***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 all, been having lots of fun with the little Lamb this week. Today's favourite was bolognase sauce on large pasta shapes, although don't do this with a white vest on! We did have a bit of gagging and i've been offering lots of water to help wash thing about a bit. She's excellent at getting things into her mouth but definitely hasn't got the whole chewing idea yet. Rice cakes with houmous, avocado on are also a hit, she likes not having to chew them so much! Will have to come up with a few new toppings - any recommendations?

I've also succumed to Muller's advertising and brought their fromage frais (£2 for three boxes of 6 at Sainsburys) and they're going down well (from a spoon). I know they're full of sugar but can't do her too much harm surely!

Has anyone else cut down / given up bf. I've swapped to bottles of formula for two feeds during the day and my boobs have never been so sore! For the first time in my life, they are however pert ;)

lamby toppings for rice cakes - tinned mackarel/tuna mixed with philadelphia went down well over here - i chopped up spinach really finely and put that in it too nice bit of iron...

my DS not touching anything!? is this the lull before he starts shovelling it in?? (7mo in 3 days time).

I tried softening Weetabix with bit of milk too. It was fine but the aftermath was horrendous as it went everywhere and set like cement! (Perhaps I put too much milk on it?) I squished up some peach yesterday and stirred it into DS's yoghurt, and when that made it too sloppy to stay on the spoon, I crumbled in some Weetabix. That seemed to work well and I was able to load the spoon and hand it to DS for liberal smearing self-feeding.

We had a projectile vomiting incident in the middle of last week, which seems to have left DS a bit more cautious. I think it was just down to a very large piece of potato he seemed to have managed to swallow. It was about the size of the end of my thumb and clearly disagreed with him. Poor fella! He was right as rain within a couple of hours, but I'm steering clear of starchy veg for a bit. Hope he regains his confidence.

ooh good suggestion on the tuna/philidelphia rb have been trying to think of ways to use tuna..will give that a try today I think!

janeytroll that sounds horrid, poor little man - I'm sure he will have forgotten all about it in a day or too hopefully..

What is the deal with other cheeses - ie brie/camenbert etc..I was assuming not ok as not pasteurised is that right? Do you think they would be ok if cooked?
Have tons leftonver from having people round for dinner and am wondering what to do with it all!

i would have thought other cheeses ok as the only guidelines seem to be no sugar, salt, and honey . don't know though!

ds had rice cakes tonight with lentils and avocado on - actually ate somthing again, and was using thumb and two fingers to hold it, and both hands - very cute! good skills !

also loved yoghurt - everywhere but getting better at loaded spoons - was actually slurping haha!

I've tried cashew nut butter and pear and apple spread (no sugar) on rice cakes (not together obviously!).

things going ok here but very, very noisy ! squawking has progressed to screaming- not really upset, but I can't work out why he is doing it? Maybe he's just annoyed he can't get things in quickly enough?

Roasted veg still going down nicely and had some of grandma's quiche today! Can't wait till he gets some teeth as it must surely make it a bit easier.

Off to France next week for our hols, so we'll see how he gets on with croissants and crepes .

Hello everyone - reading your experiences with interest and, often, giggles!

DD is just 5mths tomorrow so not officially 'starting' anything, but she is keen to grab food in mouth and sits up well with a bit of support, so....I gave her a banana and she loved it. Chewing (well, gumming), slobbering and grinning with delight.

I think I will just give her a little something of mine if she fancies it, but stick to easy fruit and veggies for now. Hope that sounds about right... will continue to read here for top tips.

'things going ok here but very, very noisy ! squawking has progressed to screaming- not really upset, but I can't work out why he is doing it? Maybe he's just annoyed he can't get things in quickly enough?'

sounds like my ds . often squawks?! not just at mealtimes!

can't pinpoint source of frustration? either!

hi raggie sounds good - my ds gummed a few bits of cucumber when his gums hurt at 5.5months. aslong as you leave it up to her and just do fruit veg etc like you said then its all god i'm sure .

Ruby, is your lo still not drinking much milk? I'm wondering if I should cut back on ds's solids (we are spooning puree as well as BLW and he eats a LOT) to see if he'll bf more/better/for longer?

thanks ruby, that's reassuring that we both have squawkers!

mistressploppy - thats a hard one! my ds won't feed at all in the afternoon !

he has a morning feed, one before his first nap, one after sometimes?! one at lunchtime (before or after nap - sometimes in the middle - he goes back to sleep and then one before bed.

nightime is another matter . he wakes between 9-12 (depending on how much he has eaten for tea) - aways a big feed, and then between 1-4 for another big feed - sometimes more! its really erratic, which makes me think it is hunger rather than habit, and he always drinks alot so i don't feel like i can embark on some kind of night weaning plan yet!?

i wish he'd drop the night ones but i've heard they are actually the last to go .

and in answer to your question - sorry! - dropping solids might help, but that would depend on why your LO is not feeding in the day - is it that he doesn't want to/he is growing up/weaning/too boring etc the fact that i have to hold a toy next to my ear in an attempt to get him to sit still says to me he's not really up for it so i have stopped trying!?

