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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

I'm losing confidence in this BLW thing, someone please boost me!!

29 replies

theUrbanDryad · 04/06/2007 10:14

so ds is 5 months old, can't sit up unaided yet, grip not great, can't find his mouth with a teether...i've not tried him on solids yet. he seems very keen, watches food with interest etc, but i didn't want to start weaning till he could sit up, and i'm sure i've seen babies his age sit up! argh! am i going a bit mental??

OP posts:
JodieG1 · 04/06/2007 10:25

My ds2 is about the same age as yours and although he can sit up and does most things that show he's ready for weaning, he isn't yet though as he still ahs the tongue thrust reflex. There really isn't any rush for him to be on solids and if he's not ready then just giving him mush won't make any difference imo. Ethan is 21 weeks on Thursday and I'm planning on waiting a good few more weeks yet. If you do wait we'll be starting them both at around the same time so can compare notes if you want

Otter · 04/06/2007 10:29

I just think this blw thing is a big fuss over nothing

the tongue thrust thing(?) will soon go when you put some delicious scram in there - i tink it usually takes all of a day

If blw is so damn natural why are we all sitting on here gassing about it

I think a mixture of both....

Weaning is a means to an end - just do it if he is hungry

( my first 4 could not sit up btw!)

lulumama · 04/06/2007 10:33

hang fire then urban....my DD couldn;t sit up until she was 7 months or so

give it another month, and see .....babies watch everything at this age with interest, not just food....also, you cannot do any harm by waiting a few more weeks to wean...so why not hang on

JodieG1 · 04/06/2007 10:34

If baby is hungry then milk is what they need more as it has more calories. Food is just ofr texture and taste until they're older anyway. The food will fill them up but not give the same calories so they'll want more food sooner, that's why milk is better.

Oh and I've been "feeding" ds2 infant gaviscon from a spoon every day for about 5-6 weeks now and his tongue thrust reflex hasn't gone at all.

noseynora · 04/06/2007 10:35

You'll find your own way. I started with baby rice (at 6 months of course ) but quickly found that DD like to feed herself a lot of stuff. Like Otter says, a mixture of both seems good. I didn't push anything on her, if she wants spoon fed mush - I do it, if she wants to eat toast, cheese etc herself - I let her. Just follow your DS lead..

Aitch · 04/06/2007 11:00

lol, how can you possibly be losing your nerve a full month before he's due to start? four weeks is a long time in baby development, it'll a full sixth of his life, for starters. imagine i fretted that you would be exactly the same at 36 as at the age of 30? wait til 6 months before you start even thinking about it, it's not difficult. also it's not The Law, if you don't want to do it, don't do it.

and as to the idea that if BLW were so natural people needne't be talking about it, Otter, what rubbish. Every piece of weaning literature available gives instruction on how to wean with purees, and there are acres of sites discussing how best to mash a banana.

that this website, full of rather cool women with interesting opinions also attracts BLW-minded people or might point parents of younger babies towards BLW is only because there's fuck all else out there, so that, in answer to your question, is why people are here gassing about it.

a better question is why do people come on here asking about purees and lumps when every book, pamphlet, health professional and friend can give them the answers. perhaps it's just a simple need to communicate, and actually doesn't bear any reflection on the style of weaning at all?

GibbonInARibbon · 04/06/2007 11:09

Urban - DD is now nearly 9 months and still amazes me but making huge developmental leaps week to week, your little man will do the same. Don't fret - there is no hard and fast rule it has be be bang on 6 months, it may be a few weeks after. What is a few weeks in the grand scheme of things?

I promise BLW will amaze you and make your life so much easier at the same time. You'll never regret doing it

btw - when I started I asked aitch that as I was holding the banana for DD was I still BLW??? I was perhaps the most neurotic of all those new to BLW. After a few weeks you will wonder why you fretted (I do )

pupuce · 04/06/2007 13:37

Whilst we are on the topic....
My DD is 6 1/2 months old, she can now sit unaided... not for hours but she is getting there. She can sit in her high chair no problem.
She is 100% BF, she has taken some food in her mouth but has yet to swallow anything.
Normal I presume, am not really worried either but just wondered....

pupuce · 04/06/2007 13:38

I should add DD... LOVES tissue though

RuthChan · 04/06/2007 13:51

My DD is 6.75 months old and has been on solids for 3 weeks now, having been fascinated by watching us eat for a couple of months.
I am doing a combination of BLW and normal weaning.
She enjoys feeding herself bits of finger food, but more than that she seems to enjoy being fed purees etc. She finds them far easier to deal with and seems to be more sure about what to do when it comes to swallowing.
I guess different methods and foods suit different babies.

pupuce · 04/06/2007 14:03

I did the purees with my 1st 2 kids and had no problem... just fancy trying BLW as it makes sense to me.

jorange5 · 04/06/2007 16:42

Tongue thrust will go in a day? Where did you get that rubbish from? It goes when baby has developed the capability to deal with solid food. DD lost it all together just before 7 months at about the same time as she developed her 'pincer' skills. Before this time babies are not developmentally ready for solid foods surely?

