BLW-ers

MommaToBatman

I have been noticing it brought up here a lot lately and until today just never seemed interested.  In the post below someone mentioned a website so I went and looked at it.  This seems like something my SO and I would be interested in trying out with DS, but not for sure where to start.

So, for those of you that are doing it:

Is there any websites and/or books that are really helpful and informative?

What are your personal experiences with this?

Do you wait the 3+ days in between each food (we have no known food allergies)?

If the food item needs cooked, how do you cook it?

I'm sorry if these questions get asked a lot and you just want to refer me to a website and/or book that is okay with me too!  TIA! 

LaurenNBill

Is there any websites and/or books that are really helpful and informative? www.babyled.com

wholesomebabyfood.com also has a section on it. 

What are your personal experiences with this? I really like it! Finn didn't really take to purees even in the beginning, especially from me. I would start, then stop for a while, but he really had no interest in being fed. We give him small pieces of food and he really enjoys eating himself. We haven't introduced utensils yet, right now he eats with his hands. He also likes "real people" food, in fact, he likes spice and flavor, so I have really made more of an effort to cook more healthy foods. 

Do you wait the 3+ days in between each food (we have no known food allergies)? No, I really never did. We don't have allergies either. 

If the food item needs cooked, how do you cook it? I either boil or steam microwave the food really well, sometimes with a little olive oil. 

I'm sorry if these questions get asked a lot and you just want to refer me to a website and/or book that is okay with me too!  TIA! 

cabo_kate

I highly recommend the book "Baby-Led Weaning" by Gill. It goes through all the questions you might have and gives lots of good ideas for different types of food to offer.

For me, BLW seemed like the right choice because I have always been "baby-led". Nursed on demand, naps on demand, etc. - seemed strange to stop that and start spoon-feeding and basically taking the lead away from him, if that makes any sense. I did second-guess myself and offer a few purees, which he HATED. He really prefers to self-feed - he'll grab things from my plate and try them.

I spoon-feed yogurt still and I will help him get things to his mouth at times if he's struggling. 

We don't really wait the 3 days. The book says that if you start later than 6 months and baby doesn't show any allergies during breast-feeding, you're probably okay. I do watch him closely and try to offer the same general things for a few days in a row, but mainly I offer him what we're eating or what's fresh.

I usually steam things in order to cook them, but I also offer many things raw - a big stick of mango with some skin left on so he can grip it, a small apple with a few bites taken out of it so he can hold it and negotiate it himself, sticks of avocado covered with ground-up cheerios so they are easier to hold, whole-wheat toast sticks, cooked pasta noodles, etc.

It's MESSY, but we're having fun with it so far. He doesn't really EAT much at all yet, but that will come in time.