How long?

Jberbie25

My first goal was 1 year.  I have no idea where to go from there though...how gradually to end or wean rather.  I'm doing some research on BLW.  We haven't started any solids yet.  I think my plan at the moment is to start solids at 6 months VERY slowly with BM still being the main source of nutrition at 1 year.  And slowly cutting down BFing as she is able to take more foods naturally, meaning in the form they naturally come in.  I think that is the basic idea of BLW. 

 So, what is everyone else doing? 

 I'm sure I'll get ridiculed(sp) even by family if I BF after a year...actually I expect it to start real soon.  Gah!  I wish people would just leave me and my decisions alone.

ncbelle

My plan is the same as yours.  I plan to start solids at 6 months (no cereal though) and then see what happens after a year.  I'll definitely do some more research once we get closer to that milestone.

Princess_Ariel

I was originally going to go for about two years, as recommended by the World Health Organization, then I read Mothering the Nursing Toddler and decided to let DD wean when she's ready (which I recently learned tends to be no sooner than 4 years).  She was showing food-readiness signs by 4 months, so we'd give her stuff on occassion, and sometimes I'm glad I didn't wait b/c she was able to finger-feed herself around 6mos, which allowed me time to eat (selfish, I know).

If you're worried about your family, just try not to talk about it to them or nurse around them.  If those aren't options, then do your research and show them that you're providing the best food for your baby.  No one can (or at least they shouldn't) criticize that.  GL

MrsAmers

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it now.  I think it's great that you want to go past a year, but I think it is best if you just see where you and your DD are when you get there.  You don't need to plan it all out, just take it as it comes.

BLW is actually more about skipping baby food and purees, and letting your child go at their own speed.  You just expose your child to real foods and let them gum them and chew on them as they are ready.  They pick up everything with their fingers and you don't spoon feed anything.  My friend's son didn't start picking food up until 8 months and didn't start eating much of anything until 11 months, but other babies doing BLW may start gumming foods at 6 months and eating table foods by 8 months.  BLW is about trusting babies to know what they want.

I considered BLW, but it freaked DH out.  So instead I made all of DD's "baby food" and left it chunkier than store bought stuff.  It was probably somewhere between stage 2 and stage 3 consistency when we started.  We started at 6 months and introduced a new food about once a week.  We introduced puffs and cheerios to help her learn to chew with her gums, and once she had the hang of those we started offering fruits and veggies and breads in finger food form.

For BFing, I did "don't offer, don't refuse" after her birthday.  As her intake of solids ramped up, her requests to BF ramped down, and she was nursing 2-3 times a day by about 15 months.  And that was mostly at home (at wake-up, before nap, at bedtime), so honestly most people didn't even know that we were still nursing unless they asked.  DD self-weaned at 21/22 months.  I didn't plan out the specific time frame, I just followed her cues and we chose the right path for us.  I'll do the same thing with #2, although I expect that he'll have interest in solids sooner since he'll have big sis to look up to.  :-)

Don't worry about what anyone else thinks - just do what is right for you and your DD!