Baby Led Weaning

artlea2013

I thought I'd start a specific thread for those of us who are doing, or considering, Baby Led Weaning (BLW). Come here to ask your questions, share stories or recipes, and laugh with other moms as we work through the mess.

artlea2013

Miles is approaching 6 months, which is the minimum start age for BLW. So far he hasn't had any form of solids, baby cereal or food. I'm trying to work my way through the Baby-Led Weaning book by Gill Rapley before his 6 month appointment so that I can ask any questions of my ped and feel like I have a decent handle on the concept, in case she's not well versed on it. I'm only about 40 pages in to a 350 page book though, at least digitally, so I'm still pretty clueless on the subject. Lots of research to do in the next 2 weeks!

Tawny87

What I did with my twins was start with small bland things like mushed bananas, avocados, mashed potatoes and work my way up. I started around 6 months, might of been a few weeks later then 6 months, they were 7 weeks premature. I'm planning on doing baby led weening with this guy, he will be 6 months on the 10th.

adiaz132003

I've done squash at around 4 months and he liked eating it off my fingers. We did banana a few weeks ago and he just mushed it around.  And sweet potato wedges last week which went better but he wanted us to hand him the pieces to chew on rather than pick then up himself.  I'm gonna try again this week but he's been spending meals in his high chair watching us eat so hopefully he gets the idea soon.  For now the dog gets a fun treat every now and then. Lol

lyoash31

We're doing BLW with the twins. They haven't eaten anything yet.  They'll be six months tomorrow, but since they were four weeks early, we'll be waiting a little longer. They're both fascinated with food when we eat, but they're not showing all the signs of being ready. I'm not sure what we're going to start with. Maybe sweet potato spears.

annaf2011

We're planning to do BLW, but I haven't even cracked open the book yet! I only know the few things I've read online. I kept telling myself we had plenty of time, but now he'll be 6 months in less than 2 weeks. I'm definitely following the "food before 1 is just for fun" motto, so I'm not too worried if we start a little after 6 months. I just don't want to wait too long because S definitely seems interested in eating. We're planning to start with avocado, and I'm not sure yet where we'll go from there. 

adiaz132003

Oh dear lord how to get over the choking fear.  Preston ate some banana no problem but then a gave him and apple slice to suck on and he bit off a piece and gagged on it.  My heart stopped for a minute as he worked it out.  I had heard to never try and finger the food out if they gag cause you can push it farther back and they will choke.

artlea2013

adiaz132003 said:

Oh dear lord how to get over the choking fear.  Preston ate some banana no problem but then a gave him and apple slice to suck on and he bit off a piece and gagged on it.  My heart stopped for a minute as he worked it out.  I had heard to never try and finger the food out if they gag cause you can push it farther back and they will choke.

I'm worried about that too! Good to know about not fishing it out. The advice I've gotten from a friend was basically: "Yes, he will gag. But as long as he's still making noise, he's still breathing. It's time to intervene with a flip upside down and a couple good smacks on the back when they stop making noise or they start to tear up from pain."

Still freaks me out, but know that even kids fed purees will gag on food when they transition to chunks. At this age though they will be less likely to end up with an aversion to that food after an experience like that then they would at, say, a year old

adiaz132003

I think I'm not gonna go fully into it.  I'm still gonna only use really soft mushy food like banana and sweet potato. What are some other foods that can be cut into pieces but will still mush enough?

meggyme

adiaz132003 said:

I think I'm not gonna go fully into it.  I'm still gonna only use really soft mushy food like banana and sweet potato. What are some other foods that can be cut into pieces but will still mush enough?

