Anyone just started, or about to start, BLW? Care to join me?

[Jojay]

DS2 is 27 weeks and from last week, is now joining us a mealtimes.

I tried spoonfeeding for a few days but he didn't seem keen, so I tried him with some roasted veg and he was well away. So BLW it is for us.

But I did purees for DS1 2 years ago, so BLW is new to me.

So far he's had roasted sweet potato, carrot, aubergine, courgette, sweet pepper, some lightly steamed apple and pear, banana, mango, and a chip.

When I say 'had' I mean I've offered it to him. Some probably went straight on the floor, but I've found some lumps in his nappy, so some is definitely going in.

The mango was the biggest hit - he loved it!

So tell me what you're doing and how it's going...........

FFS, wrong thread! Sorry, that was meant for somewhere else. Where is my brain today?

littleboyblue re salt content, we switched to Boots organic baby stock cubes rather than normal kind, that reduces salt content in home cooked meals. You do have to keep an eye on it, and I imagine the salt content of processed food like sausages is going to be much higher than in .. welll, non-processed food I guess!

Whole blueberries are fine - there's a lovely recipe Hulla posted below somewhere for blueberry pancakes but I've also made them with blackberries. You really can give them pretty much anything, as long as it's not too salty.

Thanks KP Ideally, I'd like him to be having a go at everything we're eating.

Right now he is having pitta with peanut butter which he seems to be enjoying, he's had a go at the cucumber and the yellow pepper and is also ebjoying tomato.
I plan to give him some blueberries after (ds1 loves them).
Is this enough?

It is quite strange being a meal time and not having any screaming! I think I am def going to have to stay away from purees now and let him do it all himself.

Hello guys, we are in our first month of BLW, all going well, am loving this thread for food ideas and thought it would be a good place to ask a question...

have any of you given aubergine yet, and if so, how do you cook it?

I usually salt it before cooking so it can sweat a little, will it taste ok if I leave this out??

Thanks for any advice.

waskywax DH - who does all the cooking chez Panda - told me the other day that you can roast them whole in the oven, nothing else required (except maybe smear of olive oil). So I did this... And it exploded like a small messy aubergine bomb. Still, the stuff left was very tasty aubergine shrapnel...

Ds 2 just had minced meat and pasta mixed with some tomato puree and seemed to enjoy it. I gave him some grapes (cut in half) after.
It is so nice to have a meal without the crying. This is it now, sticking to doing it this way and forgetting the spoon feeding (apart from breakfast as he does enjoy his cereal).
If I ever say again that I am going back to purees, someone slap me and start talking about positive food association and how purees and spoons distress him, therefore he shouldn't have them

Hi guys, sorry I've been gone for a while. Just caught up with the thread - fab! Hello to new people!

kiwi am loving the aubergine bomb!

Going well her - dd has a tooth coming through and is starting to crawl/pull herself up. V exhausting exciting.

This week we have had:
breakfast:

mini shredded wheat (sainsbury's own so can continue Nestle boycott).
strawberry pancakes
toast with sugar-free jam (strawberries, grape juice & pectin I think)
crumpets (dh gave these so don't know how well they went)

New fruit: non-dried apricots (bland, boring little things but dd loves them), nectarines (devoured) and pear.

dinner: cod, lamb and mushroom risotto (surprisinglu successful, just loaded the spoon and dd got on with it and shouted when she wanted more).

I am going to use the left over risotto to make arancini.

oh, I'm not deep frying mine - nearly burnt our house down a few years ago deep frying something. We're much too scared healthier now

Oh and we have also had falafel - are you seeing a theme here

Hulla I'm going to try falafel in the week. I have a good baby and toddler recipe book so will just skip the baby part and ds2 can have whatever I do for ds1, although me and dp will probably do our dinners from the childrens cookbook too!

Tonight I am doing home made fish cakes with broccoli and baby corn..........don't think ds1 will eat it, but I am really trying to get him out of his fussy eater won't try anything new stage. (hoping it's a stage) (he's 2btw)

Hurrah! We have found someone in RL who is going to be starting BLW soon Will be able to have endless conversations about the best food for our DSs to smear over themselves.

Hulla, had to read your post twice as initially I thought the risotto contained mushrooms, cod and lamb - doh...

Love the arancini idea. I really must get more creative. Does anyone have any good recommendations for suitable cook books?

All going well here too. Have found lots of things that DS likes (for now) and bread-making-friend is being a star. DS has happily growled his way through lamb tagine, cottage pie and lasagne (DH is the cook, not me). He can also eat a whole nectarine.

