***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 ?

Bobby99 that's the thought I'm hanging onto too... I'll let you know in a month's time!!! We had sleep issues and less interest in food as a result when teeth were coming through - it lasted about 3/4 days I think so it could possibly be that. On the other hand some days she just isn't as interested in her food as others, but I think that's completely normal.

ps thanks yummymummyb - will try to remember that. dh back from week away with work so I will have a partner for dinners again for moral support!!!

hendo having someone else there will definitely make it easier, i'm sure it must have been a tough week on your own.

We have some meals where DD is just not interested in eating - throws it from the highchair, can't seem to figure out any reasons - not always same meal and not always when she is tired. Sometimes i think she wont be interested but she sits for ages...
First food that has resulted in face gurning - hummus, only first time she's tried it so will give it to her again.
what has caused the most interesting expressions?

Er, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, chaps, but there's actually a 'sleep regression' around 8/9 months when babies' brains are working hard on a developmental spurt (see here and here for more info).

Developmental things can have a huge effect on both food and sleep. DS's sleep went to pot when he was learning to roll / sit up, as well as when teething. Teething seems to mean he's much less interested in food.

hendo, on the gagging thing, the NHS actually recommends introducing finger foods at 6 months even if you're doing purees. It is scary though, but reassuring that the reflex which stops them choking is working properly.

My DS is also sick more often when he's teething. He likes to suck on cold juicy things - melon, cucumber, nectarine etc.

yummymummy, we hardly get any interesting expressions here. DS puts something in his mouth and gazes soulfully into the distance while he chews.

AngelDog - oh . Well at least I know what's coming then! TBH sleep has been v disturbed since 4 months (no night feeds, just wakes and needs soothing back to sleep every 2 or 3 hours) so hopefully it won't get any worse.

Got ingredients to make mild samosas and onion bhajis for LO - anyone tried that sort of thing yet? Just got to find the time to get cooking...

...meant to add the DD can sit unaided for a couple of minutes now so maybe that's the reason for sleep/food issues if her little brain is working overtime! Having said that, she sucked the life out of a tomato earlier and still smells of cheese after wiping it all over her face . Kinda cute, but it does smell funny!!

hendo - DD went through a gagging regression when bringing in a top tooth. Think the excess saliva makes it worse. All fine again now though

Thanks jemjabella that's exactly what I needed to hear - it is definitely top teeth coming through and they are very nearly there so fingers crossed!

We have been having issues with sleep and not much interest in food too but I think it is teething. I can see teeth at top and bottom but they haven't cut through yet. Must get cucumber tomorrow.

I am dreading DD crawling as have read they can practice in their sleep.

yummymummy mango has DD practically jumping out of her chair in excitment, as does her doidy/tt cup . The egg mayo sandwich I gave her the other day resulted in the most disgusted face I have seen - she did eat some though so think it was the smell.

Bobby99 DD had some chicken I marinated with tikka masala paste and yoghurt and enjoyed it. Am also planning to make samosas this week.

Ruby does your LO have a pincer grip yet? If so, when did he develop it? And has he dropped any feeds at all?

PDog - DD has started commando crawling, learnt to sit up and get back down again recently and to be honest apart from one night when she kept sitting up for the first few hours it doesn't seem to have disrupted her sleep as much as I feared. Hope that's the same case for you when you get there!

Lets hope all these teeth finish cutting through soon we we can get back to the eating business!

Aaah, practising crawling in their sleep....that does explain quite alot!! Have been back and forward a couple of times a night to find mini crikey in the all fours position (and wide awake). He crawled yesterday for the first time.

He's never had great sleep and usually has at least one feed in the night but things have got worse more recently so it must be the regression that you mentioned angeldog.

Fried cheese sandwiches for lunch (cheese sandwiches dipped in egg and fried) went down with great approval. Also tried the apple slices fried in butter and cinnamon and they were demolished. (actually, that makes me sound really unhealthy, but he could do with the calories, unlike me )

forgot again to add ourselves to the list

crikeybadger DS 9mo

Ah yes, the "practising crawling in sleep" stage. DS is well into that. He has never slept for very long, and we co-sleep, but I find he stirs, rolls over onto his tummy, pushes up on all fours and crawls until he hits the head of his cot, when he starts crying if I haven't intervened beforehand.

Awful slack mummy moment yesterday. Ds was bashing his sippy cup up and down and drinking from it. DH said that the water was rather bubbly. Ah, said I , that'll be from all that bashing up and down. I opened it up though, and sniffed, and it smelt strongly of washing up liquid. Bad bad rinsing out.

