***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 ?

Just wanted to share a random idea for lunch

we had rice and spinach with our dinner last night and there was some left over, was struggling to think of a way DS could eat the rice as he has not yet got pincer grip and it was brown rice so doesnt go sticky enough to stick into a ball.

Anyway I mixed the rice and spinach with some cheese and egg and made into a thick 'spanish' style omelette then let it cool and cut into wedges. DS loved it.

Thought I would share as it is a great way to get them to eat leftovers/non 'finger' foods and really quick and easy.

My DS2 is just past 8 months and we have been BLW for a couple of months. He is exc BF and is offered 3 meals a day and occasional snacks. His day looks like this

7am BF
8 am breakfast
mid morning BF
12 ish lunch
mid afternoon BF
6.00 dinner
7 pm feed to sleep
1 or 2 feeds at night

He eats really well - a good variety and quantity.
I am going back to work for 3 days a week when he is 9 months and was thinking of feeding morning and night and DH (who will be looking after him) offering water and food throughout the day. Does that sound ok and will he adjust or should I start expressing now so there is a stash of milk in the freezer for when I go back ?
Thanks

Hi everyone,

We went to see the allergy consultant yesterday - we were slotted in out with the clinic which was wonderful.

My DD has a milk and egg allergy , so it wasn't the strawberry after all. REally disappointed, and feeling a bit down about it at the moment. Was so excited about weaning and now I feel really nervous about it.

Still keeping at it. Doing a combination on finger foods and mashed foods at the moment. Brocolli florets are a firm favourite!

Hmmm, we may have a slight problem developing here. DD has always loved dairy stuff, particularly soft cheese. But for the last week or so she cries or fusses when she's having meals until I give her soft cheese on rice cakes. She eats a tiny bit of whatever her proper meal is, then wants soft cheese. Tonnes of it. She just can't get enough of the stuff. Does this ring a bell with anyone else? Maybe she needs the dairy products to compensate for the milk feeds she's dropping off?

Hi everyone

Just a quick post to say DD is really packing it away now. She has dropped milk feeds and I just feed morning and night and feed to sleep at nap time.

She snatches food out my hand now and pulls a face as if to say 'this is yum mummy'

sazlocks I'm sure he will be fine. I went back to work last week (DD is 10mo). She has 200ml of formula at nursery but I leave this as more of a precaution really. She is having snacks mid morning and afternoon rather than milk when she is at home. I would prepare yourself for a bit of reverse cycling in the beginning. DD practically jumps on me the minute I get home .

for you harverina. Hobnob, used to post on this thread and her LO had some allergies. Might be worth having a read through some of her posts for inspiration.

Hi all

Hug for you Haverina but at least you know what the problem is now. Hopefully she will grow out of it. One of my friend's little girls was also allergic to egg when she was tiny but isn't now .

Sheeplikesleep - lasagna has worked well here (cut into slices) and shapes like penne. DS also found it tricky at first as slippery. Will try and post a macaroni cheese recipe later that is less saucy so easy to pick up. Keep offering and your DC will soon get the hang of it.

DS is like mini PDog packing it away. Went to see my parents at the weekend and my Mum was shocked at the amount he ate . He is moving all the time when he is awake so is clearly burning it off. There is no sneaking food now with him around - as soon as I have something he stares and his mouth is open!!!

I was gobsmacked yesterday when DD bit off a huge piece of toast (which I expected to be gagged back out again) and after a few mins of waiting (and trying not to look at her), it appeared that said peice of toast had been chewed and swallowed!!

It's the first time I have really witnessed her really eat something. It has given me the confidence that BLW is the way to go!

She's also managed to eat a good bit of some cold pieces of boiled potato left over from last night. Made a complete mess with it too

Yay for mini curlyLJ.

A less messy macaroni cheese recipe for you all to enjoy (not mine unfortunately - from Nigella Express!):-

250g macaroni (works with penne though)
250g grated mature cheddar or Red Leicester or mix of both
250ml evaporated milk (works with 180g can)
2 eggs
Grating of fresh nutmeg (didn't bother with)

Preheat oven to 220C / Gas 7. Cook macaroni, drain and put back in hot pan. Put cheese, evaporated milk, eggs and nutmeg in a bowl and mix. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni, stir well, tip into a wide, shallow dish and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until bubbling and blistering on top.

