BLW - Eating out / at other peoples houses,what to eat and how to deal with the mess?!

[lovely74]

Hi,
I've tentatively started BLW in the last couple of days with DS (25wks)At the moment I'm not doing it every day, BM is still his main food, I'm just seeing how he's going to take to this eating solids mularkey. But, I'm hoping to continue with BLW so there'll come a point soon where we do out of the safety of my lounge.
So my two questions are...

1 - How do people manage the inevitable mess? He was shovelling in broccolli tonight which was great but there was a LOT of cleaning up to be done after. I'm fine with this, but can't imagine getting onto my hands and knees at the local cafe to wipe up sauce.... I know there'll be easier foods ie sandwiches but I want to take it slowly so not introduce too much stuff yet.

2 - Following on from this, what do I order in restaurants? I know the point is that they eat the same food as you, but surely you need to think about how much salt etc is in the food you get. Or am I just being paranoid?

And should I now start offering finger foods 3 times daily? Or can I carry on doing it ad hoc for a while? I'm not desperate for him to get onto solids but also don't want to hold him back. I'm just not sure if I'm that organised yet, most days I don't even manage to give myself lunch, but I can just whip out my boobs for the man so he'll never go hungry...!

I don't clean the floor in cafes. I pick up the bits of food that dd drops, but I don't get on my hands and knees and wipe the floor.

I don't order dd food from the places we eat, I take her lunch in pots and order myself something. I know the essence is they eat what you eat, but if someone else has prepared it I have no idea of salt levels etc, so I just take her a packed lunch. I don't think it is paranoid to be cautious.

There is no rush to get to 3 meals a day. We started out with lunch, then breakfast and lunch after a week or so, then a couple of weeks later added on dinner. You won't be holding him back.

DD is 8.5 months now and seems to be 'getting it' and eating lots more, but for the first month or so it really was just experimenting and playing. Still plenty of playing with it still , but seems to want to 'eat' things too. Good luck

Just to add... from the title, if I was eating at a friend's house, I would get down on my hands and knees and wipe the floor.

In cafes/restaurants just give bits of salad from your plate, pieces of pasta or boiled potato, roasted veg, bits of bread or even garlic bread. If you're worried take a pot with some snacks or a banana in, but I usually just ordered blw friendly food for myself. In the beginning it's only about tastes anyway, it's just handy to be able to hand over a bit of something when you're eating in a cafe to keep your baby occupied!

Don't worry too much about the mess, just pick up the bits and if it's real carnage ask for a cloth to wipe round. But be aware that a toddler who can eat with a knife and fork can still make LOADS of mess, and be a lot more inventive about how they do it too, so don't worry too much about your baby dropping food.

We've always used a plastic tablecloth under the highchair at home. At the end of the meal you can just shake it outside or into the bin and then chuck it in the wash at the end of the day (our 90p tablecloths have been in use nearly a year and cope perfectly well with washing and tumble drying!). When eating at friends houses I used to take the tablecloth with me when she just getting started so we could do the same thing there (not really needed anymore). When eating out I just pick up the big bits to show willing and leave the rest to them. When just starting out a few bits of salad or bread from your plate is fine, or I would take some fruit with me. When she got a bit better at eating I would order something that I knew she would eat fairly tidily for her, and now she's 15 months we just order whatever we think she might fancy!

Unless you're eating out all the time I wouldn't worry too much about salt when you're out. Just order something that you think won't be too bad, and make sure you don't give anything else with salt that day.

We started DD on 3 meals a day pretty much from the beginning, but just because that's what worked well for us - she just joined us for meals if she was awake, but we didn't worry about it if she was asleep during our meal times. Just go with whatever works for you and your family.

There was quite a while when I would ask for the bill and a dustpan and brush.. The worst one was when we went to a japanese buffet, and DS and his friend had soba noodles which flicked amazingly well when they grabbed chopsticks.

On the basis that I didn't eat out everyday, and didn't order things with a sauce to share with DS, he always has eaten what I am eating. I used to order an extra side dish of vegetables or salad so that we could pick and mix when he wasn't big enough to have his own serving.

Broccoli is one of the messiest things though - so don't judge everything by that.

I offered 3 meals a day from the start, partly as once DS realised about this food stuff, there was no stopping him. It'll do you good to have a healthy lunch too

Don't clean the floor - just pick up all the large bits and give the high chair a good wipe with a baby wipe for the next baby.

If you order something like a sandwich, jacket potato, pasta, salad, your DS can just have bits of yours.

ds is 6 months 1 week.

i take a packed lunch. he also grabs food of my plate.

i try not to worry to much about the mess .

he is eating three meals a day plus fruit snacks - seriously - the boy packs it away - its like he has already realised its food. he does the baby bird face as soon as he's at the table!

tbh it has taken more organising than i thought - as i was also starting to skip a nice sit down lunch. its done me good i think - i was starting to drink too much coffee and eat too much sugar because i was tired. we now sit down and eat together .