Baby ages update

Angeldog DS 6 mo
Ruby DS 9 mo
Cies DS 7.5 mo
PDog DD 7 mo
Hendo77 DD 7 mo
Devotion DD 5.5 mo
Mini Kent DS 6.5 mo
Fibilou DD 23 weeks
Yummymummy DD 7.5 mo

hendo - we've had a few gagging incidents too so you're not alone. Have found when having food with thin skin like apple and nectarine or stringy e.g. french beans. Took most of skin off apple which seemed to help. Just trying to let DS get on with it as he gags a bit then settles. Mind you before weaning he used to gag when he put his fingers in his mouth too far so nothing new really !

Melon and strawberries going down really well here as is toast. Sucked a strip of marinated pork to death at lunch yesterday. MIL will be pleased as she cooked it and left it here during last visit. She was quite anti BLW but I think the sight of DS chopping down happily on the food she cooked is changing her mind .

Angeldog thanks for warning re sleep. Last 2 weeks have been quite disrupted particularly when hot. DS slept well the nights I didn't and vice versa . Think he is also teething as biting quite hard.

Look forward to the crawling practice hehe. DS is in a sleeping bag. Be interesting to see if that restricts him!

Sorry, didn't notice the age list - DD 8mo

Our DD is 6.5 mo.

PDog DS has got a pincer grip - I think it was around eight months. I gave him cherry tomatoes with basil and he started picking up the little bits of basil. And he started playing with the little bits of prunes in his yoghurt. It is quite useful as he can get bits out of his mouth - like bits of skin he can't dissolve. And pick up peas and sweetcorn .

Re sleep - we are in the depths of the nine month thing - difficult to settle - doesn't want me to leave really and often wakes in the night on all fours. He has real trouble just lying still, even when he is dog tired - eyes almost rolling - and he does endless downward dogs. He can jungle crawl but is furiously trying to crawl crawl! He changes ends n his cot and gets stuck widthways. And is also investigating what he can see over the edge of the mattress!

the feeding - he is dropping the mid morning and mid afternoon feed most of the time in favour of snacks like fruit or a cheese straw and water. he has big feeds morning, lunch and bed and then often 2 in the night - 10/11 and 3/4 - i am not waking him anymore for a dreamfeed as i think it encourages calrie intake at night and i am trying to get away from night feeding - he is starting to go 6:30 - 2/3am more and more. the dreamfeed never worked - he is very wakeful from 2/3am onwards regardless .

loving kent - the sleeping bag makes no difference, DD still manages to crawl around her cot. i was amazed the first time i saw her do it in her sleep... i think the bumping into sides is what wakes her up so frequently during the night (still at least 2 times between midnight and 6am, every night).
cies that is hilarious, exactly the kind of thing i would do. did wonder about what is best to use to clean highchair as it can leave it smelling a bit chemically?
made curry last night and went down very well, she is finally doing the proper swallowing thing, yipee.

Hello!

Do you mind if we tag along?

Ds is still three weeks off six months but sitting well with a little support and quite adept at shoving things in his gob. So i'm thinking i'll start offering him some bits and bobs to play with...cucumber tonight for example, this will be the first food he's been offered... I'm a bit aware that we're a couple of weeks early, but i feel like he's ready for a gentle intro. Have read the book and gather that he won't really get things to his mouth or swallow till ready. Am prepared for gagging [nervous pfb emoticon]

Does any one have any thoughts on this (ie gently starting a bit early)?

I have got about two thirds of the way through the thread and found it very interesting and informative reading! Ta!

hello i'm still here! ds is 8 months tomorrow.

he's doing so so well. he sleeps through now too which is even better! he now swallows much bugger things. so before he'd chew up tangerine segments and spit them back out, he now swallows them. and he has his pincer grip, he can really pick anything up now. oh, and he's almsot crawling, or trying to anyway. he gets on all fours and then collapses, over and over and over again, all day long

as for milk, he's on bottles now. he doesn't have much though, dd was the same.

he wakes at 7am. breakfast at 8am, then milk before morning nap at 9am. lunch at 11.30am, then milk again before afternoon nap around 1 ish or 2ish. though this is turning into a snack rather than milk as we're oftrn out and about and it's easier than taking milk out. then he has tea at about 4.30pm, and last milk at 6.30 before bed.

moonfacemama welcome. In my (humble) opinion you are the one who knows your DS best and if you are happy then go for it. We started early (about 3 weeks). Just made sure that it was only fruit and veg for those weeks until she was 6 months old (she was 2 weeks late so i didn't think of it as too early). Just don't give anything that is likely to bring on allergies. Do you have any allergies?
We started with bananna, cucumber (great for teething), carrot, celery. DD just seemed delighted to be able to sit at table with us when we were eating and be able to "join in". She has only really started swallowing this week. i would be cautious of anything with skin (pear, apple etc) as this is what causes most gagging in my experience.
Good luck, let us know how you are getting on.

Thanks for that yummymummy i don't have any allergies, no.

I'll go ahead with a stick of cucumber tonight and let you know how we get on!

He loved it! Gummed the middle off two cucumber sticks. Guess that means he's ready? Hadn't really expected him to be quite so enthusiastic!