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Weaning

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

Original poster

BLW did not work for us.. Anyone else?

29 replies

Mammanat222 · 10/05/2014 07:48

J is now almost 18 months and is on 3 meals a day plus snacks.

We successfully (or so I thought) did BLW.

How comes my child is super fussy and refuses to eat almost everything I offer?

He doesn't eat much fruit, hates salad and only eats veg if I hide it in his food.

He doesn't like my cooking much either - prefers M&S kiddies meals (which I have used in desperation!!)

All he will have willingly are carbs - cereal, toast, sandwiches - without salad, breakfast muffins, crumpets etc.

I have this morning peeled him a pear [refused], halved him some grapes [thrown on the foor], opened a banana [sneered at]. I am tempted not to offer anything else until he eats that.

We did BLW properly - barring the fact he preferred yoghurt to be spoon fed to him.

He is being super fussy at the moment, normally I can get the aforementioned fruit into him as he tolerates them.

BLW is meant to make for a non fussy child right? WTF is going on??

OP posts:
LizzieMint · 10/05/2014 07:51

He sounds normal to me! It's pretty common for children to get fussier as they get older because it's one area they can actually have control over. Does he eat much protein/fat?

PseudoBadger · 10/05/2014 07:52

Most 18 month olds go through the beige phase I believe. My successful BLWer did, he's slightly better now aged 3 and a bit.

Meglet · 10/05/2014 07:54

It's not his molars coming through is it? Mine were miserable and went off all but the softest food when they were breaking through their gums.

stargirl1701 · 10/05/2014 07:57

It could be a phase? Do you offer alternatives if he doesn't eat?

DD is 20 months. If she chooses not to eat a meal, I don't offer her anything else. If she asks for food subsequently, I give her the refused food until it is time for the next meal/snack. She is about 2 and half hours between eating so it's not like she'll starve if she doesn't eat one meal/snack.

DuckandCat · 10/05/2014 07:59

By BLW would-eat-anything-DD is now 18mos and far more picky.

DD would happily live on cereal, fruit, yoghurt and cheese! I just offer her food and if she doesn't eat it, never mind.

It's just a phase, don't let it stress you out.

TeWiSavesTheDay · 10/05/2014 08:07

I have 5 and 2yos who were religiously blw. Not a spoon passed their lips.

They are fussy as hell sugar addicts.

I am doing a mix of puree and finger food for dc3 because it's more convenient and I know it makes no difference.

Paddingtonthebear · 10/05/2014 08:13

I think BLW type eating makes kids more receptive to texture and lumps than purée feeding, but other than that it doesn't seem to make any difference to fussiness. People tend to be a bit fanatical about BLW. It's not the be all and end all and doesn't guarantee a good eater. From my own and friends experiences, mixed spoon and self feeding seems to be the more flexible option!

OneLittleToddleTerror · 10/05/2014 08:16

Surely it makes no difference how you wean him. And the huge philosophy behind BLW is to trust them picking their own food, and all you do is provide the right choices. My DD is a picker eater but I don't go and get M&S dinners for her. She can eat or not eat and it's her choice. She also have our meals and not all of them are her favourites. She does always have weetabix for breakfast and sandwich for tea so it's not like she will starve.

BTW she is a carb monster and doesn't eat any veg. She is 3yo now and she has steadily gone worse. She use to eat tomatoes for example and no more. Same as egg and cheese.

Panzee · 10/05/2014 08:18

My four year old was BLW. I probably shouldn't tell you the three or four things he eats now if you're worried about fussiness. I don't think that the fussiness is related to how they are weaned.

Original poster
Mammanat222 · 10/05/2014 09:20

Thanks for the replies

Relieved it's not just me. The few people I know that have done BLW weaning of course have kids that eat everything but 'prefer' healthy food (roll eyes)

He had a bug a few months back and hasn't been back to normal since then but I do think teeth are playing a part too.

** Just to clarify I don't feed DS ready meals often [that made me sound really bad like I do it every night] but I work FT so I do occasionally cheat and I am happy to admit it. I just feel sad that when he does have a ready meal he wolfs it down and my food 9 times out of 10 gets sneered at.

I will plod on. He is happy enough and healthy so I guess it all comes together?

Thanks again

OP posts:
Panzee · 10/05/2014 09:24

I don't count M&S as ready meals. :o. Also if your son is like mine he'll stop eating them too.

