumpy etc. I’m following the nhs guidance as I too am a bit worried about finger foods. I don’t think saying 6.5 months is the cut off for starting finger foods either, as all babies develop in their own time. Don’t force your baby if they aren’t ready xx

Also I give my baby the spoon and he feeds himself, so I think this is a nice thing for him to do, he enjoys it and is in control.

It seems from what I’ve read and heard that some people think BLW is the only way the baby had s control, as though with spoon feeding purée they are being force fed. But we’ve found that our baby loves pretty much everything we give him, we never force him, he goes for more himself and loves holding the spoon x

Honestly I was terrified of my baby choking so didn't want to do BLW. (Had a bad experience of having to do cpr on an adult that choked). So I didn't do it. We started with purées then once more comfortable moved to bigger and bigger chunks. He's 10 months now and was at a buffet King and he ate noodles, rice, prawn crackers, curry ect. His fine motor skills are on point so it hasn't hindered him in anyway. I found giving Ella's kitchen melty sticks helped with his hand eye coordination then I moved on the the small vegetable crisps to work on pincer grip. The melty sticks literally disintegrate in their mouths.

If you're worried about choking you can also offer things that they can't choke on but that help them to 'map their mouth' and trigger chewing. For example a chicken drumstick bone, rib bone or celery stick. I'd recommend checking out 'solid Starts' website and Instagram to give you a bit more confidence in general. Lots of info about how to prepare different foods for different stages, and the mechanisms of chewing and swallowing etc. Very interesting stuff