quick blw questions

[nightnighty]

Can a baby have beef stew cooked with beer? I assume the alcohol gets boiled away but not sure..?

Is it dangerous to start blw without baby first aid training? ie. without knowing how to get food out of a choking babies mouth?

Can you leave weaning too late? DS is just six months and is really only at the fruit licking stage. I haven't been too disciplined about offering him that or anything else so far. He's following his growth curve fine on breast milk alone, but I'm wondering if he'll miss out on anything if I don't make more of an effort to give him food soon?

Personally I would give my DS (currently 9 months) a stew with some alcohol in it if it was a small amount.

Also we are doing purees and some finger foods and I have had no first aid training, we have had some choaking incidents but nothing we can't handle. I have found that he just coughs and things come out if need be.

Things get easier and easier with the self feeding. At the beginning I thought we would never get anywhere but we are making real progress now and he even has some meals which are all finger food.

good luck!

thanks tigresswoods!

we had a bit of a choking incident this evening on a bit of kiwi fruit skin, then I read somewhere that kiwi's should be avoided because it's an allergen

it's such a minefield! dh is too scared to offer him any food and I don't blame him. i'd be quite happy to stick to bf for another few months. At least we know where we are with that.

They take a while to get into it, it is a totally new skill after all. Don't be afraid to try things and you'll slowly learn what works and what doesn't.

Little sandwich fingers are working well for us now but it has taken time. I like the organix rice cakes and snacks as they are easy to hold and disintergrate when wet so easy for babies to learn with.

Good luck and I am sure you will get loads more posts soon!

Just checked the Gill Rapley book (in something of a panic, as DS (7mo) ate half a kiwi fruit for his dinner, and she says:

"... if there are allergies to foods such as (long list, including kiwis) in your family, it's a good idea to be cautious about introducing solids. Breastfeeding for as long as possible will also help, especially while new foods are being introduced. Allowing a few days' gap between foods you are concerned about will allow you to spot a reaction."

Re choking. Don't confuse choking with gagging. If the baby coughs and splutters, it means he or she is gagging, having found his/her gag reflex, which is a lot further forward in a baby's mouth than ours is- it moves backwards progressively. They're just learning what happens if you shove a big bit of food to the back of your mouth and it's a good thing, because he's learning how NOT to choke. If the baby actually chokes, he or she will go completely silent because the airway's totally blocked. Coughing and spluttering is good!

Ooh yes, please don't confuse gagging and choking. Have you read the Gil Rapley book? It was fab for my confidence with BLW.

Essentially, in BLW, a baby is learning to move food around their mouth before swallowing and eating. Gagging is a natural part of that - DS used to sound like a cat with a fur ball. But we have never had an actual choking incident with either of them.

I'd think about introducing some new foods, if only to allow him to explore new textures and tastes. Things like fingers of toast, small sticks of cheese and well boiled vegetables are all good. One of DD's first favourite foods was roasted courgette, which she used to suck the middle out of. None of it too time consuming, and therefore not to depressing if it goes straight onto the floor.