BLW starts today, any buddies? this could get messy....

[becksblue]

My Ds has reached the 6 month mark so it's time! So far this morning he's made an almighty mess with a banana and seemed to really enjoy himself. No actual eating though bar licking some fingers.

Anyone else up for keeping me company/swapping tips and progress?

[sianihedgehog]

I'm doing BLW, two months in and HOLY SHIT does my boy eat a lot now. :) we do true BLW, no purees. For soft foods like yoghurt we offer a pre loaded spoon, as suggested in the BLW book, or dippers, or just let him lick his fingers. He's just mastered his pincer grip and has been using it to eat sweetcorn this weekend. :)

[manateeandcake]

We're a week in -- had intended to start with purees and some finger foods for fun, but DS put paid to that by decisively grabbing the first spoonful I offered him. He very clearly wants to feed himself. I do give him yogurt with a spoon.

So far he's had toast, cucumber, broccoli, banana, melon, avocado and new potatoes. Going to try cheese and carrots today.

Can anyone tell me how to make the porridge fingers?

[chunkymum1]

Just a note of encouragement really. I BLW DC2. I did try the usual puree etc weaning method but he refused to eat anything pureed or have me put any food in his mouth for him - I heard about BLW and basically just let him get on with it mainly just eating small amounts of whatever we were eating. Spaghetti with veggie bolognaise was a firm favourite (messy but very tactile). When I think of weaning DC1 and the months of pureeing things, eating my food cold after I'd fed baby, battles when we then tried to introduce more lumpy foods it's clear to me that BLW is easier and more natural. My top tip is to get a couple of plastic table cloths (or very cheap thick cloth ones if you don't like plastic) - one for on the table and another for the floor under DC1s chair- it will get messy, especially the first few weeks.

[becksblue]

Thanks for the encouragement chunky I love hearing success stories!

[unimagimative13]

I'm having the opposite - DS just wants to be fed off the spoon or is happy to fed himself off the spoon but will only hold stuff now if I put it in his hand then with have one bite then drop it until I load his hand up again!

Porridge fingers are equal parts oats and formula and apple purée ( I do 18oz formula then two bottles of oats and 2 Ellas kitchen Apple pouches)

Bake for 30mins.

I also put half into the tin then drizzle another pouch in and pour more on top / if your do it with strawberry the fingers have a strawberry filling.

Obvs you can make your own purée but I'm lazy.

[manateeandcake]

Thanks, unimaginative!

DD was quite into being spoonfed but it took her a long time to learn to feed herself. DS is getting better at it really quickly because he's so keen. They really are all different.

[babypeach]

Hello
We're due to start weaning over the weekend. Excited but also a bit tense. Ds is ebf but it has been a bumpy ride and still is! He is hard to feed often /for long so am slightly worried eating food will put him off further! Hoping blw will mean he has room for milk for a while!

Ds seemed to be reacting to various things I ate so have ended up on an allergy free diet myself but as ds still occasionally has blood in nappy I'm not sure if that had anything to do with my diet at all! Also his weight gain has slowed right down and he's dropped a centile to 25th. But paed seemed unconcerned about weight and says to go ahead with weaning minus major allergens until blood test is back so that's the plan!

All of that aside he is constantly trying to grab food out of mine or his sister's hands and is able to sit up and easily bring objects into his mouth so I think he'll enjoy it!

It will be nice to have some company along the way. Dh is happy to do blw but mil (who is an old school paediatric nurse) is very likely to be horrified esp when he inevitably gags on something in front of her. She is also very obsessed with getting " proper food " into babies so am in for many conversations about that!

Anyway sorry huge post! Hope today's meals are going well!

[iemma321q]

Also on the weaning journey. We are doing a mix of purée and blw. Ds seems to love both!!!

Has anybody noticed significant changes in what their baby is producing in their nappies?

[becksblue]

Good luck babypeach I've also had a few well meaning people ask when I'm going to give him 'real baby food' as in baby jars etc. I try and smile breezily...

