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

Just wanted to say that I too worry about how dd picking at titbits will actually result in her eating decent meals 3 times a day! I get really excited some mealtimes when she properly eats, but then like so many of you, there are times like today where she's totally not interested and just whinges instead. (Even when it's a food that was previously a success). But I will keep going with it, because compared to when we first started a lot more is going in. I need to be patient and patience is one thing I lack with anything in life!!

Oooh, it helps mightily when you catch a glimpse of them getting the hang of things. Yesterday DS nibbled naan bread, baby sweetcorn, sausage, and there's a chunk of ricecake missing in action. It felt like fun for the first time, too.

So if he reverts back to being not keen I do at least know there's interest, the necessary levels of dexterity etc.

I also still very often mistakenly think that there's going to be this linear "progression" with my DS - with this, sleep, and everything else. But I'm slowly realising that things just don't work this way (at least with him). Fits and starts...peaks and troughs...periods of no "progress" and then sudden pattern changes and BAM oh look he's eating dinner.

Motherhood will, if anything, iron out my remaining traces of control freak, eh?

Yesterday prawns a big hit here - stuffed whole ones in an sucked and sucked - surprised he couldn't gnaw chunks off but seemed happy with the buttery goo.

Then pulled apart a piece of samosa and sucked out its innards - made me think wrapping stuff up in filo might be good finger food option.

Tried the porridge pancakes this am - concept good but I'm not sure the milk was right - I used frozen EBM - anyone else think freezing does something odd to the taste of EBM?

I really can't say that I'm an expert as I feel I really messed up with weaning DS. Tried to do BLW so didn't do purées but got worried by his lack of eating (after initial enthusiasm). I ended doing all the bribing etc and getting anxious and sometimes a little cross (really embarrased and regret it in hindsight). DS is 3 (so weaned before the Rapley book) and is fairly fussy and often uses food as a form of control. He will easily skip a meal if he is feeling that way out and usually doesn't even ask for something else. So I guess what I am trying to say is I really understand your worries but please try not to show it in front of your LOs as it can have a negative effect and really goes against the whole ethos of BLW. We're really trying to overcome this now by giving DS more choice and not making any fuss if he doesn't eat. However, it could be a good while before your LOs eat just 3 meals a day, as they become toddlers and more active sometimes some toddlers can be too "busy" to sit and eat a full meal and will get cross if you try to make them. It may be better therefore to give lots of healthy snacks and view each as a mini meal, rather than expecting them to eat a full dinner. Just my experience but hth.

OOooh, Samosa, there's an idea.

DS sucked the banana of his toast this morning. A hit.

He's still not impressed with the taste of the plastic cup I keep flinging his way but, since he's never had a drop from a bottle, I'm guessing this is going to take time.

We might even need to introduce a bottle, I suppose, just so he gets the idea that liquid is not uniquely available from a nearby boob. Feels counterintuitive since this is the time most bottle-fed babies are being introduced to a cup, but hey ho. Any experiences on this front most welcome!

DS has taken to a cup quite well. Hedoesn't like the lids, so we just got one of these and took the lid off.

I just hold the bottom to guide and tip whilst he holds the top. Just be prepared for him to tip it down himself, but he's getting better now. You can actually heard him glugging.

DD is doing really well with BLW. She's just a week off 7m and last night ate spianch and feta pie with roast new potatos and tomatoes.

We have ticked prawns and tuna off the to-do list now too.

Next up... nut butters. No nut allergies in our gang but OH does have severe hayfever.

Would you say we should go for it??

Thank you, HotGiggity. I might try lifting the lid, then. He'll be not best pleased about getting wet but could be the best option for him.

I did think of filling his bath with nice filtered tapwater since he licks so much off his ducks......(I jest).

Mothigail, the cups we bought were free-flow but because they still have a spout on them he was trying to suck and then choking on the water...without the lid he can control how much goes down his front in his mounth

Well, I gave dd some cooked parsnip today (presume this is ok?) and she made a fantastic sticky mess! But when she got it in her mouth she had a good old chew (I think I overcooked it a little it was very soft) and didn't spit it all out again!

HotGiggity, we are (after a couple of weeks of sticking tongue in the things having a good time with a doidy cup now. No lid, just a funny shaped rim to help prevent spillage and help prevent possible dental and speech issues.

Last post should have been to Mothigail too!!

desertbee I thought that it would only cause dental issues if they were using a spout and the drinking from the edge of a normal cup was fine?

