***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 ?

oohh great advice - thanks!

Can I just add myself and the wee one!
W/C 12th April

WAITING TO BLW
FluffyFrog DD 20 weeks Monday
MistressPloppy DS 6 months soon
Janeytroll DS 6 months on Sunday
Popspig DD 23 weeks
5ofus DS 5 months
Plum71 DD 5 months
snugglejunkie DS 22 weeks Sunday
ruddynorah DS 21 weeks
Supergreenuk DD 20 weeks Thursday
cies DS 21 weeks Saturday
BexJZ8 DD 4 months

CARROTS ON THE FLOOR
picklesrule DD 6 months
smilehighclub DD 6 months
Rubybuckleberry DS
Crikeybadger DS
Mrs Wee DD 6 months

Hi All

What has everyone who are already started,tried so far?

We've tried

Brocolli
Sweet potato
Carrots
Cheese on toast
Rice cakes
Mango
Steamed apple
A slice of roast beef

So far we have tried

Brocolli plain & with cream cheese
asparagus
Cheesy pitta breads
huumus
Porridge
toast
mango
kiwi
plum
natural yoghurt with fruit
melon
strawberry (v difficult to hold and ended up shoving whole thing in and gagging spectacularly!)

So far we have tried:

sticks of roasted courgette, butternut squash, parsnip,red pepper, carrot, potato and mushroom.
Green beans
Broccoli
Cooked pear, plum, apple pieces
kiwi
orange
banana
natural yoghurt
avocado(just too slippery so did loaded spoons for him)
porridge pancakes
lentil fritters
eggy bread
homemade beef burgers
pasta (sucked on a penne bit)
toast and cream cheese
sticks of cheese
mini shredded wheat

Plus I tried some quartered grapes but then got cold feet and took them off him!

Most of this does just get mushed up and smeared around the high chair table. Initially he couldn't pick things up so i would hand them to him. But in the couple of weeks we've been doing blw, his skills are really coming on and he can hold things a lot more easily now.

I did purees with my other two DS's - one is a great eater, one appalling, so I'm interested to see how blw pans out.

I'll stop burbling for now ....

mistressploppy what's an SLT ? is it speech & language technician ?

crikeybadger picklesrule mrswee some fantastic food lists already..... making notes for when we start. I did purees with my other two DCs, as they were born before the 6 month guidelines came in. They did well and are both good eaters but I hated that phase where you scrape the mush off their chin and shovel it back in.

Those of you that have started already what are your top 3 foods that your DCs have had the most success with ? What would your top tips be ?

Thanks for all the advice on gagging. I don't mind so much when DH is at home but a bit more apprehensive when on my own.

So far she's had sweet potato, courgette, roast potato, carrot, cucumber, apple, pears and her favourite, banana. The tray on our highchair is a bit too high for her so i have to hold them out in front of her and she takes them off me...also, I'm handing her spoonfulls of purees for her to finish off (i realise this might not be proper BLW...will I get banished from this thread?).

I'd love to offer her a few more options on the food but as she isn't 6 months till next week I thought i'd better hold off on the good stuff.

Crikeybadger...good thinking on cooking the apples and pears. I've been giving them raw and although she has a very good suck and gum on them she then gets frustrated as she can't break anything off! Do you boil or roast them? With or without skin?

Also, re Strawberries, my HV said to wait till a year for these alongside honey and milk as they can cause reaction. I guess you just have to keep an eye on them to see if they flare up or not.

Fluffy, definitely sweet potato, banana and pear. hmmm, i see a sweet tooth forming!

Oh yes I forgot about banana and avocado..also cucumber she loves!
crikeybadger - lentil fritters sound fab how to you make them?

Oh yes I forgot about banana and avocado..also cucumber she loves!
crikeybadger - lentil fritters sound fab how to you make them?

sorry double post!
Top 3 foods would be...Kiwi, mango and pitta bread with huumus so far.
my top things so far would be :
Pitta bread is great as it doesn't go all mushy as quickly as bread does and they can really mess about with it before it falls apart.
as Ruddy Norah says the omnomnomnom noises and exagerated faces really do work when they are gagging.
top tip I nicked from somewhere else on here I think was to have a supply of cloths that are just for this, each feed take fresh cloth wipe babys face and hands then highchair table etc, cloth then goes straight in the wash for next time. Seems obvious now when I write it down but I kept messing on with wipes and thigns at first..

