OK - so what's the difference between BLW and finger foods

[paolosgirl]

Maybe I'm showing my age here, but I'm not that far off 40 and with DS2 aged 7 mths, I'm not sure why there's this big fuss about BLW - up until a short time ago we just introduced finger foods gradually, which is what I'm doing this time. Somebody enlighten me please...

Not sure if I can really help (Aitch will come along soon and enlighten you, I'm sure)but I suppose BLW is just missing out the first stage of purées and going straight to the mess. Without the spoon you dont force your DC into eating anything by shoving it in their mouth. I am following the BLW this time round and to me its just avoiding the faff of purees, odd meal times and ice cubes. I give DD a few bits of what DS and I have and thats it, if she eats, she eats, if she doesn't well, I worry a bit and then forget it. Somtimes I have the urge to shovel spoons of mashed things down her to get more inside, but she seems fine and she enjoys the little she does eat.

The difference is finger food follows spoon feeding purees.

Where as BLW babies are never offered purees, the first food is finger food and the child self feeds when they are physically able to pick it up and put it in there mouth and swallow in the right order

there their

Mung - I've never forced any of them to eat anything, or shoved it in their mouths

Also - doesn't BLW depend on their fine motor skills?

But with a spoon you can kind of coax it in a bit more IYSWIM. I know with DS I used to (and still do at times) distract him a bit to try and get more food it. But I know its not possible to really force them to eat.

At first DD couldn't hold the foo dvery well, but it really helped her with her motor skills. After 2 days she could do it herself. I still help her hold things like mango as they slip out of her tiny grip.

paolosgirl - the theory behind blw is that their fine motor skills develop in line with their ability to chew/digest food, so if they are ready to eat it, they are ready to pick it up and put it in their own mouth.

(excuse name, can't be bothered to change back and forwards from usual)

Ah, I think I understand the approach a bit more now. I'm still not sure I understand why you would do it, unless you don't fancy spoon feeding them. They all get to the self-feeding stage quite quickly with the usual method anyway, but I guess it's the horses for courses thing again

I think, pg, that if you accept the principle of them self-feeding from 6 months, then all the steaming and pureeing and spoon feeding seems like a bit of a faff, and essentially pointless if they can do it for themselves (if you're a Lazy Arse like me anyway). And you get always to eat your meals hot, and it's lots of fun.

HardUp... who are you? I am blinking in prudish shock at your name...

I do it because I don't fancy spoon feeding (because I am a lazy cow). This way, I put food on his tray and get on with the washing up while he eats/throws it on the floor. I also think there's much less anxiety (excuse if I've got this bit wrong but just from what people have said to me) about how much they eat.

If you have, say, a casserole, with chunks of meat, veg, etc, you just give chunks to the baby. It does feel like a leap of faith, and then you do it, and then "Ohhh. So that's how it works..."

depends on the child though
dd would have starved to death as she had low weight gain and low muscle tone and poor motor skills and truble chewing
See she is 5 now and still needs her meat finely mincing.

But ds2, now at 23 weeks he started on rice krispies(somewhat not by design but by stealth attack on said sisters breakfast also encompassing fine gross motor skills, demonstrated ably by vaulting out of his tripp trapp into the general direction of dd's brekkie)
So once we saw he could manage that, he was straight onto steak and chips...

i do think it depends on the child, of course. i'd be concerned about children with SN or like piff says low muscle tone etc etc. thing is, though, no-one's banning spoons, so if it looks like it's not going to suit you then you do something else.

also fullmooncup, i don't know anything about reflux but there's a bit on the blog here where a mum wrote to me with a really interesting insight into weaning a baby with reflux. she actually felt that bigger lumps, certainly in the beginning, aggravated her baby's reflux and so had done things a bit differently. of course i posted it up in case there were any other mums of reflux-y babies experiencing the same thing.

i don't suppose you could do me a favour and post that on the thread? afaic, the main thing is that we need info, i couldn't really give a stuff about whether or not it all comes under the heading of BLW according to the guidelines, but if a mum with a baby with reflux-y things who is interested in BLW is browsing the site i think it's better to see as much relevant info as possible. who were you before, fullmoon? i hope i didn't post shite advice...

phew!

i am MUCH obliged to you, that's great. i'm goiing to ask the women on the forum if they have any experience of reflux as well, good to build up a picture of what to expect i think. my friend's wee boy had reflux, it was hellish. seems like such a weird thing to be so common, does anyone know why it happens?

and she is gorgeous, btw, i really love when wee kids sit on their haunches like that.