BLW Beginner! Top tips please!

[Somersaults]

DD is 6mo and we're heading down the BLW route , hopefully in a nice, relaxed manner!

Any top tips/advice/ideas greatly appreciated.

What can I give her that's healthy but piss easy to prepare?! Also any advice about when to introduce the dreaded wheat/dairy/eggs etc. we have no known food allergies in the family so do I really need to be so careful? Or can I just charge full steam ahead and five her anything? What about strawberries and tomatoes too? When should I start giving her meat and fish?

Sorry for so many questions! I've read a fair bit online and short snippets in books but nothing I've read answers all my questions. I walked down to the library last week and they had not one book about BLW. All the weaning books that referred to it (and most didn't!) suggested it was a new crazy fad and then said nothing more about it!

So to the combined wisdom of MN I turn. C'mon, share your best tips and advice with me!

zambaloo I started BLW weaning at five months on advice of HV (she also advised the BLW and said that if you BLW as advised it is pretty hard to start too early).

Loads of great tips already covered on here and don't want to duplicate.

I would say that I consider BLW to have been one of my better parenting choices. But like breasfeeding, it wasn't alwasy as 'easy, fun and magical' as I'd naively hoped.

It was very messy, frequently dispiriting and lots of people thought I was a bit mad (a photocopied NHS branded booklet that the HV gave me came in handy here and I brandished it as a sort of establishment seal of approval). I remember feeling like I probably was mad as I watched fellow parents nealty take out a little jar of food and feed it to their baby with no mess and no fuss. I used to have to try really hard to adopt a manner which suggested an 'everything is fine and under control' aura as I sat in the corner with my DS and and allowed him to cover himself and the area around us in food.

I think the most important piece of advice I could pass on from my experience is stay relaxed and be prepapred to be flexible as your LO develops. It really is just a stage and won't last for ever. Don't sweat the small stuff and if you need support, go to aitch's site. I was lucky in that I had a HV who was a total BLW convert and very supportive, maybe yours is too.

Nearly two years on - and, I honestly can't say how much is due to BLW but I think it helped a lot - I have a child who genuinely enjoys 'grown up' foods. Equally importantly, I think it also taught me how to relax (geniunely these days) about how much, what and when he eats.

Good luck.

Has anyone ff'D and done blw? DD is blw but doesnt take much in so should I stay on First Milk?

gnocchi aitch did ff and BLW and she founded the babyledweaning.com website, go have a look on there you should get loads of info and advice :)

Gnocchi I did. First milk is fine, however 6m+ milk can be cheaper as it can go on offer unlike first milk

See if you're local children's centre does a course in baby First Aid; it's no more likely that a BLW baby will choke than a spoon fed baby but it'll help you relax a bit.

Remember that if they're making a noise (crying, retching, gagging, coughing etc) then they're just gagging as you need air in your lungs to do all of those things. It's if they stop making a noise that you need to worry. DS didn't gag much at all, he got the hang of BLW incredibly quickly. DD took a bit longer and spent the first month jamming things so far down her throat that she made herself sick!

We have one of those sort of material-y shower curtains for under the high chair which goes in the washing machine every evening, much better than a polythene sheet that has to be wiped. Left overs go out for the birds, cats, badgers and foxes.

Gnocchi, I don't think it matters really; now I am back at work DD is mix FF/BF and she's still on first milk (she's 9mo). Aitch's site has got stuff about FF and BLW iirc as I think she ff'd.

Zambaloo I think DS was about 23 weeks and DD was 24 weeks when we started. Not because we were told to wean early, just because I felt like it really and they were getting bored at meal times! Both of them were fine.

Oops, x post with umboo.

Hi - DS2 now 22 months - BLW'd him and it was brilliant.( bad experience with purees and spoon fed DS1 so determined to do BLW 2nd time round.)

I cannot cannot cannot recommend it enough!!!!! The 1st month was scary ( and my mum drove us mad!) though especially with the gagging and also worry about whether he was eating enough but 4 week into BLW started feeding himself and has fed himself since.

Now eats everything and feeds himself with a spoon and fork. When I was in cafes and he was feeing himself chicken , peas and sweet corn at 9 months old, people kept coming up to me and commenting that they'd never seen a baby eat like this but tbh having seen the whole natural development of him exploring the food with his fingers , then licking it and then finally eating it , and having only ever see him feed himself, seeing other 9 months olds being spoon fed purees looked really wierd to me....

