***Just about to start Baby-led Weaning*** Join Me to share experiences !!

[FluffyFrog]

I have a 20 week old and am planning on starting BLW around the end of May ish. Have been reading the Gill Rapley Book but would be great to get some ideas from others and share a few experiences. We will probably start in the next 4-6 weeks. Is there anyone else around starting at the same time that wants to join me on this thread ?

Oooh, I've got the Antilop too but have been taking the tray off differently . I reach underneath by ds's tummy and "unhook" the clippy bits before lifting it up. But it doesn't seem a very user friendly way of unclipping. I shall try your method tomorrow.

I have been followimg the thread but haven't had time to post for ages - all that watching ds eat then cleaning up the splashmat!

I made a beef casserole today and he had a great time sucking on a hunk of meat. It all got wedged up in his palate and I had to scrape it out but he loved the taste. I soaked a piece of stale bread in the juices and gave that to him to suck too.

This morning I had no fresh fruit in the house and so invented a prune spread - basically I soaked a few prunes in boiling water for a few minutes, then whizzed it all up. DS had this on a rice cake and stirred through porridge.

I gave him a piece of tomato the other day, and he came out all blotchy on his top lip - does that sound like an allergic reaction to you? I'm now very wary about all other possible allergicy things, like egg. But I'm going to bite the bullet and try him on some omelette this week, as if he tolerates egg then there are so many other easy to prepare options available. So far he's only really had fruit and veg plus breakfasty things. I read about your babies having quiche and tiger prawns and realise that I'm probably keeping things too simple.

Thanks for the tips - finally managed to get the blooming tray off (or rather DH did using badgers yanking technique). Think will have to revise my plan of taking it off while DD is still in the chair though .

I've got the tommy tippee cup too so will try that tomorrow hendo.

Had great fun at tea time - DD had risotto left over from last night. We started by giving her a spoon but she put the wrong end in her mouth so DH put the whole bowl on her tray and she stuck her face in it and started licking like a little dog . She had more strawberries for afters but her face went all blotchy so think will have to leave those for the time being - she will not be happy .

A quickie - when giving water, are you giving your LOs the cup? We're using a tommee tippe one from the HV but dd2 prefers to chuck it over her shoulder rather than drink from it. Rather messy by the 10th time... So I've been holding it for her in front of her and guiding it to her mouth when she takes hold of it. But she seems to prefer chewing rather than sucking

we have a full-sized shower curtain, complete with yellow duck, on our dining room floor. It collects the mess from one baby and one toddler. We use a tiny diner mat on the table which helps limit the number of times you have to pick stuff up off the floor during a meal. Afterwards, take a flannel to baby, then table, then shower curtain. Sorted.

Re cups: ds drinks out of:
an Ikea sippy cup that I mainly use without the top bit
a normal cup
a Dr Browns sippy cup with a valve - he finds it really difficult to get anything out, and you have to really tip it up to work, so not a great option imo

With all of these I usually guide him by holding the bottom of the cup and helping him to tip.

Re splashmats: I've got two on the go, a whole shower curtain, that's actually too big but I haven't got round to cutting, and a piece of old shower curtain, that's probably about 1/3 of the full size. I bung them in the washing machine every couple of days, and in between wipe with a flannel and/or spray with the shower hose.

Splash mat - We got ours from a friend, but they got it from mothercare - it's a bit like this one.

With cups I have a doidy cup, tommee tippee one with a valve (but I take the valve out as our hv at weaning session said to do that!) and this one that someone here reccommended and is the best one that she prefers. Imogen mostly chews on it when doing it herself, but I hold it for her and she does suck water out of it now at the end of every meal (helps get any remaining bits out of her mouth) and I've been offering it out and about when really hot weather. She seems to like it, but as I say I do have to hold it for her if I actually want her to drink anything from it.

Cies DD came out in a rash after eating strawberries. She's had tomatoes today but haven't noticed anything yet. Googled it and said it is down to the high acid content but website also said not to introduce strawberries or tomatoes until 10-12 months and if you do before, cook them. It was an American site though so not sure if UK advice is the same - anyone heard anything?

