6 mth old today and first day of BLW-anyone want to start BLW journey with me ?

[fakeblondie]

I`ve never done this before even tho dc 4 !
DD1 18yrs
DD2 15 yrs
DS1 7 years
DD3 1/2 !

Totally breastfed to date and very content.
Allowed her to help herself to my plate tonight where i ensured she could reach soft green beans if she wanted to.
She loved it-made a mess-squashed it and mushed and and ALMOST sucked it !
Well thats my experience so far !
Am about a quarter way thro eading the BLW book and very confident that she`s totally fine just breastfeeding for quite a while yet as omly have to look at her to see that nature is working wonders x
Bit scared about the whole lumps bit tho but willing to give it a good go x

alfonzo she was good from the start - maybe from watching ds so much. but when i say she's good with the spoon, there is a still a ton of mess - i just know from experience that the more you let them do now, the sooner they'll be independent and less messy.

hotg keep repeating the blw mantra - food's for fun til they're 1 . there def will be peaks and troughs but there would be with most babies and any type of weaning. you're right tho - teething's the usual culprit.

quite a cool idea re the pouches cantsleep

Beetroot?

Wow. That would have made the babygrow a pretty colour

Hello again

Are people being very flexible about timings for solids? I seem to keep ending up giving large milk meal just before solids are 'due' as his lordship is yelling for milk

I think the BLW book says don't have them too hungry at first but surely they need to be a bit hu ngry for solids?

Hey catdoctor,

dd is my second blw baby and i've realised that just as with everything else with babies - this varies from baby to baby - and even day to day.

I used to observe a strict schedule with ds wrt to solids and bf. This time round dd get solids when it's convenient to what toddler ds and i are up to - so it could be at any point in her 'bf window'. She seems fine at any time apart from when she's tired or literally starving as she's just due a bf.

i'd just play around with what seems to work for you and don't worry too much about what the book says.

Yes, I'm just here to say that teething seems to poop up everything for us. DS was much happier to sit in his highchair for longer periods about a week ago but the last few days has been more inclined to start the process of throwing everything on the floor much sooner. He's been up in the night and really suffering with the teething so I'm putting the two together.

"Successes" so far (I'm reluctant to say success cos I suppose even interest in any of this stuff is a great thing at this stage, even coming up to 7 months...):

• porridge fingers

• strips of meat with whatever sauce they've been cooked in

• dough bread with sauce on that he can suck off (Pizza Express - possibly very salty but a one-off...eek)

• banana and ricotta, using toast fingers as a dip (I load the dipper myself)

• green beans, other roast veg (but apparently he has to be in the mood for this. One day he'll eat a stack of green beans and then days later will just wave them at me)

-boiled new potatoes (just eats like a small apple)

• omelette - my god, that was a surprise. Ate LOADS, much to the disturbance of my MIL..

• dahl (as a spread or dip)

Ricotta + anything = a great spread for toast. Hurrah!

Noodles did. not. work. and I've had no great results with pasta, either.

Not much dairy going in. Handed the lad a stick of gouda. He sniffed it, licked it, and launched it at the wall. Later attempts met with similar reaction. Still, I like gouda. I don't care if it's been on the floor...

And, yeah, the tiredness thing is a funny one, Sometimes we've put DS in his chair thinking he won't be up for food because he's so tired but he's actually been okay. Perhaps now and then it works as a distraction/something fun to focus on? Funny babies.

thanks for that mothigail. you've reminded me of some stuff i could be giving dd - eg dahl which ds and i love but i haven't thought to make it since dd's been on solids!

the boiled new potato sounds like a good idea too. does ds manage to hold it pretty well then?

are the porridge fingers made from the 'porridge pancakes'?

Hi folks, I was on here quite a while ago, having started blw with dd, but didn't keep up with the thread. I'd really like to be able to share stories, progress and tips, as all bar one of my ante natal chums are going firmly down the x amount of cubes of purée a day at such-a-time o'clock route and I could do with some support with the blw approach. I do firmly believe in it but could still do with moral support.

