Combining BLW with Purees etc

[Autumn78]

I'm STILL trying to make my mind up about weather to do BLW or Purees.

Has anyone tried both? Does it work? Or is it just confusing?

I guess I'm really looking for something routine based????

tbh i think the only reason i point out the difference between BLW and finger foods + purees is because i'm conscious of the fact that people googling BLW will almost certainly come up with this thread at some point. i promise it's not a question of being overly dogmatic with the person who has posted, iykwim?

Now the guidelines have changed to wean at 6 months, is it still recommended to start with purees?

Having weaned in the old guidelines, by 6 months my babies were all on mashed food lumps and finger food. So now it's advised to wait, why bother with purees? I thought purees were because baby didn't have the development to deal with thicker consistences at 4 months
My no 3 didn't get weaned til nearly 6 months and he skipped the puree stage

I think anything that gets a baby/child enjoying good healthy food is good thing and I love seeing a baby gum away on fresh veg, fruit etc (I hate jars with a vengeance) but I still don't get the Baby Led part. I don't know of any baby that will eat if it doesn't want to and you are still providing the times the baby eats....ie it can't get what it wants out the fridge at the time it wants, so you are still leading the baby.

Bigbird - I went to weaning party put on by my HV clinic. Although the advice is now 6 months, they kept saying "but it is safe after 20 weeks" and the whole thrust of the thing was towards purees. All of it. How to make them, how thick they should be, a free spoon. When I went in to have her weighed when she was 5 months old they said "oh, you can start weaning now".
When I went in the other week, and she was just over 6 months old they said "You can start second stage weening now". I had to point out that she was already eating broccoli sticks, carrots, chicken drumsticks etc etc, and that she had been since she grabbed them off my plate. Thank god for MN and Aitch's blog.
The advice, like the labling, does not seem to have changed as much as it should have, if at all.

big bird- the 'baby led' refers to the idea of waiting to wean until baby can feed himself. so you skip purees and spoon feeding. gill rapley's study 'named' this style of weaning and the reasons behind it.

a lot of people think a 6 month old would choke on a piece of cooked veg and assume it would need to be pureed until the baby has got used to the idea of food and learns how to chew and not choke etc. baby led weaning, and rapley's study, shows that this isn't the case.

so of course people have been doing this for yonks, it's just that recently gill rapley did this study, 'named' it, and now lots of mums are finding out about the term and choosing not to go down the mainstream route of purees and spoons which baby food manufacturers, marketers and the vast majority of baby care books would have us go down.

tbh diz, bb knows that already. i know i've personally explained it to her a number of times. i assume she just doesn't believe it, iykwim?

No, I don't know, that's why I asked

Are people still advised to start with purees is what I wanted to know. A 6 month old prob doesn't need to and I was wondering how to first wean is advised for people not doing BLW or know nothing about it

i was referring to the 'baby-led' bit, i know i've spoken to you about it a number of times before. it baffles me why people can't get past what is after all a slightly wanky name. i so wish Rapley had called it something different as it causes so many arguments, but she didn't. presumably she felt that it was on the continuum with 'demand bfing' etc.
and yes, in my experience with HVs, and on every weaning book and NHS leaflet i've ever read it says to start with purees. apparently there's an NCT book which advocates starting with self-feeding chunks of food, but that's about it.

yes big bird people are still told to start with puree as a general rule. which is why people ask LOTS of questions about blw on here. like i said, people think a baby has to have puree first or it will choke on solids. it is a great leap of faith for a lot of mums to hand their baby an actual solid piece of food...again, which is why people ask LOTS of questions about it on here.

I agree - as per my answer below where I tried in my own rambling way to answer you Bigbird. Just as the labeling of 4 Months + has not changed on the jars, so the advice of the HVs etc is still all about purees

Wow! The reponse is overwhelming and very muched welcomed. I started this converstation with my mum two nights ago at 11.30pm and we finished talking, still muddled at 1.00am!

I don't know if this is right, but I'm sure I read somewhere that, another reason for intro solids to baby at 6 mth, is because they don't get enough iron from milk alone. So that's one reasone why I don't want to do just BLW.

I like the idea that with BLW, they can play with food and almost curtainly get some down them. But then I've also read that going straight to finger food can put some babies off and that it's therefore better to start with purees.

I like with puree system, you can have some sort of (loose) routine and provent baby from night waking. But it takes sooooo long to work your way up to finger food!

So, you can see why

a)I'm totally confused (i.e. conflicting books and articles).

b)why I want to do both (i.e. both have good advantages

So to sum up:
I like BLW, because its a quick way to get baby to eat what mummy and daddy eat and they have control.

I like puree, because I can incorperate it into a gradual feeding routine, which can prevent night waking.

I can't remember who brought it up, but I love the idea of putting the spoon near his mouth to let him open up, rather than just shoving the spoon in. Great. He does this already when I'm eating my oats.

I have read every single one of your posts and will read any more that's left.

3 weeks to go till weaning. x

Actually, at my breastfeeding support group (run by a Health Visitor) They are recommending BLW and even played us a DVD. I have chosen not to follow it, but my ds had finger foods one week before he was 6 mths -rice cakes, fruit etc. He gagged for the first few days and now never gags at all. So in answer to the OP, the more finger foods you give, the quicker they get used to them, and stop gagging. Give it a try. And you don't have to bother with purees once your lo is 6 mths - i totally skipped that stage

KELS666 That's good to know. Argh, I'm still undecided. But maybe like you say, that I should give it a go. As I can alsways introduce purees.

Found this DVD by the BLW article lady. Decided to buy it, so I can see...

www.midirs.org/mshop/shprod.nsf/SHOPPRODUCT?openform&id=B1F6879A03B18AEC802572260035E594