Weaning 6mo - going v slowly/refusing spoon??

[cobaltblue27]

Hi,

I am very gently starting to wean my DS2 who will be 6 mo (calendar months-so prob 28 weeks ish) on Tuesday. Over the last few weeks, I have tried to offer him a mixture of fruit purees, finger foods like rusks and rice cakes, and fruit, roughly when we are eating at least twice a day. Rusks and baby biscuits, along with the Organix carrot puff things and the like he loves, along with bananas, and gnawing on fruit. However, am coming up against a brick wall with purees. He just doesn't open his mouth so I have managed only a max of two spoonfuls of anything. Given the continued traumatic experience we have with DS1 and eating, am reluctant to push at this stage, but am asking A) how bad is it that he isn't really eating more than a taste at this stage, and B) am I wrong not to press with the spoon? A maternity nurse suggested I hold his nose to get him to open his mouth which I found horrifying!

He can't yet sit up, but am hoping that once he does I can put stuff on his highchair tray and let him feed himself according to BLW. However, is it ok/right to expect that a BLW
baby will simply eat a bit less than his fellows at this stage?
Instinct tells me not to push against a closed door or a pursed set of lips with this.

One of the challenges is that I have a very high maintenance two year old who still needs to be coaxed/spoon-fed through every single meal (see below-am actually traumatised by meal times with him) and so very hard to give DS2 the attention he deserves.

[context: am very worried about the whole thing as DS1 is a nightmare with food and always has been-was still exclusively breastfed at 8 months as refused EVERYTHING (I had a nanny in to help me when he was younger, who managed to get whole pots of purée into him at 5 months with a spoon and we wonder whether that is the root of his issues as she probably pushed too hard, but his cousins have all been terrible eaters as well)].

I have very very little confidence (I am basically useless at being a mother to be honest! No other way to put it) and have also suffered badly with PND. I am here for
some suggestions and maybe some reassurance. Although it sounds like wveryone else on here has their children chowing down roast dinners at DS2's age. I feel I must be doing something very wrong!

You are correct that they should be able to sit up and support themselves so don't rush.
Milk should still be the main source of nutrition so just give a small amount around meal times when you eat. Offer milk after.
Take it slow don't rush and don't put pressure on you or them.
I've BLW'd 2 and about to have number 3 who I will wean in the same way. I found it so easy (I'm lazy )

Being a mum is hard enough without worrying

*small amounts of food at meal times

I started with banana and dry toast for breakfast
Chopped up cucumber pitta bread fruits for lunch
Cooked veg broccoli carrots etc small pieces of meat for tea
Let them explore
Let them lead
Your maternity nurse sounds horrible by the way!!

And you are a good mother.

It sounds as if you are a very thoughtful mother.
I don't think that you need to worry about quantities for months yet.
If he isn't sitting, is he ready?
I would offer a little of what you or older DC are eating and if he is interested he can lick/ suck/ fiddle with it... if he isn't interested he can leave it
There aren't any rules...his main diet is milk and over the. Next 6-9 months the proportion of calories from food rather than milk will gradually increase.
Best tip I can give you is for baby to learn to eat: enjoy food by eating with the family and seeing what everyone else is doing.... no rush whatsoever

Can help sit with support? That is sufficient for starting weaning - they need to be able to hold themselves up, but balance doesn't matter if you can adequately support them.

Please don't panic. My DD has been slow to take to it - we've not pushed and she enjoys food although at 9 months is definitely still "exploring" and tasting rather than chowing down large quantities. She's actually got better at taking a spoon over the past few months but we've mostly concentrated on finger foods - cooked veg, fruit, stuff on toast, bits of tortellini or pasta in sauce.

I'm a total hypocrite telling you not to worry because I do - but I have a 9 month old who barely gets it, but she's happy and healthy and my (sensible) HV says I have nothing to worry about. We're building up, we're just doing it slowly!

*better at taking a spoon over the past few weeks. She's always preferred finger food.