So, basically, hello again and is anyone still following this thread?

hey squareorange - i am but i think i'm one of only a few now.

it's hard doing blw when everyone else is doing purees - i was lucky with ds as my closest mummy friend started doing blw with her dd too (having initially started on purees)

this time around, i know what i'm doing so it doesn't really matter that no-one else i know in RL is doing it. Handy to share tips and progress on here tho.

i had a proud mummy moment with my toddler ds when he wolfed down a plate of sunday roast at a friend's house today - he ate or tried every vegetable etc even things he'd not had before. Have no idea if that's down to blw or not but it obviously didn't hurt!

Hi squareorange I'm still following the thread but haven't for posted for ages. DD potentially has allergies and her diet is currently restricted to pretty much just rice cakes and selected fruit and veg and we're both getting a bit bored. I'm going to try making hoummous without tahini today to see how that goes.

I am currently ignoring my RL friends' stories of how many ice cubes of puree their babies are wolfing down...

Hello again too, we started following the thread but forgot to keep up the past few weeks. Would love to share any stories / tips and progress too as we know few people going down the BLW route.

Today we had our best breakfast to date - wholemeal drop scones (from the River Cottage Cookbook), dead easy to make and DS LOVED them. They seemed to be the perfect texture easy to pick up and handle and not fall-aparty but also soft enough to bite lumps off. Baby boy had them buttered and with mashed raspberries on top, I had them buttered and with apricot jam. Yum yum!

Anyone any ideas how you make porridge fingers? Any other ideas for successful easy breakfasts?

Hi CakeandRoses, WaterHorse and vicky, it's great to get your replies!

Cake it's really encouraging to hear this is your 2nd time round with blw, I guess that means it was a success the first time? How is this time comparing to the first, are you doing anything different?

WaterHorse sorry to hear about the allergies how are they showing up? I'm only asking as dd has coincidentally(?) developed eczema badly on her face after we started giving her solids and I cant help wondering if it is food related. The doctor seems to think it is unlikely but you do wonder. Unfortunately I didn't keep a food diary when we started so I cant link anything in particular to the flareups.

vicky those scones sound great! I have got the blw recipe book, but we havent really tried anything from it yet.

I'm really pleased with how well dd has taken to blw, it's fab to see her pouncing on things on her high chair tray, studying them intently, looking at whatever she has picked up from all angles, then putting it in her mouth and pulling faces depending what it is! Her current fave seems to be steamed apple rings, she loves them. I do need to start being more structured and offering her food at least twice a day now and giving her more variety. It seems to be really time consuming though, we spent an hour this morning while she was having rice cakes and steamed apple mixed with yoghurt.

Anyway, no time to post more now but will definitely be back soon! And hopefully some other previous posters will reappear with news of their progress and we'll get some new blw-ers too!

Hi, another late addition. My DS in 7 and a bit mo. Started on purees and bits of toast at five months and of late has gone off being spoon fed so I am offering him more to feed himself but am falling into the purée trap of "how can I tell how much he has had". He tends to try and chew everything, enjoys it, no teeth yet - but a lot gets waved and thrown at the (very happy) dog. I'd like to move more towards BLW but he just doesn't seem to be able to take much in. Tonight he had some poached chicken bits, gummed them and threw. How do I get him to eat more when he doesn't seem to have the hand eye coordination or teeth for the job?

Hi Athrawes

It sounds like your ds has the hand eye coordination if he is picking things up and getting them into his mouth. And I think babies can do an awfully good job with their gums before they get any teeth. From what I've read, a lot of babies don't really 'get it' til 8-9 months and then start really eating a lot more. But hopefully someone who has actually been through it will come and give better advice!

I know that dd is eating small bits of food, evidence is in the nappies, but most of it ends up on the floor sooner or later depending on her mood. I wouldn't say she was getting much nutrition from it yet, so have been wondering about vitamin drops, as she is ebf milk wise. But I'm going to give it a bit longer yet.

Have you tried offering a variety of fruit and veg? Is there anything he seems to like especially?

Sorry I can't help more

Square, ours is excema on the face too. It started after I gave her some ratatouille and she spread the vegatables over her face - within half an hour she had a red rash on her hands and face. I think this was caused by the acidity of the tomatoes and is apparently quite common. However, within a couple of days she developed excema where the rash had been. I don't know if that is just a consequence of the tomatoes or if it relates to a delayed reaction from eating all the other foods I'd been giving her before including dairy, egg, wheat etc. I've been advised to take her off all common allergens and once the excema has cleared, to start reintroducing one group very very slowly. In the meantime we've been referred for tests to see if she is allergic to anything.