Avocado, peas, carrots, apples, squash... Just about anything can be baby food if you steam it long enough.

artlea2013

https://www.babyledweaning.com/blw-recipes/

These are the recipes on the BLW website, but they also have a recipe book. I've been interested, but stingy, so I downloaded the ebook from my local library. Actually, I made them purchase it first, then I borrowed it 

adiaz132003

I gave Preston sweet potato wedges tonight while we are dinner. Input two 3-4in pieces in front of him expecting most of it to be mushed or land in the floor. Nope he picked up the first piece and took notes from on end to the other and ate the whole piece then picked up the next one and ate about 1/4 of it then mushed it up and would pick up a little piece every now and then.  I didn't expect him to beat that much and an hour or so later he had his last feeding then went to bed but I noticed he seemed really uncomfortable as he was trying to settle to sleep.  Could he have eaten too much and gotten a tummy ache or would he have stopped eating if he was truly full?

rlbrooks84

adiaz132003 said:

I gave Preston sweet potato wedges tonight while we are dinner. Input two 3-4in pieces in front of him expecting most of it to be mushed or land in the floor. Nope he picked up the first piece and took notes from on end to the other and ate the whole piece then picked up the next one and ate about 1/4 of it then mushed it up and would pick up a little piece every now and then.  I didn't expect him to beat that much and an hour or so later he had his last feeding then went to bed but I noticed he seemed really uncomfortable as he was trying to settle to sleep.  Could he have eaten too much and gotten a tummy ache or would he have stopped eating if he was truly full?

I think he would have stopped eating if he was truly full. At this age they are really good at listening to their bodies and don't over eat. Charlotte who loves bananas didn't eat all of her bananas tonight because she was full and let me know. She can usually eat a whole jar and she only ate half a jar at dinner tonight. Same with my boys they never over ate at that age. Halloween this year was a different story for my boys, I was teaching them a lesson, they kept getting upset that I set a limit on how much they could eat. They both over ate and got tummy aches and it didn't happen again. They also stopped arguing with me when I told them to put the candy away. Sorry I rambled on, I need to go to bed.

ashkee05

I printed this for the fridge because dad gets a little freaked out while we are trying real food.

we did start with purees at 5 months because he was definitely interested, he did really well and loved it. Right at 6 months we went to real food and he is loving this even more!! 

The biggest thing I tell my husband is to not stress. Worrying just makes it scarier! 

ashkee05

I also found this super helpful!

annaf2011

We gave S his first real food tonight, a piece of sweet potato. From reading the BLW book, I didn't think he'd really even get the food to his mouth the first time we gave it to him, but he sure did. He was sucking on it more than anything. I was super nervous the whole time, but he loved it. No gagging, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time because he gags on his teething toys all the time. 

bedinabelinda

So I've been giving my 5.5 month LO steamed and pureed food and he LOVES it. Eats it with a big grin and gets so excited when he sees me get out his food. He tries so hard to "help" with the spoon that I'm thinking that BLW would be enjoyable for him. But I don't get how he won't choke? If I give him a finger sized steamed carrot and he mushes off a piece that's too big and tries to swallow, won't he choke even if it's perfectly steamed and mushy? I'm assuming not if everyone else does it just fine, but I don't quite get how.

adiaz132003

bedinabelinda said:

So I've been giving my 5.5 month LO steamed and pureed food and he LOVES it. Eats it with a big grin and gets so excited when he sees me get out his food. He tries so hard to "help" with the spoon that I'm thinking that BLW would be enjoyable for him. But I don't get how he won't choke? If I give him a finger sized steamed carrot and he mushes off a piece that's too big and tries to swallow, won't he choke even if it's perfectly steamed and mushy? I'm assuming not if everyone else does it just fine, but I don't quite get how.

 Their gag reflex is much farther forward so they will gag and spit out whatever they can't swallow or they will work on it with their tongue and practice chewing.  Preston gagged on a big piece of apple once cause it broke off when I just gave him something to suck on but he clearly wanted to chew.  If he gets bigger pieces of must sweet potato he just chews on it for a while.

