Baby-led weaning

[Dudley]

Hi all,

I have a 5 month old daughter so I am preparing to wean her in month.

I bought a book on baby-led weaning (by accident!) and I am thinking of using this method to wean her.

I exclusively breast-feed and co-sleep.

I would appreciate any advice on BLW, if people found it helpful/unhelpful.

Laura Perrins

[damzel]

Just to say, sometimes you don't have the choice! I wanted to do it but it quickly became apparent that my daughter would have starved if I had gone down that route. She loved mush and she loved me to feed it to her! Happy to say that she's feeding herself these days (although for a time there I wondered if she ever would!)

[snowboarder]

And baby snowboarder won't have anyhting to do with mush or even let you come near him with a spoon!

There's def been threads on this in the past if you do a search...

[EDmummy]

Babies have been eating mush for a very long time and I don't see that many children or adults who can't feed themselves. As I have said before, it is all about balance. There are certain foods that are very nutritious that are just difficult to give to a baby unless they are mashed. My child that was fussy about mashed food as a baby is the one who is still fussy whereas the one who didn't care what his food looked is the one who will eat everything.

[snowboarder]

EDMummy yes - I totally struggle to get vegetables down babySB - the spoon denial comes with a strong will!

And it is still after 4 months EXTREMELY messy. But that is mostly because my baby throws so much on the floor (again - testing little character!) ON PURPOSE!! Oh that I could just occasionally spoonfeed him a jar of hipp organic!!

ps - I am finding those pouches are my friend!! Ellas etc - and you can get yoghurts in pouches in sainsburys - yay - I thought I'd never get yoghurt down him!!!

[Fuschia]

A good compromise is to puree a few things to try and offer the same as finger food (eg puree some carrot and also give some cooked carrot sticks)

BLW is much easier, less pureeing, less work feeding, less stressful... but is prob only at 1y+ the baby really seems to eat much

[Dulwich Born And Bred]

I think you need to do what suits your baby. Some like it mashed, some like it whole, it is all trial and error, usually baby led weaning is started because the babies will grab food off their parents plates and shove it in their mouths, as babies were first introduced to solids from 3 months onwards, mashed was best because of their lack of mouth control but at 6 months onwards they are supposed to be better at controlling things in their mouths ( losing the tongue thrust reflex) hence they can handle whole food, hence baby led weaning. My son who is now six months and refusing food, bottles and beakers. He just want boobs, but he cannot have boobs forever! I thought like most babies he would love food but nope, he is not having it at all! Snowboarder, I have a strong willed one too..he refuses to go to sleep before 11pm ( usually at midnight he prefers to sleep and he wakes up at 10/11am!).

[Dudley]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think I will do a little bit of both BLW and puree.

She is pretty 'grabby' even now so I am hopeful!

Laura

[helena handbasket]

I always assumed that the texture of food served to a baby was based on the teeth they had....... since they are mostly just gumming their food until around 8 or 10 months (I can't remember, wow memory is short!) I thought that was nature's way of telling me which foods he could handle....... basically anything that would easily mush up or dissolve. Then as more teeth come in the textures get more complex. And just guessing, but maybe molars coming in signal a transition to properly chewing more adult food? Or am I confusing adaptive traits from biology class :)

Anyway I was always way too paranoid about choking. And I made some pretty awesome baby food!

edited for pathetic spelling

[alibo]

Annabel Karmels book "Feeding your baby and Toddler" is really good with great advice and recipes. There is one for sale on the family classifieds for a tenner

[randomv]

I must admit I've always been baffled by baby led weaning. I gave my son pureed food from 6 months - he was hungry and didn't have the motor skills or nouse to pick up food and get it in his mouth..seemed a bit like putting him a car on his 18th birthday and telling him to drive without having any lessons! I always made finger food available so he could improve his skills and of course soon enough he only wanted to feed himself so the spooning of purees stopped - what could be more baby led than following his lead like that?!

Obviously all babies and families are different but BLW definitely wasn't for us and I now have a gannet of a toddler who'll eat almost anything whatever texture etc.

Good luck with the weaning Laura!

[Polly D]

Brilliant analogy randomv!

[Mellors]

I went down the Annabel Karmel pureeing organic route for No 1, who to this day (age 3 1/2) would still happily be spoonfed everything, the lazy little boy.

I simply couldn't be @rsed with baby no 2, so she was BLW by default. She got a stick on bowl (highly recommended or it jst goes on the floor) of whatever we were having, and left to her own devices. She eats like a gannet now (although mostly still with her hands at 18 months). She goes mental if you try and spoonfeed her, and always has. Chalk and cheese the pair of them.