Did have to pull spinach out of his bum though...

Hey all. Hulla your post made me hungry. I love arancini. DD has been poorly with a tummy bug (possibly related to teething, or possibly just as well as teething - so she's been off her solids a bit. Finally getting back into them but still gets annoyed very quickly, bit like the early days. She's loving yoghurt at the moment though which I'm giving her lots of to encourage friendly bacteria to sort out her tum. TMI alert! Never thought I'd miss solid poos... it's been like having a newborn again. In one end.. promptly out the other...

Kiwi - one of the partners in the firm I work at had an aubergine explode in his face when he tried to bake it and didnt puncture the skin enough first before putting it in the oven! I think you had a lucky escape.

DS2 loved his cheese on toast today and his evident enjoyment of his broccoli even had picky eater DS1 trying a mouthful (but no more) out.

Can I ask if anyone has any thoughts on when you can start to offer egg to babies? I was thinking of doing a mushroom and cheese omelette for the boys tomorrow.

Hi, is it ok to join in - very new to forums and this is the first post I've done.

My daughter has been totally bottle fed and was 25weeks last Monday.

I just started BLW on Monday and the first day was fantastic. She gummed her way through fruit toast, cucumber, roast pork and brocolli but she hasn't been very interested since.

Is this normal? Or am I doing something wrong? Or am I just neurotic?

Hi I have been trying to baby led wean since my ds was 6 months (he's now nearly 8 mths) but I seem 2 have run out of food ideas for his lunch etc! I'm away at my parents which I think has contributed to this as I'm not planning meals, buying as many groceries etc.
Also, does anyone have advice for giving foods that are slippy such as banana and other fruits? My lo usually just ends up chasing them round the highchair tray and then dropping them on the floor as he can't pick it up! The messiness is starting to sput me off but I really want to carry on, I've already started giving him fruit purees again when I want an easy option and I'm worried I may end up giving in and buying jars, advice please!!!

dinky Ds2 has had egg. He loved it. My weaning book said egg is fine after 6 months as long as cooked to solid and not runny.

yummy hi. It is hard isn't it? I struggle with ideas too but just found a baby/toddler recipe book I bought when ds1 was a baby.
With ds2, I have been going back and forth between finger foods and purees as I am a puree fan. Ds2 is not.
I think the thing with slippery food is they need time to learn. The more it is offered, the better he will become at handling it.
For lunch here, I do a selection of veg like tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, carrots, a bit of grated cheese, pitta bread with peanut better, or you could try pasta, scrambled egg, omlettes, fruit salad.......
And again with the mess, it'll get better as he gets older. Ds1 still gets food all over himself, ut rarely drops any now. He is 2 and still uses his fingers, using cutlery is too slow for him!

Thanks LBB - may do the omelette tonight then.

Fifi - I think its normal for babies to have hungry days for solids and hungry days for milk. At this early stage food is more for exploring and playing with - and if any gets in to their tummies that's great too! So dont be put off.

And Yummy - I agree with LBB, mess is sadly very much a part of mealtimes with little people (my 3 year old has only just graduated to eating without a bib as he's stopped being quite so messy). Just protect the floor and leave them to it. I find that DS2 does that with banana too but find its easier to grab and stick in his mouth if I split the banana down the middle.

For mess and floors, I'd use a towel instead of the official protector covers, that way, you can just pick the towel up and chuck it in the wash.
I have laminate floors, so I don't bother with floor covers, just a dustpan and brush (but I do wait until the end of the day )

Thanks for the advice! I was worried that he hasnt been having enough 'proper' food as a lot of the time for lunch he'll just have something like a banana (sometimes mashed if we're in a rush!) and a yoghurt and rice cakes. Its made me paranoid because when I worked in a nursery the parents would always bring in something cooked so I've been scared that he's not getting enough nutrients!

Thanks for the advice. I'll keep going with BLW - she seems alot happier with solids again today so fingers crossed!

Re bananas, cut them in wedges/batons with the skin on, makes it much easier to grab

Do u find they try to eat the skin? Cos I was thinking about doing that but had been worring in case he ate the skin lol

Yes she does gnaw on it! I just wait until she's dropped it and whip it away...

Should I be cutting banana up then?

littleboyblue not at all, only if it makes it easier or more interesting for your little one! I've given DD half an entire banana before but she can't quite get to grips with it, whereas batons/chunks she likes.

I think I can safely say she's feeling better, she just ate half an avocado and a healthy portion of pea, black bean and spinach casserole. Hooray! Perhaps we'll soon have solid poos again . So much easier to clean...