Starting BLW with Xmas Dinner?

[OwlyLady]

Asking around and reading a bit on BLW the advice seems to be "they eat what you eat". So for Xmas dinner do I literally serve up a mini Xmas dinner, meat, pigs in blankets, roasties and all? No special prepping?

Yes - pretty much. The pigs in blankets may be a bit salty, but everything else should be ok.

Make sure there is no honey on parsnips etc - under 1s shouldn't have it.

Be prepared for them to not really eat anything.

It's a pretty good way to start though isn't it?!

I’d avoid anything processed such as pigs in blankets as they’re very salty.

Meat, lots of veg and some lightly roasted potatoes would be fine though.

Watching with interest I am thinking of doing the same with my Dd6months weve been doing purees for a while now she can manage lumps ok so thinking give her some brocolli and a roastie.

Should all be fine, like PP has said, no honey. Also I wouldn't put gravy on LO portion as it is very high in salt. (And I wouldn't salt anything, veg ect while cooking) have it on the table and add it to just yours x

We have allergies in our family so we did BLW but introduced food slowly in a similar manner to how you would do puréed. We started with steamed veg. The meat we introduced later as it is a much more difficult texture to chew and swallow. Definitely nothing processed, no salt, and no sugar.

I would avoid pig's in blankets and gravy due to salt content. Anything else go for it!
Make sure nobody pops any of it in his/her mouth. Don't put too much on the tray and let them get on with it!

Brilliant thank you! And everything same sized as we would have it?

Yes, so it's easier to pick up.

We did chip sized pieces. Long enough so they can hold one end with their whole hand and shove the other end in their mouth and not too wide or narrow. As they get more proficient they can pick up smaller items and get better at biting and chewing but initially start easy!

Just chatting to friends about this now and they've pointed out guidelines state whole pieces of meat should be avoided at first and food should be introduced slowly to keep eye out on allergies and to help prevent babies from being overwhelmed?

I'd start with a brocolli florette and soft carrot sticks rather than the full meal tbh. And expect it just to get mushed in the baby's hands...

Broccoli and cauliflower florretes and big carrot battons were always popular with my three when we did baby led weaning.

I found broccoli a great on to start with, and as pp said over cooked carrot sticks. It will get messy - but my DD loves the independence of feeding herself and exploring things.

Op Introducing things slowly is more old fashioned advice. Unless you have any history of allergies (or DP) you should be fine to just follow the guidelines: no honey under 1, low salt (less than 1g per day), no whole nuts (also grapes/cherry toms need to be cut in half).

Meat is fine to be introduced as it is, especially a piece of dark meat from the turkey as it will be juicy.

Get the BLW cookbook and have a read through before you start! Oh and cut things into chip size pieces for the first few weeks.

As PP says meat is fine. Also get hold of the BLW book by Gill Rapley which details everything about BLW

I think Christmas dinner is a fantastic first meal! Be warned: DS2 didn't take to BLW straight away, he used to hold things in his fist and suck the same thumb. He'd put any non food item in his mouth though.

What a lovely idea to start at Christmas. Don’t be suprised if nothing gets eaten though especially if you have a group of you getting together it might be a bit much.

If you’re giving turkey and veg there’s little that is high risk allergenic food so long as you’re not cooking nut oils.

If I were you I’d start now with veg in a calmer environment and you won’t need to worry so much about reactions on Christmas Day.

Thank you everyone.
Might start on Xmas eve then just to see how he finds it. He has had a parsnip before, grabbed it off my plate about a month ago and went straight into gumming it in his mouth lol.

Absolutely fine. If you do offer Pigs in blankets,sausage or grapes just cut them lengthways otherwise they can be a choking hazard. And don’t forget to take plenty of photos

How did it go @OwlyLady?

Absolutely brilliant thank you! We ended up starting couple days before to get him used to the concept in case he was overwhelmed on Xmas Day. He's eating amazing, proper chewing and swallowing.

Brilliant!