We let her taste watermelon a few days before 6mo, then had her try some avocado and recently she tried cantaloupe. We haven't really gotten into it, taking it super slow. And now that she has her two bottom teeth coming in, I'm more worried about gagging/choking since she can definitely get a big chunk off now!
She was probably 5 months or so when I started letting her share things with me. It was nothing crazy. Just a taste of my pear or banana. At 6 months I started putting her in her high chair for meal times and giving her food. I'm not sure how much she's actually eaten, but she is definitely enjoying herself and attacking all the food I offer.
We started around 5.5 months. I've offered watermelon, bananas, avocado, crusty bread as well as cheerios & mum mum teething biscuits. At first DD was having hard time getting food into her mouth. Now she's much better. Babies really learn quickly.
We're doing it because I think it makes the most sense. Babies know how to feed themselves (sucking instinct from birth), so why not let them continue? It also seems like the best way to get your baby to become a good eater from the beginning with less fights about food. And the most important reason that I'm doing it is because I used to have major food issues (had to be hospitalized twice in high school for anorexia) and from what I have read, BLW seems like the most (mentally) healthy way to approach food with a baby. There's no force-feeding; baby chooses what and how much to eat. Baby is respected from day 1 about his choices and learns to love good food and learns how much he needs to fill up and feel good. I think if more people did BLW, we would have far less food issues as a culture. OK, stepping off my soap box now. :P
LO is only 5.5 months, so we've sort of started, but not really. Meaning, I've given him raw carrot sticks, cucumber slices, and raw apple slices to gnaw on, but he's not actually *eating* any of it. He's pretty much using it for teething. Which is about all I feel comfortable with knowing that his insides are probably not quite ready yet. After 6 months, and with the OK from the pedi, we'll go ahead and give him some squishier foods that he will actually eat, like avocado and steamed veggies.
Like DC, we just started on a whim. He seemed ready and boy was he ever. If I dare put him in his high chair without food already on it, he complains. His little hands get that food into his mouth as fast as he can. We started the week before he turned 6 months. That was 3 weeks ago. He's quite adept now. I am actually quite sure he swallowed a bite of food intentionally yesterday as opposed to spitting it out.
Thanks ladies. I still don't think dd is really ready. She loves to watch us and grab at my plate. I gave her a little piece of toast the other day and she ended up spitting it up within minutes. She has been spitting up a lot again. I think we will hold off a little longer.
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Re: Mommies doing BLW