Q&A about baby-led weaning with Mumsnetter Aitch - ANSWERS BACK

[LucilleMumsnet]

This week we're running a Q&A about baby-led weaning with Aitch. Aitch is a Mumsnetter (although perhaps no longer posting by that name ) who writes and runs Babyledweaning.com. The website began as a blog about weaning her baby girl, who is now an astonishing 8 years old (and her favourite veg? Still broccoli. Aitch's least favourite veg? Still broccoli). She also writes the Round Up every week.

Aitch emphatically is not a BLW 'guru', but she has done it twice and with a website that gets over a million and a half hits per year, and forum and Facebook communities of over 66,000 people, she really has seen a lot of little babies grow their appetites. She is more than happy to help anyone out if she can. (She also wrote this, obvs)

Post your questions to Aitch before 10am on Monday 30 June and we'll post up her answers the following Monday 7 July.

[HowGoodIsThat]

"God i am really bad at this keeping away thing"

You could take lessons from me - I have maintained my flounce for almost a year now....

[katese11]

Hello flouncer! I think I know who you are....didn't we all change our names for you?

[Poosnu]

Do babies really get enough to eat using this method?

Also what is the best way to serve protein to her? I'm worried about her iron levels (still bf and no formula).

My 8mo dd refuses to be spoon bed, so BLW is our only option. She doesn't seem to eat much though. My DD1 loved spoon feeding and ate loads by this age, so I'm a bit concerned. The only sort of protein DD2 has eaten so far is cheese and strips of omelette.

[Beehatch]

Kate I'm not so much elusive as past it! Good to hear the party forum is still going though, maybe I should make a comeback (it'll only take me 15 months or do to come up with a good excuse )

Aitch I am as weetabix to your wakey wakey cakey

[katese11]

Get busy Beehatch :D

[Solasum]

How do I persuade the nursery that DS much prefers what they call 'toddler food', ie fist sized bits of stuff, and that he is able to manage to feed himself? (Was a bit disheartened tiday when I picked him up to see a group of one year olds being fed puree in turn by spoon (different ones, obviously!) with no attempt to get them to feed themselves)

[Solasum]

Also, is there anything you really shouldn't give ay the 6mo stage? Excluding unpasteurised and mouldy cheese etc. He helped himself to jammie dodgers I am working on the all and any food is good at the moment.

When is it ok to introduce spicy foods and what? And how spicy?

What would be your top suggestions for superquick to assemble nursery - friendly self-feeding foods? So far I have sent in melon, banana, toast strips and various rusk type things.

DS only likes pasta with sauce. What is the best holdable shape to minimise the orange baby effect?

Sorry. Lots of questions.

[nevergoogle]

Ah the lovely Aitch.

I once spent a night in her fridge.

I don't have any questions just yet as the latest edition is only 12 weeks old. But don't bloody go anywhere. I need you here. In 12 weeks. Postpone the Q&A session for a bit.

[affafantoosh]

Aitch, I have no questions because alas, mine are way beyond that now. But can I just say a big thank you because your site and your chat on here was brilliantly helpful. It gave me the reassurance and confidence to do what I knew was right for us, even when all around me were sharing hilarious tales of ice cube tray mix ups, commiserating on all-night root vegetable cooking marathons and sharing baby rice recipes

You won't recognise me because of my fickle namechangeability but I rate you highly as a MNer and would definitely recommend you as a not-guru

[browneyesblue]

Aitch - you helped me through my BLW collywobbles with DS1. I definitely owe you one for your fantastic advice in relation to food refusal, gagging, etc. DS1 is now 4, and a great time was had by all during the weaning process. I can (almost) take him anywhere to eat

Anyway, DS2 - he is a different kettle of fish. He is 11 months; a lovely big squidge of a baby. Huge at birth, still big and very determined now. We started weaning him at 6 months, and within a month he really seemed to have an idea that food = full tummy. He is very definite about what he will and won't try, which I can handle (and am more relaxed about), but what is giving me heart-stopping moments is that he wants a fork, just like DS1.

Sometimes he eats beautifully with said fork (loaded, of course. He's a baby, not a genius!), but often he smashes the damn thing aound, while screeching with glee, before eating whatever is on it. I am living in fear of him stabbing himself in the eye - he does not want to give it up though. Any calming words of advice?

[WaitingForMyMam]

So glad to see this Q&A.

Aitch, we are really struggling with weaning.

DD1 took to BLW like a duck to water, pretty much bang on six months.

DD2 is seven months today. Her motor skills aren't as developed as DD1's were and she can't feed herself at all and while she looks very interested when we eat she is not interested in feeding herself. She is only just now losing the tongue thrust impulse (or whatever it's called).

I'm getting LOTS of pressure from my pediatrician to get food into her as her weight has dropped off the chart. So I'm giving her a little bit of puree and some food (a tiny tiny amount) gets in but she isn't that bothered. I was under the understanding that food is for fun until one but my doctor emphatically disagrees.

We do live in a country where weaning happens at five months though (whether babies like it or not) so there are cultural differences and I do take my doctor's advice with a pinch of salt, but it's still frustrating.

Would you suggest waiting and continuing with just milk feeds until she's ready to BLW? Or persevere with the purees in this instance?

Whew, this is long! Thanks for reading.

[YouMakeMeHappy]

Hello, my third child is six months, I've been offering him finger food for the past few weeks. He is breastfed, but I'm worried he isn't swallowing much at all, save a few mouthfuls as his poos are still bright yellow and sweet smelling.

When should I give up and start some spoon feeding? Thank you, I'll check out your website

[scandichick]

Just started BLW and finding it brilliant so far. Only niggle is my otherwise lovely MIL who apparently is concerned that we won't be able to bring our child to restaurants because of the mess (or so DH aka the shit-stirrer tells me).

