DD is a hamster

[babyOcho]

She is doing BLW, been at it for about 3 1/2 weeks. Her thing at the moment is to stuff loads in her mouth or pull large chunks off into her mouth (she it toothless at the mo) and then sit with it in her mouth.

Basically she is storing the food in her mouth. When I give her water some comes out, but otherwise I have to sit there for ages opening my mouth and sticking my tongue out so that she pushes it out (sometimes she copies me). She's not distressed and actually thinks my actions are funny.

Any tips? My worry is that when we finish sitting at the table she has a large bit of food in her mouth and when she naps it's still there. (I have found dried up bits of pasta on her play mat!)

Does she eat a bit then stuff her mouth? That can be a sign she has had enough. More likely she is just not very experienced at moving food round her mouth and swallowing it, and will get the hang of it soon. Does the consistency of the food make a difference? My dd is 9mo and has no teeth, and I reckon that if I cant push food to bits with my tongue on the roof of my mouth, she cant chew it properly and then swallow it.

If you are worried about her choking etc then I would take any food left in her mouth out with a clean finger. Also it may be worth asking the BLW ladies at Aitch's site www.babyledweaning.com

DS did this until very recently, I think it was to do with the fact that he wasn't hungry enough to swallow it, he was just playing. Now I think he's learnt that food satisfies hunger (as well as milk) so he is swallowing a lot better. It's frustrating but perhaps vary how long you leave between milk and solids so that she's a bit hungry (but not too hungry otherwise that might be upsetting).

Are you chewing in front of her, so she can imitate? Might be worth trying, but just an idea.