Little advice, please those experienced with BLW

[ChittyBang1987]

Evening everyone 😀

I have done blw from 6 months (used to do a mix of puree and blood at start)

We recently had covid 1 week post, and she obviously barely ate anything. So, we gave her things she would eat just to get through it, and she snacked more than ate meals. Tbh I didn't even want to eat, so I know how she felt

She has suddenly become so fussy that she barely touches her protein of chicken, turkey, fish, etc. Potato wise, she's never really liked potatoes unless in the form of a hash brown for her treat. Or Yorkshires, I have to give her something if she won't eat carbs 🤦‍♀️

Literally won't eat her usual toast, crumpets, muffins, pitta, wraps. Looks in disgust and chucks on the floor. I give pasta at lunch along with cheese, chicken or ham, etc.

I obviously always offer what she refuses to eat, still like sweet potato; she refuses and chucks.

I even cut her snacks at 1030am and 330pm in hopes she might eat more. But literally, she just becomes whingy and clingy as she's hungry. Snacks can be ellas puff, biscuit veg, etc.

She will eat brocoli and cauliflower cucumber. And I always offer carrots peas and sweetcorn but they get played around with.

What do I do? Keep offering? Is it a phase.

Oh, and she's a spoon refuser 😆 unless it's breakfast but that can be difficult 😆

a mix of puree and blood

Is this some newfangled extreme weaning?!

😆 omg 😲 I meant puree and blw. I have a new phone, and it keeps correcting my words even though I haven't asked!

The point of baby led weaning is that it's baby-led. The aim isn't to get as much food in as possible, as dextrously as possible. The aim is to allow your DC to regulate their own food intake by offering food in a form that they are capable of eating for themselves.

With that in mind, unless she's becoming unwell or having sustained weight loss or whatever, I'd just go with it.

Are you doing vitamin drops? I always did that, if only for the vit D.

(btw, a mix of purée and finger food is just that - if you are putting the spoon in their mouth, you aren't doing BLW. That's not a bad thing or a judgement - a mix of purée and finger foods is a perfectly reasonable way to do weaning - but it's not BLW. Blood however wouldn't be reasonable ).

No, she's a little chunky. She has 8 oz bottles a day. She's currently nicking the kidney beans out of my dinner 😆 🤣

I don't do vitamin drops I thought that was more if they don't drink their formula?

I suppose I do puree with porridge and custard but rest is her

I don't think you need the vitamins if you feed formula as it already has vitamin D in it.

Keep offering and trust her - you didn't say how old she is but a lot of babies get fussy around a year old anyway.

I lost my taste when I had covid back in the beginning of September. In late October I got my taste back but really hated some foods I'd previously loved. I'm only just starting to enjoy those foods again. I'm no expert but covid might be messing with her taste buds

How old is she now?

Assuming she's still under one I'd keep offering a mixture of her favourites and plenty of milk. She'll be back to normal soon enough - it's nerve wracking though isn't it?

11 months old. That would have helped 😆

Oh, I do agree covid messed with my smell, but not my taste. I loved my good smell, and it's gone.

It definitely is nerve-racking when she won't eat her normal stuff. I tried new stuff to, but it takes her a while to get used to something.

I did think perhaps she's having too much milk now? And that's filling her up.

Another question please.

If she refuses what I have offered her. Do I give an alternative?

I put a bit of whatever we were having on a plate as finger food / loaded spoons for them to pick up / whatever, and if they didn't want it then fine. We all had fruit of some description for pudding.

Why do you find it nerve-wracking? Why does it matter?

And yes you're right re formula having the vitamins in it already.

Yes, we do the same.

I suppose it's not nerve-racking; it's just not her norm, so I suppose you question it 🤔 and worry. I know babies will never starve themselves and will always eat if they are hungry. Or let us know if they are hungry.

Yeah, that's fair enough. It's the change that's concerning you. Easy for me to say (not my baby), but as long as she's well and happy much of the time then I'd just try to be fascinated by how her preferences adapt to her body's needs.

Thanks everyone ☺️

At 8 months she must still be having plenty of milk. Treat that as her main source of calories and just over breakfast, lunch, dinner. Same as what you're eating, if she tries some great if not then no fuss..

She doesn't need snacks at 8 months. Snacks, milk and 3 meals a day is insane. I think most blw are still transitioning from 2-3 at that age.

Also blw is about them exploring food and textures not about just filling them up. If you're doing a mix of puree and blw then you are just doing traditional weaning tbh.

She's 11 months old.

I only spoon feed, her porridge, and custard. Even that she doesn't have everyday.

She has an Ella puff for a snack. Or like a rice cake or I be giving her lunch at 11 and her dinner at 4. Which doesn't work as she's up early as she's hungry. So I spread it out 🤷‍♀️

She's a tall kid in 2 to 3 vests already.

If you want to do "full" BLW (which I'm not saying you should, just saying this in case you do), have you tried loaded spoons (i.e. put the yoghurt on the spoon and hand it over so the baby does the actual puttin it in their mouth), or stuff like fruit or breadsticks to dip in yoghurt, or porridge thick enough (once cooled) that you can cut it up into chunks which can be picked up?

It's not for you if you're particular about food getting flung across the room!

Sorry not sure where I got 8 months from!

At 11 months I'd expect her to feed herself porridge tbh. Make it quite thick case she uses her hands- i think jumbo oats work well. I used doddle cutlery with DS and he did really well with it. I found the very small plastic spoons a bit crap and not really deep enough for him to get a good scoop.

I have tried loaded spoons. She's not there yet. She wants to chew the handle 😆 I keep trying all the time she has porridge. She's just not interested in feeding stuff on spoon.

Oh she has lots of messy stuff that gets flung around. Her favourite is spaghetti to fling around 😆

I will try these ideas thanks.