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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

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

306 replies

fakeblondie · 31/12/2010 00:18

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

OP posts:
NinkyNonker · 15/01/2011 19:54

Hi! DD is a big 5.5 month old, is she too young to start BLW? She is EBF at the moment and very contented, and tried her first little bit of baby rice this eve. We just held the spoon in front of her and she grabbed it, sucked it, and spat most of it out slowly while smiling at us...bless.

She can accurately grab everything anything that goes past her, and all goes in her mouth for a good chew.

slinkypinky · 15/01/2011 22:01

Ninky Sounds like she is ready to me! I think the idea of BLW is that they can't start before they are ready, as they feed themselves rather than having food shovelled in for them iyswim? Thats my take on it anyway. I just started this week and precious little has actually been swallowed but we have had some funny faces and a lot of mess!

Catdoctor Not sure about the "full" thing, but have noticed that my baby is only interested if she is not hungry- I am bfeeding on demand and she would not be able to do anything else if she wanted milk! But maybe the food stimulates her appetite as she does seem to want to bf after a "meal"..

So we have had toast today, where she sucked the butter off, and a banana where she grabbed the whole thing and shoved it in her mouth, then pulled a yuck face!

HelenLG · 15/01/2011 22:06

DS quite likes a BF after food, I think he uses it as a drink to wash all any of the food down...

pipplin · 16/01/2011 10:13

Hi all could I join? DS is just over 6 months and loves food on Orr loaded spoons and his co ordination is better than I expected. He has one of those food net things in which plum and peach are a favourite.
He has bits of whatever we are eating but he gags alot and chokes. The gagging I can deal with but the choking freaks me out :(
He is fine with lumps when ever I have mashed something and popped it on a spoon.

Please help,I think this is holding me back, the thought of giving him
steak scares me no end.
Do I just need to be brave? Or am I doing this wrong? I use strips of food and make sure it's soft. He just doesn't always chew I guess.
Tia. I'm sorry if this comes across very PFB!

pipplin · 16/01/2011 10:14

Orr? Pre loaded spoon sorry typo there.

HelenLG · 16/01/2011 12:27

pipplin, we tried steak the other day and DS was fine. I cooked it well done and he could break any piece of it off so he just sucked it for about 15 mins.

He does seem to get upset when he's bitten something off and gets a chunk in his mouth, so I've found things like toast he can just suck for ages.

pipplin · 16/01/2011 17:12

Thanks Helen I'll give it a go.
My DS is the opposite I guess, he gets really frustrated if he can't get it all in!
He also seems to like drinking but found free flow sippy cups hard as he sucks too much up.
Have moved on the doidy(sp?) cup after he is more than happy to try and drink our drinks from a glass!
I don't know what to take when we go out? Any ideas?

HelenLG · 16/01/2011 18:56

We went to costa for lunch the other day and I took his cup, a bottle of tap water and his tiny diner mat...I then had to go to boots because costa dont sell fruit anymore Hmm.

Also,take wet wipes, the high chair was minging. Not even on the table bit but everywhere...

We've just have beef for dinner and he shoved 2inch worth of meat into his mouth and sat there sucking it for most of the meal. Then he was chewing it, then he pulled an inch long section off, which I got him to spit out...I think the idea is, the bigger it is, the harder it is for them to choke on, so if it doubt, cut it a bit bigger...

TheWaterHorse · 16/01/2011 20:09

We've been trying food once or twice a day since I last posted. Some meals, especially earlier in the day, dd shows no interest at all. At other times though she is quite enthusiastic. Bizarrely, she seems at her best around 5pm, when I would have expected her to be getting too tired!

dd's favourite foods so far seem to be chicken and mango. We were very excited to find mango in her nappy this morning - first evidence of food eaten! (Would not have expected to have typed that sentence this time last year....)

Thanks to whoever talked about baby sweetcorn too (sorry, I can't remember who it was). That was also very popular tonight, although I don't think any was swallowed.

slinkypinky · 16/01/2011 20:51

We had a scary moment in the pub today!

DD was chomping on a bit of carrot, chopped so it was a circle, from my roast dinner. She bit some off (was quite soft and overcooked!) and coughed and spluttered, the pub was noisy and I couldn't hear her breathing so leant her forward (was on my lap) and patted her back and a chunk came out and hit the floor. Phew!

Has made me pretty nervous, am considering purees actually as worried about choking so much. Am I being stupid!!? I instinctively felt that BLW was the way to go, now am feeling the opposite Sad

desertbee · 16/01/2011 21:30

I just want to say BLW ROCKS! We've been at it for 4 weeks now and DD is storming along. I'm in need of suggestions for more finger foods though!

DD is 6 and half months.. we tried her with half a 'nana at 5 and half and only carried on because we spotted the tell-tale black bits in the nappy the next day. We now have brown smelly poos, so plenty must be getting down.

desertbee · 16/01/2011 21:32

Oh, in response to slinkypinky, DD had a few coughing spluttering episodes in the first 2-3 weeks but she's not gagged for over a week now. Stick with it!

