Ta dah! I am ready to start BLW....

[BabyValentine]

DD is 6 months and I would like to try BLW. However, I like instructions, so perhaps it is not for me...do I just go with the flow?

Do I:

a) Give small pieces of fruit and veg and tip her upside down if things get eye-watery?

b) Avoid srawberries, citrus fruits, egg white, peanuts and shellfish (as if!) 'til 12 months?

c) Maintain her milk feeds (currently weaning from breast onto formula)?

d) Also, is toast okay? And pasta?

I know the answers will all be here if I trawl, but I am lazy and sleep deprived. And bowing to the superior wisdom of those who have been there, done that

Hello BabyValentine! Forgive me for being a little clueless..what is BLW?

all fine apart from shellfish, nuts, undercooked eggs and honey
Give 'chip shaped' bits of veg to start with
toast and pasta is fine
Obv be alert for choking but she may gag to move stuff to the front of her mouth, it's not the same!
Milk feeds as normal!Have fun!
Aitch's blog has loads of help

If you have no allergy worries (no history on either side) then you'll have an easy time.

Nessamommy, BLW is baby led weaning, basically handing the food to the baby and letting them get on.

You need big enough pieces. The baby needs to be able to hold the food in their fist, and have enough poking out to chew on. It'll take a while for them to manage to also eat the bit clamped in the palm of their hand. So big and holdable is the rule. And chip-shaped is favourite (although brocolli breaks into natural green bit + handle sizes).

There are some tricks if fruit is too slippery, leaving skin on melon slices, for example. My dd loved mango. I just gave her half with the skin on, she'd gnaw the fruit off and drop the skin on the floor.

Give her a chance to deal with her own mishaps. Gagging is natural, and she should cough back up anything heading the wrong way. Don't panic, and be sure you know what choking looks like, and what to do if it happens.

Avoid honey, shellfish, nuts.

Yes, maintain milk feeds.

Toast is great and so is pasta (twists particularly good shape).

Enjoy yourself!

how's it going?

oooh good luck, blw is great. would add don't forget to start offering water, especially if going onto ff. would recommend a doidy cup.

make sure you check out the forums on aitches blog. i have found them incredibly useful.

I've had no probs with egg, in fact boiled egg, scambled egg and eggy crumpets go down very well here.

if she does choke put her over your knee and give her a good thump on her back with the heel of your hand. i've only had two scary incidents with dd and by the time i got her out of the chair she had resolved the problem herself. basically if she is making a noise you don't have to worry. just make sure you keep an eye on her all the time.

Well, DD doesn't like banana much. Or peas. I am thinking that maybe she doesn't have the co-ordination for feeding herself yet. And my attempts to shove various bits into her mouth when she laughs may be construed as PLW (or Parent Led Weaning). I do realise that banana (slippery) and peas (weeny) were not inspired choices! Carrot or sweet potato tomorrow perhaps?

I don't think she realises that she has food in her grubby mit, nor what to do with it - which is understandable, of course. Do I wait for a lightbulb moment? Does it take ages? I am trying to look busy elsewhere in the kitchen and avoid waiting with baited breath...

If she's eating with you she should get the message. DP insisted on a "formal" first solid food , so he stood by with the camera, DD2 was in the highchair with an array of sweet potato batons in front of her and I had DD1 stand alongside showing her how it's done!

But it works so much better when she's just joining in with everybody else!

And it took something truly sweet and delicious for her to really tuck in, it was melon as I recall.

like nobunny says, just eat with her, she'll get the message. and if she doesn't get it today, don't worry, she'll get it sometime.
please, though, don't pop things into her mouth, it's a big fat choking risk. she won't be able to pick up peas and little things until she's ready (at about 8 months, when she gets her pincer grip) so stick with chip-shaped for the moment.

even if she's just picking things up, playing with them and throwing them on the floor it is still good - she is involved in a leal and handling food.
Although I'm slightly that my 11mo is still doing that

involved in a meal

sorry was distracted by toast plopping on the floor

Not putting food in their mouths is a big no-no with BLW. I think I'm right in saying that if they haven't developed the skill to pick food up then they haven't developed the right mouth movements to prevent choking? It's something about then learning particular skills in a particular order to stop them choking...