[becksblue]

No significant changes in the nappy yet iemma but think that's because Ds isn't taking on enough food yet. He's loving trying though. He's also mastered drinking out of his cup so I'm hoping it's only a matter of time!

[thenewaveragebear1983]

We've been doing blw for about 4 weeks and only this week have we noticed any nappy changes, just small flecks of food in there. Also coinciding with a bit of tummy ache and griping pains, which suggest that he is actually swallowing food now. Had a bit of a row with dh about the tummy issues because he seems to think that he's having too much food, and should be having 'baby food' ie. Ella's pouches/jars which I really don't want to do. I'm interested to know whether any other babies are having tummy aches, and also whether puree fed babies would experience the same? He's always been a bit sensitive with food, had reflux as a newborn, but in my opinion he'd experience more tummy ache having food pureed and shovelled in rather than gnawing on the whole food surely? Beside the fact that he point blank refuses to take a spoon, which dh will learn when he tries his master plan on Saturday. (He seems to think those organix carrot crisps are sufficient food for ds for now, plus milk, and that's what's on the menu for ds on Saturday).

[babypeach]

Wow becks drinking out of cup is fab! Thenewaveragebear: I've only just let lo grab few bits from my plate and not planning puree either but I've read a few accounts if babies having windy type troubles-just system adjusting? Plus like you tiny amounts at baby's pace sounds to me like it would be less likely to cause issues😊

My lo is very very enthusiastic about the solids!! Just let him grab bits of my plate and he attacked corn on cob, chicken pork and rice!
He actually cried when we finished- hasn't cried over breast bring taken away since about 10 weeks

He's quite a reluctant bf-er. Hasn't really asked for feeds since around 14 weeks so I have to offer/ encourage. Slightly worried he's going to go off bf altogether once he can get enough food in?! I've never been able to express a full feed ( only 50ml at most in one go) so wouldn't be able to give enough in a cup.
Planning to only offer solids after a good feed at least until 7 months although that would probably only be lunch and occasionally breakfast as he often sleeps on breast!

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Thanks peach , we did reduce the amount of food offered to him the last few days, particularly veg and he seemed a bit less windy yesterday although also hungry because he wanted more to eat! Re: milk feeds, I know of quite a few babies who have virtually self-weaned after starting solids because they seem to to off milk. Its never happened with mine but I would imagine that as long as you're feeding if he asks for it, he'll be having what he needs. Don't know how that would work with bf though as may affect supply? I think your plan to bf first before solids is a good one.

[babypeach]

Well two days and evidence of food has made it into his nappies! He has got a bit windy/strainy but I'm guessing that's to be expected.

Am still avoiding giving him foods he can fill up on too much-he seems to be able to ingest quite a lot of anything mushy. Need to widen his meat selection though poor thing mostly stuck to veg at moment and chicken again tonight!

How is everyone doing?

[becksblue]

Quite a lot of green nappies with bits but yet to google so not sure if that's good or bad. More straining too.

I have spoon fed him a couple of bites too so can't claim to be following blw completely but definitely about 90% although he did grab the spoon from me

Still haven't tried anything except fruit or veg but plan to venture out this week. So much conflicting advice on how many times to offer food a day etc. still only doing it once at the moment but thinking of upping this too

[babypeach]

Thinking of easing off for a day or two...little one has got very upset doing poos (sorry if tmi) and bf-ing seems to involve making a lot of straining noises where it stimulates his tummy!

I'm finding chunks of undigested food in the nappies too.

Also not sure about the how often but because I want to do it after a feed I find there's not that many opportunities as he often falls asleep after a feed instead!

