Combining purées and BLW?

[user1499729649]

Hi I’ve read that combining spoon feeding with finger foods/BLW can cause confusion to the baby. Is this the case?

Thank you

No
It's called traditional weaning.
You give purees/mashed foods alongside finger foods

No.

Two children and both had mixed spoon and BLW.

They both eat fine.

It's fine. I used to use strips of bread/pitta to us as a kind of spoon for the purees.

It's how we always used to wean babies before everything had to have a name or a system.
Most adults seem to manage eating without being confused with how to handle soup Vs pizza. I'll admit some still haven't mastered cutlery....

All I did (and this was sheer laziness on my part, everyone else with babies was crowing about Annabel Karmel and freezing ice cubes of mush that baby then didn't eat, I CBA with the faff so didn't ) was sit baby on my knee on a terry nappy with a muslin to hand so I had a mop it up tool, at the table at mealtimes. I'd previously tried baby rice but if you taste it yourself it's no wonder they don't like it! I'd then mash the reachable bits on my plate with my fork, and allow baby to put fingers in food then in mouth. No faffing with spoons etc. Are now totally non fussy about food will always try anything new. (this may not be connected).

For your own peace of mind I can really recommend do a first aid course so you know what to do if they choke, so many people don't know what to do.

No, it's fine. I did this. Gradually dropped the purées as she got to around 8-9 months.

Spoon feeding = swallow this please don't choke

BLW = first choose what you'd like to pick up and try, then move the food to your face, get it in your mouth, learn to move it around your mouth, learn how much you can fit in your mouth, learn to chew and then swallow please don't choke

Spoon feeding and finger foods - swallow this but not this no don't swallow that chew first wait swallow that yes it's orange no it's not carrot oh you hoped it was carrot ahhh sorry it's butternut squash oh you don't know how to chew yet hang on chew don't swallow please don't choke

Honestly don't worry about labelling everything or having a 'system' like @Seeline said.

I got so stressed with my first because according to anything I read at the time, BLW was apparently the only way to wean your baby and if you did anything else they'd become fussy eaters 🙄🙄🙄. Well contrary to those awful videos on social media of babies cramming fistfuls of spag bol into their mouths, my DD would pretty much ignore anything I put in front of her or pick it up in disdain and throw it on the floor.

So instead I made my own purees/mashed foods and introduced it alongside finger foods and gradually introduced lots of textures and she got the hang of it. She is generally a fab eater now at nearly 4 years old. I can't believe how much it stressed me out at the time, genuinely felt like a failure for not doing solely BLW. It's all bullshit. Do what you think is best and use common sense! Also, the mess of BLW is just awful.

No, this is what I did with both my DDs and they were both good eaters

@Yuckyyuckyuckity I'd argue that BLW mess is actually easier to clear up, since the food isn't pureed it you just pick up bits off the floor/mat as the chunks land rather than have to wipe smeared puree out from every highchair crease 😆

Have a look at How to Wean Your Baby by Charlotte Stirling-Reed. That recommends a mixture of both e.g. for first taste of carrot serve some steamed carrot sticks with carrot purée.

It's fine. I did a bit of both depending on the food. Slowly transitioned to more finger food and less purees over a few months. Now he's a great eater.

I have three children. First did purées. Second BLW and third a mixture. It was fine in all three cases. They are great big teenagers and all eat pretty widely. If I had to do it again now I’d probably do a mixture again as they get the advantages of finger foods but I’d have the reassurance of knowing some calories are actually going in. My youngest didn’t seem confused by mixing the methods.

Well mine managed just fine with a combination, they hadn't dreamt up the term baby led weaning then.

I did both as a previous poster described- a bit a pureed carrot and a boiled carrot stick. She was never confused and now at 19 months is a pretty good eater.
The family hubs in my area run a weaning course and said that it didn't matter whether you chose purée, baby-led weaning or a bit of both as long as you were comfortable with it.

As others have said this is just traditional weaning. Back in the bad old days when babies were weaned at 4 months most would be having a mix of mashed/puréed foods and finger foods by 6 months.

If you're starting to wean this guide from the Caroline Walker Trust might help helpful as it covers first foods to try, finger foods, portion sizes and sample menus

Absolutely fine. It's called traditional weaning.

Did it with all 3 of mine.

Second this! We've used her books / blogs for both DDs and they are great. I was more puree than finger food to begin with and then after the first few weeks, was led by baby as to which she preferred.

When they are more confident with fingers foods, there's also a great book called What Mummy Makes.

Also second the pp above who said about a baby first aid course. DD2 had a choking incident whilst weaning where I had to do back blows. Everyone we saw at the hospital (she was fine - we got her checked over following advice from 111 just to make sure) said how good it was that we had done one and been able to put it into practice.

I did this. Focussed on getting nutrition into dd via purées and finger food was things like homemade pizza or a bit of chicken. 13 years later she eats solid food just fine.

@user1499729649 how are you both getting on? Just realised it's a few weeks since you payed your original question