Original poster
theUrbanDryad · 04/06/2007 16:49

jorange - i'm so glad you said that! i was wondering....

OP posts:
Aitch · 04/06/2007 16:53

pupuce, that all sounds perfectly normal to me, especially the tissues. i think having never weaned a baby before i didn't expect dd to eat anything really, so when i saw fragments of carrot in her nappy i just thought 'result'. i wonder if i'd spoon fed a baby before whether it would have been more difficult not to worry about how much she was eating?

pupuce · 04/06/2007 20:32

Aitch - thanks... I presume it's your blog I read

I am a BF counsellor and Otter's "Weaning is a means to an end - just do it if he is hungry " - is just inaccurate.
Weaning is not a hunger issue but a developmental issue.
If your baby is hungry give it more breast/formula... that contains far more calories than a few spoonfus of what ever!

I have noticed that DD's poo (I do EC so I can easily see it) is significantly different in the past month and to me this is because her gut has evolved! Her body is getting ready. She is not asking for more milk either... so am quite relaxed... just wonder when she will swallow... I think she did some broccoli tonight though... so I'll check her poo

Original poster
theUrbanDryad · 05/06/2007 09:35

well, the latest development is that ds has managed to get some stuff in his mouth. it was my mobile phone, but still...

dh was teasing him with strawberries last night. i got very cross with him, especially since i heard that you're not supposed to give berries till 12m, is that right??

OP posts:
Angeliz · 05/06/2007 09:41

I'm doind blw with my ds because he simply refused mush and this has made him so happy. He is so chilled out now sitting eating with us and more food is going in lately. He's 9 months now and the other day alot ofg veg was not on the floor so i'm assuming it went down.
I think each baby is different (as my 2 dd's has no problems with mush) so just chill out and go with the flow theUrbanDryad. (Strawberries aren't a good idea though till about a year i think)

Aitch did you ever get my lasagne recipe?

jorange5 · 05/06/2007 11:13

Why not strawberries??? I give them to LO every day at the moment, am I missing something? I am worried now - what don't I know???

NineUnlikelyTales · 05/06/2007 11:24

jorange so is my DS (8m) and he loves them. It is getting to the point where we are supposed to deny 90% of normal food to babies until they are one, just in case of allergies. I think if he had an allergy I would have noticed it by now

Backtobasics · 05/06/2007 11:33

I'd say leave the weaning just yet, if he isn't ready then don't do it anyway. All that making food and putting it into icecube trays etc... ...leave it as long as possible!

Aitch · 05/06/2007 12:03

i'm never sure about the strawberries, tbh. allergies can sometimes be triggered by continued exposure, i think, rather than one first contact.
i was goinig to give dd strawbs one day when i was with a friend who's an A&E paed, and he wouldn't let me. said 'nothing red until they're one' as i recall. however you have to remmeber that as an A&E guy he must have a heightened sense of danger.
i did continue to offer dd the occasional bit of tomato however, but she always let it drop out of her mouth and now at 18 months it looks like she's allergic to raw toms, so who knows? i did feel like a right plank last summer when all my pals' babies were feasting merrily on lovely strawbs and i wouldn't give any to dd...

NineUnlikelyTales · 05/06/2007 12:11

Oh I didn't know about the continued exposure. But DS loves red things (raw peppers, strawberries) and in a month there has been no sign of trouble. Whereas with dairy products I have had my concerns (I was intolerent as a child) and there is no guideline to avoid that I know of? It must have been a lot easier in the 70s when you could give Screwballs and Findus Crispy Pancakes at 3m and actually be admired for it

Hmm, I think I will still let DS have strawbs but maybe not buy any more for a while after this punnet has finished.

Aitch · 05/06/2007 12:24

i'm just telling you what i was told, tbh, it's not something i know anything about. i presume he meant raw red things, by the way, cos the allergicy things in toms go away once they're cooked, don't they? and dd always ate roast red pepper to her heart's content... [minefield]

NineUnlikelyTales · 05/06/2007 12:30

Yes it is a minefield isn't it. I doesn't help when you can't trust the 'experts' (HV, Birth to Five book etc). I just try to give DS what I think is healthy, normal food from 6m and not worry too much about allergies. My best friend is allergic to everything, including her own sweat and another one developed a life threatening allergy to spinach at 25. If I thought too much about it I'd go mad. But that's just my approach, I wouldn't advise anyone to do the same.

Aitch · 05/06/2007 12:33

Jesus! that is horrific.

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