BLW and daycare

gigglez82

Are any of you going to do BLW and how do you handle that with daycare?  My LO is transitioning up to the next room (6-12 months) and they provide the food.  Even if I made my own baby food puree I couldn't bring it into the room.  I could bring the food and feed my baby myself but not inside the room.  So I guess I'm looking at only having him drink breast milk from a bottle while at daycare and try BLW in the evenings when we eat dinner together.

Thoughts? 

gina2433

What's BLW? And what if you are introducing foods to her still? Will they make what you are feeding LO?

Lara0802

We can send food if we want, since we are with an in-home provider. But, we are doing BLW as well. I told my DCP that I will continue to bring her purees and I will let her know when and what DD can have for regular food. So far, I've told her she can give her mum mums in another week I'll give the go ahead for bananas and sweet potatoes. Can't you just let them know when your LOis ready for specific food?

Otherwise, I would just do bottles at daycare. The only trouble is if LO sees others with food.  I know my DD wants food bad when she sees others eating it  

smilelari

My daycare doesn't provide purees.  I was planning on going through the menu and circling the things she can have as finger food.  That's what they do for kids starting finger foods anyway.  I'll tell them what we're doing and how the food should be cut.  Easy!  And she'll get good variety to choose from even at daycare

smilelari

gina2433:

What's BLW? And what if you are introducing foods to her still? Will they make what you are feeding LO?

blw is baby led weaning.  It's basically letting baby take the lead on solids.  you don't feed them.  You just give them the opportunity to eat when they're reafy

gigglez82

My LO goes to a daycare on a military base.  They just have regular baby food in jars there.  They just require that you've introduced the food to baby for 3-4 times before they will feed it there.  I would like to do BLW where I will give him regular food, not pureed and then he can learn to feed himself.  And since I can't bring my own food, especially one that isn't pureed, I'm trying to figure out how I want to do this while he's still in daycare.  They provide all meals for the children, even if a baby is formula fed, the formula is provided daily.  It's included in the cost.  Although, even though I supply breast milk I don't get a discount :P

 I've let LO play with his spoon, but haven't given him any solids yet.  He still has another month before he turns 6 months.  He really likes his spoon and will gnaw on the spoon end of it. 

smilelari

gigglez82:

My LO goes to a daycare on a military base.  They just have regular baby food in jars there.  They just require that you've introduced the food to baby for 3-4 times before they will feed it there.  I would like to do BLW where I will give him regular food, not pureed and then he can learn to feed himself.  And since I can't bring my own food, especially one that isn't pureed, I'm trying to figure out how I want to do this while he's still in daycare.  They provide all meals for the children, even if a baby is formula fed, the formula is provided daily.  It's included in the cost.  Although, even though I supply breast milk I don't get a discount :P

 I've let LO play with his spoon, but haven't given him any solids yet.  He still has another month before he turns 6 months.  He really likes his spoon and will gnaw on the spoon end of it. 

If the room is 6-12 months they have to be doing finger foods as well.  I'd just talk to them about doing finger foods.  Lots of babies are done with purees by 7-8 months even if not doing blw

valerieanne9015

My DC center also provider all food, purees, formula and finger food.  (No discount for sending BM either..)  DD is moving into the 6-12m room in a few weeks and I was told DD has to be on solids by 7 months to start getting them ready for the 1y/o room.  But they said we could provide a doctors note if we wanted to hold off on solids still.  They are really good about telling us about what the rules/regulations are of the center, but will change almost anything if you have a doctors note about it.  Maybe you could talk to your center and ask if you provided a doctors note, could they bend the rules that your LO doesn't have to be on purees and can jump right to the finger food they probably already have in the room. 

jnealet

I just wouldn't ok solids until you have your lo on finger foods. That's what we did with D1, she ate breakfast and dinner at home and then we started lunch after she was eating well. 

jb2rn

Interesting. This must be CDC wide, then. My LO is not in day care, but I have heard from other Moms that they only offer purees from a jar, as well.

I would just do it at dinner time to start and go from there. How frustrating. Good luck.

gigglez82

I think all the CDC's have to fall under the same guidelines, I'm not sure.  But yeah no finger foods, just purees or cereals.  They can't even sit them in a highchair or seat of some sort to feed them, they have to be holding the babies, EVEN for purees.  I watched one of the caregivers holding a baby while trying to feed him cereal using a spoon and it looked so awkward.

On another note, my LO loves his spoon.  I have the Tommee Tippee explora first weaning spoons, it's really flexible and gummy on the end.  It's so funny watching him gnaw on it, it looks like he's actually "feeding" himself, even though there isn't anything on the spoon lol.

smilelari

gigglez82:

I think all the CDC's have to fall under the same guidelines, I'm not sure.  But yeah no finger foods, just purees or cereals.  They can't even sit them in a highchair or seat of some sort to feed them, they have to be holding the babies, EVEN for purees.  I watched one of the caregivers holding a baby while trying to feed him cereal using a spoon and it looked so awkward.

On another note, my LO loves his spoon.  I have the Tommee Tippee explora first weaning spoons, it's really flexible and gummy on the end.  It's so funny watching him gnaw on it, it looks like he's actually "feeding" himself, even though there isn't anything on the spoon lol.

So even the 10-12 month olds are eating purees?  This makes no sense

gigglez82

smilelari:

gigglez82:

I think all the CDC's have to fall under the same guidelines, I'm not sure.  But yeah no finger foods, just purees or cereals.  They can't even sit them in a highchair or seat of some sort to feed them, they have to be holding the babies, EVEN for purees.  I watched one of the caregivers holding a baby while trying to feed him cereal using a spoon and it looked so awkward.

On another note, my LO loves his spoon.  I have the Tommee Tippee explora first weaning spoons, it's really flexible and gummy on the end.  It's so funny watching him gnaw on it, it looks like he's actually "feeding" himself, even though there isn't anything on the spoon lol.

So even the 10-12 month olds are eating purees?  This makes no sense

smilelari,

You're right it didn't make sense, so I went and asked specifically about finger foods.  They did say that they can start at 10 months, but even then the menu is set by the daycare, which is advertised each day by the entrance, and that the parent would just have to let the caregivers know which foods the child can or cannot have.

But as far as BLW goes prior to that, only purees..commercial baby food. The oldest baby in my LO's room right now is 7 months and she's about to leave, so they will all be around 6 months old, so not even any 10-12 month olds in their room.

I'm going to just try to do BLW at home, but I'm worried that my LO will see the other babies who are being fed purees and cereals and will want to get in on the action.