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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
kateraid
member
BLWers
kateraid
member
I have been making purees for LO and he was eating just about everything until recently. Now he will only eat his apple cinnamon oatmeal. I am thinking of switching over to BLW to try and re-interest him (since he is constantly grabbing my dinner) but I am a bit nervous. I have heard that everything needs to be french fry sized but what about the last bite when it gets smaller? What are the basic rules and what foods did you start your LOs out on.
TIA
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Re: BLWers
We started blw at 6 months. We started with "French fry" size because it was easier to pick up. Now he can pick up any size food and he is more skilled at chewing and swallowing so I'm not worried about him getting smaller bits of food.
First foods were avocado, sweet potato, banana and butternut squash. I would steam or roast until the food was softer. If he got too big of a bite, he would move it around his mouth and then spit it out, but sometimes he gagged a little.
Blw is really easy and it has worked well for us. Good luck!
DItto what PP said. The reason for "french fry size" is because babies don't have great control of their hands yet, so when they grab little pieces of food in their fists (before the have pincer grasp), they can't let go of it to actually get it in their mouths. My DD often eats as much as she can (that's sticking out of her fist), and then the part that was in her fist ends up on the floor.
We started with whatever we were eating. She's had tons of fruits/veggies, plus things like rice dishes, baked ziti (which she loved), guacamole, etc. We took some stuff to daycare one day, and they said "she was choking on it and we had to take her out and pat on her back a little bit" - I know she was gagging, which is what she does here. It's all an experiment! It's just them learning about textures, how to move food to the back of their mouths, etc. We started almost a month ago (maybe a week before she was 6 months?), and she just started to actually swallow food in the last week.
i could have written this almost exactly about DS. he's had all kinds of stuff, and most of it he really enjoys. he's 8+ months now, so we've been doing BLW for almost 3 months. he still doesn't actually consume as much as i'd like, but i know he'll get there in his own time. have fun with it!
Her favourites are sweet potato, potato, carrot, broccoli, turnip, ribs, steak and lobster. With flaky fish, like cod and halibut, after she tries it I mix it with her mashed potato so she can feed herself. Otherwise the pieces fall apart and she drops them.
Ditto to everything all the PPs said. I do a mix of BLW and purees since I don't want my LO eating what we eat at every meal (we definitely do fast foods, microwaved foods!)
If you're nervous, start with ripe bananas or avocadoes, cut into thin french fry shapes. Then move on to steamed veggies or soft fruits (just make sure you can mash it with your fingers). Then onto more textured things. We've been doing this since he was 6 months (he's now 8months) and I still don't think he takes in that much.
Watch out, though. BLW is A LOT more messy than purees! I hardly have to clean anything with purees but when I have LO eat with his hands, it's a huge mess. But it's also a LOT of fun!
It is a quick read and has eexcellent information to get you started.