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Weaning

Find weaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Weaning forum. Use our child development calendar for more information.

Original poster

I don't know a single person in RL who does BLW

37 replies

naturelover · 14/01/2008 12:27

DH and I were both instinctively drawn to it when we read about it for the first time in NCT magazine a while back. DD is only 4 months so not due to be weaned for a little while. Much as I love cooking, I'm glad we're going to avoid the puree and ice-cube-tray phase.

In RL, do people consider you barmy if you do BLW? I tried explaining it to a friend and she clearly just didn't get it at all. She kept saying things like: how do you make sure they eat enough? and: of course they can hold the spoon themselves ...

I daren't even mention it to my HV.

OP posts:
IAteRosemaryConleyForBreakfast · 14/01/2008 12:33

I am in your position.

If they don't ask, don't tell. You're at the stage where everyone starts discussing how much mush their baby gets shovelled into it each day - I just took it all in and didn't comment on the fact that I hadn't started weaning yet.

Now I have started (DS is 6m) if we're asked I just say we're on finger foods and skipped the puree bit - everyone now much impressed because their babies hate lumps/they're sick of having a freezer full of ice cubes of carrot/still aren't sleeping through anyway etc.

If you word it like that then it sounds like you've just worked the guidelines to suit you - which you have!

flowerybeanbag · 14/01/2008 12:34

I know what you mean. I decided very early that we would do BLW, and I kind of assumed that most of my ante-natal group would do the same, but at 4/5 months most of them were pulling purees, warming flasks, spoons, bowls, all the palaver out of their bags when we were out and about while DS had only his bottle.
I think we were the only ones who actually waited until 6 months and certainly the only ones who did straight to finger foods, no mush or puree at all. HV was absolutely fine about waiting until 6 mo, I took DS along to be weighed when he was having a growth spurt about 4.5mo, and she was all for more milk and nothing else until 6mo.

I think my MIL thinks we are a bit barmy, but it impresses her as well- DS feeding himself great chunks of food early on. My mum tells all and sundry how marvellous it is that he has asparagus!

soremummy · 14/01/2008 12:41

I have also gone down the BLW road although not through choice! I am so glad that I did it although we are still in early stages, my HV thinks I have gone off my head lol (im an older mum) but my lo wont allow any spoon, botttle or dummy to enter her mouth so when she grabbed my yorkshire pudding from my plate and devoured it I just had to go with the flow... she eats apple, yorkshire pudding, cheese, toast, bread, pasta, cauli, broccoli now i just need to find more stuff she can hold/eat herself

Mistymoo · 14/01/2008 12:44

Excuse my ignorance - what is BLW?

PigeonPie · 14/01/2008 12:45

naturelover I was the only one in my group of friends who did blw, but I really really don't regret it. It did take DS a while to get the hang of it all, but by the time he was 10 months he was quite happily eating things I was eating - including lasagne!

Stick at it and remember Aitch's mantra 'Food is for fun until they're one'. There's also www.babyledweaning.com which is a great resource and support - and of course here!

PigeonPie · 14/01/2008 12:46

Mistymoo, BLW is Baby Led Weaning

ReverseThePolarity · 14/01/2008 12:48

I have actually convinced three of my rl friends to give blw a go, and two of them are still doing it.

Show, not tell... as soon as they see your lo tackle a mince pie healthy snack with ease they'll be breaking out the broccoli florets and carrot batons themselves!!

TigerFeet · 14/01/2008 13:05

I didn't do it with dd - had never heard of it! But my friend did it incredibly successfully with her dd and if I have another I shall certainly be doing it.

I can't believe how much time I spent pratting about with purees etc. Never ever again

Twiggypiggy · 14/01/2008 13:12

Mistymoo - I am glad you asked that because I had no idea what it meant.

Enid · 14/01/2008 13:13

[grin spreads across face as realisation how little this matters once your dc is a toddler kicks in]

Umlellala · 14/01/2008 13:17

I did it (has been v successful for us) but hadn't heard of it previously - just seemed to make more sense, and am too lazy to puree (found info on internet about BLW to back me up). No-one I know really did it, although my friend is going to do that approach next time.

Interestingly, when I went to Surestart dietician thing (to get a free cup ) at about 8mths - the dietician was really pleased I was there to talk about successful BLW as they are trying to teach mums that the puree stage is unnecessary now.

Baby Led Weaning is a -horrible- label given to an approach researched by Gil Rapley. IMO it's basically about being lazy and not making any special food for baby but sharing the normal food you eat with your little one and letting them play, lick, experiment and eat food naturally. You need to remember Aitch's mantra - cos they probably won't eat so much but is really really so much easier and less stressful. Dd was tucking into non-pureed roast dinner with us at her first xmas aged 8 mths.