hth

crikeybadger - unless we are entertaining DS he is squawking or squealing! its driving me potty!

eveing all...we have started weaning!!!! woo!

ds is 24 weeks.
day one he had a banana.
day two he had carrots and broccoli
day three (today) he had a banana earlier on and he just tucked into courgette, swede, broccoli, and grated apple for pud

favourite so far has been the courgette. it was cut into circles and he managed to suck the soft juicy middle out and leave the skin..clever boy!

i've noticed he's quickly got the idea of using two hands. i remember with dd this took longer for her to learn. for ages she'd persevere with just using one hand, but ds has got on with it much easier with two.

so all going well so far

oh, nearly forgot, we have had evidence of food in nappies today..so it is being eaten!

Woo ruddynorah sounds like your ds has got the hang of it straight away, fab news!

crikeybadger & rubybuckleberry you are not alone! DD is quite the little squawker, particulrly if bored but also defiinately at mealtimes particularly if they are taking place in public..

Tried the Tuna/philidelphia combo today which went down well so thanks for that tip!
Made some healthy muffins too which she shovelled in..they actually tasted quite nice which was surprising given the extrememly healthy list of ingredients..was another one from the BLW blog, so far they have all been brill recipes

oooh think i'll have to get some philly. haven't had it for years so will be a nice treat for me too!

squaker here too...especially if she sees me walk out the room. i find i have to keep us both busy to stop me going mad.

'particularly if they are taking place in public...'

we went out to wagamamas and he was squawking and squealing his way through the meal and it was so loud my mum could hear him when i was changing his nappy - she was sat at the table !

rice cakes going down well over here - DH made a big chilli and i loaded up half a rice cake, he took it, ate most of it, and he wanted more . until he can handle the rice i suppose it makes sense!

Wow that sounds like a great start ruddynorah! Ruby- squawking has progressed to high pitched screaming (again, not in an upset way)but it was so bad a supper time that DH had to leave the room as it was giving him a headache! I didn't have that luxury and had to endure not only the noise, but having cauliflower cheese smeared over me. .

So pleased I have found this thread . Lot's of good info and tips! DS is 6 months old and have started blw officially this week. Have tried him on bits the last 3 weeks, but not on a regular basis.

Last night we tried, some of my pork chop, carrots and cheesy mash. For dessert, mango (mainly sucking on the mango stone). It all went down so well. He loved it!

Where are the recipe ideas some of you have commented on?

Hi Fruitpastels

this is a good source of info

this is a great recipe book - mine is completely dog eared already! the cheesy scones are particularly nice with houmous on

I grew some cahonas and gave DS a chicken drumstick las night - with the gristly bit taken of and the spiky side bone - just a little bit of meat left on. He loved it! mmm mmm mmm and no squawking! Then he chucked it over the side of the high chair .

Ate alot of eggy bread this morning too .

Milk feeds dropping left right and centre during the day, but not at night .

how many smileys????

oh and he really enjoyed a peach yesterday afternoon!

pickles and crikey - are your DCs your only DCs or do you have older ones - are they all squawkers, and does it mean they are noisy later on???

waves to Fruit* *

Health visitor rang yesterday and is coming round to talk about weaning with me - mainly because she has a student who needs to hear 'the weaning chat' as far as I could tell....

What's anyone else's experience of HV views on BLW? Of course, they're all different...but encouragingly, I noticed in my Birth To Five green book that they were promoting finger foods and allowing babies to have a go at what they want, which is good.

We've decided to move our dinner much earlier now so DD can 'eat' with us. Also means the evening seems longer if don't wait til she's in bed to start cooking dinner! Last night was all done by five to 8 with her in bed too. Bliss.

RubyB- also have ds 5.5mo and ds nearly 4, they are pretty noisy especially when ds is shrieking and they all join in! Guess he's just finding his voice .

My HV was about blw although accepted that from 6mo they need mashed not pureed food. She suggested I do a mix of blw and spoon feeding as he was low weight.

tried tuna and philly for lunch -good tip, but the fishy smell did linger a bit...

He sucked on some lamb last night and covered himself in couscous, pre loaded spoons of yog and rhubarb for pud.

Casseroles going down very well at the moment. Very well cooked veg that can be easily chewed and lots of yummy juices...so much so DD slept from 7pm till 6.45am. Woke up in a pool of boob milk but definitely worth it

Pita bread sarnies also a winner!

I do however feel that DD is always eating - and therefore also constantly dirty . We sit down together for breakfast and I sit with her for dinner but we always seem to be on the go at lunch time and so I just offer snacks throughout the day.

raggie my HV was quite supportive of BLW and pointed out that the guidelines say to introduce finger foods from six months anyway so doesn't see it as that different. I'm sure they'd probably try to intervene if a LO was struggling with the concept and not gaining any wait but my experience was positive.

lamby 7pm-6.45am? Heaven!!

Know what you mean about the mess, I find my hands are constantly in and out of water, so much so that I've bought myself the most loveliest pair of rubber gloves that I don to do the post mealtime hose down.