Very good cold too.

Hello everyone.

Bobby, my DS had a spell of doing something similar, although mainly at dinner. He'd not eat anything except bread / breadsticks / rice cakes and cream cheese. After a few days he went back to normal. I put it down to him working on one of the two big developmental spurts around now (he's just over 9 months), or learning to crawl. Working on new skills / a spurt often affects what they will & won't eat.

Haverina, there's a whole section on the BLW forum on allergies and lots of allergy-friendly recipes too.

Curly, glad to hear she's getting the hang of it.

PDog, glad your DD is taking more milk at nursery now.

DS continues to pack food away most of the time and is getting pretty good at picking up small / squishy bits too. He's starting to have likes & dislikes more - he went right off carrots for a bit.

We've been doing baby signing with him - he's not using any but knows what 'more' and 'all gone' mean. He usually cries when you tell him 'all gone'. He is really communicating what he wants, though, whether it's "More of that, please," or "OUTRAGE! You're eating a nectarine and haven't offered me any yet!"

He is a fruit monster and also obsessed with drinking water out of his doidy cup and taking his vitamin drops.

As RubyBuckleberry said a while ago, I don't really think of it as 'weaning' any more, just 'eating'. :)

Well, since I last posted, DD has managed to get over her cream cheese obsession and has really clicked that food is for eating. It happened overnight really - one day she would nibble at some banana and eat, maybe, a couple of cm, then the next day she ate 3/4 of a banana in about a minute! She has been packing food away for the last week or so. She really is eating a lot! And if I give her something on a spoon she grabs the spoon out of my hand and shoves it in her mouth then complains loudly if I don't have the next spoonful ready pronto! Funnily, Angeldog, DD is just over 9 months too and has been a little more wakeful at night so I think the dreaded 9 month development spurt is to blame... Only thing is all that food means lots of dirty nappies - 5 or 6 a day instead of her usual single one.

...meant to say, she loves dinking Redbush, gulps it down! Yum yum.

Hello,

This is my first time posting on MN so hope I get it right!

LO will be 6 months at the beginning of November, and am intending to start BLW around then.

Have read this thread and the Gill Rapley book, but was wondering... What would you recommend in the way of bibs/mats/floor covering etc?

Also, LO is still EBF but would you also start to offer a sippy cup with water? Any recommendations? I heard that freeflow ones would be best or just a Doidy if I wanted her to get really wet playing with her drinks!?!

Thank you!

Hi pudgemagoricus, I'd recommend bibs with arms on - Sainsburys sell some which are about the right size and fairly cheap. We put an old bed sheet under her highchair, which can just be put in the wash after use. Much easier than trying to wipe a waterproof florr covering. My DD is bottle fed, but I introduced a cup of water at 6mo and she gulps it down (and splashes it all down her front etc!) - she's now 9.5mo. We used a Doidy cup to start with but now she will take water from any cup. I still hold the cup to prevent a hideous mess, but she grabs the handles and pulls it towards her.

Welcome pudgemagoricus - i agree with Bobby 99. We use old table cloths - the neighbours must think we are very civilised because i always have table cloths out to dry these days. Bibs - yes ones with arms, and i'd recommend material ones rather than the more plastic ones - food just slides off them. A bit cold but i also used to just sit DD in her vest and nappy in the summer - straight in a bath afterwards.

DD also EBF, and we did start to introduce water at 6 months - free flow cup - took her a wee while to get used to it, the look on her face the first time she took a sip (never used bottles before either, so she was shocked!). Good luck, hope you enjoy.

Not sure what is going on with DD's nappies since we started all this...

She is definitely eating bits of food, tho not in great quantities yet, as it is evident from the nappy contents. The trouble is the nappies (sorry if this is TMI!) are quite a runny consistency and usually end up exploding up her back - so full changes of clothes are a regular occurence

She is mainly BF, but has a FF at midday(ish) and a FF top-up at bedtime.

HOpe the poos are going to 'firm up' soon.