Good luck

DS liked:

• pesto and pasta (used a baby pesto) and pesto'd borlotti beans A LOT
• Fajitas or pittas with hummous
• Roast veg (big, big favourite)
• Bolognese/lasagne/chili con carne type meals, scooped up with hands!
• Yorkshire pudding
• Avocado wedges
• Banana
• Pineapple
• Mango

He is 2 and a half now and his favourite foods are fajitas, pesto and pasta, bolognese/lasagne/chili con carne, any sort of berry he can get his hands on (will easily eat a whole punnet if you let him) and he is generally adventurous
BUT
he has a major aversion to vegetables, despite his early love for the roast variety! Oh well, you can't win em all!

Anyone know why the packets of organix rice cakes are 7mo plus? Surely they are perfect for BLW?

I don't know - are the ages based on a traditional puree first then finger food later schedule?

We've used normal rice cakes but the no added salt ones. Far far cheaper and I personally prefer that they're plain (bigger child still thinks natural yoghurt and plain rice cakes and porridge are default - she does get lots of fruit and sweet things too just separate tastes.) I could well be unusual in this though!

DS2 is now 14 months but I more or less did BLW with him.I wasn't religious about it though, we did mainly finger foods but also spoon fed things like porridge & yoghurt.He always ate his meals with 18m older brother so it helped.At the beginning I always gave him something to hold:broccoli, asparagus,mange tout but also spoon fed couscous etc as he was a big boy and I was worried he wasn't getting the calories in.I hardly did any pureeing like I had done for his older brother.I don't know if it is the BLW or just his nature but he now has a very diverse diet and will try anything, unlike puree-weaned older DS1 who is still fussy even at nearly 3.The gagging is a bit scary but stick to the main principles and it is a great way to wean your baby and far less work than the traditional method.I read the Gill Rapley book and although it is inspiring,we were never at the platefuls-of-spagetti-by-8months stage but if you are guided by your own baby it will be a success!Good luck

Gnocchi, I'm not in the UK and I'm pretty sure the exact same packets of rice cakes have 8+ on them here! I think it's just traditional weaning patterns, rather than a safety issue.

Don't worry about gagging, my DS still does this occasionally at 11 months.

I was nervous about weaning because I enjoy breastfeeding and it seemed like something new and hard! It wasn't, I've been surprised how fun it is. I've had no negative comments and, except weetabix, it's not THAT messy. I've certainly never felt jealous of the people spooning a jar all over their baby's face while DS fairly neatly stuffs bread in his mouth. It's great for eating out. I recommend breakfast still in bed clothes, something fairly neat for lunch and then a messy thing at tea time. Usually means he can stay in the same clothes all day. We use muslin cloths, as DS found the bibs with arms too restrictive.

Some people worry that bigger babies won't be getting enough food, but DS is a very big boy (98th centile height and weight) and started to eat a lot quite quickly. He didn't start to cut down milk feeds for a few months.

Bananas are easier to eat if you break them in half and then split them in 3, the way they naturally come apart. They don't get squashed that way. Well, until your baby goes through the squeezing food to see what happens stage. Satsumas, we bite the end off a segment, started off by holding the other end while DS sucked the juice, now we just hand them over. Pears are better than apples, as they're softer, I used to microwave apple wedges to give to him!

Sweet potato wedges are a big favourite here. They make interesting poos. Pasta is good too. I used rice cakes to put stuff on, he's not that interested in rice cakes themselves, but will suck curry off a rice cake.

I did blw with DD (now almost 4) and whilst she still has a bird-like appetite, it was fab and she soon learnt. DD was ff and it helped heal my not bf guilt. i do recall the first 4-6 weeks being very hard though till she dropped a bottle. (Food put out, food all over baby and floor, clear up, wipe down baby, bottle to baby - oh, it's nearly teatime!)

DS is 6m on Tuesday and we are doing the same. I've been offering him bit and bobs of fruit and veg to play with and from this weekend we'll offer him everything we eat. He sits well and can get food to mouth.

the biggest difference between him and DD was what i wanted to ask about - DD always gagged so that doesn't frighten me and she always seemed to get that it was food, but DS doesn't seem to get that it is food and he should hopefully try and eat some. He still has full milk poos, no solids seems to have gone in. It's only been a couple of weeks but he seems to dislike most fruit and veg offered so far (thought it was too early for a baby to have strong likes/dislikes) and he also brings up quite a bit of milky sick when he gags. Is this normal?

With DD, when eating out we used to clear any mess and leave a bigger tip but she never ever brought milk back. I can't see us eating out anytime soon if DS is spraying sick everywhere.
Does anyone have any words of wisdom or reassurance? It's been a few yrs so can't remember the 'rules'. What happens if he doesn't like food?!!

