BLW please please please help me :(

[mothersmilk]

my ds and i are two weeks into blw he's exclusivly breastfed i was so enthused about blw when i read about it (altough i did traditional weaning with dd and had no problems at all) it sounded just fantastic truely organic and made perfect sence as i bf untill my dc wean themselves.
anyway enthusiasim has gone it just doesnt seem to be working at all my ds is a big baby, for me anyway as im very small he's always been a furocious feeder (were lucky to an hour/an hour and a half between feeds, two hours at night he's hungry and he's frusrtated he enjoys it but he's just not getting enough from it (i also realise bm is much more calarific than anything i give him to eat) iv gone 6 monhs without much sleep and with a 2 1/2 year old as well its getting me down i feels as though mushy spoon fed food would just be so much easier (i know that sounds lazy) trouble is i sooooo wanted to blw as i believe in all its about if i give up now i'll feel like a failier but if i carry on i think i'll go mad
i jnow iv gone on a bit thankyou for listening i hope one of you guys can give me some advice

Oh poor you, you sound stressed.

I'm doing BLW with DD, and I'm afraid I can't "reassure" you as such: it took her a couple of months really to get the hang of eating and to get any meaningful quantities down her. I just kept going because although she wasn't consuming very much, she was trying everything I put in front of her with obvious pleasure and interest, and I thought that - in the long term - that was better, for us at least, in that she was exposed to lots of tastes and textures.

But I do understand your frustration - and tiredness.

There's no reason why you can't do a mixture of BLW and spoon-feeding, if you want, and if you think that would help. Or go entirely to spoon-feeding. Plenty of babies are spoon-fed and are very happy and healthy eaters. I don't think you should worry if BLW isn't for your and your DS.

You could always try making lumpy/sticky food and loading up a spoon for him instead? That might be a half-way house for you both?

Sorry - that should say "for you and your DS"

is it detromental in anyway to blw if i give him a spoon fed supper? will it confuse the process at all?
Penthesileia thankyou we have tried loaded spoons he cant really get to grips with it yet though im persavering

I don't think it would be detrimental: babies are adaptable and quick learners, I reckon, so he'd probably get used to a combination.

DD's the same : she doesn't really "get" the point of the spoon yet, but I can't get a loaded spoon anywhere near her mouth! She grabs it off me before I get the chance!

You should do what feels right for you. I think, probably, the important thing is that it is fun and relaxed for you both.

Although I now say my 11mo DS is/was BLW in reality when we started it was a good mix of finger foods and purees and we just quickly discovered that finger foods worked best for him. Try not to be so hard on yourself and try a mixture - you may find that your DS takes to it better that way - gets some of his appetite satisfied quicker from a spoon and then feels more relaxed about exploring the finger foods. He may be just so hungry that he gets frustrated when he can't feed himself so helping take the edge of his hunger first may make it more enjoyable for him.

Maybe also think about what foods you are giving him. DS didn't get on very well with broccoli at the start despite it being advocated as one of the best BLW first foods - it was a bit too difficult for him to eat much so he couldn't understand the point. I found in the first month or so that mashed or very soft foods were very easy for him to shovel in with his hands - mashed sweet potato or lentil stew or banana.

My DS made a big step forward in the quantity he took in at around 7.5-8mo when he got much more dexterous and didn't drop as much food.

Puree is not necessarily easier - you actually spend ages trying to spoon it into their mouth so you don't get a break, whereas with finger food I can just sit and eat my lunch next to DS while he gets on with it. So persisting with finger foods may give you a little bit of a break rather than adding another chore

agree with all the advice here, if you want to do something different, do it. you're in charge.
don't worry about pureeing stuff, though, that's just more work. mash it with a fork and then load up the spoon, see if the baby grabs it.

iv never purred anyway dd was just mashed up dinners we ate i think i'll carry on with blw as i do really want to and just give him a supper in the evening porrage or some such see if that makes a difference as he enjoys blw its just my sleep deprivation really i think

that sounds like a plan.