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

littlelapin, my mum tried to drown herself with a cup of tea last week. Gotta watch those liquids!

Message withdrawn

I think baby food manufacturers have a huge amount to answer to

They slowly managed to persuade parents that you fed slop from 4 months, and lumpy slop from 7 months. the 'art' of weaning was lost.

I took advice from older relatives and all mine mostly fed themselves from 6-7 months. I didn't use jars and I have a family that will eat anything

It isn't a new way, it is a developmental milestone repackaged. It's great that people are so enthusiastic in weaning and that should only be envcouraged but a 14 month old eating an apple, is what they should be doing, however they were weaned. People think it is a new thing as it is new to todays parents

That's perfectly true, minority.

I didn't puree food for my ds because he could never stand the stuff (any of it), and he disliked being spoon fed. So for me (and I'm sure for countless others), it was all a bit of a no-brainer.

But each to his own. There has to be a transition from breast/formula and solids, and I really can't see how pureed food can be heralded as a 'problem.'

All a load of guff about nothing, imo.

Yes, minorityrules, and I'm afraid we all need permission to do something different.

I'm sure I'm not alone in having very little to do with babies and children until I had my own in my 30s. I don't therefore think I had much of an instinct to trust!

that is why it's good to give it a 'packaged' name if you like..it shows new mums that you don't have to go down the puree route. if a new mum reads the majority of baby books, they talk about weaning from 4-6 months with puree. if a new mum goes into a shop they see weaning spoons, bowls, jars of food 'balanced' to provide the right nutrition for the exact age of their baby.

at my weaning talk (the HV talked about blw) the other mums were saying they like jars because then they know the baby is getting what it needs. the fact that the 'art' of cooking has been lost along the way some how also has a lot to answer for. when you try to say to a mum to just give the baby a bit of what they're having, most are then left thinking... but all i eat is crap all day, i can't cook anything, we only eat ready meals..so how do i do blw...ahh well i'll stick to the jars.. at least then i know they're getting what they need...

desiderata- no there doesn't have to be a transition..that's the whole point! baby food manufacturers would love you to think you need a transition stage..as would annabel karmel.

Enid, that is very true of some things. I absolutely agree.

But BLW isnt a revolutionary parenting method, or way of life. Its just a very slightly different way of doing something that people seem to have wanted to hold up for severe scrutiny for reasons I just cannot fathom. Folk were quite happy just Getting On With It Quietly, until folk came along saying "whats all this BLW bollocks?" That was my point.

Folk are making a huge big something out of "What is the big deal with BLW", which is making the people that do have an interest in this thing have to constantly back their 'choice' up. This is why BLW is looking like its some huge 'Movement'. This 'Movement' is simply some people having the same reaction to those that you referred to that are now "justifying pureeing".

Of course folk can think its bullshit, "bollocks" (love your sarcasm OO), or "The Emperors New Clothes". But I happen to think thats an excessive reaction to something that alot of people are purporting to be something they do as a 'normal aspect of weaning' anyway.

People that were happily just getting on with BLW, not pushing it, preaching it or selling it to anyone, have been constantly asked "what the big deal is" "why is it better" etc etc ad infinitum, and then, when they have politely and concisely answered all of those queries, are accused of "superiority", making something of nothing, extremism etc etc etc.

Its so fucking daft and ridiculous I cant believe it. Thus, Pruni - I agree - MN is odd about food.

Harpsi - as usual, agree with everything you have posted on here.

Haven't been here long but I think the reason people have asked questions is through genuine curiosity

I think people have gotten their backs up as I have seen BLWers talk of pureeing as inferior, and the pureeers come back as they don't think they are feeding inferior foods. viscious cycle. No one likes to have their parenting questioned as we do that enough ourselves

There is a small smugness with some blwers. Oh look, my baby is eating whole pear because I didn't puree. Well, no...it's because he/she can hold a pear and gum it because thats what babies do. There is smugness in puree ers, look I slaved over a stove and made these wonderful concoctions.

In my era it was a smugness over cooking own purees over jars. in my parents it was getting babies on potties at 2 days old and who could wean the earliest. We all want to be seen as being the best but it all it does it makes us insecure

Parents need to support each other as eveyone else loves to put us down. As long as a baby/child is eating, who cares how they get it. It is lovely seeing a child enjoy food, whether it is mushed or whole, I still feel that way watching my sons or daughters devour a sunday roast, it is because we want to nourish our children through natural instinct.

We don't need experts and media telling us we are doing it wrong all the time, we have enough to worry about

We all have smugness, when OUR babies do something fantastic (read developmentally normal)we all think ours are the cleverest children and watch them in awe and love to bore other parents with stories of how clever it all is

It's what we all do, we feel the first to ever to it and when we get it right, we have a right to be smug. Unfortunately, it also works the other way when we aren't quite getting it right

I think VVVQV is spot on.

I think BLWs have been backed into a corner defending what they do so that they look like a Movement of people with a Theory.

Speaking for myself: it's worked brilliantly for us, and is a natural extension to demand breastfeeding, ie giving the baby more control over its appetite, which I think is good.

So I'm pleased to have found out about it (on MN), but it's really not worth the bizarre level of antagonism it provokes here.

I've seen BLW being accused of a) being ridiculous because it's completely unproven and lacking in evidence and b) being ridiculous because it's just what everyone has been doing all along anyway.

Sometimes on the same thread....

Not to mention the stripey effect you get in the weaning forum with alternating threads saying "Will those &()(%&% BLW-ers stop shoving it in our faces all the time" and "Help! What is BLW - please explain".

No wonder BLW-ers are huddling together for warmth.

vvv and wellie spot on as usual, however harpsi is the warmest so i'm huddling nearest to her.

(pleads) Please snuggle up, chaps, it's FREEZING here in NZ at the moment. Dog's water bowl frozen. Dog glued to fire. Aroma of scorched labrador wafting through the house.

get rid of the beard, weirdy, and i'll consider it. it's v stuffy here, i'd have to say. i've a terrible pre-thunderstorm headache on the go.

I am going out. I may be some time.

Sorry to hear about the headache, aitch. Hope it's better soon.

night night, freak show face.

It's a long way back but did someone really wean their baby using baked beans as a finger food? They're full of salt and sugar. This can't really be a good idea, can it?

lol, yeah lucicle... recipe on here don'tcha know?