***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 ?

No sleeping through the night here I rate it a good night if he just feeds and unlatches rather than staying latched on for hours on end. Thank God I gave in to co-sleeping early on .

DS is off his food atm with teeth trouble I think. He's only got one tooth so far but there are more bulging in his gums. Watermelon and cucumber are nice to suck, and I'm spooning down a bit of porridge and yoghurt, but not much else.

I saw a recipe for Spinach Gnocci on the Goodfood website that I'm going to try, it sounded easy enough and very finger friendly.

Hello, can I join you?

(Hi Sazlocks, devotion and Maygirl, and anyone else from Jan2010).

DS is 7 months and started weaning a month or so ago. Am total convert to BLW; it took me months to get to this point with dd, and with so much worry. Big relief too, as he won't be spoon fed (will take a loaded spoon and put it in his mouth/ear/nose/eyes so he is getting yoghurt and porridge etc).

He is now eating loads, really not much being scooped off the floor or the bib anymore, but he is not even sleeping through the evening, let alone the night - already had to resettle him 4 times since 8pm. I wonder whether all this food actually makes it harder for them to sleep.

So glad to hear there are BLW babies doing lots of sleeping. Perhaps there is hope for us yet!

Pdog Canneloni sound yummy - were they really hard work? Did your DD like them?

Re bibs - we have some messy play ones too, some from Mothercare and some from John Lewis which are even better. Unfortunately it's a bit chilly in our old house for eating in a vest, or nudie which would be DS's preference!

Do you find that your DC eat better with you than with other people? We are having a bit of an issue where DS is not keen on food if I am not around, whereas if I am in the room he will shovel it in!

Welcome to all the new people

Cies - have you tried cold mango? When DS's teeth were bothering him it also went down well. In fact any soft fruit kept in the fridge seemed to help.

Angeldog - thanks for the muslin idea. Did that today. Up til now we have been weaning trouseurs free (or just in a nappy) but its getting a bit cold for that . It worked pretty well.

Biccy - I was wondering about the food and sleep disturbance. Have tried to introduce anything I think might irritate or new at lunchtime and have familiar stuff in the evenings.

DS has really started eating a lot more in the past week and is certainly taking less BF. We've having to increase the amount we cook!

Hello everyone...sorry, another one of my mega posts!

glad to hear about the puree babies not sleeping either...hehehe! I have bad karma coming my way now... My friends lo is just not interested in putting food in his mouth at all (other stuff yes, food, no) and she mentioned this to the HV who told her he wouldn't sleep throught till he's properly eating solids. They are sending someone round to see what the deal is... I don't think they get BLW as she said to make sure he is hungry when he sits down to eat...and thrice I keep trying to reassure her that he'll get there but I think it's wearing a bit thin...esp as my ds is something of a guzzle guts.
There never has been, and maybe never wil be, sleeping through here. Well there was that one night when he was 3m, but I woke up in a milky bed at4am with painfully engorged boobs. Oh, yes, that was great...

That cheesey biscuit recipie thingy, which I have now printed, looks yum. Think we'll have some of that! Thanks Angeldog

ANyone have any tips for getting bloody bastardbanana out? DS has to eat it naked at the mo as it gets EVERYWHERE! ARGH! but he loves it and can demolish a whole one.

Crikey I was thinking of quesadillas too. I made a sort of stuffed chappati thing for lunch with some left over curry in the middle but DS didn't wake up from his nap in time (we had to go out) so I scoffed the lot (I feel your pain maygirl ) ...I think it would have worked though...

ALso for a picnic the other day I mad DS a little mini wrap thing. It had a sort of mushed up beans, cheese, chopped cherry toms and yoghurt in it. By the time we came to eat it had sufficently glued it's self together and was quite good...the dog enjoyed any dropped beanness. Ds had that, some fruit and some water, and a tiny bf and didn't bother with anything else all day (he had had breaky....oh and copious overnight bfs ). He was being carried in the sling so always either dozing or occupied looking around.
By the time we were nearly home he was hungry but I didn't want to get him out and bf him on the train as we were only five mins from our station and he was in the back pack thing (palava, but upright) so I gave him some melon and nectarine...half expecting him to throw them back in my face, but he devoured them and was quite happy while we got home, and even stopped off to say hi to grandma! SO I guess he must realise food makes you full now...maybe?

