BLW is not working

[flyingbeet]

My baby is 6 months (almost 7). I am trying baby led weaning but it is not working. She prefers me reaching my hand out and feeding her. If I don't do that she will put her head down onto the plate trying to take a bite. I give her food in her hand but she usually misses her mouth, drops the food and gets frustrated.

I feel like I don't know when to stop feeding her which is why I wanted to do baby led weaning. She gives me mixed signals. She'll start to show signs of discomfort by arching her back and won't take a bite of food when I hold it in front of her mouth and I know her mouth is empty. Then 2 seconds later she'll quickly 'attack' for a bite. This is repetitive where she wines and acts as if she doesn't want to eat but then she'll still open her mouth at times. At this stage I don't know if she's full or not. I give her food in her hand and she just plays with it so I assume she's done. Does anyone have any tips?

At this stage it's about taste and textures not filling up...the main nutrition is still milk.
I'd give her some to hold and feed her some....or relax and just let her play with it.
The big thing is to be relaxed ....do you eat at the same time?

Sounds like my 6 month old son. Literally just had a half hour meltdown over baby rice, something he ate yesterday. My head hurts and he is watching dancing fruit so I can gather my thoughts. He does better with veg purées. I need tips too.

Look up Solid Starts on Instagram or via their website. They have a dictionary of foods with how to prepare / cut them up for varying age groups which includes making them easier for children to hold, grip, etc.

My take on BLW was that generally when a child is developmentally ready to eat a food, they will pick it up and explore eating it. That is kind of the point. If she doesn’t have the desire or ability to explore the food, she isn’t ready for it.

now, it’s not going to be perfect. Some children don’t progress on all their milestones in the same way. Some children have disabilities.

at just 6 months though, food isn’t for nutrition, it is for exploration. Milk still has everything she needs. If she manages to get a few bits into her mouth, it’s just fine.

do play around with texture and shape. Chip size and shape is a guide, not something you have to measure out.

we had really good early success with cantaloupe smiles with the rind cut off. Also avocado wedges, though plan for a bath after that one.

Don't overthink it. There is not a lot of solid evidence one way or the other. If it's not working for you bin it off and don't worry for one second about it.

doi.org/10.1186/s13052-018-0487-8

My DD was terrible with BLW- she couldn't even sit properly at six months- she'd still slump in her high chair. She hated anything solid and would sound like she was choking. She was on "slop" as I called it until well after a year. She was late with all her physical milestones- almost two before she walked. Bright as a button in all other respects- early talked, very interactive and responsive. She did eat properly eventually and by three you couldn't tell she was ever behind in any way.

You don't have to BLW. Just spoon feed instead, if she doesn't want to eat then she won't open her mouth.

If BLW isn't working then spoon feed instead, you'll soon realise when she has had enough so don't worry too much about that. You can use recommended portions sizes for weaning babies as a guide to help you until you recognise her cues.

Food before one is just for fun. The are just tasting, playing with it, and getting used to tastes and textures at this stage. Try to relax. They are getting everything the need from their milk.

This.

I just gave DD bits off my plate when I was eating and then her bottles as usual, after a while she took more interest in the food and could express that she wanted more or was done, but the first few weeks was just giving her access to food to try.

Don’t worry, one of mine put their face down into the food and grazed like an animal, the other grabbed it and swished it around their face until it was mushed everywhere. After that waving, throwing,dropping food and swishing it round the high chair went on for a few weeks. The cat and dog loved it. Slowly it all came together and both eat anything now. Until your DC have their first bday thInk of it as a messy (soul destroying, time consuming for you) adventure with food. All nutrition comes from milk until they’re around ten months. Put a plastic sheet under the high chair to collect the fall out

Yes, I used to chant 'food before one is just for fun' to myself when I found it hard. I was a bit purist about BLW with my first and never put any food in her mouth, by second I unclenched a bit and did a bit of both.

I found around 6-9 months there were various foods baby just could manage yet, like pasta (too slurpy when they were sucking more than chewing). Toast strips spread with Philadelphia or houmous were great. Big chunks of cucumber, thick slices of tomato, roasted sticks of sweet potato or butternut squash. Potatoes, mash. Blueberry pancakes, soft fruits. As much variety as possible, try new things each day. After 9 months or so they just ate most of what we ate.

It's fine if they stick their face in it, more of the food gets on them than in the mouth with them all at first. It sounds like you're doing fine. Just offer the food and take it away when you can't be arsed with the mess anymore and she doesn't seem interested. She'll get the nutrition from the milk.

It can take weeks or months for it to work.

it will get played with, squished, dropped, rubbed in hair. Then maybe licked long before it will get eaten.

don’t worry it’s very early days. Just keep offering.

look up sr_nutrition on instagram she is the best

Food before one is just for fun is something you will only ever read on MN or other social media.
Everywhere else, from the medical literature to proper articles, you will read the exact opposite. With the first foods you are building taste and food preferences that will be long-lasting.
Don't overthink how the food reaches your baby's mouth, a spoon or fingers, think about what food you would like your child to eat long term and plan for that. You would like them to grow loving vegetables, that is what you need to wean them on.
The debate BLW vs spoon is so weird to those outside USA or UK. For people in France or Italy, the focus is on food variety and quality and we despise the baby junk food such as melty puffs, cereal bars, vegetables straw and all those self feeding or fad coordinating BS food. Cutlery is introduced extremely early in France, a baby fork is very common under 12 months and French kids are not know to have poor motor skills.
Soups, stews, mashed or squashed vegetables allow you to offer the whole range. Some will be offered whole, like an asparagus, so the baby can suck on the tip and chew a bit.

Plan how and what you want to feed your baby. The nutrient content, the quality, you have one opportunity to shape the food preference. If you ruin it with baby junk or processed food that taste nothing like the real version, it will be hard later on to have them accept whole foods. Spoon or fingers is a non-issue. Your baby will eat with a spoon, food meant to be eaten with a spoon like yoghurt, and with fingers, food meant to be eaten with fingers such as blueberries or the tip of a very hard French baguette.

Agreed, food before one is not just for fun, it has an important role in shaping their tastes and also in providing iron (if breastfed) as birth stores start depleting around 6 months so they need it. Another very important role of food before one is preventing allergies, so early and frequent exposure to the major allergens, preferably before 6 months, and that can be more difficult to do with self-feeding.

So glad to see someone else saying this!