Help - so much conflicting info on weaning I'm not sure what to do :(

[KelaH]

DD is 6 months, and I started weaning a few weeks ago on advice of community nursery nurse (who did a weaning talk at the health centre). Because she was a bit under 6 months (and because my mum who I live with wasn't convinced and I didn't want to rock the boat!), I didn't try BLW although I was planning to.

So far I have been giving her pureed (well, very mashed up) things like banana, apple, pear, sweet potato and carrot once a day, but she doesn't seem that interested - will take a spoonful or so, makes a funny face and spits most of it out. I do let her play with it and have her own spoon, but still not interested. Now I am wondering if maybe BLW would have been better, as she always tries to take stuff off my plate, and I'm just generally not sure what she can have.

Is it too late to try BLW?
Should she be having 'solids' more than once a day?
Do I need to introduce food groups one at a time (ie fruit and veg, then meat and fish, then dairy), or can she have pretty much everything now?
Do I need to cut down how often I bf or will she do that naturally (I feed on demand)?
If I do BLW, can I give her different things on one plate or should I stick to one food at time to check for allergies?
Are there foods I should avoid giving her till she has more teeth (2 on the bottom at the moment)?
Can she have bread etc now?

Aaaaarggghhhh - sorry for all the questions but I really don't know what I am doing

different books give you different advice. and different hv give different advice.

once over months i feel everyfood is pretty much fair game.

meets/fish cooked in stews till tender and fall to pieces in baby mouth.

fruit/veg - steamed/boiled then mashed/pureed. my dd could eat veg without mashing of any sorts. she loved to knaw away with her gums. but only try it like this if your really sure baby can handle it.

stick to one food to begin with. just not to overwelm her. some books advise for 3 days. but this can be really difficult if it's something she doesn't like.

fruit and veg can puree/mash and me of a very stodgy consistency. you can help it move by adding whole milk.

once she gets into the swing of using her tongue in a few months. you can start combining flavours, adding cheese and milk to make a cheese sauce.

some books advise eggs after 1 year. others after 6 month. i found ds used to get terrible wind after aggs, so laid off till 1 year. dd was great and loved boiled eggs mashed up with soft cream cheese.

it's all about what you dd likes and can handle. as long as everything you prepare if homemade so you know exactly whats in it. then it keeps your mind at ease.

no salt till 1 year old!!!

no shellfish till 2 y o!!

nothing with raw egg products till 2 y o

oh, and continue bf on demand!!!!!

dont cut it down at all. baby will be best judge of this. your milk will naturally alter to suit baby.

and stay on once a day till baby is really coping well with it.

perhaps change the time of day you do it if she's too tired she may resist it.

as for bigger things like bread. try with soft cooked veg first. i.e carrot and broccoli. once she can chew them un mashed. try with small pieces of bread.

in answer to your questions here are my experiences, they may not be correct, just whats worked for my DS's!

I do a combination of spoon and BLW, if we are eating something mushy like shepherds pie i spoon feed it but every thing else DS2 (6.5mo) eats himself, i dont think its every too late to introduce

I havent offered different food groups seperately with either of my boys, they just get what we are having...DS2s first 'meal' was pasta and pesto!!

Carry on with the demand feeding, the solids are a 'bonus' for a couple more months, i give on side then some solids then offer the other side which he sometimes takes sometimes doesnt!

DS (6mo) 7am BF
8.30 breakfast then BF
12.30 BF
4m BF
5.45 BF then tea half hearted BF
7.15 BF then bed!
times are ish but you get the idea
meals are tiny, breakfast might a third of weetabix with whole milk or a quarter of toast and tea is about a desert spoons worth. he rarely finishes a meal

DS1 ate steak with no teeth!!

Unless you or family have a history of allergies i wont worry to much, perhaps avoid nuts

both boys loved a slice of toast to knaw at, especially if there are teeth on the way.

HTH

ps my MIL is constantly on back about BLW saying he might choke but i just ignore her!! you do what ever you think is right for your baby

My ds is 6mo and we are blw - so far he has a little bit of food most days eg banana, pear etc although had some home made chicken risotto on monday. I'm not worried about the quantity as he still gets all his nutrition from breast milk. There's lots of info from la leche league / nct on blw and lots of advice you can access - lll in particular do a great dvd about it. Also the whole choking thing - providing you are with them when they eat and are sensible about it it seems fine - they do have a good choke reflex thing going on although it is a bit disturbing the first time you see them cough something out (lll vid covered this well though) - I found it very reassuring. There was also a really good prog on radio 4 about it from the world health organisation.www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_23_thu_01.shtml

if in doubt, turn them upside down.

lol, used to joke ds spent more time upside down than the right way round.

on the serious note. if choking, turn upside down and reflex will do the rest. small pats between shoulder blades if really stuck. but this is usually not required.