I was quite glad about this as I'm worried about going back to work too Pdog...I'm self employed and haven't even booked any work yet just incase, but I really need to soon...

I unthinkingly put chilli flakes in the pasta the other day...auto pilot... It can't have been much as it didn't even register with me at first. Poor Ds 's little eyes started watering, then he went bright red, and then he started properly crying...but through all this he kept going back for more!! Obviously I took it off him and gave him a bf instead...and felt terrible

Cies think DD is teething again as she is dribbling loads. She also has a cold so has been off her food this week - the only thing she has eaten really is fruit. Cold melon going down well as well as really soft stuff like strawberries, peaches and pear.

She actually seemed to have her appetite back today so the cannelloni went down very well GetThePartyStarted. Was quite easy to make and was yummy. Think I ate a bit too much though as have also developed the habit of finishing off what she doesn't eat .

Wow MoonFaceMama, sounds like your DS is really getting the hang of it. I've made quesadillas - some with chicken, onions, peppers and mozzarella and some with refried beans - DD loves them.

I've noticed that her tolerance for spicy foods has increased over time. DH has given her a couple of things without trying them first, which resulted in a similar reaction. She seems much happier now though and will munch things I would have thought were too hot for her.

morning.

DS cut tooth no 5 last night and the matching one is clearly almost through too. Off to get some melon, and some baby ibuprofen as I heard on another thread that it works better for teething pain than calpol, so want to give that a try. Although he was screaming so badly half an hour after he went to sleep that I went for a full 4ml of calpol last night, and he slept from 9 until 2, which is a record (is that technically sleeping through? I think it might be! Plus I actually got into bed by 10.30 myself, so had a reasonable patch of sleep too). Anyway, didn't think to re-dose him and he woke every hour to hour and a half after that.

Personally I think that babies don't sleep all night until a) they are persuaded to give up the boob during the night, b) their body clocks have matured, c) they are getting properly physically tired. Don't think it's got owt to do with solids.

That picnic sounds v successful. I had one attempt at picnicking and deciding 'babyled weaning' and 'picnic' should not be heard in same sentence! Both us were covered in mess, and so was the picnic blanket. Bad planning on my part I think, but nobody talked to us due to evident disdain for the foody mess and it was supposed to be for dd to meet her new class, so a bit of a disaster really. Oh well, she enjoyed the climbing frame....

I have been amazed by the spice that DS will eat. He sort of shakes his head and looks shocked, but goes back for more... and more... I did a really easy beef stew as follows:

200g stewing beef in large chunks;
1 red onion chopped;
one can chopped toms;
1 tsp sweet paprika;
half tsp mild chilli powder;
1 tsp grnd cumin.
Stick all in an oven proof pot and stir together then shove in a low oven (150C) for 3 hours. Add can of butter beans half hour before the end.

Whole family happily ate that with baked spud and broccoli.

Oh, I have to disagree Biccy! I love a good BLW picnic. Yes, the picnic blanket (or towel in our case) gets covered in food, but I love the fact that you can just shake it out afterwards. DS crawls around like a maniac but somehow he stays on the blanket, as if there was an invisible fence around it. In fact, we're going for a picnic lunch today. I'm going to make some spinach and goat's cheese muffins, and mash up some tinned mackerel, grated carrot and shredded lettuce with mayo as a sandwich filling. Plus some soft fruit and of course rice cakes (ds' all time favourites).

´That stew sounds really nice. We haven't really done any spice at all, as DH doesn't like hot food and I've got out of the habit of making it. But I think I'll start introducing some spice into DS' diet, just for interest.

Cies your picnic sounds yummy..can I come?

Biccy I'm with you on the sleep - it's just soooo random. We have odd nights of sleeping through then weeks of interrupted nights which largely seem to be down to teething or, more recently, attempts to practise crawling!

Moonfacemama - the only thing I've found gets banana out is quick action. As soon as we've finished the meal, I strip DD and run the clothes under the cold tap, never hot as that sets the stain, and if that doesn't work then I soak it in a bowl of warm water with some oxyclean powder. Then line dry outside - the sun always gets rid of stains.