Tawny87

Cameron ate some Mac and cheese when we went out for lunch today and loved it. 6 months on the 10th

lm45678

I think I may need to look more into BLW... Savannah is not into the consistency of baby food at all!

ashkee05

@bedinabelinda Lennox makes some funny noises when trying new textures and foods. He also gags a little but he hasn't choked yet. He definitely spits it out before 

annaf2011

We tried avocado tonight. I was really excited to give him avocado, but it's actually kind of tricky to eat. The slices kind of stick to the tray, so S had a hard time picking them up at first. We ended up handing him the pieces so he could wrap his hand around them. Also, avocado is pretty slippery, so when he squeezed his hand it would pop right out. He definitely got some in his mouth, and he enjoyed exploring it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a first food to try. 

adiaz132003

So I double checked with the ped about food restrictions that fall outside obvious choking hazards.  Only things off limits was honey (which I knew)and nut products.  This is because they wanted me to introduce between 4 and 6 months since research is showing that introduction at that age can prevent allergies.  But since I forgot to let him try some, she said wait till his actual 6 month appt so we can discuss if he may be at risk for a reaction.  If he is more at risk then they want us to wait till 1 year.  Everything else is fine though.  Even seasoning, just don't go heavy with it since taste buds are still forming.

lyoash31

Avocado for their first food last night. Neither seemed impressed. 

annaf2011

How are people dealing with the combo of BLW and daycare? S just started solid foods, and he's starting daycare in January. I don't think I'm comfortable having him feed himself in the BLW style except under the supervision of me and H. Is it okay if we do food for breakfast and dinner and he only gets breastmilk at daycare? I know the book says babies should eat as many meals as possible, but I still feel like I need to be carefully monitoring what and how much he's eating until he gets a little more practice. 

artlea2013

Broccoli monster! How is everyone doing with their BLW? Miles has had cucumber sticks, apple slices, and now broccoli. He liked the broccoli stalk more than the florets

meggyme

I wasn't initially sold on BLW and had planned on starting with purees and transitioning to BLW. But then Jackie decided she likes grabbing the spoon and "feeding herself" i.e., smearing it everywhere and making it take forever. So we've embraced finger foods. We've done carrots, peas, broccoli, raspberries, blackberries, zucchini, and the baby pancakes I mentioned in the solids thread. So far it's far less messy and time consuming than purees were, so I call it a win!

meggyme

Visited the ped yesterday and he stressed getting enough iron. Are you using iron fortified cereal to get enough iron in their system, or what are you doing? Jackie isn't a huge fan or cereal and spoon feeding her is such a pain when she's constantly grabbing at it.

rlbrooks84

@meggyme you could make pancakes with the cereal, Charlotte has decided she no longer wants  puréed foods. So I'm making her pancakes with puréed food, oatmeal cereal, formula. Then cook them in a little coconut oil. You can freeze them and then just defrost, heat them up, or serve frozen. Charlotte loves her food cold. There was another mom on here who gave me the idea.

annaf2011

@meggyme I asked the ped about iron at our last appointment, and she suggested green vegetables. Broccoli has been a big hit in our house, as well as a little creamed spinach concoction. The creamed spinach requires use of a spoon, but I usually put a bite on the end of the spoon and then hand it to S. Most of the time he gets it to his mouth. Once his pincer grasp gets a little better we will incorporate more beans and lentils.

meggyme

@rlbrooks84 haha, I think it might have been me. I didn't think to use the baby cereal in the pancakes. It didn't even occur to me that it might be a necessary part of her diet, so we've just been avoiding it.

@annaf2011 luckily Jackie likes greens so far, but from looking at the iron content it didn't seem like I could possibly feed her enough to meet her needs. She needs 11mg and most veggies have less than 1mg, from what I've read. Certainly good, but didn't seem like enough to get her what she needs.

artlea2013

@meggyme I don't know if you're giving the Vitamin D supplement, but there is also an option of switching to the supplement with iron. I would definitely ask your ped before doing anything like that though, obviously. Our ped didn't mention anything about iron at all, even when we told her we were doing BLW, and I was really surprised she didn't. Especially after she pushed the Vitamin D in my hand at our 1 week appointment.

