Evidence basis for BLW?

[TruthSweet]

I had a v interesting conversation with a HCP today who is going to be running a parenting course for mums of babies 3m+.

Amongst other things, starting will be covered. I asked if BLW would be mentioned and she said no because as a HCP she can only talk about things with an evidence/research basis.

As the British Dietetic Society have produced a chart to show you what foods/texture and when that's all she is allowed to recommend. Plus the WHO only recommends purees.

Is there any research/studies/evidence base for BLW or has Gill Rapley just pulled BLW out of her arse Not that I think that you understand as stick blenders were very rare in the Iron age so what did early man do til the 90's?

Yes we dont really know when / if milk doesnt become enough. We know breast milk has sufficient zinc and iron until 6 months but dont know how soon that drops off and of course we dont know for individuals.

There was one study which suggested that babies who didnt have lumpy foods until later had problems but there was an issue with it which I now cant remember. I think it was self selecting rather than a trial - why weren't those babies having lumpy foods until later - was it something else which caused the issues eg they were very fussy to start?

No one is saying that bang on 26 weeks is the perfect time. In fact one of the key ideas is to wean when the baby is developmentally ready

Well I think someone is mad for feeding solids to a baby laying on their back! Apart from the choking hazard would you want to be spoon fed something like that?!

i didn't spoon feed and rarely used spoons with my two but hand on heart this had more to do with sheer unbridled laziness on my part than a rigorous application to the method, iykwim? it really suited ME, first and foremost. so i make a point of saying to other parents that if it doesn't suit them, not to do it, iykwim?

i absolutely ADORE this creaky old study btw. an ethical minefield, but quirky and interesting

This thread is hazardous for my waistline. I have self fed nearly a whole box of chocolate orange segsations whilst commenting

Yes I agree Aitch - even easier with DD when I could just shove her a bit of whatever DS was eating. And it kept her amused for ages

terrible case with that wee baby, btw. very sad. although at ten months she was firmly in the normal weaning spectrum, i suppose.

dd1 grabbed a peach at 5.5 mos, iirc, and dd2 started even earlier. that's cool, imo, it seems illogical to me that their motor skills to grab and bite and chew and swallow would develop before their internal ability to digest it. children don't run before they can walk, etc etc.

I did BLW on both mine, soooooo easy. With DD1 I waited until she was 7m before starting as was having kitchen done and couldn't face weaning with no kitchen. HV's were practically hyperventilating...bbbbbut she's past 6m - WHY ISN'T SHE ON SOLIDS. It was quite funny to watch. I don't think my answer of 'no kitchen, can't be arsed' went down very well.

Feeling bad now. DD was totally ready and by 15 months was feeding herself everything. DS wasn't putting on the weight so I suppose I weaned mainly because of that. He was hungry, he was doing all the right reflexes, but he just wasn't arsed about any of it (extra milk, purees or finger food). He's 15 months now and has only recently deigned to self-feed . So I am guilty of doing the few more spoonfuls thing.

Still, he is doing it now - that's something! Can I do toddler-led-weaning???

Sorry for hijacking OP.

Oh, Lord, don't feel bad. Just as some babies are spoon refusers, others are self-feed refusers; not much you can do but follow your lead with either. If your children are happy and healthy and are offered a varied healthy diet I don't see what else you need to do or indeed have done.

Thanks!

you can lead a baby to food, but you cannot make them eat.

i agree with habs, one size just doesn't fit all. absolutely BONKERS to think that it does.

Finding this thread interesting. I live in the Netherlands and the NH-equivalent guidelines are much more 'laidback'.

In a nutshell: Weaning is recommended from 6 months, although may be earlier for some babies. Contact your HV to discuss if you think your baby is ready but only limited foods, and not before 4 months. From 6 months, pretty much anything goes (excepting salt, nuts, shellfish etc). They suggest starting with purees for first few days, but to offer finger-foods under supervision. They comment that in Europe it is traditional to offer fruit/veg but there is no reason not to offer meat or fish if that is what you prefer/or according to your culture. The pamphlet also talks about the 'Gill Rapley Method' but says that it's only one way and just to see what suits your baby best. They also say that purees alone are not good for muscle development, to try and make them lumpy and to offer finger food regularly if you're spoon feeding. They also say that jars are okay once in a while but that homemade tastes better and has better texture.