[mrswishywashy]

My daughter is just six months and has been "stealing" my food the past three weeks. It started with a banana and now she's had a variety of fruits and vegetables. Loves banana, avocado, strawberry and melon, steamed spinach and garlic. We've shared porridge the past couple of mornings - today prune and apple and yesterday peanut butter, banana and coconut oil. I need to get her some spoons where the handle isn't as long. She has either expressed milk or water from an open cup and I'm teaching her to sign "done" and "more". She has soup in an espresso cup and although I guide her she is trying to do it. She had her first taste of chicken this evening, I was picking at it while waiting for it to be served and she about dived out of my arms to eat it. We aren't doing true BLW but are placing no pressure on her but she seems to enjoy what I'm having. She' always breast feeds before and after the food and still at least once in the night.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

We've settled into a bit more of a routine and eliminated some of the worst offenders for the 'tail wind' situation, ie banana and raw cucumber. He's now over 7 months and seems to have turned a corner in terms of managing to eat, which if I remember from my older ds is what he did too. So he's had toast, crumpet or oatcake for 'brunch' usually at about 9.00 after he wakes from his little morning nap, with butter or marmite or Bovril on it. Usually he's asleep when we have lunch, and then has tea with my older DC at around 4.30-5 ish. He's had things like pasta shapes with bolognese sauce or casserole, potato, cooked veg etc. He is absolutely loving it, and won't even let me near him with a spoon. His tummy seems to have calmed down a lot as well, so i'm happy to give him more new things now. We still haven't given any dairy though, and my older ds didn't take too well to cows milk, although he wasn't intolerant/allergic, but definitely didn't agree with him.

[iemma321q]

My ds (7 months ) is loving eating absolutely everything we try. I'm concerned though by how much he is straining to do a poo. Any suggestions on what I should be giving him to make this easier. We have tried banana and prunes.

[babypeach]

We're getting straining too trying pear today to see if that helps

Can I ask how are you all giving babies meat? My lo gets super frustrated just chomping on it in strips.
Tried meatballs which sort of worked but only until they crumbled! He cried because he couldn't pick up/manage the bits.

Mealtimes are starting to end in tears as he gradually gets more frustrated at not being able to actually eat much. So far he's managed to consume roast parsnip, pear, sweet potato and very soft broccoli and carrot but everything else just ends up on the floor and upsetting him!

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Bananas can cause constipation I believe, as can other foods, so might be worth avoiding them. Also too much fibre can be a bad thing for little ones, so wholemeal bread and pasta, too much veg peel/ potato skins etc can give them tummy aches, and they need a lot of water with fibrous foods or they can get constipated. I think all babies have certain things that just 'don't agree' with them, for my ds its cucumber and bananas, plus I have always avoided beans/peas/lentils this early on as it does seems to give wind. My ds was definitely uncomfortable with his tummy and since we have scaled back the number of new foods he seems more settled.
peach we have given pieces of steak to suck/gnaw on which he enjoyed and also a chicken leg with the bone in. Chicken breast seems to be too chalky and he can't get it moving in his mouth. I think that frustrated phase is OK e they have to go through, right now ds is getting mighty annoyed because he can't open his palm to release the other half of whatever he's holding so keeps biting his fingers trying to get it out!

[babypeach]

Oh yes chicken on the bone sounds good natural handle! I keep reminding myself we're only a,week in so must just persevere until it becomes a bit easier for him.

The hand thing happens to us too poor babies!

[heyhulahoop]

So I started blw this week, I love the whole idea of it, have tried her with banana, strawberry, some steamed carrot and some toast. I'm irrationally scared of her choking though and when a bit of carrot came off in her mouth I inwardly stared to panic although she spat it out anyway.

One thing it's made me realise is how much shit I eat, I rarely have lunch now I'm on mat leave and mainly snack on stuff throughout the day! I'm gonna try and focus on planning some meals we can eat together.

[babypeach]

Hi hula

I've found that too-can't just live off crisps and cake! Have also realised I can now only eat these things when lo asleep otherwise he cries at being left out...!

[itsmeyouknow]

We are also BLW and have been for the last 2-3 weeks. She is enjoying it and I am too (was nervous and sceptical) and loves to eat what we are eating. I've given her most things and noticed she holds onto the things she likes most and chews /drops the others. Big hunks of chicken from a skewer are a fave, as are cucumber, asparagus, etc. I tried to go with veggies and meat first, then starch and fruits to attempt to get her not to go straight to the sweet stuff... So far it's good.