Before this happened, DD wasn't eating lots but was getting a good mix of foods. Now she seems much more enthusiastic about food, really ready to tackle it, and I feel hampered by the limited diet she is on!

All that aside though, the fact she is now so enthusiastic about eating is very reassuring. She's just turned 8 months and until a few weeks ago, wasn't that interested, which made me really doubt whether BLW was right for us. Now I'm pretty sure it is so that's one aspect that seems to be going right!

Sorry, that wasn't meant to be so long and waffly....

Glad your dd is getting on well and hope her excema starts to improve soon. My GP and HV seem very taken with the idea that dd's excema is food related, and as her skin was fine before weaning, I'm inclined to agree. But saying that, I think excema can be caused by other things too so your doctor could be right.

Vicky, the recipe I have seen for porridge fingers involves soaking the oats in milk for a while until soft and mushy and then blasting in the microwave on high for about 2 mins. Then cut into fingers and leave to cool.

I have tried this and mine always stay quite soft and fall apart easily - they seem ok and dd has nibbled them (she's not a big fan) but I don't know if this is exactly how they should be.

You can vary by pressing raisins into the top before cooking - I tried that today but it all ended up on the floor. Think this is because dd is rebelling against porridge for breakfast every day rather than something fundamentally wrong with the raisins!

I have no other ideas for breakfast - I did give dd toast or weetabix before she was taken off wheat. Also I suppose you could try fruit and yoghurt? Or eggy bread? Or maybe scrambled eggs if they're firm enough to pick up? Ok, I do have other ideas for breakfast, although they're not very original...

Hi all,

Still attempting BLW here although getting very frustrated, have found that DS will wolf down a whole pancake in the morning (Fay Riplay recipe) if giving the chance. This by far the most successful thing.

evening all

we've survived our first 4 days in nursery - I was wetting myself that bab wouldn't eat and I'd look like a lentil weaving loon - it was very hard to get over the points of BLW without looking too anal

Staff are all amazed at his ability to self feed with spoon and today he was mugging the older babies for their tea-cake. Also caused a stir by tucking into broccoli.

We're managing to get 3 meals a day in now, some days eats v well, some poorly - mostly inbetween.

Favoured grub at mo - chunks of baked spud with sour cream - so my diet's up the creek!

I find it hard not to go about it all to puree feeding friends - I think BLW is so natural but it's so easy to sound like you're criticising other people's choices.

waterhorse sorry to hear about your dd's eczema, has she had to have steroid cream? I have been loathe to use it on dd's face but we've had to to get it under control, in fact tonight is the first time in 3 weeks that her face looks clear again although she is still trying to scratch. It's been a nightmare but I'm sure you are all too familiar with it. I think the GP may have been a bit too quick to dismiss the food aspect. Is your dd's face better now? I hope so.

Sorry, got to dash now, will write more when get chance, hello to hotgiggity and catdoctor, love the nursery story!

Hi all. Thanks fir the porridge pancake recipe waterhorse - will give it a go tomorrow. We did readybrek and mashed banana for brekkie earlier this week on loaded spoons. Baby boy seemed to love it but it was soooooo messy. I spent the rest of the day picking dried readybrek (aka cement) from his hair, my clothes, the carpet etc. Pancakes sound a lot more civilised.

We've also found that DS's cheek are red and spotty since starting weaning. Especially after he had a tomoato based bolognese - sounds like the acidity in tomatoes thing. He's also gets dry skin on his chest and we were prescribed an emollent cream which I have been slathering on his face after cleaning up. May see the doc / HV about it soon though as I think its getting itchy. And avoid tomatoes....

Hi vicky, did you try the porridge fingers yet?

DD had crumpet with avocado and cream cheese on top yesterday, I cut it into fingers and she wolfed the first finger down as I watched in astonishment. No messing, no throwing on floor, just concentrated eating. By far the best she has done with anything so far. She didnt eat so much of the second finger but I didnt mind that! Then I spent all night worrying that her face was going to flare up but it hasnt, so maybe she is ok with wheat, I really hope so. I haven't given her any food today as still waiting to see any reaction on her face. All being well tomorrow then it'll be roast chicken and veg I think and maybe steamed apple slices which she has loved previously.