Totally depends on the child I think from my experience.

The only thing I would say if you go down the BLW route is that it can take them a worrying amoutn of time to get to grips with it - I think my daughter was about 8 months before she really got into eating anything significant.

Remember the old adage though "Until they're 1 its just for fun". They don't need food for nutritional reasons, as milk still supplies it all - its just to get them used to a broad range of textures and flavours.

[Belle]

must say I'm a huge fan of the BLW-with a bit of a puree- method...BLW worked really well for us but that's partly because a) am not that houseproud so can cope with the mess and b) baby is v strong-willed and it seemd to suit him to be in charge from the start. It is slow at the start and I think def true that won't be right for every baby, and it's not like one way is 'better'. Does suit lazy non-cooking mums like me though...we do a lot of keeping leftovers etc. At the beginning there is a lot of gumming going on but as long as they're getting plenty milk it's not a problem. I do use fruit and veg purees partly to perk up things like mash, but have always found he can handle veg/fruit without having to puree it. Think you kind of have to have a bit of faith in them.

[sillywoman]

Totally agree with Mellors, I did BLW with number 4 & wished I'd caught on to it with the other 3. Away with puree-ing all that 'stuff' (something I took a lot of pride in with my PFB incidentally!), baby ate what we ate - in appropriate form, at the same times we did (roughly) and of all them he is now, at age 6. The best, least fussy eater. If he wanted something mushy, I just mushed it with a fork. It never occured to me to relate it to how many teeth he had, and whilst randomv's analogy made me laugh I can't realate it to my experience of BLW in any way at all. Number 4, ate what he wanted from what we were having, when he wanted it, no probs with motor skills at all - what could be more baby led than that?

He probably didn't eat 3 meals a day or whatever for a while, but he was still breastfed so it didn't matter. But like belle & Mellors, I've become increasingly a 'lazy' Mum & this definitely made our lives so much easier. Go for it I say, & enjoy the shared family mealtimes.

[Mellors]

That is one of the other main benefits of BLW as well - you can take them out to eat anywhere without having schlep about jars/pots of food and get them heated up. Just get them a sarnie and a banana and leave them to it.

I still can't believe I took my hand blender on a holiday hiking in Norway when No 1 was 7 months old. Bonkers.

[randomv]

It's very interesting as obviously every family situation is unique. Can I see myself slaving away maki g purees should I have another baby? Unlikely. But what if I have another very hungry child like this one? I imagine it'd be even more difficult to breast feed a hungry 7 month old on demand because they aren't getting enough solids. and what about the effects of that on everyones sleep? Wouldn't it be a nightmare looking after 2 very young children on months of broken sleep due to night feeds, and that's not even considering work of the paid variety!

I agree with the up to one just for fun idea to an extent and yes, nutritionally breast milk is usually sufficient but that doesn't mean it satisfies the hunger of big, hungry babies. It comes down to taking bits of ideas from here and her that work in your individual circumstances.

[trinity]

I tried the puree route with no1 but he never took to it and so with subsequent children they only ever had what we were having but cut up small or a bit mashed.

In addition (bit worried I'm telling you this) but I would also give the babies my food after I have given it a quick chew. Does no-one else do this? I know that my mothers generation did it and I wouldn't do it if I had a raging cold but my kids seem to survive ok on it.

[snowboarder]

Do have to say BLW must be easier with second/subsequent children as you are already making baby friendly meals at baby friendly times...I reckon it's as time consuming as puree for number 1. Eg I'm going to try and make some fish 'fingers' for him tonight. Just for him. And he will throw them on the floor! Our meals just don't seem to be suitable (not 'finger food-y' enough) and we always have our main meal in the evening.

It does seem v hard to get any quantity and variety of food down them this way. Mostly finger food seems to simply be ammunition to be thrown around the kitchen. Give me strength - I WISH he would eat puree!!

trinity - to my horror I absent mindedly found myself doing what you say but the other way round!! To be tidy I just finished off a half sucked piece of pasta yesterday. Must sort self out!

[sillywoman]

Yes, trinity - I did it too. It's what generations of women have done before us and no doubt will do after we're long gone.

