***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 ?

Hi. Quick reply re lunches. I'd love some more ideas myself, but here are some ideas of mine:
smashed avocado and/or banana on pitta bread strips; chickpea/cannellini bean dip (with garlic, lemon & greek yog - takes about 3 mins to make in a whizzer); scrambled egg, well cooked so it's in easy to pick up lumps; fish fingers, peas and bread and butter (I cut the fishfingers into 2 length ways and then 2 width ways, ds consumed mostly the fish, leaving most of the breadcrumb bit, which was fine by me) and peas (cooked and then squashed slightly so they're less slippery); rice pudding made with flaked rice (takes about 5 mins to do on the hob).

I did couscous with chicken for them last night, and that would be an easy lunch - just saute a bit of onion, then add cooked peas (done in a jiffy in the micro) and some stock, then stir in couscous and cooked chicken (I poached a chicken breast fillet, but you could just get it ready cooked), leave for 10 mins and serve. Bit messy, but they really liked it.

Re when to eat, me and dd have just been eating a bit earlier than we used to; breakfast about 7.30, lunch no later than 12 and tea at 5. I don't have tea at 5, have just given up on family meals for now. It seems to suit dd better to be fed earlier tbh, less snacking going on.

Oh, just remembered 'popeye pasta' from Anabel Karmel, another easy one for lunch (cook spinach, either fresh or frozen, squeeze out water by which time spinach is basically a puree, saute spinach in a bit of butter then stir in cream cheese and some hard cheese; use as a sauce for pasta). Only bad point of this one is the green poo that results!

Risotto? Takes a while, but you can usually knock one up with stuff in the cupboard.

I'm stuck in a bit of a philadelphia rut too Angeldog so good to get some more ideas.

Other things we've done are-
squares of cheese omelette
the spinach and mushroom polenta posted a while back is quite nice.
sweetcorn fritters (I froze a batch )
have had a go at soup - it worked quite well dunking bits of bread in it.
cheese scones.

Thanks for all the lunch ideas!

DD (7mths) getting on fairly well, she's funny though some meals- she'll eat nothing for ages, just sits there being really noisy, then as we're just finishing up she starts digging in, as if she's thinking- well it didn't poison them then!!

Timing-wise I've so far been sticking to our usual meal times, our dinners and bedtimes are later than average for DS (4) and DD. We all eat at 6-6.30pm so can eat as a family when DH home, so they're not in bed until 8pm. I encourage DD to have a late nap, so she's just waking around 6pm when DH gets in and therefore can get through dinner happily!

DS was like your DD firsttimer, definately eating nothing at 7mths, he didn't really eat much at all until over 1 year. I found it really stressful at the time, and got into some food battles with him. He did eat eventually and eats well now :) HV told me to stop offering milk before solids, it didn't work, he tucked in when he was ready.

hello all,

I started BLW today with my 5 and a half month old DS and thought it went ok, I received the book by Gill Rapley yesterday, so I thought I would take the plunge!!

This morning he had banana, stawberries and soft apple.........and for tea he has just had some carrots, brocolli (which he loved!!) and some mashed potatoes.....

Have I started right, how do I know I'm getting it right??

Sorry for the question just very new at this!

I can recommend two recipes that went down well with my DS today

Sugar free banana bread (from BLW website)
8oz banana, 4 oz S/R flour, 1 egg, 2oz unsalted butter 1/2 tsp cinnamon then a chopped apple or a handful of raisins or some chopped apricot.
rub flour and butter and cinnamon together. mash bananas and mix with egg. Add wet to dry ingredients, add in other fruit. put in loaf tin and bake at 175 for about an hour.
It doesnt rise much and ends up quite moist and dense. it is great for cutting into fingers for the lo to suck on. We had for brekkie with yoghurt.

Also there is a Hugh F-W recipe on the guardian website for savoury muffins.cant do links I am afraid but comes up if you google Hugh F-W savoury muffins/guardian. We made the carrot and spinach ones but without the seeds. they are very yummy and good for lunch.

Both seem to freeze well.

Hi hoops- sounds like a good start!

