Less messy BLW meals?

rachelle2824

We are trying the BLW method as of this week but with twins the cleanup is already a bit time consuming! Any suggestions for less time consuming clean up items? The only items we have tried so far are whole wheat toast strips, bananas and sweet potato (boiled until they were pretty mushy.) 

TIA, I really want this to work, I'm just having a tough time wrapping my mind around it all.

 

nosoup4u

It's just really messy, sadly. We spoon-fed yogurt to both our kids in the beginning, and then I would mash banana w yogurt so they could start feeding themselves a bit more. Some people use waterproof tablecloths or tarps under high chairs, and I found that a pastry scraper (the kind you use with baking) works really well for scooping food bits off the floor.

azpharmgirl

Sorry.  I agree.  Teaching a baby how to eat is messy.  Teaching two babies to eat, probably more than doubly messy.  We have been doing BLW with DD since she learned to sit up at about 5 months .  I always start the meals intending it to not be messy by giving bread or crackers, but she always gets bored with that quick so I have to switch to yogurt or fruit that she mashes in her fingers.  Inevitable mess.  I think you just have to suffer through the mess.  She is still pretty messy so I am not sure how long it lasts.  Because I was afraid of the mess, I was not very good about putting her in her chair and offering food three times a day.  As a result she does not eat solids very reliably or consistently.  And it is still messy.  She still drinks most of her calories unfortunately.

What I find less messy (but still messy): toast, crackers, bread, apple/pear sticks (uncooked), broccoli spears and baby carrots (cooked but not soggy), pasta without sauce, citrus segments, teething biscuits, cheese sticks.

 GL! 

danienross

Yea mess is just part of it.  Although I've spoon fed a few babies over the years and it's messy too.  I think it's a baby thing more than a BLW thing.  DD is 17mos old and still makes a mess (although smaller than when we started) at almost every meal.

BnchaNums

I don't think I could BLW without a dog . Sorry, that's not helpful.  

Mamasaurus

Maybe cheerios, sliced grapes, pasta shapes, or peas?

jcsumm0

The mess is the only drawback to BLW to me.  It does get tiring after a while.  Here are some less messy things that work for us:

strips of waffle

bagels

cheerios

pasta w/o sauce

freeze dried fruit

peas

strips of meat

blueberries

A lot of those things don't work until your babies have developed the pincer grasp, though.  DD could pick most of those things up by around 8, 8.5 months.  GL!

jcsumm0

Also, I keep a cheap plastic table cloth under her high chair, and she eats in just her diaper or in a long sleeve bib.  I bought an 8 pack of washcloths and I just wipe her down with the warm, wet cloth after she eats, or she goes straight into a bath if it is bath time.

StefandTodd

BnchaNums:

I don't think I could BLW without a dog . Sorry, that's not helpful.  

Lol, exactly!

StefandTodd

And also OP, I have a baby boy one week younger than your twins and also live in Sacramento!  Are you a part of the local bump board FB group?  PM me if you're interested to join.  I'm excited to find a like-minded Sac-area mommy with babes the same age!  Cool

tslmom87

BnchaNums:

I don't think I could BLW without a dog . Sorry, that's not helpful.  

AMEN! lol. Our dog's favorite time of the day is anytime the child is eating!

op There's no non messy way around it! I've always kept the really messy meals for bath nights. Tarp or even a cheap shower curtain under the high chairs work wonders! Blw is wonderful though and will save you the time and stress of having to spoon feed two babies! Good luck and have fun with it!