Cook what you eat. For lunch and dinner I've always given a meat/fish and veg option. Ive avoided sandwiches and salads just because I wanted her to eat food and vegetables. She's seen veg at every meal so assumes this is normal. Judging by our NCT group she's the best and most adventurous eater. Sausages are good, fish fingers, mince and frozen bags of vegetables are a must as you can grab a little and boil it and its ready in minutes. Eggs are good too with beans or spag hoops and always go down well..... Always ensure veg is big enough to grab, broccoli is a good place to start as has built in handles.

loving this thread for all the stealth boasting:
"When DD was born we didnt' put her straight onto the breast but gave her a hummous and chickpea dip with a few drops of virgin olive oil"
"oh well when I was pregnant with Ds, I used olives as pessaries so that he could feel the nearness of the food and feel in control. The consultant said he has very advanced taste-buds for a foetus!"
Oh puh-lease. givng your baby a chnuk of banana to rub in her hair and spread all over the floor is nothing new - babies have been weaned like this for centuries!
When mine were young, I did a dreadful thing. I made healthy vegetable soup and - gasp - spoon fed it to them thus ensuring that most of it went inside them. They are, of course, all completely traumatised now and have a phobia of cultery. How I wish I'd given them shards of sweetpotato with a mango mousse to play with.........

Gosh dementedma you are right...how dare people talk about a shared experience.

What utter fucking idiots we are.

MrsArchchancellorRidcully, the milky sick is certainly normal for us.

dementedma, I don't believe you actually read the thread before posting that. The poster before you was posting about fish fingers and spaghetti hoops.

Blimey Dementia, maybe you forgot to read the thread title: 'BLW Beginner! top tips please!' that kind of title normally implies the OP is asking for experience good or bad and therefore will include what a baby has or hasn't done and how well they are or are not doing it

If you haven't got anything constructive to share, then hide the thread. Simples.

dementedma do you feel, because people have chosen to wean differently to how you chose to wean, that BLWers are criticising your choice? Because usually when someone is so unnecessarily critical or defensive, it is because they feel slighted.

BLW isn't a criticism of traditional weaning, it's just an alternative way of doing things. Traditional weaning suited you - great. BLW suits others - also great. No need for the sarcasm or snippiness.

We made discussion of the day!

And I'm loving reading all your ideas/tips/experiences so please keep them coming!

Our DD is nearly 8 months and we started blw at 5.5 months because I knew she would just squish most of it for a good while so wanted her to be happy playing and we not worry at all about her needing to actually eat it.

I read you need to try foods around 10 times if they reject it initially - today I decided to not make porridge anymore because it keeps being given to the chickens !

You can really tell as they progress how specific they are at putting things straight in their mouth. DD has no messing now and doesn't chuck that much at all over the side now.

We only just started using the high chair last week though, before she was in the Bumbo on the dining table because you don't have to keep bending down to pick up food, you just scoop it off the table back on to the tray.

Apples I found were better once the skin had wrinkled because the apple is a lot soft then (like a pear).

We started with yoghurt, veg and fruit but now anything goes . Favourites for DD are tuna, makerel, pineapple, spag bol.

I have loved loved loved BLW. There have been about 5 days (mainly when DH is working late) that I've though 'this is a fucking disaster, there is food everywhere and he didn't eat any of it', but the rest of the time it has been wonderful.

My top tips (haven't read the whole thread):

• Only have cous cous if you have someone to help you clean up afterwards
• Buy some wax/waterproof tablecloth to put on the floor under the high chair
• A high chair that goes at the table is brilliant
• Feed baby what you're eating. Even if it's very messy.
• Cook everything from scratch - jars are full of salt
• The curry recipe in the BLW cookbook is easy to make and is yummy
• You can make pancakes with just about any leftover veg
• Be careful about how much bread you serve - again it has lots of salt
• Ella's kitchen pouches make a good dessert if you have no fresh fruit - your baby will quickly learn to suck them himself so they can be BLW friendly
• Dried fruit is amazing. More difficult before they have teeth though
• Cooking meat for ages in the oven works best to get it nice and tender
• Porridge fingers are great when they're little

Keep an eye on salt content - bread, sausages, savoury spreads, jars, beans, stock cubes, smoked foods, some cheeses, gravy and tins of tuna all have high salt and your baby should only have 1g a day (but you can average this over a few days).

Ooo, I forgot - Long sleeved bibs! An absolute must.

Oh meant to say too girls should have no more than 2 portions of oily fish a week, boys no more than 4 portions. Something to do with reproductive system I think.