I don't really think there is a right and wrong way with blw - that's the beauty of it. I would just say that make sure everything is stick shaped/easy to hold to start with.

Secondly, just keep up the milk feeds as before. Offer lots of different things (maybe just stick with fruit and veg until 6 mo tho.) and just be relaxed about it all. It will probably take some time to get to grips with it but it's a lot of fun watching them mastering it all.

Thanks for those recipes angst, I'd be looking for a banana bread one.

thanks badger was laughing at DS eating/sucking on brocoli like it was a lollipop!!

I want to wean him onto formula soon as weel but have no idea how to? any tips?

We've been on holiday and DD has been ill and is only just getting her appetite back now.

Sorry Hoops no idea re formula. I tried swapping, starting with the lunchtime feed but DD wasn't happy so I didn't persevere. I think it is just a case of replacing feeds gradually with formula.

Quick lunch ideas:

Tuna - I mix it with natural yoghurt and DD eats it off rice cakes, pitta bread, a spoon or in a sandwich.
Baked potatoes - with cheese, cream cheese, tuna, sour cream and mashed beans or chives.
Pitta pockets - grate carrot & cheese and mix with smoked paprika, chop the end off a mini pitta bread and stuff the mixture in with a tea spoon, pop in toaster til done. Leave to cool or stick in freezer for a bit - they are nuclear
Omlette - with anything really

There are all the things I can think of that don't require much effort and don't need preparing in advance.

Thanks for the lunch ideas. Part of my problem is that I'm (a) disorganised and (b) sloooooow at everything, cooking included. So what should be quick takes me a long while to do. I have been more inventive the last few days though and have even attempted to get back to meal planning.

I was reading on Kellymom that giving solids before bf can be a useful weaning technique. If you're not planning to wean off the breast between 6 and 12 months, it's better to offer milk first, then solids until the age of 1, as milk should still be the majority of their nutrition.

Hoops, my 8 m.o. DS sucks a lot of things as he eats them. Pasta is a great favourite, accompanied by loud slurping noises. :)

I'll have to try the solids before bf bit, I have been doing it the other way round, my nipples are becoming really sore again so had to hunt down my lasinoh!!

I want to try to make it to 6 months bfing though, then I will have suceeded in my goal (alot of my family thought I would last a week!)

I think I'll just go cold-turkey and make the switch in 1 day and see what reaction that has with DS.........will that be bad? What does everyone else think?

Thanks for link AngelDog, off to have a look as I plan on weaning DD soon as I've had enough. I've been doing food before milk for awhile and she has maybe dropped one feed.

Hoops don't know how your DS will react but I would be worried about engorgment and developing mastatis (sp?). When my DD was ill and not taking much milk, I had to get up at 2am to express because I was so uncomfortable I couldn't sleep. Reducing gradually will send the right signals to your body to produce less milk. People on the breast/bottle feeding thread will probably be able to give you better advice though.

Well we are no longer strictly BLW'ers. Had a big chat with DH last night as he is worried that DD should be eating more and that she is not getting enough nutrients. We agreed to spoon feed things like mince, risotto etc but still give finger food wherever we can.

Started tonight with risotto and she did eat more but likes to help with the spoon so it ended up everywhere. I'm not too bothered about it as I am sure this is what will end up happening when she goes to nursery.

Hi, hope you don't mind me joining you. I am planning on starting BLW in a couple of weeks time. My DD is 23 weeks. My only problem is I am so uptight about my DD choking initially? I was speaking to a pro BLW bf councillor and was told that I can still do BLW with soft foods like mashes potatoe etc at the start? Or does this totally defeat the purpose of BLW?

Sorry of this has already been asked.

Pdog hadn't thought of that, probably won't go the cold-turkey route, as I wnet out recently to watch a show in London, had to express in the toilet of the place, then again on the train home, then had to wake DS up so he could feed!!

Pdog We had that very same conversation, so now ds is spoonfed part of the meal, and I also pop some small bits in his mouth, while he self-feeds the rest. I have found that he's more reluctant to self-feed though, probably because he knows that food will be coming along later. I still think it was the right decision for us, because ds is very long and slim. At the end of the day, it's just food.

harverina you can start with whatever you like, although at the beginning you'll probably find that your dd will only be able to pick up stick shaped things. But give her what you have on your plate and you may be surprised.