Hello, this is probably the wrong place to ask, but thought someone might be able to help!

Ds is 6 and a half months, but was premature ( we are not sure exactly how premature!) I did BLW with dd2 and hoped to do it with ds, but so far he is not reaching for items,let alone food, he doesn't hold himself up very well and when I tried a little pureed pear he just pushed it out with his tongue. He definitely doesn't seem ready.

I just wondered how long people waited until their lo actually went for it with some solids? When I asked my hv she seemed to think that a point would come when I would have to start shovelling in purees, but this seems all wrong to me. Any ideas?

I could really do with some advise now (well proud of this thread as op ! ).
DD is almost 7 months.
Its not going well. Last week she really gagged and possibly choked on a piece of pear and also some bread roll.
For the pear, which i had steamed, a piece broke off and i had to tip her up and slap her between the shouldert blades.
Confidence has now gone and i bought baby rice last night but havent used it.
We have moved on in so far as she now actually puts things to her mouth and will try things, but the only thing she seems to manage is sucking toast and a bit of brocolli.
I dont want her weaned onto toast-i want her first flavours to be fruit and veg but now im too scared to go with this as am tempted to puree the lot ! Shes ebf still and entirely happy in herself. Perhaps ill just start agian.
Whats really easy to start with as i`m terrified of her choking now.

Fakeblondie, I think your concerns are totally normal.

If it helps at all, my DS seems to gag at every meal (gagging, of course, being very different to choking. Gagging good, choking bad is my mantra! Sometimes he's looked as if he's gagging but suddenly the food has disappeared and, presumably, destined for tomorrow's nappy.)

You'll see from my posts that I'm far from being a laid back parent, but I figure there'd be as many gagging and choking incidents with spoonfeeding...at least I get this impression from my sisters who weaned the usual way.

Also, remember that parents are advised to offer finger foods from the start of weaning, so you're not offering anything "dangerous".

My sis tells me she was CM for a girl who was, essentially, weaned on endless bread (this was long ago) because purees were point blank refused. She now eats everything.

You're putting stuff on the toast, yes? Like mashed banana, sardines, soft cheese, purees etc? Perhaps think of the toast as an edible spoon?

I'm sure everything is going so much better than you think. Lots of babies, by the sound of things, start going for it in a more determined way at 8/9 months.

hazeyjane - 2 of the key signs that a baby is ready for weaning are being able to sit up by themselves and losing the tongue thrust reflex. Since yours hasn't reached either of these milestones yet I would definitely leave weaning for the time being.

fakeblonde - step away from the baby rice! Giving it won't lessen the chances of choking when you introduce 'real' food, as the rice is sucked down, which is a totally different action from that needed for chewing and swallowing pieces of solid food. How about restarting with banana (sit her on your lap and hold it for her if you want to to begin with - not strictly blw, but a better fit for you til you regain your confidence), avocado, rice cakes - all things that can turn to mush without needing lots of chewing. And you could smear other things onto rice cakes if that goes well. And actually porridge pancakes would be a good (albeit potentially messy) option too.

Jandmmum - thanks for those wise words, it has given me the confidence to just continue with BLW and chill out about how much is going in. Will not turn to purees now. Since my last post things have got a lot better with food being ingested each time it's offered. It's very very gradual progress though!

op i've done blw once already with ds and i just wanted to echo what mothigail has said - everything she's said is spot on, especially wrt to seeing the toast as an edible spoon

don't forget to keep trying with the loaded 'proper' spoons too. dd (6m) ate a whole bowl of porridge that way on sunday (her second day of solids!) which was miles better than ds managed at that stage. it can be messy but they do usually manage to get some in their mouths and down the hatch!

ds didn't really start 'eating' (i.e. swallowing lots) til maybe 8-10 months. He was about 10m before his poo changed from bf poo, put it that way.

he mainly survived then on bread sticks, humous and bm but now (at 2.3) eats pretty much everything except strawberries and tomatoes (possibly intolerant to them).

oh and i lost count of the times he gagged in the first few weeks.

Can they eat eggs? Having omelettes for lunch...

yes nn, as long as you've no reason to suspect allergies (the white is the allergenic part).

DS has real passion for yoghurt and semolina, but we still have to hold the spone for him otherwise he bangs it on the table and then puts it in his mouth, I find if you hold it, he will either guide your hand or the spoon into his mouth ok...

Oooh - whats the way to make porridge pancakes then ?

And will def try some of your suggestions cantsleep-thanks