Questions about getting started with BLW

[becksmummy]

I have only recently found out about blw and really want to give it a go but i'm not sure how you get started.

Do you introduce just one food at a time? Do you give the same food for several days to get used to it before introducing new ones? how often should you introduce a new food?

I had started my dd on purees and she currently has baby porridge at breakfast time, I would appreciate some ideas for alternative breakfasts thats suit blw.

have you looked at the website

BLW

for some pointers?

there is a lovely recipe for porridge pancakes on there

Thanks, I have looked at the site but cant find where it tells you about getting started and the questions I had?

Found the recipe though thanks, will give that a try!

click on finger food basics on the left.

the site is a blog, not exactly a how to guide as there is no such thing with blw. that's why so many people seem to like it. it's not like following an annabel karmel routine thing with 3 days of this, 3 days of that, start with one teaspoon, build up to 2 ice cubes etc etc.

on the blog, aitch goes through different foods she's tried with her baby, as do others. and there are lots of cool photos too.

Hiya, I sort of did this accidentally as I gave her bits of what I was eating rather than pureeing.

No need to give one thing at a time although if you have allergies in the family you might want to keep an eye out (as you would anyway).

Personally, I just give her a bit of what I was eating (and made a few mashy things although they were used as sandwich fillings and dips!). My technique was to put bits in her mouth (with my finger) and she ate anything lumpy from almost day one. She managed a bit of my banana (on her own) as her first taste... I still sometimes feed her bits on my finger (which isn't strictly BLW) but she has fed herself from day one too - tbh this is why I did this approach. She really didn't want to be spoonfed (unless she can hold it herself).

hi becksmummy. i write the blog, if you want to understand it then i'd advise you starting on the main page then reading the finger foods from the bottom up. to be honest, as Dizzy has said, there aren't any hard and fast ways of doing it but for the record the first thing dd ate were peaches and apricots, because she was sitting on my knee as i was eating them and made a swipe. i think it was a couple of days after whe turned 26 weeks and i took it as a signal that she was interested. after a few days of more soft fruit on our laps we put her in the high chair and gave her things like steamed carrots and potato. have a look at the gagging section as well, it will give you an idea of what to expect. good luck.

I tried purees etc at 1st too becksmummy, and then went onto BLW- i MUCH prefer it. DS is 6 and 1/2 mths old. For breakfast today he had wholemeal toast soldiers and some chunks of cheddar. For lunch he had chunks of chicken breast, peppers, oat cake and cucumber. I tried not to introduce too many foods at once incase there was a reaction with any. Squidgy foods are still good- we both have a spoon and feed him- which is messy with soup i can tell you!

BLW is fab!!! My lo is just over 6 months and love his food. We started with fist size chips of sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots, and potatoes. He also loves broccolli, avacodo, green beans, cabbage, plum, banana, pear, and rice cakes. I steam a load of veg then give him as much as he wants. He is eating more and more and making less mess. Everyone is amazed by how well he can pick up the food and how much he enjoys it. He has only gagged on food twice and it did not bother his at all. Although my dh nearly had heart failure. My advice just go for it! My family has a history of ezcema so we are kind of following the info about feeding 'allergic infants' on the babyledweaning website but we are introducing foods more quickly as it is not a serious allergy.

For breakfast my lo has rice cakes and fruit. I have only found one type of food my lo does not like and that is baby rice!

DS had well cooked tender steak for tea!!!! He LOVED it. And the dog loved the bits he dropped!

it's so cute seeing them eat meat, isn't it?

thanks for all the response sorry I havent been online the last couple of days!

I have tried dd with steamed veg - carrots, broccolli and courgette but it seems too slippery for her as she picks them up but drops them before they get to her mouth! so she just pushes them across the highchair tray until they fall off!

The only thing that she has managed to put into her mouth so far is toast.

Are there any less slippery foods that I could try first to her my dd used to this way of eating??

courgette will definitely be too slippery, but i'm surprised by carrot and broccoli, tbh. how small are you cutting them up?

I cut the carrot into sticks about the size of a chip, the broccolli i gave individual florrets and tried to leave the stalk long enough to get hold of.

I think it is because when they have been steamed they are moist so quite wet foe little fingers wonder if I need to try and dry them a bit??

Are there any foods you lo found easier to hold at first?

i remeber she liked wee new potatoes and sweet potato chips. she definitely had difficulty with banana, as lovingly detailed on the blog.
green beans are good too.
try not to worry about the fact that your baby is dropping things, though, remember you're only getting started and the point is to experience the texture and play with the food as much as anything, so in that respect you're doing fine. really, you've got six months to crack this so don't worry.

Thanks Aitch I will try potatos and keep trying the veggies as assume she will get the hang of it the more she tries!

and by the way, dd has never once picked broccoli up by the handle. i think that's something that gill rapley thought would happen but rarely does in practice. much easier to grab the spongy bit than the smooth slidy bit...

broccoli was one of dd's first foods. the best thing i found was to keep the florets quite huge. she'd grab the fluffy head, the bigger the better, and bury her face in it. no worries about the length of the stalk.

agree, dizzybint. and with the chip sized i'd say more harry ramsden's than french fry, iykwim?

So from what you say the chunkier the better!!

I did try dd with sweet potato ysterday, she still didnt get much in her mouth she much preferred squashing it between her fingers but at least she could keep hold of it so think I am getting there!

Thanks for you advice I am constantly learning and have so many questions all the time, sorry if I'm a pain!

not a pain at all! the thing with blw is there aren't really rules as such. you do make it up as you go along. give different size chips if you like, give triangle bits, whatever, see what your baby picks up best!

plus it changes all the time. dd at one now likes things to be bite-sized, lord knows... she's getting a lot tidier and i think she doesn't like getting dirty by holding onto food and is determined only to use her pincer grip. hence my questions about cutlery...