Starting solids soon

[DesperateHousewife21]

My ds is 5 months and Ive been reading up on weaning so Im prepared.
However, I would like to try BLW initially, but may spoon feed if I feel not alot is going in (I realise BLW takes longer for them to take food down)

Ive read so much confliciting advice on many websites/books etc.
If I were to spoon feed him Ive read the food should be pureed/well mashed. Surely if Im doing BLW and spoon feeding he will be used to lumpy food and the puree wont need to be lump-free.

Basically, I would just like a bit of info as to how to go about the whole process, what did other people do?

He is EBF at the moment and hoping to continue to breastfeed til a year.

Hey dh!

We did solely blw and it worked well if slow-going until he was eating lots - saying that, ds isn't a big eater anyway so he may have been the same with puree. Some babies do seem to do it quicker tho - my friend's baby was eating lots within a week.

I'd suggest trying blw on its own at first and then seeing how ds goes with that before thinking about spoon-feeding too.

Blw works well with bf as the baby can totally regulate their own intake.

I'm not sure about the lumpiness of the puree if you were to spoonfeed aswell as altho your ds will be used to dealing with lumps from finger foods, that's different because he's controlling what goes into his mouth. There's a whole section on the gag reflex and choking in the blw book which is so worth reading (several time if you're like me and will panic!)

What I will say is that my ds was easily eating normal food like penne pasta and bits of fruit no problems from about 8 months whereas some (not all) friends' babies did struggle to move on from puree to lumpier food.

One thing I really liked about blw was the philosophy of letting them get on with it and decide things for themself - the idea being there's no stress around food, quantities etc. Today ds has such varied tastes and eats all sorts such as olives (his favourite), curry, vegetables (!) and garlic bread. He may have done that anyway, who knows?

Anyway feel free to ask more Qs whichever way you decide to do it.

Don't worry! It's not difficult unless you make it so. I pureed for Britain for my twins and stuffed them full of disgusting jars, dipped savoury foods in yoghurt if they wouldn't eat it, etc, and I really wish I hadn't worried about their eating so much and been more relaxed about weaning. Although they eat well now they are still quite picky and suspicious of food, and I blame the spoon feeding.

In contrast, I am doing BLW with my daughter (now 10 months) and I love it because it's so chilled out. She tastes whatever we have and sits at the table with us, so mealtimes are always sociable and fun instead of a duty that has to be fulfilled by mums and babies with no enjoyment whatsoever.

This has allowed her to get used to all kinds of flavours and textures through exploration, stopping when she's full and having fun mealtimes with us. I feel secure knowing that she is still getting all her nutrients from milk, and doesn't have to rely on food for her nutrients.

My advice would be to get a good book about BLW (I have this one and to think of food primarily as as fun stimulation until he's 1. My daughter already eats bowlfuls of pasta and peas and adores tomatoes (the first thing I ever gave her) so I have no concerns about cutting down her milk feeds when she is one. Try to relax and ignore the puree/jar pressure - it is perfectly possible to manage without it.

babies are weird things. My Ds (9months) will eat purees (obviously) and will happily eat finger foods, we have even managed s few meals entirely finger food, but some lumpier "Purees" are not well recieved. Odd child. You would think as he is eating actual solid foods that lumps in puree wouldn't bother him, however sometimes they do.

Why will you spoon feed him if you don't feel a lot is going in? A big part of BLW is that the baby sets the pace and eats the amount that is right for them - and BFs don't tend to be cut down for a while

Thanks ladies!

I have no concerns about giving him whole bits of food to eat, I like the idea of giving him control and going with flow.

I suppose Im just worrying about how much food he'll take down. Not even sure why!

Thanks for the link 2to3, I was recommended that book, it was actually written by a health visitor in my area!

Ive just bought it from Amazon

stealth sorry x-post, took me a while to actually post that.

Im not too sure, maybe its just going into the unknown, I know some people who do both.
I suppose Im looking forward to the days where he isnt BF all day long!

I just wanted to throuw into the mix (sorry dh, really don't want to confuse you but just had to say) I weaned ds1 on purees and he eats pretty much everything - curry, vegetables and garlic bread. Not sure if he'd eat olives or not though cos I think they're vile so don't have them in the house

New name mylife

Im going with baby led weaning, see how that goes :)

And that's exactly what I think you should do, as you decided a while ago that's what would suit you the best. All I'm saying is I don't believe BLW makes children eat a wider variety of foods, that's all :)

And thanks, yeah, getting into the Christmas spirit

I like it

Thanks, I agree with you, it doesnt always mean they're better eaters.

We've been blw for 2 weeks and dd eats loads. And from nappy examination it's definitely going through. Last night she had a mixture of toast, cheese, egg and satsuma. We were having omelette and salad. The other dcs omelette and toast. She started eating before us and was still going when everyone else had finished! She's having 3 meals a day already and gets very grumpy if her food is late. But she still bfs about 10 times a day. It's all so unpredictable with babies but I just wanted to say that although blw can mean it's ages before they get into food, it's also possible they'll love it from the off.

Thanks molly I think Im also worried that he wont take much down but your DD proves that they can!
I suppose no matter how much they take, the BFs wont really go down for a couple of months.