Fluffy- roasted parsnip, plum, avocado.
I haven't really got a top tip, but I'm realising that it's important to be fairly relaxed about this blw business. From what I've read the first couple of months are just exploring and tasting little bits of food. I'm also keeping up all the milk feeds because in my mind, there's more nutrients in milk than carrot!

lamby- I just cut up the apples and pears (skin on) and pop in the microwave for a bit until they have softened.

I think strawberries can be allergenic but I suppose it depends on how you feel about it. I've been told to wait for honey, but not milk.

OK, here's the recipe for red lentil fritters.
(they say it makes 10-12, but depends on the size)

In a pan, soften 1 finely diced onion and two cloves crushed garlic in olive oil.
Stir in 200 g red lentils
and add 500 ml veg stock (you can buy low salt).
Cover and simmer on a medium heat. Stir occasionally until the water has gone and lentils are soft.
Remove from the heat and mash the lentils.
Add 100g grated cheese, 2 carrots grated, 25 g pumpkin seeds (I don't use these), 2tsp ground cumin, bunch of chopped coriander or mint, 100g breadcrumbs.
When cool, form in to patties. fry until golden in sunflower oil.

This makes loads, but it does freeze fairly well.

One other tip that I picked up was to put a plate in the freezer while you are cooking so that when you place the food on it, it cools down quicker.

this book is perfect for recipe ideas and ways to adapt family meals to a finger food form.

hello!! i need this thread!!

have rapley book and have started blw last week. dd was 6 momths on 10/04.

so far we have tried pear, mango, low sugar rusks, carrots, parsnips, dairylea and fromage frais

dd is having a good go at everything but doesn't seem to really eat much but i'm patient!

also i tried the banana test. its the only food dd wont even put in her mouth!

Re. other foods with choking issues, beware of the humble banana! I found out, the bad way (thank God it ended well) that banana is very dry on the throat and easily gets stuck, so although it is always popular, it's one to watch!

Crossed posts with you suntangirl. I stand corrected - not always popular!

Can I just ask then, would you recommend the antilop highchair as a good one for BLW? we need to start looking for one so we can get DD used to sitting with us at table (actually realised that will mean we have to start eating at the table rather than off our knees!)

nw ooos.

meanwhile, mango stains!! though dd loves it.

also the bibs from ikea which have arms in them are brilliant. dd just licks the food back off them!

antilop is perfect because it's easy to clean. it has no little gaps or fiddly straps for food to get stuck in. it's also a tenth of the price of a mamas and papas high chair!

A friend who is much further along with her blw had some helpful advice which was basically just to perservere and stick with it even when it seems like they are not getting any food and everyone around you is trying to persuade you to spoonfeed as eventually they will get the hang of it and start shovelling it in!

morning!

we are loving the antilop over here - and even tomato or red pepper staining comes out even when it looks like it won't! DS is the third child to sit in it and it is still going strong . antilop is good too because you can take the straps out and wash them - top tip from my sister .

i have that book that ruddynorah posted a link to and agree its great - although the lentil cakes were too watery so i had to add sweet potato, carrots and breadcrumbs to make the mixture thicker. crikeybadger your sound good with the cheese in! i made the rusks in the book and they are great but i was so paranoid about him choking on them that i ate them instead?!?! HV tells me they will just go soggy so I shouldn't worry .

foods that we've tried everything everyone else has said except the rice cakes/oranges/kiwi/porridge pancakes - they sound great...

he really likes dahl on toast / avocado on toast, and he wolfed a finger of pitta with tuna mayo - pitta def. easier. (not sure he's allowed mayo because of the salt and sugar content - Pro BLW HV said not to worry if everything else is wholefoods with no salt etc...)

had some coughing and spluttering on some scrambled egg this morning while laughing at DH, his eyes were watering and I was getting ready to put him over my knee and slap his back (freaks me out properly!) - is scrambled egg a really bad idea???? HV says quartered eggs a good idea - but same choking risk?

Morning everyone! Fluffyfrog, yes, SLT is speech and language therapist. I used to specialise in adults (speech and swallowing disorders) but still have mates in the paed side of things who might have helpful advice!

Glad to hear what Picklesrule said - the first few things we've tried have not been a resounding success. I'm just too impatient!

morning! Weetabix here for breakfast...I had no idea how sticky it gets! Had to really scrub DD and the highchair to get all the bits off...suspect I will still be finding it under her chin at bathtime (slovenly mummy!)
RB - I would have thought scrambled egg was ok..I was planning to try it in the next few days...surely less of a choking risk than quatered egg that they could get a chunk off??