***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 ?

Wow - more people. Good to read your stories, can't wait to start properly!!

Looks like a trip to ikea is on the cards for us then. tbh meaning to go for a while as not actually got anything in ds room yet (he's in with us currently) but I blardy hate the place. Always end up spending £70-£80 on tat that I never use. I swear down that the maze like layout hypnotises you into putting random items in your trolley!

Similar to Bex we currently eat off kneetrays whilst watching telly Also I think I'm going to have to have my tea earlier as DH usually doesn't get home 'till about 7.15. Bit late for DS - too near bed & sort of not the point if DS is eating alone.

I've already started cooking like DS would be eating it (basically all good stuff and leaving out salt). Dh not even noticed lack of salt!

picklesrule he loved it the other morning - at quite a bit on preloaded forks and with hands too.

i am thinking maybe DH is a choking risk cos DS laughs at him!

haha yes thats more likely I keep telling DH not to make her giggle while eating..you'd think he'd remember as he is more paranoid about the choking than I am!

Thanks Ruddynorah for the book link. Think i might invest in that as i'm really struggling for food ideas other than plain old roasted everything!

Today DD loved roasted butternut squash and hummous loaded cucumber sticks. At first she was a bit but then .

RE antilope, are there any negatives? In the end I went for a chicco jazzy (as MIL was buying ) which is great except that DD can't reach the tray so i have to hold the food out for her to grab. Think my mum is looking to buy an antilope for when we are visiting her.

Mealtimes are definitely a problem here. DH works most evenings but i've been trying to do breakfast and lunch together and then I pretend to eat dinner at 5 - too early for me to eat otherwise. I think the whole BLW does work better if you have other children.

Of those who have already started, are your LO's swallowing much yet?

Hi lamby - haven't experienced any negatives so far. Had a look at the chicco jazzy just now (just a picture) and it looks more comfortable maybe - the antilop is just plastic. DS seems to be quite happy in it though and it is a dream to clean which for me is top priority frankly. food gets EVERYWHERE despite bibs galore!

i also pretend to eat at 5.

DS IS swallowing as his poos have changed - how much I don't know. Sometimes he seems completely uninterested though and sometimes he appears to get really stuck in. I think that is BLW for you .

Oh and he had a rice cake today loaded with philadelphia and that went down a treat. He actually managed to get philadelphia on both sides of the rice cake when it had only been spread on one . He also chased a whole pear with a bite out of it (by me) round the tray for about ten minutes... I kept telling myself this is good for his fine motor skills . He alternated between that and the rice cake so the pear ended up with philadelphia all over it eewww

No, not eating much here yet. Bread seems to go down quite well as it can get nicely sucked (no teeth yet), but I'm a bit reticent to give him too much bread. Tried omelette squares tonight but he just ended up with a big square of it in his mouth and not able to do anything with it. (and got a bit annoyed as a result)

Think I'll stick to the veg and fruit for a bit longer.

Loads of great advice here. I am getting impatient now as DS2 is still only 5 months and not developmentally ready!!

Great revision reading though. I remember pittas worked very well with DS1 too, but we started with apple/carrot.

We've sort of started and no, he hasn't swallowed anything yet. A bit of butternut squash went somewhere for about 10mins and then made a reappearance....

Don't knock pear and philly RubyB - it's one of my fave things to have on slices of cardboard ryvita! Your DS is clearly rocking the flavour combos

we have definately had some go in...brocolli asparagus and kiwi all appeared in the nappy afterwards (at 5 am which was lovely!) Pretty sure some of the banana and mango has been going in but the cereal/porridge/bread stuff not so much..
Still haven't got round to roasting any veg for her...thats on my to do list for the weekend. Has anyone tried sushi rice? I think I read somewhere that its quite good as sticks together nicely for them to hold..just wondered if anyone has had a go!

Has decided it is not for us as I don't agree with the method whole heartedly although will take on board some aspects of it.

Right, I'm going to start at lunchtime today. Don't know why I'm sort of delaying as I'm keen to get going, but also a tad nervous, I guess. DS definitely seems ready. DH is going to attach the clamp-on seat to the table today (no room for a free-standing highchair in our little house). Today's menu will include steamed carrot and rye bread, with banana and melon. Sound ok?

Anyone else joined the BLW forum? They're very nice over there!

Supergreen, what are your reasons for not wanting to go for BLW? I'd like to know as I have my own reservations but couldn't find much online as to the cons

i told my HV iwas doing it. she said some of her babies' weight has plummeted since starting it. though i suspect this is to do with dropping feeds too early i did say to her i was giving it a go but am in no way fanatical! if it doesn't really work with dd then i will spoon feed her (albeit reluctantly as main reason for blw is my desire to make food enjoyable/relaxed event - exact opposite to when i was growing up)

meanwhile dd seems very game iwht finger foods but quite reluctant with fromage frais - is it texture/gloopy rather than mushy veg sticks you reckon?

Janeytroll- how did things go today? Did your menu go down well (or just make a big mess?!)

I haven't joined the other forum although I do keep an eye on their recipes (already spend far tooo much time on MN to justify joining another forum! )

Sungirltan- I can't afford for my DS to lost any weight as he is already off the scale. I'm keeping up all the bf's though and giving him lots of avocado, natural yoghurt too. Also tried cashew nut butter today which seemed to go down well as is high in calories. Guess we'll see how things are at the weigh in next week!

oooh crikey- i 'd not thought of trying dd on avocado! next on my list then!

Janeytroll your menu sounds yummy. I brought some melon today and will try that tomorrow. How did you get on?