We've not been very adventurous yet either - just fruit and veg and breakfast things but we've only been going properly for 2 days.

Hobnob I've been holding the doidy cup for her - she does grap the handles and tries to tip it though. We've also got the tommee tippee cup so I gave her that today but she didn't know what to do with it. I guided it to her mouth but she mostly just chewed on it, although did seem to drink some while I was guiding it.

Lottie we have an outdoor tablecloth from Lidl for our splash mat. It is quite big and doesn't fit great as we need it to go under the table and I don't want to put it under the legs because I need to shake it out 3 times a day. It is non slip and machine washable though. Am considering cutting it to size but am a bit worried it will fall to bits in the wash if I do.

For those of you who have been going for awhile - how long before your DC actually started swallowing anything, rather than just playing/sucking?

Hi all!
May I suggest getting a dog instead of a splash mat!! they hoover up everything instantly sometimes it even lands on them thus completely saving the floor!

pdog I think I first noticed bits of broccoli & kiwi in her nappy after a week or so but those were the only things to begin with..
she really started to swallow stuff after about 2 weeks I think (memory hazy already, god I should write stuff down!)but it was about 3-4 wks before her poos went totally solid..
and she still has days when she will eat very little and just play with it/feed it to the dogs..

I think I read that until they are about 8-9 months they don;t link hunger with eating food and so are not eating with any real purpose iyswim.. after that they become a bit more into it apparently!

picklesrule - can I ask how quickly did your dd stop coughing and spluttering everytime she got a bit in her mouth?

Pdog,
I have heard that strawberries and citrus fruits can be quite allergenic. I guess it's a case of trying them and seeing how you go. (well that's my slapdash approach anyway) If there's any allergies in your family you may want to be a bit more cautious.

Hi everyone. Well finally the day has dawned (well almost-DD 6 months on Sunday ) and we have made a start. (BexJ78 here, with new name BTW!)

DH brought antilop home last night. Today we had avocado, cucumber and grated cheese at lunchtime, plus water from a tommee tippee cup which was mostly sprinkled around the room and on the tray!

Then for tea we had chicken strips, broccoli, green beans and baked sweet potato. Seemed to go pretty well but not sure how much she actually ate! Most ended up on the floor, but she was attempting to put it in her mouth. She had a gagging incident at both meals but managed (just about) to not panic and just did over the top chewing and om nom nom noises!!!

Any views on tomatoes? Not seen much mention of them on here, and also what about salad leaves? Are they more of a choking risk?

hendo it was definately a week or two before she stopped either spitting it out or coughing it out! I think in the beginning it was really an accident if anything went down! Very gradually she started getting better at managing the food in her mouth, moving it around and starting to chew - 3-4 weeks in I think.
The gagging/coughing thing does pass quite quickly but it is quite nervewracking..I found the ott chewing in front of her really helped...

Still has the odd couging indident now, usually because she has shoved too much in/it is something she can't manage as easily..

Hi ethelred I'm not sure about tomatoes tbh..I have a friend who gives her lo cherry toms but they make me a bit nervous for some reason so I haven't yet. DD has had a couple of slices of a large tomato though but didn't seem too impressed so I haven't really bothered..she has quite a lot in the sauces and things I make though.

salad leaves seem fine but she tends to suck on them for ages/not really eat properly and tbh I feel they are a bit pointless as not going to help her gain any weight! Useful thing to gie her off my plate in a restaurant though..

Thanks picklesule. I think I'm also not giving her enough time each mealtime so am going to be more patient. Every time I do the exaggerated chewing thing though she gets the giggles!!!

I'm also only still giving sticks of food mostly - should I be a bit braver do you think and try a casserole tonight?!? With big chunks in obviously...!

Also, she has stopped pooing so frequently, but does do lots of straining at various points during the day. Does anyone have any suggestions for things I can do to help things get moving?

hendo I've found DD does some of her best eating when left with food for ages..I tend to give her her 'main' if you like then when shes started to look bored give her whatever else shes having (fruit usually) and quite often she will eat that and then go back to her main.. I will leave her in highchair for ages..well until she kicks off basically!

defo go for casseroles they are fab! I found DD was best with sticks for first couple of weeks but as she got more dextrous could manage different shapes...

you could give her water with each meal to help things along.. bit of baby massage/warm hand on tummy? i've found Warm water to drink helps if she is a bit blocked up..