Edit: 1 week. That was so long ago. I'm kind of sad

meggyme

art&leaadye said:

@meggyme I don't know if you're giving the Vitamin D supplement, but there is also an option of switching to the supplement with iron. I would definitely ask your ped before doing anything like that though, obviously. Our ped didn't mention anything about iron at all, even when we told her we were doing BLW, and I was really surprised she didn't. Especially after she pushed the Vitamin D in my hand at our 1 week appointment.

Edit: 1 week. That was so long ago. I'm kind of sad

We haven't been doing Vit D drops (since we were living in San Diego) but my doc just called today to add them since we're in Virginia now. Maybe tomorrow I'll call back to ask about vit D and iron.

annaf2011

How much/how often are your babies eating these days? When we first started BLW, I was only giving S one or two meals a day, and he ate very little of it. Now I've been trying to get in a routine of giving him regular meals, and he's much better at getting food in his mouth, so it feels like he is eating a ton. For example, yesterday he ate a piece of avocado for breakfast, a couple pieces each of sweet potato and zucchini at lunch, and then a few pieces of broccoli at dinner. I know we're supposed to follow their lead, so that's what I've been trying to do. It just feels like he went from eating basically nothing, to eating everything I put in front of him. 

vintagevix2016

Damien eats 2-3 tbsp of cereal + 1-2 tbsp of fruit for breakfast, then it's 4-5 tbsp (total) of veggie + fruit + protein for lunch, and then 4-5 tbsp (total) of veggie + fruit + protein or cereal for dinner. We are doing puréed food though so might be different for BLW.

artlea2013

annaf2011 said:

How much/how often are your babies eating these days? When we first started BLW, I was only giving S one or two meals a day, and he ate very little of it. Now I've been trying to get in a routine of giving him regular meals, and he's much better at getting food in his mouth, so it feels like he is eating a ton. For example, yesterday he ate a piece of avocado for breakfast, a couple pieces each of sweet potato and zucchini at lunch, and then a few pieces of broccoli at dinner. I know we're supposed to follow their lead, so that's what I've been trying to do. It just feels like he went from eating basically nothing, to eating everything I put in front of him. 

As long as he's still taking adequate milk feedings, feast and famine comes with BLW. If I'm organized, Miles gets breakfast/lunch/dinner, but doesn't eat too much yet. However, he ate nothing 10 days ago, so I'm going to be he's going to pick up speed too. Besides his solids, he gets 12 ounces in bottle during the day (6 breast milk, 6 formula), and nurses 3-4 times

lm45678

Savannah really liked the pancake thanks @meggyme!! 

lm45678

meggyme

Found another good review for baby cereal puffs.
https://kanganrue.com/2015/02/03/diypuffs/amp/

Update: made some this morning with Apple and butternut squash purée I had in the freezer. I tried one and they're not bad. We'll see if Jackie likes them, but I like that they're not refrigerated so they'll travel well.

rlbrooks84

meggyme said:

Found another good review for baby cereal puffs.
https://kanganrue.com/2015/02/03/diypuffs/amp/

Update: made some this morning with Apple and butternut squash purée I had in the freezer. I tried one and they're not bad. We'll see if Jackie likes them, but I like that they're not refrigerated so they'll travel well.

I was going to make some today for Charlotte but I was going to use a star tip on my piping bag to see if I could make them into fun shapes. My 6 yr old wants to learn to pipe so it could be a good opportunity for him to practice. Oh and today is a snow day here so I think we'll make it a baking day. 

Tawny87

meggyme said:

art&leaadye said:

@meggyme I don't know if you're giving the Vitamin D supplement, but there is also an option of switching to the supplement with iron. I would definitely ask your ped before doing anything like that though, obviously. Our ped didn't mention anything about iron at all, even when we told her we were doing BLW, and I was really surprised she didn't. Especially after she pushed the Vitamin D in my hand at our 1 week appointment.

Edit: 1 week. That was so long ago. I'm kind of sad

We haven't been doing Vit D drops (since we were living in San Diego) but my doc just called today to add them since we're in Virginia now. Maybe tomorrow I'll call back to ask about vit D and iron.

Vitamin D drops? Never heard about those before. Maybe because I'm in Colorado and it's always sunny, I guess???