strong views frol Gill Rapley

[belgo]

Not sure how I feel about her comments that pureed food could cause health problems in later life.

here

doh! Typo in the title! should be 'from'!

[zips mouth firmly closed]

Enid - that's exactly what my dd2 did every time I offered her pureed baby food!

AArrgghh can't open the link - what's the address?

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6762795.stm

is the address.

The link is working for me...

Yes I'm sure it's my computer belgo - not the first link not to work for me today . Thanks for the link will go and read it now.

What is wrong with kids being picky? Who cares if they spend a few years being picky? They grow out of it. Suprised as an 'expert' she doesn't realise that tbh!

Enid - but surely it's better to avoid the pickiness in the first place?

There's a thread asking for advice on shelbourne, enid. Sounds more fun.

So is she the name behind the whole "baby led weaning" idea?

shelbourne?

Sounds unhelpful. It's just going too far in the opposite direction IMO. I agree with Candy and Clarke at the end of the article. All this will do is again, cause parents to worry that they haven't done / aren't doing the right thing.

My ds was largely puree weaned, and I introduced some finger foods soon after 6 months, and have been gradually increasing the finger foods and making the puree texture coarser and coarser as he got older. No problems. I don't think pureeing causes constipation, it will be overfeeding or not enough water or a sensitivity to a particular food. The latter two could occur with BLW and the first cause can be avoided with pureeing, it is not the puree itself but the parent feeding it.

Marmite - yes, she did a study on it, and gave it a name.

sorry, sherborne

certainly cant see why puree feeding causes constipation? If you mash and spoon feed spag bol its chemical make up is unchanged from unmashed and baby-fed spag bol isnt it?

It would be interesting in reading the research to back up her claims.

BLW was great for my dd2, because she simply refused a spoon, and i can see how it's benefitted her - she now eats really well.

But I just can't see how puree can be so bad. Yes it's a hassle to make, and smells horrible, but does it really cause the problems that she says it does?

jarred purees probbly arent that great for encouraging varied tastes

but pureed veg or home food mashed till smooth...dont get why thats so bad

its all too obsessive for me

how can purred food give them constipation? were told to chew our food properly!

Enid - I agree.

But people being obsessive about things is how things get changed - hopefully for the better.

But not all children do grow out of being picky. My sister was horrendously picky as a child as is worse if anything now she's living on her own - last time I went to hers she didnt' have any fruit or veg in the house at all

I think BLW is fab (although she really didn't invent it, I've got friends who were doing it years before she came along) but I think saying 'spoon-feeding babies makes them picky' is a massive oversimplification of what can be quite a complex issue for some children. I doubt that the evidence is there to back it up and it's a very divisive statement which is bound to lead to major rows over what is such a minor issue in the big scheme of the things.

I think what she is saying is that if you give solids before the recommended 6 months you could cause health problems - for example, constipation. DD1 was weaned at 4 months in line with the guidelines then and did suffer from terrible constipation within a month of starting solids - it is still a problem now. DD2, weaned at 6 (but on purees because I couldn't get my head round BLW), is fine.

I think there are 2 seperate issues referred to - the idea of exclusively BF until 6 months and then the idea of BLW rather than purees.

tsk tsk Enid

I thought you had promised to stay off the BLW/Gill Rapley threads.

I no longer contribute because my good mate Aitch and I often end up in a barney over semantics.

Maybe the constipation thing is to do with the baby just swallowing and not needing to chew, therefore the saliva (and the enzymes it contains) that is produced by chewing isn't produced?

I don't really get it.

BLW sounds ok - i may have tried it if i'd heard of it - but don't get how puree could be a big problem and make them fussy etc. Surely when it comes to the swallowing bit they've gum-mashed it into a puree anyway? Its the same stuff, if its mashed or sucked. Dd2 was put off food for days at 7 months after spectacular choking and wretching incidents.

Agree with the 6 months bit, but bit confused by the rest.

OOh good point Belgo, hadn't thought of that. Babys that are teething produce excess saliva which is why they can have loose stools and sore bottoms so your point makes sense when applied to puree not producing enough saliva.