DD 6mo today and I want to start BLW, somebody please talk me through it....

[GoodGollyMissMolly]

I wont listen to the health visitor at the weigh in clinic who says I have missed the window of opportunity by not weaning DD at 4.5mo. She also seems to think BLW is dangerous.

I think Bollaux to her I will ask MN.

get carrot
peel
cut into batons
put in bowl with splosh of boiling water
microwave till just tender
drain
cool

place dd in highchair
place carrot on table

stand well back

NHS now recommending combination of finger foods and puree from 6 months, it is not dangerous, and there is no window of opportunity to miss.

don;t be surprised if DD does not eat anything ! , all about exploring food, picking it up, chewing, throwing, etc...

have a look at aitch's blog

also good:

very ripe pear (make sure it's good and mushy)
steamed apple (same applies)
steamed broccoli (leave enough stalk for a handle)
banana

If you make your meal include something DD can eat, as above, you can eat together, which is really nice.

your HV sounds like a fruitcake - good on you for ignoring her.

check out
babyledweaning.blogware.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby-led_weaning

etc etc for more tips

I used Aitch's blog raligiously when I was BLW DS. You might not think for a while that she is eating anything but you'll find the odd bit of food in her poo and know it's getting through.

Thanks, Do I need to offer her it 3 times a day or just once a day to start.

When I first kicked off DS and I sat down together for all meals as I thought it would help him having me as a role model (so to speak). As he got better and more adept I left him to it sometimes but still offered three times a day. I also started giving him cutlery reasonably early on so he could start having a go at that.

BTW it's messy. Be prepared to clean up a lot. Luckily I loved the fact he was feeding himself so much that the mess afterwards didn't bother me (and we had a wooden floor and easy clean table which helped).

I really dont mind the mess, I've got two dog's who will pretty much eat anything edible that is on the floor lol.

So in the mornings could I maybe give her some toasted soldiers then in the afternoon an assortment of healthy finger foods such as carrot batons, broccoli, and fruit, then in the evening some of what DH and I are having?

What about meat? Does it need to be pureed?

No, meat doesn't need to be pureed but I also recommend Aitch's blog as it says what types and cuts of meat are good to start with e.g. chicken leg meat rather than breast - breast is too dry, leg meat can be held, sucked, chomped.
I am loving BLW. Good luck

just Totally Do What You Want. that's the great joy of it. we weren't organised enough to do three meals a day for aaaaaages, so we didn't. milk on tap, though, that's the main thing. food's for exploring, mouthing, eating, smushing.
my blog was all trial and error, btw, but the cool thing is that people also posted their comments on what i was doing, so it builds up into a wee picture of what might suit you and your family.

Aitch please can I have a link to your blog.

Tonight I have tried DD with carrot batons, broccoli, cauliflower and chicken. I just put it on her high chair tray and let her get on with it.

I had to stop myself from going over to her in case she choked.

I love BLW

sure thing, it's at www.babyledweaning.com. that sounds like you had fun.

Thanks Aitch, Yeah DD seemed to have loadsa fun. She really likes broccoli

oh god, the mess from broccoli when they start. i used to put the highchair in the shower.

Aitch, that is a fantastic idea, DH spent ages cleaning the highchair, all the nooks and crannies.

Might well keep DD in it when we put it in the shower, I had to top and tail her, she got broccoli on her back, inside her babygrow and sleepsuit!!!, how I dont know!!!

I've bookmarked your blog BTW, I can see DH and I using it alot .

ah, nooks and crannies... takes me back. i had an antilop cheapie from ikea, very easy to clean but still a bitch with broccoli.

We've got a silvercoss one, I'm kinda regretting it now as it has sooooooo many nooks and crannies, but DD does love it and seems v comfy in it.

you can always give it to granny...

lol, granny would love to have DD's high chair at her house.

you would not be the first person to wean and realise that cleaning should have been prioritised over comfort...

Still like the shower idea though, I may leave all that up to DH though seen as I do all the hard work cooking lol

Message withdrawn

Thanks DA, I gotta laugh at hosing down the high chair, but after today I can see why

Are the ikea ones good then? I might actually send the silvercross one to my mums and geta nice easy clean ikea one.

That long bib looks great it's a good idea, but TBH I think I might just strip DD down and bath/top and tail her afterwards.

Ohh, so glad I found this. DS is 1 week off 6 months, I have finally bowed to the pressure from dh and started weaning. Wasn't sure what I was doing - just steamed veg sticks and let him play with them. DH holds them for him and he chews them, but I'd rather let him figyure it out in his own sweet time. Maybe I'll insist on that now...

don't worry, whatever dh is happy with, let him do. you let the baby do what he can. shortly dh will have the stuff grabbed off him anyway.

Oh, that's encouraging Aitch. Thank you!

Can I ask, should I just introduce foods one at a time? So far he's had carrot, broccoli, corgette, and a chunk of melon. I kept it to one food per meal incase one reacted badly with him - casn I just give him a mixture tho? I can't see why not, since we have no history of allergy?