BLW- It's a tricky art for a six minth old to master!

[redbeki]

For a six month old baby,with no teeth .Most foods are really hard to grip ,let alone chew.
How does BLW work,when most of it gets slung over the high chair.To be honest,for us,it's a bit of a pain in the ar**!
How do they get to actually eat anything apart from the tiniest of morsels.
Maybe some babies are more skilled than others at holding slippery bits of banana and apple.I am not giving up with it,but people who say
it's easy are having a laugh,I think!I'm sure lo will get it eventually,but at 6 months it's pretty tricky to master the art of BLW!

Slippery foods are easier to hold if you cut them with a crinkle cutter or cut notches out with a knife. I used to do this with pieces of melon!

Or leave the skin on slices of fruit - they're canny enough to spit it out and it is much easier to hold.

It takes a while for them to get the hang of it! It doesn't really matter how much food is being consumed at this stage. Be patient

that's a good idea ekra.thanx

i have rather geekily noted how to serve banana, melon etc on my blog at www.babyledweaning.com as my dd found some things trickier than others in the beginning. a lot can change in a week at this stage, however. remember, nothing's compulsory, if you're finding it a pain in the arse then break out the spoons. it's supposed to be fun, after all. talking of which, don't stress the amounts, they really are playing at the moment.

I worry about how much they are actually eating though.Maybe the quantities don't matter at this stage.I will persevere .

the quantities don't matter, truly. let the baby have as much milk as they want, then they'll supplement with more food the better they get at eating.

It is fun,maybe a a pain in the a**e was a bit strong. i have been giving some mush food,coz I was worrying about how little was goin in,but i'm going to give them up.She's 7 months next week,and I've noticed in last few days she isn't keen on the sloppy stuff.She has had pieces from start.I just seem to be forever picking it off the floor.i suppose things can change in a week.,and it's so much nicer to see them feed themselves .

wait til she gets her pincer grip, that is hilarious...

I used to lightly steam carrot batons, and asparagus spears and stuff. And make plenty so that when the bit she was tryign to munch on was too squished to use she could move ontot he next piece.

My DD also surprised me how quickly she used her pincer grip, almost straight away and I gave her blueberries etc.

the idea is that it does take a while until your baby can manage to eat anything in great quantity. until he is capable of eating more he doesn't need more. that's the whole 'baby led' bit. remember early weaning isn't about feeding hunger (that's what milk is for), it's about feeding curiosity IYSWIM. you are introducing him to food, the textures, the tastes, the colours etc...not trying to fill his tummy with food. he'll get better at eating it when his body is ready for more of it.

I feel a lot better about it.Thanks guys.

tonight posed a dilemma.She had pasta and home made sauce,which she really enjoyed,and some milk.then a bath.I gave her some banana and she got really annoyed with it coz it's so hard to grip,so I mushed it up and gave it to her on a spoon ,and she ate the lot!
I'm too concerned that she isn't eating enough if it's all BLW

banana slices easily length ways into 3. if you chop it in half and look down the middle it's like a star segmented, in 3 bits. you don't need a knife, just poke it a bit and it comes apart into 3 long bits.like chips. nice and easy for babies to hold in their fist.

how did you give it to her?

Well then use a spoon if you like for the things she really struggles with and gets frustrated with, and at other times let her play and work it out. There's no rules as such, just what works for you and your DD.

if you really want to do the whole blw thing then you just have to get over the quantity issue. remember, she isn't very good at picking much up because she doesn;t need to be eating much. if she's still hungry she needs milk.

I must admit,I didn't chop it into big enough sticks,as I normally would.I also worried she hadn't had enough of the pasta.It's the first time I've given her pasta.
I just need to get used to it,but the quantity issue doesn't sit well with me at all.

what would you think is enough pasta though? and what would you think is enough milk?

I hold pieces of mango and banana and my baby sucks the other end. I don't put it to his mouth though but just hold it still so if he wants it it's there, if not.. well, I just sit there holding a piece of banana!

He will suck mango for ages and seems to be happier than when I leave him to get on with it on his own.

Was asking Aitch about this on another thread and she said that she'd hold pieces of apricot (I think) in the early days.

I don't know how much is enough with BLW,it's all so new to me..
I gave her some orange segments today,for the first time,and they seemed to go down well.
I need to get used to it.In a few weeks,it will become clear I suppose.

have you read the gill rapley study? without that the blw is going to be very hard to get your head round..especially the quantity thing. i'm not sure i can explain it any better than i already have.

if you can't get your head round it and you like to know how much exactly your baby's getting then blw maybe isn't the way to go. spoon feed and give finger foods if that works better for you and her. it doesn't matter at all, just do what suits

No ,I haven't read anything about it yet.I only heard of it 3 weeks ago,on mumsnet.!

here you go

Thanks Bizzy.Interesting.I didn't realise it was to do with exclusive breastfeeding.I still combine feed.But lo has mostly formula now.BM morning ,evening,and in the night,lots!