Who has tried Baby Led Weaning? I'd like some feed back from people in the know!

[vino4me]

Hi all, DD is 15 weeks, and bfing well. Not to bothered about weaning until 6 months but thinking that BLW seems a good way to go.

Have you tried and tested? How did you find it - I'd like some responses from real people testing it. I keep getting oh my friend Jen's brother's girlfriend's swim teacher reckons..........

Thanks all!

Have done BLW weaning with my 9 month old DD, and agree with all of the sentiments expressed below. However would add that it can take a while for your baby to eat appreciable amounts when compared to your friends babies who will be eating huge jars of puree by 7 months old, so best be prepared for this. And mealtimes can take ages - we regularly sit for over 40 minutes for each meal, so again, if this happens to you best be prepared for it.

BLW approach vindicated yesterday on a trip out on a hot day with stressed babies and parents. Me and DD - opened thermos jug thing, put pasta twists, cheddar sticks, cucumber slices etc on plate, followed by raspberries and strawberries, all eaten with fingers and shared between the two of us. Others - get baby food jars out, try and find hot water/microwave to get food heated up, get more stressed, give babies cold food, eat their own lunch only when their children have finished their lunch etc.... Think I know which mummy enjoyed their lunch more.

ruddynorah, I looked at many BLW articles yesterday. I am trying to find the link. It specifically said that mashed food could be given alongside.

yes, gill rapley talks about mash and puree. of course you can give it alongside, whatever, just that there is no need. from the many weaning threads about blw on here, there are lots of mums who get concerned about the amount their baby eats so they give puree/mash 'alongside blw' to 'make sure he's getting enough' etc. that's fine, but isn't blw. it's just puree/mash plus finger foods. nothing wrong with that, probably that's what the majority do.

ruddynorah, I understand.

Thanks for the information about how much less a baby eats initally MadLabOwner. we've been BLW for a little under two weeks, and DS seems to eat very little, but examines things with interest. This morning he chewed/handled/sucked some pear and seemed very happy with it.
However, when I see some of my friend's children eating full meals at the same age I do start to get ever so slightly anxious.

I'm also trying to reassure DH that milk is the staple food for quite some time, and DS only having a mouthful or two isn't an issue.

Very pro-BLW here!

Have done the puree route with dd1, and doing BLW with dd2 - this is much more fun, easier, and enough is definitely going in.

I'd recommend it

My dd is nearly 11 months and we've been BLW since she was 6 months (god it sounds like aa AA meeting) but in all honesty I would say she's only really been eating sizeable amounts for the last 3 weeks or so - it's lovely to finally be at the point where she's cleared the high chair and I'm searching through the fridge to find what else to give her (Sainsbury's 'taste the difference' semi-dried apricots are a godsend). However, even though I had wobbly moments when it seemed she'd never really get interested in actually eating food (as opposed to playing, smearing, flicking etc) knowing that she was still supposed to be relying on milk for food really lifted the burden from my mind.

And it's lovely not having to worry about when to shift from pureed to mashed to minced etc. And it's nice to go out for a meal and know I'll always be able to order something from the menu and just give her a little bit of it.

Sometimes it seems like a leap of faith but providing milk is still the main food, somehow it doesn't ever feel too stressful. In fact putting up with other people's attitudes is sometimes the hardest bit, but you just smile sweetly and silently gloat when your child wolfs down a plate of tagliatelle.

Hmmm. I'm thinking I should be looking into this BLW more closely. My 8mo has been weaned on purees/mash since 6mths, but has cut down on her milk dramatically. She is BF, but I've been trying to get her onto Neocate during the day as I'm back to work soon and can't express during the day (she's dairy/gluten-intolerant). She only chews the bottle, so I am having to pour the stuff down her throat from a sippy cup and feeling a rotten mother for doing so Can I change to BLW at this stage? My initial reservation is that we eat a lot of Thai curries and spicy spag bol... My diet is resricted enough with the dairy/gluten thing, I'm not sure if I could give up on my favourite dinners!

I'm coming in quite late to this, but please excuse me, I'm new!