Thanks for the tip on the muslin on the lap Angeldog it worked a treat. We tend to have loads of muslins knocking about the house nowadays and I use one as a hand wiper throughout meals but had never thought to put it on DD's lap to catch mess

We have had lots of spicy stuff here which always goes down a treat - I'm amazed at how much spice DD will tolerate. Beef chilli and chicken and sweet potato curry have been particular favourites.

I'm glad to hear picnics can be done! Poor choice of food on my part I think.

This has probably been mentioned, but found the Boots Baby Organic stock cubes today, which really are low in salt, at 0.03gram per 100ml of made up stock (the lowest normal stock I'd found was 0.7gram per 100ml).

Biccy - just a quick one to say that my HV recommended baby nurofen as being better for teething pain than calpol as it lasts longer . Hope it helps. Has been more effective here than calpol.

That stews sounds good although full of things that used to give DS horrendous wind - onion, chilli and tomato. Am trying to introduce them back into my diet one at a time to see what the effect is! Onion is still a no no.

Moonfacemama - no luck with banana here either. Have a banana vest specially for eating in hehe. Some google search recommended Shout Laundry stain removing gel but our local supermarket doesn't sell it so not tried it myself.

Thanks loving. I think calprofen has been better, as I had 5 hours sleep from him for 2 nights running (9 til 2 one night, 1 til 6 the next, though he had been awake since 9.30 that night) and last night he managed 11 til 3 having had his dose at 6.15pm.

Anyone got any thoughts on cow's milk? I have been trying to express for ds's breakfast, but not always managing it, and have got lazy giving him cow's milk instead over the last week, but I'm wondering whether it's ok, as he also has some yoghurt or fromage frais, and cheese, all made from cow's milk. Has been a bit sickier than usual over the last few days, not really sick, just posseting really, and (sorry for tmi) it's a bit slimy, so maybe just catarrh (sp?) from cold or teething is causing the slight sickiness...plus also worried that his poo seems to be getting very firm and made him cry this morning... Anyway, he had expressed milk this morning and I avoided other dairy products yesterday except for the bit of cheese in his Popeye pasta and am going to avoid as much dairy today as I can and see how we go. Just thought I'd ask for others' experiences.

PS Own brand non bio did nothing to shift banana, but Persil non bio (I've just bought a huge amount as it was on an offer) is much better.

Biccy - glad calprofen has helped. Hooray for 5 hours continuous sleep .

The info I've read about cow's milk says not as a drink before 1 (can't remember why) but its ok to use in cooking and to give full fat dairy products. I think its ok to put on cereal (hope so cos we've been giving DS porridge made with cow's milk for 2 months now!)

My DS is always more sicky when he's not well so maybe yours is too? Or maybe he's a bit constipated if his poo is firm - another thread recommended prunes for that!

Nothing for us to report really except to say we've had to increase the amount we're cooking as DS really tucking in and giving bits of our portions no longer works as he is eating too much!

I am really scared about constipation. DD has always suffered, no matter what her diet, and we got into her holding on, soiling etc. She's now 4.3 and it's still not sorted; has daily movicol which just about keeps it under control, but has been quite distressing for quite some time now. I really don't want another dc with this problem.

Off to do something with those prunes I bought the other day...

You're right about the milk LovingKent. Biccy- is your LO having water with meals?

All things fine in this neck of the woods- apart from the ear piercing screaming that we had at 6mo. Can't work out what the reason is but it gives DH an immediate headache!

Things we've tried recently include-
-kedgeree with addded double cream to hold it together a bit.

• a south indian vegetable curry (Anjum Anand) - nice and mild and went down well.
• steak for a treat last night, although as he's only got two teeth he couldn't really digest it.

'chickpea stew' for supper tonight

He has water offered with every meal, and he does go for it. Hard to say how much he actually gets down... I will try and 'force' the issue a bit. good thought.

Evening all.

Re: constipation. DS had a period of very bad constipation, when I think I was only offering him dry things and he hadn't got the hang of drinking out of his cup. Some things I tried that seemed to make a difference:
prune puree on a rice cake
spinach dressed with olive oil
no banana
fresh orange juice

DS is now 9mo and now has good pincer grip. It's made it much easier for him to pick up small pieces of food, so we hardly need to adapt our food for him now, which makes life much easier.

