BLW Banter Thread

[TheCornishPickle]

I've started a couple of threads lately about our first ventures into BLW with Little Pickle and have had some great reassurance and support on here, often from people in the same position. I've also been lurking for ages reading others' similar threads and was wondering if folk fancied a thread where we can have an ongoing natter about how we're getting on? I felt like I was just coming back again and again with relentless questions all about our situation and I'm sure we could be of support with slightly different issues.

So where I'm at is that I've fallen into the trap of offering fruit and veg in one of those feeding net thingies - yak - but ds seems to love it and sucks away like mad until it's all gone then cries! Problem is that the two times I've offered banana straight into his hand and a tiny bit has gone in his mouth he's retched until it's come back out (the second time followed by a load of sick which I instinctively put my hand out and caught!) Where do we go from here? He's just in the habit of sucking the food through the net and therefore 'drinking' it - how do we move onto chewing and swallowing?

Hello can I join the BLW party too? I did BLW with DS (2.7) and he is a brilliant eater, DD seems to be a different proposition altogether, so the ideas you have all tried, like muffins, have reminded me what I tried with DS and have been too frazzled not yet tried with DD.
She's not as keen as he was either and she's 7mo so we've been doing this for just over a month. the problem is teething I think, as frozen Innocent fruit tube was very popular and then everything else was refused tonight and I had to whip the boobs out. Sigh!
I will be trying muffins as she much prefers picking things up herself to spoons.

I made the Lentil & Cheese wedges in the BLW cookbook, DD enjoyed them and they kept well in the fridge for a couple of days. DH and I have just finished off the last few for supper with some Baked Beans on top to add a bit more flavour.

I have found in the last couple of days that DD is MUCH better at eating if I've pulled her meal times forward. So she's had 'lunch' at 10 and that worked brilliantly, dinner at 430 was still too late yesterday, but today I gave her the start of her dinner at 3' she tucked into venison pie! Then had a nap when I picked DS up from nursery, and she polished off more pie, broccoli and cauliflower, with rice pudding for afters!!
Bit worried that this means I will be spending my whole life in the kitchen feeding small people and wiping up after them, as it looks like DS and DD need different mealtimes...

Biggle if it works for you then keep at those times for a few weeks then gradually made them later slowly until it's at a more better time.

Hi BLW-ers, glad everything still seems to be going well. We've sadly had to put things on hold for a short while as DS has been very ill with a bowel intussusception (in hospital for a couple of days ). He's now bounced back, but we've been advised to stick to breastmilk and little bits of puree for a few days. Poor thing is starving!
Think we're going to get going again with soft fruits and dips on breadsticks - any other ideas for easy on the insides foods? Are the muffins quite light, and which cookbook are they from again?

Your poor DS MrsW, sounds horrid. I can post some AK muffin recipes if you want? I'm going to try them tomorrow.
I tried a sort of pizza themed cheese on toast for DD today, by putting tom puree and grated cheese on toast - but the cheese all fell off! Any tips on keeping the cheese stuck to the toast? She did like the fishfinger I tried her with tonight though!

I havn't made them myself yet but lots of people have recommended the Muffin recipes in the BLW Cookbook

MrsWifty So sorry your DS has been poorly and glad he's on the mend now. The muffins are really good and you can make them with anything. The banana ones are nice or you could just do plain. Anything with pears in are nice and easy on the tummy.

Banana bread and oatcake have gone down well here over the last week. DD's got her pincer grip now which is making food so much easier for her to handle. Although she is practising it at every opportunity and has taken to pulling off while BF'ing and punching my nipple

Thanks for that

Doh -pinching not punching!!!

Thanks all - will get the BLW cookbook forthwith.

I feel your pain Mimmee - I currently have tiny round bruises all over my boobs and upper arms from DS's pinching practice.

DD has croup so BLW has taken a back seat. Toast slathered in cream cheese is popular though

hey chaps i have a favour to ask... could you help me out if you're ordering stuff on Amazon and get it through my link on www.babyledweaning.com? it's up at the top of the page. i get a wee kickback off stuff you buy and it keeps the site going (of course you might not use it, but if you do..?)

MrsWifty and Biggle, hope your DC are recovering well. The muffins from the BLW cookbook have gone down well here too and are especially good when out and about as they're not too messy to eat!
I've been wondering about the choice element in BLW: I usually only give DD a couple of pieces of food at a time, so as not to overwhelm her, but mix it up so that she gets roughly the same number of opportunities to have whatever foods are on offer, usually from different food groups. But that's not quite right is it, as she may prefer to have loads of one thing and nothing of another! Am I overthinking this one??
Aitch will make sure to order through your (most excellent!) website when I get my next Amazon urge :)

you are a darling, thanks. (and you are over-thinking it. she'll soon tell you what she wants more of).

