Starting BLW tonight - food suggestions

[Waitingformyenfys]

DD will be 6 months on Wednesday but our HV suggesting weaning now.

I want to do BLW as it looks easier and cheaper but I’m scared! I was thinking of getting some strawberries or mashed sweet potato for tonight but I wasn’t sure what should be her first food?

I’m watching your thread for some guidance myself. About to start baby led weaning in a months time and feeling very clueless.

From what I have read though, the idea is to start with soft vegetables (cooked carrots and broccoli and so on). Everything seems to say it should be cooked soft enough to easily smush between your thumb and finger but firm enough for baby to hold.

At first you cut it into long thick sticks / batons as they are easy for baby to hold in a fist.

Sweet potato is good but be careful about strawberries as they are an ‘allergy’ food and some people advise not to give them until 8-10 months (although I’m pretty sure I gave my dc the odd strawberry before this time!)
Strips of ham
Tuna, salmon and white fish chunks
Soft Yorkshire pud
You can feed cooked eggs from 6 months, but for the first time, just give him a mouthful or two to be on the safe side. Give it separately to other foods that can cause allergies, such as nut butters and fish. That way you will be able to tell if the egg causes a reaction. Choose eggs that have a red British Lion Quality stamp. This means they have a very low risk of carrying salmonella, a bacteria that causes food poisoning. You can give your baby runny yolks if you use British Lion eggs. If the eggs are unmarked, or if you’re in any doubt, make sure that the yolk and white are cooked until solid, as this will kill any bacteria.
Beans and chickpeas are also suitable. Butterbeans make great finger foods.
Babies can eat pasteurised full-fat cheese from 6 months old.
Cooked pasta shapes
Torn up cooked chicken breast
Boiled potato chunks
Cooked carrot, broccoli, parsnip, baby sweetcorn, green beans, butternut squash
Strips of pitta bread (more palatable than untoasted normal bread)
Cubes of tofu
Avocado
Grapes (cut in half), bananas, blueberries, ripe pear, ripe mango, cucumber, kiwi
Bear in mind that at 6 months old, a baby’s grasp is still very undeveloped so long thin pieces of food are easier for them to handle.

We did BLW and loved it. First things he properly tried were cucumber and strawberries, first real meal was a curry.

I was SO stressed about weaning but its all fallen into place now (everyone said it would but i didn't believe them!)

Breakfast is typically toast/crumpets sliced into fingers with philly or a tiny bit of butter.

Lunch is a finger version of whatever i'm eating - slice up avocado, cheese, a bit of bread, falafel etc.

I've now caved with Dinner and she gets a pouch of food - either babease or Ellas Kitchen. I think she likes this part the most!

I also steam some veg every other day (courgette, carrot, green beans, tenderstem broccoli) which is handy for taking out and about because they're soft and she can eat them cold.

If doing BLW, it doesn't need to be mashed, it can be a stick shape cooked soft.

My little boy had christmas dinner as his first meal. Then we generally offered whatever we were having, but reduced salt (reduced salt stock cubes don't add much flavour btw and I wish I hadn't bothered) and veg cooked in sticks rather than circles etc. No honey or whole nuts under 1.

I occasionally tried BLW 'recipes' but DS wasn't convinced by any of them. Oh and porridge? Not a chance. He liked yoghurt a lot and had a baby bird type face meaning 'mummy spoon it in faster'. So not officially BLW for the purists but I now have a 2 year old who eats almost anything, in large quantities, mostly by himself, sometimes even with cutlery (yes, that's work in progress)

Following with interest

Following! Do you offer 3 meals straightaway (or 3 mealtimes straightaway), or stagger the introduction so as not to overload them?

We did avocado toast fingers at breakfast this morning, do we need to plonk lunchtime veggie sticks in front of her or no?

I’m just starting blw with ds2, as it went really well for ds1.
To start with you can offer solids just once a day, then gradually introduce more till you’re up to 3 meals a day by around 12 months, then introduce snacks.
@Ricekrispie22 list is really useful (thank you!) here’s what we’ve done so far just as an example, but there’s no hard and fast rules!
Day 1 - broccoli florets (mostly thrown on the floor)
Day 2 steamed carrot sticks (a thick stick as easier to hold), ate a minuscule amount.
Day 3 mashed potato ate prob a couple of small spoons (fed by me we’re not doing totally pure blw)
Day 4 banana - more successful ate maybe an inch?
Today I’m going to do steamed courgette sticks.
Etc etc!!