Weaning before a year is quite a modern/western idea, therefore so is puree. But when our friends, parents and even grandparents tell us that's how they did it and the professionals are telling us that's how to do it, what are we to know?

Scientists are trying to put right the fact that in the 1950s formula companies said breastmilk was bad for a baby, by studying the digestive system and weaning. If you do a search you will find next to no (won't say none because I haven't found any, but I haven't looked at every single page) evidence for weaning by puree - other than people like AK who get quite fluffy with the science - iykwim. You will find studies going back many decades on finger foods. As someone said, it's not very commercial to follow breastfeeding or BLW over formula or puree.

As for quantities, Isobel has eaten large amounts from the start. She loved food and always went straight in. Definitely always been more than you would count in spoons! But on the other hand, there is no reason to count what they have, milk will see them through until they are ready. For some babies being ready means past a year. You just have to make sure that milk comes first and they are getting plenty, don't forget as they get to this kind of age there is more around them than Mummy's boobs and they can forget to ask to nurse.

To answer the last question, it is never too late. I believe that every person needs to be in control of what they eat and if that is taken away, then control will be regained elsewhere. By giving the control to the child you will take away the opportunity for games later.

I've been off Mumsnet for a while, I came back on to read about BLW,something I think sounds great and OMG the breast feeding police even find a way a spoil this topic, its not concerning breast feeding?? whats up with these people? really what is the problem? Mumsnet is totally ruined for me and yes I BF my son and he is 24wks now.
GIVE IT A REST CRAZY WOMEN

sorry, what? i don't understand what you mean, chocolate. (i mix-fed, btw)

Someone suggested BLW to me when I asked for help because my Dd was gagging on lumps in puree and we haven't looked back since! Dd will now have a go at most things and I pretty much share all my food with her which she loves. My family all think it's great and they've been very supportive as it is so much easier for everyone.
It has also led to us eating a much healthier diet as we have to cook meals she can eat too so it has helped us all. I just wish I'd found it sooner!

ds2 is 19 weeks and I thought I'd look into blw. can I ask though, I thought the reason for weaning at 6 months had to do with dwindling iron supplies (although I never understood with ds1, he hardly started weaning with iron rich foods!)? I'm confused!

The low iron thing is a bit of old info - it's true that their iron stores do start the deplete slowly after 6 months but there is enough stock in there to last them until a year. So - they don't need any supplimentation. Infact they will be quite healthy and happy just BF for a year. I'l have a look for the link to some research for it for you and post later. I've BLW for the last 2 months (lo is now 8 months) - I have found it great. Pureed food imo seems a bit unnatural - cave mummy I'm sure didn't have a blender...

Here's a quick link re iron stores...

www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron.html

I found the motherload of informaiton on Baby Led Weaning on theweaningroom.com an overview (including an explaination of how it locks step with a baby's natural development), Dos and Donts they even have an interview with the woman who developed the protocol.

Hi all, I didn't know anything about iron so reading the links the FionaH and Reesie put up was very interesting, there's so much good stuff online now. It's definitely changed since our grandparents time!

Aud

try www.babyledweaning.com as well, aud, loads of personal stories there from people who've actually done BLW and all the links to the other websites as well.
you should ask your grandparents, though, you might find their weaning methods had more in common with BLW than purees...

Oh, LL - I've just put 2 and 2 together...

Yes. Aren't I just so clever?

ROFL.

WE were holding off til 26 wks until last wek ds2 grabbed a handful of his older sisters rice krispies and happily stuffed the whole lot into his mouth
immediately panicked about choking, until I realised that all had gone down and he was bawling for more.
So have offered him a mix of pretty much allsorts as he has shown interest
infact as we were feeding the ducks our crusts today he nabbed one and sucked it to death.
Figure that's about as baby led as you get
He is eating stuff too and am chuffed if we cna avoid that crappy puree phase.
That said he loves fruit and veg mashed for him and sucked off his fingers.
All this in what 5 days and kind of completely by accident.
We did see an initial drop in bf which freaked me so we just rearranged when he got hold of food and all hunky dory now.

he is 24 wks btw