Any tips?

[Penano]

Happy to have stumbled across this! DD is 7mths & is a food refuser. This is a total shock as DC1 loved the stuff from the word go. After a total food strike last week we're starting again. My questions are:
How much does she actually need? How and when should I offer bf?
Are there any good tips for breakfast foods?
Are there any absolute no-nos in BLW, other than the standard guidelines re allergies, honey etc?

Sorry, probably way too many questions there, just answering one will be great! Will check out website too...
Thanks in advance

[enormouse]

I have a few questions.

For context.
DS1 - tried weaning him with purees at 5 months (did the whole AK thing). He wasn't having any of it and eventually moved to BLW by accident at 7 months and he really took to it and started eating properly at 10 months or so. Great eater now at 2.7.

DS2 - 5 months and started weaning him about 2 weeks ago. Used pouches as I couldn't be faffed with pureeing things. He has really taken to it but I want to BLW like I did with his brother. Can I go from smooth purees to finger foods? Is it likely he'll want to stick to.pouches? Will he be unsatisfied by the amount of food he gets via BLW in comparison to purees?

Thanks for getting to the end of my essay

[yongnian]

Hello...I've been reading about BLW with interst since DD2 came along 16 weeks ago....as weaning DD1 8 years ago the trad way was ok until 15 months when she grabbed the cutlery off me and has basically had a restricted diet ever since (now 8 and has dyspraxia and sensory issues which impact on food). Had a selective eating disorder myself til a teen (sensory and dyspraxia based and was force fed - yikes!) sorry, this is now a bit of a ramble but basically, where's the best place to start for BLW beginners info? I mean, am I literally lobbing her strips of family food from the off?? I sure won't miss the traditional method, and am really looking forward to trying this, for all the reasons above! From what I'm hearing of it, it would have been so much a better way for me and DD1 so keen to lose all the trad bits that didn't work for us.
Thanks!

[FreeButtonBee]

Any intermediate family cook books you recommend?

My DTs are 16 months and expert fork and spoon wielders but not that into big lumps of meat or salad or spicey things (which rules out 75% of what DH and I like to eat, partic in summer) and they eat at 5.15 and we generally don't eat until 8ish.

So I want some nice ideas for toddler friendly meals that we would enjoy too. Soemthign a bit out of the norm but easy to cook. Was thinking river cottage maybe? I have a million cookbooks but not sure they are quite up for Claudia Roden every week (although DTD would love all the seafood - there is nothing more disgusting than seeing a 12 month old eat a mussel)

[Mnippy]

Another question about salt. We aren't supposed to put added salt into food. But isn't grating cheese into omelettes, eating hummus (as one poster has already said) and breadsticks basically adding salt? I'm finding it difficult to share food with baby because he usually has super pious steamed stuff which I can't stand.

[Echocave]

This may be an unfair question as you say you are not an expert so feel free to ignore but do you agree with Gill Rapley's assertion that the gag reflex in babies is further forward than in adults (implying that they would cough food up before it gets too far down their throats)? (I think she says this in her BLW book). My extremely trustworthy and down to earth GP who herself has children says that this statement is incorrect and that the ENT specialists she knows are all very anti BLW because the risk of choking is too high.

I would love to do more BLW with dc2 (7 months) but am too scared!

[Quodlibet]

Serious question here Aitch: we have a very very enthusiastic 6m eater here who is up for trying pretty much everything, and has quickly got the hang of feeding herself eg cucumber sticks, spaghetti, scrambled egg, butternut squash lumps in the few weeks we've been weaning her. I've been taking a pretty BLW approach, along with passing her loaded spoons of eg yogurt which she likes to feed herself with.

Anyway, my question is - we've had a couple of alarming incidents - one where DD has, after a meal, had something unnoticed stashed in her high palate which has fallen into her mouth and choked her during a nappy change some time afterwards (required a slap to the back to bring it up). Since then we've been a bit paranoid about hard chunks, and peering into her mouth as she does frequently seem to get things stuck in her palate (which is unusually high according to breastfeeding expert). I've reverted to softer foods plus very high vigilance. It seems a bit like her enthusiasm for putting things and ability at getting things into her mouth isn't quite matched by her ability to manage to clear her mouth, so I am nervous about what food I can safely feed her. Any wisdom?

[Solasum]

Another Q, my mum is really dubious about BLW as she thinks DS is going to choke, and really flaps if he gums off a big bit of anything (which he almost always spits out in seconds anyway) What can I say to reassure her?

[TheBeanpole]

Hello, glad to see this!

We are doing BLW with DD1, who is 6.5 months and have been going for a couple of weeks now. She's doing ok, and is definitely getting some in as it's coming out the other end, and can manage a yoghurty spoon too. However, she is showing a marked preference for beige foods (much like her dad). I think she would eat toast all day. She is offered plenty of fruit and veg but largely ignores it. Unless it's humus or banana.

I'm fretting a bit about vitamins, especially as we are largely vegetarian at home. Is this just a developmental thing, in that she's eating the things she finds easiest (although we are doing the crinkle-cutting, veg-with-a-handle malarkey) and will get there, or do we need to gently encourage her in the ways of the vegetable?

Also, if I may, a second question?

How important do you think the all eating together thing is? We can manage it at breakfast and lunch but largely cannot get it together to have grown-ups eat at 6 ish. I go back to work in 7 weeks, and DP takes over, and I will be unlikely to even be home at that time.

Thank you!

[LucilleMumsnet]

This Q&A is now closed. Thanks for all your questions!

[Poofus]

We need answers!