BLW - pros and cons?

[Flosie1989]

Hi all.

My DD is only 3 months old but starting to think about weaning for when the time comes.

Firstly can someone explain the difference between BLW and spoon feeding? And also what are the pros and cons of baby led weaning?

There are a few threads with a similar title under the Weaning boards, have a nosey through and it'll give you a good idea if it's right for you and your dc.

There is a book called Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapely which you could purchase or get from the library. A very good read and will explain the principles of BLW and evidence/theory behind it.

Ultimately, the aim of weaning is for your child to eat what you as a family eat (within reason and of course healthy). The method in which you feed is up to you.

I'm a BIG BLW advocate I just think it was very easy to put food on DD's tray and leave her to it. She learnt how to feed herself and I watched her struggles, achievements and frustrations. At the same time, she continued to learn hand coordination, tastes and textures and gain weight steadily. I always liked the notion that meal times are a learning experience, if they actually eat anything, then it's a bonus - milk is their main source of nourishment until they're one.

I would also encourage you to read the NHS guidelines on weaning. It is recommended you start 'around 6 months' but the key is to look for the relevant signs that the baby is ready (detailed on website alongside some signs which some people mistake for readiness)

Hope this helps

Pros - easy, fun, you get exercise from picking food off the mat. Cons - none for us really although it can be hard to relinquish control and trust that your baby will eat what they need. Relatives can be a bit too! Overall I'm glad we chose this approach.

I weaned the traditional way starting with puree on a spoon first. I read about BLW but ultimately decided that it wasn't for us. The main reason being that my dd was not gaining weight on milk alone so we weaned at 17 weeks on medical advice. Although she was showing all of the signs that she was ready for food, I was reticent to give her anything other than the smoothest of puree and baby rice. Once spoon feeding had been established (and once she past 6 months) I moved on to finger foods and proper foods. Despite suffering from a complete lack of inspiration as to what to serve for evening meals, my 12 month old eats pretty much anything and can feed herself with her hands and by using a plastic fork and spoon (with a little help loading the food). I know quite a lot of mums who have followed BLW and loved it. The only issue a friend of mine mentioned was that she struggled to get her DS to eat from a spoon so serving yoghurt or cottage pie was messy. Research both methods and see which one you feel best suits you.

Pros for BLW - just easy to do really. Going out is so easy. I order off the menu, no need for special baby food at all. At 6mo, it's side cooked veg or starter. Once they eat bigger amounts, I order the child portion. Packed lunch is also very easy as it's just picnic style food. I do cheese, breadsticks, fruit and homemade savoury muffins regularly. Eating at home is just our food. The first 6mo is a bit of adjustment to cook without salt (we add salt at the end of the cooking).

Cons for BLW - none afaik.

Spoon feeding I assume you refer to traditional weaning. It's not actually full spoon feeding. But you give them purees, and increase the lumpiness over time. And you also give finger food, but they are extras, not the main meal, to let them learn to swallow and chew properly. BLW is complete self feeding. They won't have the dexterity to use a spoon properly at 6mo, so baby need to learn to swallow and chew first before they can 'eat' the solids. It therefore takes a bit longer to get the volume of food down their stomachs.

For me:
Pros - convenience, independence, seems fun for them, exploring foods and textures at their own pace, learn quickly how to tackle whole foods

Cons - messy

I love it, dd is 7mo and seeing her pick up a whole.nectarine and eating it herself (eating around the stone) makes me every time. Also, mealtimes feel a bit more 'shared' as neither dh or I have to leave our food to get cold while we feed dd.

Youtube Baby Led Weaning - there are some very cute videos.

Oh the messiness. It's worse with spooned food if you have a child who loves grabbing the spoon. I have many pictures of DD's face covered with cream and yoghurt. She loves also catapulting food onto the walls. Oh and putting her bowl upside down on top of her head.

It was a lot cleaner when food is only finger foods .

Ah BLW does sounds like fun! Is it possible to combine BLW with spoon feeding/normal weaning?

Well, I suppose you could still spoon feed stff like yoghurts or porridge but we blw and dd now just takes the spoon loaded with yoghurt from my hand and sits and sucks it off the spoon.

There is no right or wrong way. Just offer plenty of different food, so they get used to the taste, texture and flavour of what you eat. Don't be afraid of lumps, they have to learn to chew and swallow, whether it's lumpy purees or finger food. And have fun!

The only thing I would add is to listen to your baby (this is BABY led). I was really into blw but ds was not! He did ok sometimes but would put too much food in his mouth and then cry hysterically, which was awful to watch as we couldn't do much apart from try to calm him down. He would also just throw things about when he got upset and frustrated (which was most of the time). I've worked out that he likes things that are easy to eat, rather than the tastiest. Although we will give him some things to eat with his hands he is much happier being given mashed up food on a spoon. He still eats with us and has the same food but we have a much happier baby now.
Don't forget, however much you are into something, your baby has not read the book and will have their own ideas about what they like/dislike!

My DS's appetite far outstripped his ability to get food into his mouth so I would spoonfed the first half of his meal, give him the spoon for the second half and finder food veg or fruit for example. He was pretty soon managing it all himself. He always ate what we ate, just slightly mashed up.

Try not to get too hung up on a label. I think some can get a bit evangelical about BLW. You're just letting baby take charge as to what goes in their mouth.

I've done a bit of both with mine. With dd (second DC) we were very relaxed. She sits with us for every meal and got suitable food for herself. She self feeds with hands and spoons.

I was careful in what I gave because foods like onions, green veg, dairy and citrus cause her problems so shedoesnt eat what we do but she feeds herself. Ive never spoon fed her - she's 8:5 months.

I did a bit if both, my biggest hang up about doing only BLW was that I was worried DD wouldn't get what she needed, she tended to drop everything I make her at the start, only recently has she learned it goes in her mouth and not on the floor and she's 10 months!! She hated veg sticks at the beginning and fruit was too slippy so I spoon fed her fruit salad purees, yogurts, soup, dinners etc and gave her toast, cheese, breadsticks etc.

She's now able to self feed except for porridge and you hurt and soup of course but the rest I give her to eat herself.

You will find what works for you, go with the flow and what your baby is capable of :)

Nothing against BLW, but although I was attracted to the idea at first I realised it wasn't the right decision for my DS when I saw the subtext, in numerous books on the subject, in what GodisaDj said in the first post above if they actually eat anything, then it's a bonus - milk is their main source of nourishment until they're one - that is, that BLW effectively means NOT weaning for quite a few months, but having a long phase where nutrition is provided by milk but you are also providing "normal" food to be used as a plaything/learning experience.