Hi, I'd like to join too. Also very new to this site. Just started BLW after following standard puree advice, and DS, EBF until then, wasn't having any of it.
I think it's going ok in that he'll have a taste of quite a few things, but then some times not bothered at all. I know I have to see that as normal, but get v v anxious that he's "not eating enough" when I hear other mums talking about how theirs are loving the purees. Encouraging to read posts on here and keep getting reinforced that it's not about eating yet, just tasting...
Gagging scares me alot!!
Not one person I know is doing BLW, some not even heard of it - good to have this site to come to for advice and support.
What are people doing about vitamin drops? The ones I've bought (WellKid) seem to be quite strong tasting and I don't want him to associate meals with this taste. I'm thinking will get a dropper to give them to him maybe just before a BF.

Should've said, DS is just over 6 1/2 months

Thought I'd post with a list of our recent meals, in the hope that other people will do the same so I can get some new ideas!

• Beef lasagne - she loved it
• Quiche, baked spud and salad
• My unauthentic take on morrocan lamb - lamb pieces, apricots, tinned tomatoes, lentils, baby stock, cumin, ground coriander, carrots, mild chilli powder, all chucked in a casserole dish in the oven for about 3 hours. With spicy rice.
• Baked salmon with baby new potatoes and veg
• Chicken casserole
• Cheese, lentil and carrot wedges
• Pork steaks with pesto and tomato crust

Also, I could do with ideas for dry/unmessy snacks. So far we are relying rather heavily on Organix snacks and a freezer full of parmesan and courgette muffins.

Pastrycake - we haven't bothered with vitamin drops, HV said we didn't need to if DD has a balanced diet by the age of one.

P.s. meant to add, lasagne comes with a severe nappy warning...

Hello again! Thanks so much for ideas of baby/floor coverings and cups etc. We got the cheap Sainsbury's bib and I'm just eating things off the floor at the mo...! We haven't started in a particularly deliberate/organised fashion, but over the last couple of days DD (couple of days shy of 6 months) has tried mashed potato and apple puree which we were having for our dinner on loaded spoons (she seemed to have no probs licking it off - just turned the spoon over). It was very funny because my Mum went back to get her more apple puree and she was reaching out, desperate to get the spoon back! Yesterday she chewed on a banana (funny faces!) tried a few carrot sticks which she sucked/gummed a lot, and chomped some apple (which later appeared in her nappy!) We're all enjoying it very much! :-)

Hi All- thank heavens you're here!

My DS is 6 months on Sunday, he has had a temperature and cold for the last week or so so I've been a bit tied up with that and haven't had as much time as I had hoped to research or prepare for BLW. He has been EBF until now. DP and I will start weaning him at the weekend. I have a few questions:

Do you think if I started him on baby rice/purees for the first 1-2 weeks it will confuse him?

Do I need any other equipment apart from his highchair?

From your experiences is there anything you wish you had known or done differently?

Sorry for the long post, I'm getting slightly cold feet about it as I don't think my partner is fully on board with it all. I shall do my best to read the thread in the mean time.

Your advice would really be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

BLW going ok here. DS is 7.5 months. He seems to have 'got' it in the last couple of weeks and is really ramming stuff in his mouth!
The only problem I have is that I have a bottle/cup refusnik on my hands and really need/want to stop BF. I have started this week offering him cup/bottle during the day and only offering boob morning and evening. As a result he is only having 2 milk feeds a day (sometimes 3 if he wakes in the night). He will take a couple of sips from the doidy cup but thats it!
Am sticking with the BLW though, althought it is hard as really paranoid about him getting 'enough' Keep wondering whether if I had known he would refuse the bottle, I would have puree fed.......

joy As for equipment, I suggest, plastic sheeting/tablecloths for the floor and some cheap flannels by the highchair for wiping up

Hi everyone - we've been doing this BLW lark for a month or so (DS is seven and a bit months) and I thought I'd share some of our successes. He loves mango - I sliced the cheeks off then cut them into strips and gave it to him skin and all. That makes it much less slippy and he just scrapes off the flesh then chucks the skin over the side of the highchair. Also very into bananas which I cut lengthways into quarters and he sucks off the banana from the skin.

Does anyone have a recipe for savoury muffins or little bread rolls? I think they'd been handy for lunches.

Many thanks