How's everyone else getting on? Are you trying to do 3 meals a day? Is anyone using vitamin drops?

Hello again all. Curiously this thread (and others) has just re-appeared in my 'threads I'm on', despite me not posting on it for ages!

Breakfasts here are crumpets, eggs, pancakes, fruit (pears v popular) or occasionally cereal (mini wheats or loaded porridge) depending on what I'm making for the older ones. He's still not v hungry in the mornings though because he fills up with milk all night long.

Athrawes - he really doesn't need teeth. The gums are hard because the teeth are underneath, so it's not like an old person who has lost their teeth and is left with soft gums. Ok he might not be able to tear through a steak, but most things shouldn't present much of problem.
And I'm afraid that if your mission is to get him to take in lots of food, then blw really isn't the method for you. It's great to get babies used to different tastes and textures, but you need to remember the mantra that food is for fun until they are one, and the amounts consumed aren't particularly important.

Yep tried the porridge pancakes yesterday morning. They were a bit grim to be honest - though suspect I need to experiment with amounts of milk and times in microwave etc. Did them with chunky oats and a covering of milk for about 30 secs, they were quite dry and chewy. More experimentation needed I think...

Good news on the crumpet SO - sounds great! We've not tried those yet might have a go at weekend. Baby boy loves drop scones and I guess they are a similar texture soft and easy to munch but not too slippy or fall aparty.

Had a bit of a scare today. Past few days DS has been teething and not fancied any solids at all. But lunch time tried him with cold cucumber sticks and hummus and he seemed to be really enjoying it. However a few minutes later his cheeks and chin went bright bright red, swollen and spotty where the hummus had been. One panicky phone call to the docs later and lots of washing off with cold water and he and I were a lot happier. Doc seemed to think it would most likely be the lemon juice in the hummus (although there wasn;t much) or the tahini. Advised avoiding anything acidic and sesame and nuts for now.

Up until the past few days things have been going really well generally. Been having three meals a day most days and DS seemed to be eating quite a bit. Without giving TMI poos have gone form breast milk korma to solid food turds! And he's started sleeping through really abruptly and surpringly!? Not bothered with vitamin drops to be honest. Unfortunately we are horribly teethingtastic here at the mo and solids are on hold as he is really miserable and not interested. I am guessing being off solids is common with teething? Any teething remedies anyone can recommend? Sorry realised marathon waffly post - well done if you got this far!

Hi All

These red cheeks seem to be catching! DD's excema has nearly cleared up and we've stopped the steroid cream, just using emollient now.

Vicky - scary about the hummus reaction, glad it improved quickly. I wondered about the lemon juice in hummus too but gave dd some homemade this week (with no tahini) and seems to have gone down ok (she seems to have liked the garlic too!). Only problem is my blender - the hummus resembles couscous rather than a nice paste - I'd have failed at purees based on this!!

Exciting that your DS's poos have changed though - we're still at breastmilk poo with lumps of food stage, although she is eating more so may change soon. And great news on the sleep. No real help on teething remedies but think it can definitely put them off food.

Square - crumpet sounds tasty, will have to try if we get the ok on wheat. We are using vitamin drops as she's still not eating tons. Also a friend's baby recently suffered with vit d deficiency so a bit paranoid. Getting them in to dd is a challenge though! Roast chicken v popular here.

Cat - was it easy to explain blw to nursery?

Hi to everyone else - hope all going well.

Hi waterhorse, the only thing I 'went on' about was making sure he was sitting well upright for feeding - all the nursery food is designed for spoon feeding - cottage pie, chilli, curry, fish pie - that sort of thing - I took in rice cakes and pitta so they could spread/stuff those with food but luckily he's pretty good at using spoon - so they just load up the spoons and let him get on with it. I've no evidence they've been 'cheating' - he doesn't do a baby bird impression at home.

The staff were fine really - their attitude was - we do whatever you want us to - they've prob seen all sorts of lunacy before I suppose!

Stop press- solid turd alert!

I find it relatively easy to keep tabs on salt - how strong are people being re sugar? Bab had some irish fruit bready stuff the other day and obviously loved it - I've said no puddings at nursery till he notices he's missing something, but I'm not sure I'll be holding out to 1 year old before the naughty food starts at this rate!