Picklesrule, haven't tried sushi rice but that sounds good. Can you buy it in regular supermarkets?

As to those with reservations, please could you share them? I'm quite new to MN and sure that the arguments for and against have been debated somewhere before but I'd be interested to revisit them.

From my experience, it is definitely natural for them to want to feed themselves and I believe that this should be encouraged as much as possible. However, there are some foods which babies of 6 months are really not capable of helping themselves to, in which case spoon-feeding is not going to hurt them (providing they are not being forcefed). When they are physically able to feed themselves these other foods then that is the time for them to start. Personally, the way I see it, BLW is a just the buzzword of the moment and is really just common sense!

Over here we have porridge (spoonfed) for breakfast with whole banana, finger foods for lunch (today we had a picnic outside and was lovely not to have to clean the floor after ) and yesterdays leftovers mushed-up and spoonfed for dinner with a piece of whole fruit for pudding. Ok, i know it's not really BLW in the Rapley sense but my LO is enjoying everything and I find she can get more nutritious goodness from the mushed up stuff than she can from sucking on a carrot. As she gets more confident with the finger foods I do hope to phase out the spoon feeds but for now this girl wants her food!

The phrase BLW (in my mind) is more to do with the psycological aspect of eating, rather than the method and type of food being consumed...as long as the environment is relaxed and the parent confident, what is enjoyable for one baby is not always the same for the next!

Having said that, i'm a naive first-time mum so I really don't know what will happen in five years time! I really would be interested to hear what others think!

Sorry for long post.

Also, DD has discovered she can let go of her food once it is in her mouth and suck-it in and out. It's hilarious to watch her sitting there with a piece of cucumber hanging out her mouth .

up late with dd so on here.

Blw going spectacularly badly! unless you count dd's enthusiasm for pudding: she can manage cheesecake, oh yes, and Mr WHIPPY'S cornet. But lasagne (gag) or or banana, avocado, stewed apple pieces (gag/spew) - no can do. getting slightly angsty since ds by 6 mo was into spinach/brocolli/carrot in mush form and now at 6 yrs is a great eater of all his veggies and fruits.

I agree with Lamby's post above when she says that blw should be fun aand relaxed for mum and baby.

Feel a bit disheartened this weekend tbh.

I think tbh it is all about practice. And if you always give them food and let them do what they will with it, they will get ALOT of practice with handling food and getting it into their mouths. And from what I can gather, if you stick with it, they soon start eating more. Gill Rapley says that around 7 or 8 months they appear to go backwards in their want/need to eat, but this comes just before the nine month food fest where they make the link between food and hunger and hey presto, they're off. I suppose the idea is that they self-regulate and have ownership of the process which IMO is excellent for the development of their sense of self. If they can't manage the food, then they shouldn't be eating is one of the central ideas I think.

Its also worth noting that it was only in the 1930s that 'early' weaning began - before that babies were not weaned until at least 8 or 9 months when they were given chicken bones with meat left on because they could feed themselves by then.

FWIW, my mum made a good point that as with any theory or 'fad' as she put it, you have to mould it to fit the family, so each to their own . It is better to trust your instincts as a mother than follow what someone else thinks is best, I reckon.

Ruby and lamby, completely agree with your views about blw and having to be flexible enough for it to suit you and your baby.

Smilehigh club- sorry it's not going well, how old is your LO btw?

thanks for the advice and info. Dd is 6 months and one week - so we've only just started really. Dp panicked because dd choked on something and started muttering about me following the 'mumsnet brigade' with the blw - . I was upset as dd went bright red and was obviously a bit freaked out and I just want this time to be fun for her.

From what's said here it looks like I'm over worrying. She is ebf and has a lot of milk - we both enjoy it. So it's not like she's hungry is it?

Also agreeing with ruby & lamby re: being flexible/trusting your instincts. However, like you Smile, sometimes I find it v difficult to do so, as people seem to conspire to shake then, generally totally unintentionally - just conficting methods, not knowing the full picture etc.

Example - all mums from my NCT have started some form of puree/spoon feeding now. Cue eulogizing about how sleep improved, how hungry babies were etc. Leaves me feeling that DS is finding ebf somehow lacking and also a bit about more sleep (DS quite a wakey-baby!). They are all very lovely and absolutely don't try to make me feel bad - sure they would be upset if they knew they were, but still...

Mine instincts are saying (I think ) that occasional spoon loading is as far as I'll go, and DS will be eating bits of whatever we are. And I don't expect he'll be dropping any feeds until around 8-9 mths. Dear god I hope his sleep improves before then tho!!!

Hello All

Broccoli was a big hit yesterday. Apparently the approved method of eating it is to brace both hands on the edge of the table then lower one's face onto the floret. Result: broccoli beard!

Not sure if anything went in. There was a bit of gentle retching and spitting out of bits of carrot, melon and bread, but other than that it was great fun.

Going for it again at lunchtime today.

Hope everyone else is faring well.

scrambled eggs for breakfast here today! Our dogs were thrilled as it is one of their favourite things and the vast majority of it ended up over the high chair
Think you definately have to do whatever you feel comfortable with, I feel the whole point of baby led weaning is that its fun for everyone so you should do whatever feels natural for you...
BLW seems to be particularly suited to second babies as it obviously fits in perfectly with what the older child is eating and you are more confident in general...when its your first it is a bit harder to relax and ignore all the well intentioned puree advice...
lamby i think you can get sushi rice in supermarkets although I haven't got around to looking yet!

Broccoli beard!!