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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Advice & reassurance on blw please.

2 replies

ab00 · 03/10/2013 15:02

Ds1 was a champion eater from day & was spoon fed & had finger foods really quickly.

Ds2 however is a different story. He is 28 weeks old today & we'd started weaning at 26 weeks. With the spoon he showed very little interest in the food & didn't seem to like the spoon being put in his mouth. He's had reflux so I wondered if he had a negative association with something being put in his mouth. We decided to swop to blw to see if he got on with that better.

We started yesterday & gave him some toast fingers at breakfast. It was the most interest he's shown in food in the nearly 2 weeks we've been trying solids. Last night I gave him some banana & plum at dinner time & this morning some pancakes at breakfast.

At each meal he's picked up the food mostly by himself (once or twice I've helped him get it in his hand when he's struggled then left him to it), squished it, looked at it & put it in his mouth or had a bloody good try. As to how much he's actually swallowed is anyone's guess, but the trying & interest is a positive start, right?

He seems to not know how to swallow even the smallest bit of food though. He gets some in his mouth then sits with his tongue hanging out & moves his tongue around but doesn't actually swallow. I know swallowing is a skill that has to be learnt but is this normal? How long does it usually take for them to learn this?

Also how often did you offer solids? Did you offer just 1 new thing or a few things? Eg. tonight I thought I'd give him some mashed potato, carrots (both of which he's already tried) & some broccoli & cauliflower (which he hasn't). Is that too little, too much or about right?

Sorry for all the questions but I really want to make this a positive experience for him & help him learn to enjoy food.

OP posts:
PoopMaster · 03/10/2013 15:11

DD1 I think played with her food for 2-3 weeks before actually eating anything, then almost overnight she was having good amounts of food and less milk. IIRC they don't actually need any food at this age (as long as they are having their milk feeds), until 8/9 months old, so anything swallowed is a bonus as far as nutrition.

One thing I read in the Gill Rapley book was make sure they have their milk feed first, so they aren't hungry and frustrated when handling the food. And from experience - mashed potato is really hard for them to swallow (probably cos it sticks to the palette, and hurts if you swallow too much in one go - 2yo DD still isn't keen).

Good luck Smile

PoopMaster · 03/10/2013 15:23

Forgot to add - their gag reflex is strong at that age so it makes sense for them to take a while to learn to swallow something from the front of their mouth to the back.

Also, whatever you feel like offering at that meal is the right amount, though the more meals you offer something the more they'll learn. So better to offer one thing at each meal than nothing for 2 days and then 6 things during one dinner, if that makes sense. I used to just offer whatever was appropriate from what we were eating (with occasional minor adjustments). That way there's no pressure for everybody involved Smile

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