Right, looks like I'm BLWing then! But swallowing big(ish) chunks of food harmful for baby..?

[pispirispis]

Hello, this is my very first post, how exciting!

My dd is 7 months old today and for the last month has been ok about having a few spoonfuls of puree a couple of times a day. We had built up to a 3 ice cubes-sized portion of fruit puree/baby rice for breakfast and a 4 ice cubes-sized portion of pureed veg for tea. She seemed to like it ok but never got that excited about it either. Now I've started finger food she loves it!! She's had rice cakes, dried apricots, cooked carrots, and a bit of pasta. The thing is, now she won't take more than 2 spoonfuls of mushy food, and refuses after that. Today I ended up spreading her sweet potato and lentil puree on some rice cake, and decided that I would rather clean up the mess and watch my baby laugh and squeal with delight as she explores her food than constantly try to persuade a reluctant baby to take mouthfuls off a spoon for the next few months...

So anyway, I never thought I would go down the BLW route, but it looks like I am, so I'd love some encouragement, basically! Is BLWing fun or does the mess get too much? What do you love most about feeding this way? I've seen the website that people on this board have given a link to and will definitely use it. Also saw a great thread on dealing with mess.. oh, my original question, nearly forgot -

My baby is really enthusiastic about feeding herself and seems to swallow quite a few big chunks of food, and I was wondering if that could be harmful, or if it all comes out undigested? I just imagine all these big chunks of food she's gamely swallowing sitting in her tummy and wonder if that could be bad for her..? And I can imagine it all coming out the other end undigested... wouldn't purees be easier to digest? Have you experienced BLWers found this to be a problem? Is there any research on this?

Sorry for rambling and appreciate any advice / success stories!!

DS always swallowed massive bits of food - and for ages many of them just came straight out of the nappy. He was great at gagging (at 10mo he only does it when he gets way too excited because he has 4 teeth and bites off little bits now) I don't think it ever did him any harm, and he hasn't seemed to suffer from wind.

I guess purees are easier to digest but as I didn't limit his milk DS kept gaining weight steadily so I don't know how much he was getting from solids, and how much from milk, but that's the way I think it should be with BLW.

DH and I both love BLW, despite having our dining table in a carpeted living room. We use a chopped up shower curtain do protect as much of the floor as possible (although now DS can easily throw past it, but he more often drops off the side thankfully!) We both get to eat hot dinners, and DS knows that eating is a healthy, social activity. He eats what he wants and when they're on offer that means a lot of vegetables (courgette and brocolli being the favourites)

It is messy, but its worth it. The mat helps with being able to give stuff back that's been thrown on the floor as it goes through the washing machine.

Enjoy!

I loved blwing with dd, it is sooo much easier. You can go out and not have to worry if you have anything to take out with you, baby can eat whatever you eat for dinner/lunch.

Btw, dd is 15months now and eats abaolutely anything we give her.

I suppose I'm over-reacting about the big chunks of food in her tummy, there probably aren't that many, and I have to keep repeating to myself..."Food is for fun, up until one"... It's a case of paranoid mummy finding yet another thing to panic about!

Great to hear from mums who enjoy BLWing - I thought I would hate cleaning up the mess but so far it has been worth it as I love to see my dd really enjoying her experience with food. I've seen how my friends' babies open their mouths like little birds when their mummies approach with a spoon, it's as if they would point and shout "In here! In here, quick!" if they could. But not my dd, she always looks soo bored and reluctant, it's as if she's only opening her mouth becase she feels sorry for me. You can actually see her thinking "Ho, hum.." But you give her her own food and let her get on with it and she actually laughs and kicks her legs.

I've found I can get on with other things too - that is, if I stop hovering anxiously, worried that she'll choke! Actually she has gagged more on puree than chunks of food so far, which I didn't expect! She has 5 teeth already (v early teether) so she is starting to nibble things more too. She doesn't have that big an appetite either and she still has loads of milk so I'm not that worried about her not getting enough. She's a ff baby, and I was one of those new mums who counted up all the ounces every day and fretted if she had a few less than the day before and so on, so it'll be tough not being able to count my ice cube portions (sad but true) so I'll just have to let go of my control freakery and go with it!