Hi all. My DD doing pretty well currently, with a reasonable amount apparently going down at every meal. Latest hit are lentil cakes from Aitch's site www.babyledweaning.com/recipes/lunchdinner/carrie-and-xaviers-lentil-cakes/ - my LO seems to love them and they seem to go down v easily. We made some lentil dhal from the BLW cookbook at the same time but haven't tried that yet - don't want to overdo the lentils in any one day!

Slightly random question: has anyone tried washing PVC bibs in a dishwasher? They get so mucky but say surface clean only. Thought I might try the dishwasher (as opposed to washing machine) but a little worried they might melt!!

Will try to remember to use Aitch's Amazon link too...

i would be super-grateful if you could. other than that it comes straight out of my pocket and DH found the bill last year and was a bit . (to say the least).

do you get a kick back on only blw things or anything bought at amazon thru the link? I buy stuff from them quite a bit, but not especially blw related (there isn't much to buy really, is there? another reason why I like blw)

Hah, i totally know what you mean, actually it's a brilliant scheme, you get a kick back on everything that person buys in that purchase, iykwim? mostly it's single blw books on mine, so pretty small potatoes but every so often someone buys something big as well which really helps at a few per cent per throw.

DD is well again so we are back on BLW. For some strange reasons, she loved the NHS food. She wolfed down the so-overcooked-its-yellow broccoli and their roast potatoes on her last day in hospital. The nurses are wowing and wooing saying how well she's sitting up and eating for a 7mo. Made mummy so so proud.

Has anyone tried the chicken recipes on the BLW book? We've done the lemon and tarragon, moroccan chicken, and the latest, the tomato chicken. All of them are bland, but DD loved them! Are there any good ones in the chicken section at all? I think I'm too scared to try them now . Going to make the carrot muffins tomorrow, which I'm sure will be a hit.

lilham so glad she's better.

Loving the description of her munching away on hospital food!

Not tried any chicken recipes from the BLW book yet but am planning on doing some tomorrow - I think the tomato chicken which looks very simple. I'm sure DP will eat some with a liberal dose of hot sauce!

BTW I have made the baked oatcake a couple of times and it's lovely...even got the nod of approval from MIL today

I was getting a bit worried about the lack of vegetables in DD diet. We are trying to do more roast veg but it's hard when it takes nearly an hour to roast some parsnip. (Our latest green veg experiment is cabbage and DD couldn't handle that either). I went to Aitch's BLW website and had a look at the recipes there. Loads of veg patties inspirations. I made the cheesy vegetable nuggets and it's very yummy. Both DD and I love it. And it's freezable too which is another plus. It's slightly crunchy from the oven, and I'd imagine they'll be a bit soggy after the microwave. Hopefully it'll still be ok.

Those nuggets look good lilham, and quite quick to make too. We had cauliflower cheese with sweet potato wedges tonight, DD loved sucking the cheese sauce off the florets! So great to see her enjoying food :) She's really come on with her eating skills since we started BLW five weeks ago and has worked out how to open her palm and grasp smaller pieces now
A quick question about cow's milk: DD has porridge made with full fat cow's milk most mornings (I bring the milk to the boil before mixing with the oats). Is that too much? I read somewhere that too much milk can cause tiny fissures in the gut, which results in them losing iron. Think she needs a bit more meat/ chicken/ fish at the moment, we seem to have had a lot of eggs and cheese recently!

Can I join in too? DS is 23 weeks and spent Sunday lunch trying to swipe my food (burger & chips and I wasn't willing to share). So I though maybe I ought to see if he'll try a bit. I had sweet potato yesterday so he had some of that. Today he gave a bit of avocado a good gumming! Not sure if any went in though.

I have this really idealistic vision of us all around the table for Christmas dinner - him tucking into the same lunch as us. I think though, like all my idealistic ideas of motherhood the reality might be somewhat different!

Schmohawk not heard that about milk. I have read though that milk is fine when boiled (ie used in cooking) as that breaks down the proteins??
But I may have completely made that up

DD seems to have been a lot less interested in food the last few days. Fishcakes (which she has had before and loved) got chucked on the floor tonight and only the sweet potato got the seal of approval.

Did the tomato chicken last night and again that didn't go down very well - I find she struggles with onions and can't chew or swallow them but I use them in pretty much everything!

Hopefully just a phase...

lilham - glad to hear your DD is better too :)

Just wanted to pop in to say I too have that Christmas vision TitaniaP! I think it's fairly realistic, roast dinners are very BLW friendly aren't they? Although I'm glad we're having beef as I'm not sure DM would appreciate the mess from bread sauce.

I still haven't made any muffins, but have been trying out some of the recipes from AitchTwoOh's great site - lentil and cheese wedges and cheese and apple scones a big hit, sweetcorn fritters not so much sadly. I have now clicked through and ordered the cookbook though, so will see what the fuss about the Spanish apple cake is all about. This week's big hit though was a sausage, I guess because the filling is so smooth. I'm not happy about making it a regular thing though as they're so salty, and I'm buggered if I'm going to go out and buy sausage skins and make my own, so I guess it will have to be an occasional treat.