Recently we've enjoyed:
pork and apple casserole with herb dumplings
baked sole - very easy to eat without getting bones everywhere, so I wasn't so paranoid about ds getting a bone in his piece
potato salad
watercress soup

The picnic at the weekend was a great success. As well as the spinach muffins I made some olive and cheese scones (Delia recipe) which went down a treat.

Anyone got any interesting ideas for apples? We are inundated with the things, mostly bruised or half eaten by insects. At the moment I'm just making stewed apple or steamed chunks, but I'm getting rather bored with that.

Eve's pudding? Apple cake? Banana and apple baked together are yummy.

Did a prune puree and given a bit at each meal in various ways and lovely soft poo today?!

OK very new to this - DD is 7 months this week, EBF, started solids at 6 months with spoon feeding and a bit of holding stuff and letting her suck it to death. Went ok but I disliked it and I think she was offended by me trying to put stuff in her mouth. She would turn her head away and harumph.

Anyway before she dropped any milk feeds I thought sod this and switched to BLW. Its been 1 week now. She generally ignores the food on her tray. Tho has started swirling the blob of yoghurt about on her tray. (yoghurt was a hands down fave when spoon feeding) Mashes it about and does put fingers in mouth. Not sure if she does this on purpose but at least she gives me big grins when shes doing it.

Otherwise not much joy she has picked up a breadstick at playgroup and stuck it in her mouth..and sometimes shouts at orange segments or gives the broccoli head a feel.

Is this alright? I worry she is a little old to not be doing much with food now. In general she is a bit slow with things like sitting up, handling objects. Still not sitting up independently (manages ok propped). I am a bit wary of asking HV in case they freak out and tell me to spoonfeed. They booked me into a weaning class when they heard DD wasnt yet on solids at nearly 6 months and went on about needing to progress to lumps before 7 months and 3 meals a day by 8 months...

PLease tell me what you think - and if anyone had late self feeder let me know this is ok.

Or alternatively tell me if I should be concerned and thinking about purees again?

Hi firsttimer. How about do you own weigh in (stand on the scales with her). Then you get to see for yourself that she's ok, without getting HV breathing down your neck? Have you read Gill Rapley's book? I think she would say that what is happening is fine and that dd will be getting nearly all her nourishment from her milk until she's a year old; she is able to decide for herself with BLW when she is truly ready for solids. DS hardly ate anything to begin with, then, it seemed overnight, starting cramming the stuff in. He was sitting very strongly at 6mo, and crawling by 6.5mo, so that may have something to do with it. Now 7.1 mo.

Today he has added potting compost to his diet...

potting compost ...yum

My DS is rather partial to dog biscuits at the moment!

firsttimer - just keep offering all sorts of different foods in a stick shape - she'll get on with it when she's ready. Just keep up the bf's.

Hey guys can I join your BLW chat thread? DS1 was BLWed from the start (he's now 2.8), and is SUCH a good eater [smug emoticon] - he was a really slow starter, didn't really get it until he was about 9 months but has been making up for it ever since! (just wanted to encourage you all!)

So I'm BLWing DS2 now- 6 1/2 months old. He was a month early so he's only just getting the hang of it. Would love to know experiences from others who are BLWing a second (or more!) - my main issue is timing - how do you give a meal at the right time for your baby AND toddler?! DS2 always seems to be too tired to contemplate eating when DS1 and I are eating.

Hello everyone. Anyone care to share easy ideas for lunches? I'm losing the will slightly... not losing the will to BLW but DS has been reduced to a diet consisting mainly of toast and cream cheese as I lack the imagination to come up with interesting things, and lack the time to do any meal planning.

Welcome, newcomers. Firsttimer, from what I understand from the book & blog, it can be 9 or 10 months before some babies start eating, and around a year before they really get going - all of which are perfectly normal. Babies used to start being weaned at 9 months in the 1930s and clearly they survived, or we wouldn't be here. :)

I just steer clear of the HVs and that way they don't give me any hassle! Actually, I did happen to mention BLW to a HV when I spoke to her about my DS's stomach bug, and she said "You're letting him eat to his appetite, so that's good."