I wouldn't say we were doing BLW as I often mash things up a bit - DS in going through a phase where he likes to swallow without chewing, but he eats whatever we're having (curries included) and just scopes it all up with his fingers. He is 8 mo.

personally i am of the opinion that it's all part of a continuum that will lead to a more food-led way of weaning, iykwim? i think, to use the immortal phrase, that blw is just a phase we are all going through.

It has barely been heard of in the US from comments I had from academics there.

JuJU Fab

Iheart I always think 'toddler led weaning' is when your toddler tries to wean the baby for you

Thanks all for clarifying it - really interesting.

I love blw (have i mentioned that my daughter is in Gill's book ). The thought of purees makes me want to gag so I was pleased to skip that.

However the less fussy thing is bollocks, at least for my dd1. i'm very disappointed at how restrictive her diet is, she barely eats any veg.

Peppa I looked around that nursery for DS1 so was particularly But I think it all came down to lack of supervision, child slumping on floor whilst being fed, first aider being hopeless by any standards and being miles from Addenbrookes via a crap road, tbh.

WRT baby weaning, I think the best thing people can do is look at the teeth their baby has and moderate food input accordingly. Meals are best taken as a family to prevent fussiness and parental stress. Other than that, people should do what the hell they want. It's only food.

what have their teeth got to do with it, really? their teeth are all there, just bobbing under the gums. they are not toothless.

Baroness, your NL guidelines sound quite similar to what we have here, except that they don't mention Gill Rapley or BLW by name. But they do definitely say to give finger foods from the start (assuming you start at 6 months!). Lots of people ignore this though.

Someone said earlier that with BLW you should be worried about how much nutrition your LO is getting v puree spoon feeding - I know a sample of 1 is not very scientifically valid, but IME my DD eats far far far more than my colleague's puree fed DD of the same age. Colleague's DD literally has 4 or 5 spoonfuls of main and maybe half to one petit filous for lunch, my DD might have about 20 pasta twists, 2 or 3 small meatballs and a load of veg sauce.

Bumper, I have been trying to see which one is your daughter, is she the little girl cleverly eating mince?

On a tangent, I confess, sometimes DD has a pot of something when we're going to be on a train or whatever at meal times (she's 8.5 months and unfortunately milk just doesn't seem to hit the spot for her any more so we can't just BF BF BF until we get to our destination), anyway, bought a pot of HIPP organic which said from 10 months on the label. Firstly - it had salt in it!! WTF? Second - the lumps were tiny, honestly, I can't believe a 10 month old would be having this? Oh well horses for courses I suppose, they all end up eating food in the end don't they? Just can't imagine how tedious it must be to have to put everything (or at least most things) you LO eats in their mouth for them!

Exactly - do you suggest they wait to chew until they have molars? Because incisors won't do the job...

Oh yes, I can back up Aitch, DD has zero teeth but it doesn't stop her eating anything so far including breadsticks. True she can't grind up meat but she can rip it apart by holding it between her gums and pulling with her hands, all quite caveman looking really. Makes for some cute photos

I meant that steak might be a bit of an issue until their molars come through, and when their gums are a bit sore it makes sense to offer softer stuff if they want that. Common sense stuff, really.

Well, as far as steak is concerned, it's cost, not teeth that sways it for me! But it is often said, oh, they've got no teeth yet, so can't have finger food, and that's just nonsense.

Aitch - love this quote "i didn't spoon feed and rarely used spoons with my two but hand on heart this had more to do with sheer unbridled laziness on my part than a rigorous application to the method, iykwim? it really suited ME, first and foremost. so i make a point of saying to other parents that if it doesn't suit them, not to do it, iykwim? "

that's how we've weaned DS. He's 13.5 months now, and not a great eater - he never has been - but we give him finger foods/our food when we eat, and let him get on with it whilst we have our hot food. We've tried a few pots of puree when travelling, but he just refused food and bfed all night long instead. I think he's quite lazy too. he refuses to bite chunks off things like toast or banana, and instead shoves the whole lot in his mouth, so we're still chopping things into bite sized pieces to avoid him gagging. He likes pouches of fruit puree or fromage frais though, as long as he is in control of them and sooking from them. spoon feeding has a time and place (mainly when it's something spectacularly messy like yoghurt, and you live in a rented house)

My Ds had finger food at 5m and didn't get his first tooth till 8m. He was mainly BLW and only spoonfed for breakfast. He's now 14m, has 4 teeth on the bottom and none on the top, but can demolish a whole apple without blinking! :o

I can't believe they don't talk about BLW, but on the other hand my friend in london emailed me to ask about it as her HV just at her.

You'd think there'd been an official study done by now though really.