BLW and a holiday abroad...

[DangerMousey]

Hello ladies, hope you can help me. DS is 4mo, and having been to a talk by our HVs this week who are very pro-BLW, I am thinking I would like to go down this route when DS turns 6mo in early June.

However we are also taking him on a 10 night holiday to Crete when he is exactly 6mo 1wo which seemed like a good idea when we booked it, 2 weeks post partum and I really needed a holiday to look forward to, not so sure now!!

I am a bit worried about the practicalities and safety issues of doing the first stages of baby led weaning in a Greek hotel, anyone had any experience of this?? I know Crete is not exactly an exotic destination, but i am just a bit worried abut cleanliness etc - you can't really be sure in a hotel that they have washed the fruit, or cooked the meat well/not left it out on a lukewarm buffet for hours. And what if they have nothing suitable on their menus (ie plain steamed/boiled veggies).

We are staying at a large all-inclusive 4* resort type place with lots of restaurants to choose from but unfortunately there is no kitchen in our room, just a fridge.

Anyone got any tips of experience of how we could make this work? At the moment I am feeling like we might have to end up going down the puree/jars route just cos this will be easier for our holiday as we could pack loads of those Ella's Kitchen sachet thingies. But think I will end up feeling v disappointed if we wean DS like this just because of our holiday, whereas my gut instinct is that I would prefer BLW.

A 4* resort with lots of different restaurants to choose from will have stuff suitablef roa 6 month old to gnaw on.

You can always wash fruit and veg again and you will be able to see if meat isn't cooked properly.

Isn't BLW about giving your baby bits of what is on your plate anyway? So you could order a variety of things and always lick them clean before giving to your baby, or select things from a buffet that look suitable.

I tihnk you are overworrying, babies don't need the food at 6 months, it is just to get them used to eating and tasting different things, so just give him what you think is suitable and make sure he has all his milk.

You don't have to start bang on 6 months. You could wait until you get back. If your DS shows an interest in what you are eating then its fine, give him some bread to chew etc..

He'll be fine! Most of it goes on the floor, mashed up anyway!

My friend did this by accident. Was planning on self catering but when they got there the all inclusive was such a good deal and the shops were miles away.

Her DS just helped himself from their plates. On the first few days they asked for plain pasta, plain veggies etc. but he preferred what was on their plates.

He is now 18 months and a fantastic eater.

I agree, you'll be able to find something to offer from what's available. He'll probably be eating very little at this stage so it's not like you'll need to find lots of food for him. Or have to worry about him having a balanced diet as the milk will be taking care of his nutrition.

It will be fine. We weaned eldest on holiday on a Greek island actually. In similar hotel/ facilities.

I would just fed him his milk first bf/ formula about 30 mins before heading to restaurant. Then just pop him in a highchair/ on our laps with something to gum. ( bread/ pancakes/ banana/ potatoes/ veg etc)

Go for fruit that can be pealed ( banana/ orange/ kiwi) then the worry about washing isn't bad.
We also avoided giving him any dairy such as yogurt as I wasnt sure if it was pasteurised etc.. But wasn't a problem.

Lots of restaurants in hotels will have certain things cooked to your specification even at buffet ( ie pancakes/ scrambled eggs/ omelettes)
You can ask for what you want in omelette and how well done for example.

Some breakfasts he would eat some omelette, kiwi and bread ( all small amounts), next day would lick a banana and that's it. I think going in in a relaxed way is best. Dont worry if he won't eat, he will still get everything from milk.

Puréed etc harder IMO as they need somewhere to heat generally and you feel pressured to get them to eat x amount instead o letting them decide how much

It will be fine. When I first started my ds wasn't that keen on veggies anyway he was much more keen on bread things. Bread sticks would be good and some buttered toast at breakfast. In Greece they tend to bring bread with every meal. As others have said you can re wash fruit. Sticks of cheese you could also try. My son is blw however he adores white fish which is impossible for him to pick up so we spoon feed him that. It is a good early food as it is so easy to eat. If you want to pack some back ups with you then you could take some of the baby crisps, baby biscuits, baby breakfast bars. My ds also loved humzingers-you find them normally in the crisp section in a bright orange box. They are just dried fruit in a stick so nice an easy for them to hold, we always have them with us as they are such an easy snack.
Some babies take to blw instantly however most take a while so don't panic if he doesn't eat anything or if he seems to spit most of it out it is all about exploring in the early stages-I thought of it as messy play and if he ate anything it was a bonus.
You may want to take some anti bac wipes with you to make sure the highchair is clean, oh and full arm bibs as otherwise you are going to need to take a lot of clothes!

Oh yes I would recommend either the ikea long arm bibs or the babybjorn long sleeved . Both wipe able and cover arms and body so can clean with a wipe. Ikea ones are v cheap and work well for little ones, the babybjorn ones are more ( about £17 from amazon), but last until 6/7 years in size, so can use as a bib then as a painting apron later. So worth it.

I second the ikea bibs. I have tried a few and they are definitely the best

Sit him on your lap and let him grab stuff off your plate or put some on the highchair tray for him. He'll be fine!

I would wait untill u come home if it's just a short holiday . Beginning of weaning can be a bit tricky . I waited until we were back from Finland visiting my family when starting with DS . Why have the extra stress when u r trying to have a holiday ...

I wouldn't start until you come home. Honestly food is fun until they're 1 so at just turned 6 months it really isn't a big deal. I'd make life easy for yourself and just start when you get back.

It'll be fine - remember right at the beginning very little actually makes it in anyhow - just stick to fruit and veggies which you can wash yourself.

Or wait until you come home - either way works.

I would play it by ear and see what the food is like when you get there.

I'm another one who weaned on holiday and it was fine. We found most restaurants were happy to make something specially even if it wasn't on the menu. Usually we asked for chopped up salad vegetables (cucumber,peppers, tomatoes, lettuce), steamed or stir fried veg, breads, pasta or noodles. We hadn't introduced meat at that stage. I usually had some bread sticks and cut up veg stashed in my bag just in case there really wasn't anything suitable but very rarely used them.

You don't need to give plain boiled veg to start with. Whatever you order, see if baby wants a bit. Easy