HeyBungalowBill · 10/05/2014 09:31

If your DS is still a fan of yoghurts, what I do for my 8month old is buy fresh fruit and purée it and mix it with Greek yoghurt. It's very tasty Smile
And then he will be getting some fresh fruit in him!

Original poster
Mammanat222 · 10/05/2014 11:45

I have tried fruit in porridge and yoghurt and if there is something he doesn't like in them he will refuse to eat anymore... I can sometimes get away with veg in his dinner but never anything in his porridge or yoghurt lol.

In-fact he has gone of his normal yoghurt too, and I don't really want to resort to giving him sweet yoghurts? (the kiddies ones are quite sweet?)

OP posts:
Original poster
Mammanat222 · 10/05/2014 11:47

Oh and as for the M&S kiddies meals - I buy them for myself for lunch (yummy and low calorie) ...

OP posts:
OrangeMochaFrappucino · 10/05/2014 12:06

Yes, my ds had a wonderful, varied an d adventurous diet from 6m-18m. He then got progressively fussier, seemed to live off beige carbs at one point and generally drove me mad at mealtimes. At 3yo he gradually started to be more receptive to different foods again and he is improving.

I'm glad we did blw though because it was easy and fun. I definitely won't bother with purees for ds2 either. It's still the weaning approach that suits us better - I don't think anything you do can prevent the fussy stage! And because I was always relaxed about how much he ate, I think the general philosophy of it helped me avoid battles even if he did eat fish fingers and beans most days for a year...

HeyBungalowBill · 10/05/2014 12:07

That is why I do the Greek yoghurt because I don't want to give him the kiddy yoghurts, not while he's a baby especially!

Hope you get things sorted soon, hopefully it will just be a phase!

HaroldLloyd · 10/05/2014 12:08

There is nothing wrong with a few M&s kids dinners!

Messygirl · 10/05/2014 12:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bigkidsdidit · 10/05/2014 12:18

I don't think how they were weaned makes any difference to fussiness.

rachyconks · 10/05/2014 12:19

My 18mo would eat tinned ravioli and cheese for every meal if I let her. She is definitely going through a "beige phase". She loves fish, sweet corn and baby corn but refuses to touch anything green. Once an avid fruit eater she will only take it when she feels like it now.

yourlittlesecret · 10/05/2014 12:23

The few people I know that have done BLW weaning of course have kids that eat everything but 'prefer' healthy food (roll eyes)
No doubt the same people who's baby slept through the night at 4 weeks old. In the future they will never have tantrums, learn to read by 3 years old and play the piano at 4. At 11 they will pass the 11 plus and at 16 they will get 11 A*s at GCSE, then they will rebel and go Bad.

Fairylea · 10/05/2014 12:43

He sounds absolutely fine and perfectly normal.

Blw has absolutely nothing to do with it. People tend to be a bit evangelical about it but my mil is a childminder and has yet to meet a toddler who isn't fussy about their food one way or another regardless of how they were weaned. The main thing is just continue to offer foods they like regardless of what it is alongside tasters of food you eat that you know they might not be so keen on because you never know one day they might like it.

I puree weaned both my dc - aged 2 and 11 years and they are generally very unfussy but their tastes and likes do seem to change day to day. One day this week ds (my little one) ate peas like they were the best thing in the entire world - he even excitedly told daddy on the phone he'd eaten peas - and then another day he squished them in his fingers and slowly spat them out with a look of digest on his face!

I have learnt not to expect anything when it comes to toddlers and food.

Fairylea · 10/05/2014 12:44

Disgust. .. not digest!

Original poster
Mammanat222 · 10/05/2014 14:42

I feel a lot more reassured now!

Many thanks.

I did kind of assume BLW negates fussiness - that wasn't my reason for doing it though - I was led by DS and that is the way he preferred it lol.

I will carry on offering him a variety and try not to be too offended when he refuses my food in favour of a slice of toast !!

OP posts:
OneLittleToddleTerror · 10/05/2014 15:16

No I'm not dissing M&S ready meals. I thought the OP went out to buy them especially since her toddler doesn't eat.

I can tell you my toddler eats only a few things reliably. Chips, fish fingers, bread, pasta, rice, weetabix, yoghurt. She does eat most fruit but I think it's because they are sweet. And ofc cakes, biscuits, ice cream. She won't eat breadsticks, baby bel, pizzas or burgers. So I think m&s ready meal is probably haute cuisine for her.