Thanks pickles - I've beeng giving her water to help, but not warm so will try that when we're at home and will learn some more patience!!!

Thanks Pickle and Badger. Hendo my DD also thinks it is hilarious when I do the exaggerated chewing but it gives me chance to see what is in her mouth.

Ethelred you're being much more adventurous than we are! Have given DD tomatoes but not really sure if I should have - she loves them though.

Have just had great fun watching DD sucking on a sausage for lunch. She quickly figured out that it was just the right size she didn't even need to hold it - lazy girl . She was much better with her spoon of porridge this morning and now gets excited when she goes in her high chair.

Ethelred I gave ds a chunk of tomato to suck on when we were out in a restaurant, but unfortunately he came out all blotchy on his top lip. The chunk, however, was a really good size.

Are you all with sticks of food? We've actually found that chunks are better. eg this morning ds had half a peach, a tinned pineapple ring and a whole weetabix biscuit. (he only ate about half of each thing though) He finds it much easier to hold bigger things like that than the smaller sized sticks which I did at first.

I made a batch of spinach and goats cheese muffins off the BLW.com recipe section - very nice for all the family. I'm going to get baking other savoury treats soon.

Thanks for the comments on tommyatoes. Will give them a whirl tonight and hope for no blotchiness! We are having salad and baked potatoes so i guess will give her a bit of baked spud with a bit of cucumber and tom and some chunks of cheddar.

Ended up giving her breakfast this morning, although didn't plan to (trying to just keep her to 2 meals a day at mo...purely for mess reasons!) She sat with me whilst i ate my toast, and the minute she saw what i was having, she tried to grab hold, so i gave her some toast with chopped up kiwi on it, and then also gave her some mushed up banana on a rice cake. i think she at some of it, but majority ended up on the floor and on her i think! She seemed to enjoy playing
about with it anyway!

Cies, yes mainly doing sticks at mo, although might give chunks a try tonight. Those spinach and goats cheese muffins sound very nice!

Hi all,
Been for weigh in this morning and DS has gone from 0.4th centile to the 2nd!!

He was labelled as failure to thrive in jan so I'm pretty chuffed at his progress. The butter laden toast, cheese sticks, avocadoes and full fat yoghurt must be having some effect.

So today we've been munching on sweet potato falafels, lots of strawberries, cucumber, and toast for lunch. Supper was potato 'pie' (mashed potato, cheese and onion baked in the oven) which I gave to him on loaded spoon. This went down a storm which was good because my other two DS's turned their noses up at it. Maybe it was a bit easier for him to swallow (he's only got one tooth).

Also enjoying blueberries (slightly squashed first).

btw, Fluffyfrog where are you?

You started this lovely thread after all- have you begun yet?

Excellent news Badger, you must be very pleased. Any chance of your sweet potato falafel recipe?

The good thing about BLW is I am being much more inventive with my own meals. Usually eat a varied diet but breakfast and lunch tend to be pretty much the same but now the ham sandwiches have been banished - having frittata today and we've never had so much fruit in the house!!

Hendo for constipation, prunes are a good natural laxative. I think I remember someone (Ruby?) mentioning earlier on the thread that she had given her LO chopped prunes swirled into yoghurt - you could try that.

Hi can I join too but not sure how far I'll get as the thought of blw scares me slightly
Ds2 will be 6mths tomorrow.
Do I wait until he can sit up unaided as he is no where near doing that.

He has a dairy allergy and there is a strong family history of severe allergies so not sure what the best first food would be.
Thanks

alibobins I have an allergicky baby too. Start with root veg & non citrus fruit. If you are worried about food sensitivities, introduce a new food every 3 days because reactions tend to be apparent after the second or third exposure to something. Hold off on things containing egg, tomato, kiwi, nuts until they are older. Use hypoallergenic formula to make porridge, custard, white sauce, etc. Or calcium fortified oat milk if the formula isn't an instant hit