[crystal7]

I read the baby led weaning book and it made sense but I did a mixture of that and purees from 6 months. HH and Randomv it's surprising how quickly many babies (my daughter included)learn to eat solid food with 2 or no teeth. E was eating (very small) avocado sandwiches at 7 months. But I did worry that she wasn't getting enough as she has always eaten like a bird. Unfortunately purees made no difference to this and she's almost fallen off the bottom of the weight chart (another story). She completely refused to be spoonfed from about 9 months anyway (apart from yoghurt thank goodness). As others have said it depends on the baby. I have noticed that friends whose babies have been baby led weaned are, at a year ish, fantastic eaters- they can load the spoon and everything

Snowboarder I completely agree. I found BLW almost as time consuming as pureeing. Steaming veg to just the right softness, finding pasta that fits into little hands and for me making food loaded with butter and cream that I try desparately not to eat once it's been thrown on the floor.

Is it only me that thinks everything gets more difficult post weaning?!

[The Nappy Lady]

Snowboarder, if we have an evening meal that has potentially suitable stuff for C I just keep a bit to one side, pop it in a tupperware and then heat it for her the next day.

I have to say that I am so much lazier than I was first time around, I make far less stuff 'especially' for them (probably once a week I set to and do what I'd call a proper, Annabel Karmel inspired meal), the rest of the time it is often sausages, fish fingers (from a packet, but good quality), pasta with grated cheese on it, chicken in various guises - I do make my own chicken nuggets/fingers etc. or reheated stuff we've had - lasagne, cottage pie, assorted pasta dishes. I find the more effort I go to the less they eat, so better to keep it basic but ensure plenty of fruit, vegetables, yoghurt etc. thrown in for good measure.

I just don't have the time to fuss too much these days, and when I've got 2 (or often more when friends are here) hungry children whinging because they want to be fed having something I can reheat, or rustle up in 10 minutes is worth its weight in gold.

At the stage you're at I'd say have as many different things in pots, saved from your own assorted meals, in the fridge as possible and just offer him a selection of bits so he can explore textures and flavours...oh yes, and practice his throwing!!!

We've made huge progress in the past month or two. I can now leave C to eat her own breakfast with a spoon while I do other stuff, and she will equally manage main meals - actually tells me off if I try to help her! She is suddenly eating so much better and is mad on pasta, cheese, rice, peas and melon at the moment (I have to mix broccoli in now - it was her favourite, but now she only eats it if it is mixed in broken down into little bits). She is a dream to feed, so much better than her sister ever was, and is eating probably three times what she was at 9-12 months, so don't despair.

Molly

x

[JDR]

I can only agree with most of the previous posters... have three children and the first always seemed to get 'tired' with finger food, as if her jaw got fatigue and I'd always end up pureeing the last bit. Second one better and fully weaned by 10/11 months. third, never been a great eater but BLW was assisted by her sisters secretly feeding her sweets (if that had happened with my first I'd have had a heart attack) so I'm not actually sure the age she first got chocolate as when first foudn her eldest sister said they fed her some everytime they got some - eek! She gave up puree at 8 months over christmas (a bit annoying as I'd planned a lazy christmas and spent a small fortune on pureed packs so I didn't have to be arsed). Her cure was being fed chipolatas on christmas day - again eek! After that she refused anything that was different to her sisters

So the upshot is, all my children are similar now with their eating, all did it waening differently and its made not one jot of difference. my only regret is that I didn't introduce 'spicy' food to out eldest soner as she is SOOOOO picky

[apenn]

Obviously, different things work for different parents and babies, but thought I'd add a voice from a thus far successful experience with exclusive BLW.

I started BLW with my baby at 5 1/2 months after he started grabbing food out of my hand and sticking it in his mouth and it's worked a treat for us. It's not always perfect - he sometimes gets frustrated if something keeps slipping from his hand, but he's now 7 months and I'm amazed at how his dexterity has improved and he can get just about any food he wants in his mouth. He does gag sometimes, but has never choked. He gags much less now than in the beginning and only really gags with something new. In terms of the amount he's eating, he still breastfeeds quite a lot, but he's obviously getting a decent amount of food based on what I find in his nappies!

That said, I think the book is not very well written and lacks practical guidance. I pretty much just "winged" it based on my instincts. If anyone wants to talk to me about it, feel free to PM me and I'll be happy to give my phone number for a chat.

-A

[apenn]

I'm back! This time asking for help.

Is there anyone out there who has toddlers or older children now that were weaned this way? A la the "Others dissaproving of home birth" thread, I'm am currently in the midst of controvery with my mother over baby led weaning. I feel pretty confident about it, but there is one issue for which I did not have a good answer.

My son puts quite a lot of food in his mouth at once, and just keeps piling it in. I don't thin it's an issue becuase he evenutally spits most of it out and has never choked, but do they just eventally stop doing this on thier own and figure out to eat one piece at a time?

Thanks,

-A