BLW- how did your lo progress?

[Sanch1]

We have been doing BLW since dd1 was 6 months on the dot, she's now nearly 7 months. At the start she squished and sucked stuff, she's now started to bite bits of stuff off, and chew but then it comes out! I'm pretty happy with her progress but just wondering how she compares to others and when others started eating 'properly?' I have this nagging thought in my head that she'll never eat and should be eating by now! Our hv is lovely but I don't think she really gets it, she suggested we see how it goes for a month and then maybe try spoonfeeding if still not eating, but I don't want to and she'll ask when I get her weighed next week!

Ours is 8.5 months and only really getting into it now. It's typical (I'm told) for babies to be really into it, then lose interest, before getting properly into it. It seems your baby can physically eat if she wants to. The whole idea is that baby has the control. I say, stick to your guns

DS1 basically threw everything about until about 9 months when he suddenly got the hang of it and ate some. DS2 stole a breadstick at 23 weeks and never looked back, stuffing his face at every meal since then.

Lots and lots and lots of babies take a good 3-4 months to really get going with BLW which is absolutely fine as they are still getting all they need nutritionally from milk anyway.

DD1 swallowed small amounts from 6 months, but didn't seem to realise that solid food was a cure for hunger until she was more like 9-10 months. The amount she ate literally quadrupled within a fortnight.

DD2 was really not interested in swallowing anything until about 8 months.

Started BLW at 6 months and DD didn't really start eating 'properly' and for hunger until about 9-10 months.

She's 15 months now and people still comment on how good she is at feeding herself .

I think with BLW you just have to stay confident in the fact that they are eating what they need and milk is still their main source of nutrition until they are 1.

Thanks, I will stick at it!

Another question. When do you give food in relation to milk? I'm doing milk, then food about 1/2 - 1 hour later, is this ok or should it be the other way around?

Milk first, then food an hour later is right. That way you dont have a starving grumpy baby who is unwilling to try anyhing. They can just choose to play withit or eat some as they are ready to.

Did BLW with DS1 - he had always been a milk monster and introducing solids didn't change that :-) In all honesty, he was probably close to 11 months old before he was properly tucking away food. He'd been eating foods since 6 months (the nappies proved that!) but never ate a lot at each sitting, more tasting and then suddenly about 11 months he just started stuffing his face.

Am doing BLW with DS2 (nearly 9 months old) he loved his food from the start and from 7.5 months was tucking away more in a sitting than his brother probably did at a year old! He's a more 'hands on' baby so likes getting his hand full of spaghetti/mash etc, whereas DS1 never picked up squidgy stuff with his hands (or if he did, it never went in his mouth) we had to put it on spoons for him to use it.

It can be worrying when you know other babies who are tucking away jars of stuff at 6 months, but if you make sure you're offering him loads of foods at variuos points in the day, he will get there (honestly, with DS1 it felt like it happened overnight, he just suddenly 'got it').