CantSleepWontSleep · 16/01/2011 21:58

slinky - ds also had overcooked carrots as part of a pub lunch today! Did you have any reason to think that there was a problem with dd's eating? If you bash her on the back then the food will come out of her mouth regardless! If you feel more comfortable with purees then that's fine, but even then the recommendation is to give a mix of purees and finger foods from 6 months, so she (and you!) would still have to get used to her eating bigger things.

pipplin - at this age it doesn't really matter if they miss a meal, but if you want something handy when you're out and about then you could keep a packet of rice cakes with you. Or if you're doing some purees as well (not sure if you are or not) then the pouches of ella's kitchen stuff are pretty good, so you could leave one of those and a small spoon in your bag.
May I ask why you are using one of those net things? I once thought they might be a good idea, and then I read a comment on MN from someone saying that they wouldn't want to eat their dinner through a dishcloth, and that put me right off, since I wouldn't either!

dessertbee - every food is a finger food!

slinkypinky · 16/01/2011 22:42

I know I am being paranoid about the choking, and she is going to have to eat proper food whether we do purees or not!
I felt like she was choking so patted her back, it was so difficult to see what was happening as she was on my lap and the pub was noisy so made it harder to hear all the little chewing noises etc. I have previously only fed her in her bumbo in the kitchen.

Feel like my heart is in my mouth every time, have got to deal with this otherwise she is going to pick up on my stress and it will affect her eating Sad

I am pretty relaxed otherwise, not sure why this seems so scary.

Get a grip!!

pipplin · 17/01/2011 09:42

Can'tsleep- urgh! Well now I won't be using it. My friend once made a comment about those comfort blankets with teddy or rabbit heads in the middle. DS doesn't have any of those because of it.
We got given one and I thought we would give it a go. Although tbh I don't think DS really likes it.
Oh slinky poor you, it's so frightening. Glad alll are ok.
The choking thing really bothers me but it's my problem and I'm professionally first aid trained, it is different for me as a mother though.
Thanks Helen I will do that, he sucks through a straw aswell so I
guess this also gives us options.
I don't give purée as such I just mash with a fork so he's only ever known lumps.
How do you give them cheese? I just gave DS some grated and he just picked up handfuls.

malachysmum · 17/01/2011 10:09

ok second meal in,all good, and giving bath after each meal, how is everyone else cleaning up child?

desertbee · 17/01/2011 14:44

Pipplin, I give cheese as a stick. Cut off a lump.

Malachysmum, I have recently invested in a few flannels and as per suggestion in Gill Rapleys book I use a wet flannel to wipe over face, hands, arms.. head! I was using wipes but the flannels are soooooo much more effective! If I stand behind DD while wiping she lifts her head to complain and gives me good access to under the chin and brocolli filled neck creases.

Everyone.. my DD just tore into 2 pan fried prawns. They were her first animals (I'm vegie). Pasta planned for the first time tonight!

HelenLG · 17/01/2011 15:44

The last couple of days DS has ended up in the bath after lunch, otherwise I normal wipe him down with wet kitchen roll.

Should I be concerned about trying to get veg into DS? So far he loves bread and meat and will eat pears. But pretty much everything will go in his and then on the floor. I keep offering but he's not interested...

HelenLG · 17/01/2011 15:44

*everything else

malachysmum · 17/01/2011 16:19

good idea desert, I was thinking about 3 bath days Hmm

Clementines were a winner for lunch couldn't peel them fast enough. Am now having to think I will have to watch what I eat and leave off the snickers bars.

desertbee · 17/01/2011 20:50

Ooooo, you tried clementines?!
I've not given DD any citrus type fruit yet. Think I'll get some in for her now! She's not refused anything yet...
3 new foods today, pan fried prawns at lunch and steamed green beans and pasta at dinner.
We only bath 2-3 times a week.

Helen.. I understand you don't need to worry for the first few months or so. Just keep trying different things.

theresapotatoundermysink · 17/01/2011 21:18

Hello fellow newbie BLWeaners!

I have also just began as my DD was refusing purees so I started giving her bits of finger food and it just felt right. We've been going for 3 or 4 weeks now, but only in the last week I've made a concious effort to give her 2 or 3 'meals' a day.

So far favourites are toast, cucumber, broccoli, ham and wholegrain tortilla wraps. Her absolute favourite though is a pea and ham omelette. She gives gummy smiles the whole time she's jamming it in her mouth!

I've read up to page 3, thanks for the tip on microwaving the apples, I will definitely give that a go tomorrow. I also want to try out chicken, any advice on what bit of the chicken and how you've prepared it?

CantSleepWontSleep · 17/01/2011 21:28

potato - I use slow cooked chicken thighs, because that's the way that my other 2 will eat it too, and the way that I like it!

theresapotatoundermysink · 17/01/2011 21:41

Thanks CantSleep, I will give that a try tomorrow. The thigh is the most tender part so that makes sense.

HelenLG · 17/01/2011 22:20

We've given DS chicken, he had strips of breast which were torn length ways to make a long strand IYKWIM?

The BLW book suggests giving meat on the bone such as a drumstick cos then there's a handle build in.

DS had cauliflower cheese for tea tonight, which he seemed to enjoy much more.