DS is off food again today with a low fever and proabbly teething troubles. Poor thing. When this happens I'm so glad he still bfs like mad, as I know he's getting all the nutrients he needs. However, I would like him to cut down his night feeds, for my sake, but that's for a nother thread.

Great success yesterday with a make it up as you go along mild chicken curry, made with garam masala spices, chicken drumsticks, swiss chard, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes and stock. Really tasty and ds got stuck into it with relish.

Hi Harverina and welcome!

You can do things like mash potato etc- either on pre loaded spoons which she holds or just put them on the high chair table and she will learn to pick them/scoop them up.

Have you read the Gill Rapley book about blw? That explains about gagging and choking etc. Worth a look.

Good luck- there's loads of help and support in this thread.

Hello everybody!
Can I join you? I have been following this thread and doing BLW for about 2 months now. We have our ups and downs, we have an 'up' moment now :) as DD is finishing corn wrap with baked beans and cheese and peach for dessert.

Just wanted to say, that you are great experts and have so many fantastic meal ideas. I haven't got round to try it all yet.

Hi harverina, just wanted to say that I hated, hated, hated weaning dd, because of the choking/gagging thing. Did puree route for her. Doing BLW with DS, and the first week was a bit heart-in-mouth just because of the way I am about it, but he just dealt with it all (including sucking the flesh off roasted courgettes and spitting out the skins) and I have had far fewer gagging incidents, and no choking so far. The books say BLW babies are less likely to choke as they only take the food to the back of their mouth when they are ready. DS loves mashed & baked potato. Just scoops it up and crams it towards the mouth area! And nice and gentle on the tummy, and filling too.

hi there, and welcome to dzidzia!

Here's a couple more links to some recipes that we have tried recently-

lamb pizza pies

roasted fish italian style

Also did a version ofthis cauliflower and pasta bake - I just used cherry tomatoes instead of making the tom. sauce. It was devoured before my eyes.

Hk, and thanks for the welcomes! crikeybadger, I haven't read the book but will read it before I start weaning. Tonight my DD was holding a green bean and went to put it in her mouth and I totally panicked and took it out of her hand . I will need to nip that in the bud otherwise she will pick up on it.

Can anyone tell me what their DC's ate the very first time?

Your recipes sound brilliant, going to print them out and keep them.

Welcome, dzidzia and haverina.

Our first foods were carrot & broccoli. I didn't cook them enough at first so DS couldn't bite anything off, but had more success on the second attempt. (DS was clearly ready for solids by then!)

Things that mush once they're in the mouth are good - roasted veg work well eg sweet potato, butternut squash, carrot.

Thanks for the links, crikey - I made some cheese sauce yesterday so might get some cauliflower.

DS had another first yesterday - chip shop chips. Munched with the same enthusiasm with which he eats everything. :)

Hi all

Welcome to all the new people. The Gill Rapley book is worth a read - its an easy read and is very reassuring.

My DS had carrot and cucumber as his first foods (microwaved the carrot until soft and just gave soft part of cucumber). Fruit and veg went down very well at first as long as stick shaped.

Biccy - love the potting compost hehe. DS has a cold so we have added tissue to our diet .

Can really recommend the sugar free banana bread on the BLW website - delicious. Would double the recipe though as it makes quite a small loaf (or maybe its the size of my loaf tin). Works with sultanas.

DD had sticks of cucumber and some asparagus for her first 'meal'. Agree with others that stick shape fruit and veg is good to start with. Just avoid pineapple as we had serious gaggging incidents with that, although she is fine now.

Well I've come back from the clinc and DD has put on weight, despite DH's fears. I think he is worried as her appetite has still not really recovered from her illness. No worries though as she is hovering arounf 99th centile .

Banana bread was wolfed down this morning. Thanks to whoever suggested putting some yoghurt on it. I can recommend a topping of peanut butter for the mummies.

Well done, PPup! I've been thinking about that banana bread recipe. I suppose you could chop the raisins/sultanas (DS doesn't have pincer grip yet, although he's trying hard).