Oh, and it's good because you are forced to eat healthily because you end up sharing everything with your baby

kerala · 14/01/2008 13:17

Out of our NCT group of 10, 4 did it. Was good to have the support. And not bother with pureeing and freezing (esp as my freezer is in my shed so that would have been a pain)

terramum · 14/01/2008 14:52

We started blw with DS 3 years & it was hard finding people online who did it (apart from the blw yahoo group) let alone irl, especially as the government guidelines had only been changed the previous year & most people (incl. the health professionals had no idea they had changed). I ended up talking about it loads at every solids meeting our local LLL group had coz no-one else had heard of it .

I never really went to the HV so telling her wasn't an issue...but I did have to contend with friends & relatives staring at me like I'd grown 2 extra heads every time I explained what we were doing. MIL was particularly hard to deal with, mainly due to her being a child minder for 30+ years & supposedly knowing everything there was to know about child rearing .....

I just stuck to my guns & eventually everyone saw just how well DS ate on it...even now 3 years on MIL remarks on how well he eats & how much good the blw has done

BabiesEverywhere · 14/01/2008 16:34

We did this and I loved BLW. So easy, nothing extra to prepare or buy. Plus you get to eat your meals WITH your family not after you have spoon fed your baby and pureed food.

I had come across and read Aitch's site and knew that seemed the best way for us.

HV wise I just nodded a lot, attended a weaning session on how to puree veg and then totally ignored what they said and went on to BLW.

mumfor1standfinaltime · 14/01/2008 16:36

I didn't do the ice cube thing, never understood the point. Ds just ate what we ate (within reason!) but just mashed with a fork a bit!

dd666 · 14/01/2008 16:37

haha!
i do know someone in rl who blw but i met them from mn does that not count!

Aitch · 14/01/2008 20:00

my dd is a toddler, Enid, and i'm still glad that i didn't prat about with ice cube trays and purees when she was a baby, which i undoubtedly would have done had i not happened upon BLW. so for me it does matter, ta.

hunkermunker · 14/01/2008 20:24

Enid, can you change your name to Weanid?

BrownSuga · 14/01/2008 20:24

Ds is 7mo and is a great eater, his favourites being brocolli and banana. he's even loves a lentil/spinach curry. i'm hoping when he's a toddler he won't be a fussy eater and will try everything that's offered, unlike his older 1/2 sibling who was fed purees. At 8yo, we still struggle with her to get her to try new things.

BrownSuga · 14/01/2008 20:26

... i don't know anyone in rl who does it either, but will be recommending it. MIL is amazed, but in a good way.

Karen999 · 14/01/2008 20:37

Hi, I started with all the purees etc with dd2 at being spoon fed (she was weaned 5 months)

Then I switched to BLW and have never looked back....she loves it and tries everything! Me and DP went out for lunch a few weeks ago and dd sat and ate a variety of things - cucumber, peppers, oranges, breadsticks, cheese, mini sandwiches, pasta...whatever she could get her hands on.

I find BLW to be so liberating for lo's....IME they are far more likely to try antying that you put down in front of them.

Lomond · 14/01/2008 20:39

My DD's favourites are banana and broccoli too Brownsuga! She is also a BLW and loving it

emiliosmum · 14/01/2008 20:42

we have just started blw with our 6mo ds yesterday - a couple of questions -how many times a day should i be offering him food? and also,how soft does the food have to be - could i give him quite a hard banana for example or would it have to be really ripe?

also - yesterday he managed to get quite a big lump of carrot into his mouth,i panicked and fished it out,was that the wrong thing to do -should i have just left it in there and hoped he swallowed it!?

any help would be fab

MrsJohnCusack · 14/01/2008 20:46

every baby I know at the moment will have puree shovelled into it's mouth from about 5 months. it's contented little babies & 'can't possibly survive on breast milk alone all the way here' I am the token hippy (and I am SO NOT in reality) and I couldn't care less that they think I'm barmy anymore TBH

so no I don't know anyone, and I don't slavishly follow the BLW principles in any case (but as Aitch would say, there aren't actually any rules). I often shovel food into DS's mouth as he is such a guts, we'd do nothing but watch him eat if we waited for him to get everything he wants to eat into his mouth by himself. But it was great never having to puree anything or piss about with baby rice and all that cack. And not having to remember to take out stuff with us

you know you can just smile and lie to HVs don't you? THat's what I did...barely see the equivalent person here in NZ, she's left me too it thank goodness

VeniVidiVickiQV · 14/01/2008 20:52

at Enid trying to make out she doesnt care

I know quite a few who are or have done this.