BLW moms, come in!

CougFan · September 2013

LO is almost 6 months and we are looking forward to getting started with Baby-Led Weaning!

I've read the book, gone to the website and I'm excited but a little nervous. I keep thinking, "Really? I can just give her that?" and "What if I cook that too much? Not enough?"

So, if you are full-on BLW, I would love some help!

Like, how roasted are your vegetables? I feel like too much and she can bite off chunks, too little and she can't eat it (or a chunk will break off and be to hard for her to manage!).

Tell me about meat...again, I'm nervous she'll be able to bite off too much.

What are some of your LO's favorite foods?

Thanks!!

kjsmith9 · September 2013

1) We never really roasted vegetables - we typically make frozen veggies so we just gave her what we were eating. Or some things we gave without cooking (i.e., snap peas right out of the bag).

2) We've given strips of baked chicken, pork chops, steak, hamburger, etc. She's done great with all of them.

3) Favorite foods tend to change from week to week. Right now she really likes cheerios, berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), bread, crackers, cucumber, chicken, and spaghetti.

She WILL bite off chunks that are too big for her. She has to - otherwise she won't figure out what size she should be attempting to chew up and swallow. She'll bite something too big, realize it's too big and cough/spit it out, and then pick it up and try again. It's okay - as long as she's making noises (i.e., coughing/gagging), she is NOT choking. It WILL be hard for her to manage at first, there's a learning curve (as there is with everything). But when we started BLW, I figured she'd have to learn how to manage real food eventually, and was glad we were just doing it right from the get-go. DD has been doing BLW since a week before she turned 6 months, and she has never choked. Now she's 9 months old and is an awesome eater!

jensriot · September 2013

I don't have any advice as I did cereal and purees with my first two babies, but I'm following because I'm really interested in skipping those this time around and letting baby feed

@kjsmith9 What did you serve for the first food? I haven't looked into it too much yet, but DS is getting close to six months and is showing interest in our meals.

rm2013 · September 2013

OP, I think you're in my BMB.... I was coming to this board to look for the exact same thing! I'm in the same boat as you, I really want to do BLW but am scared I won't do it right. And DH is skeptical so if I make any missteps he'll probably try to nix the whole thing.

In addition to food tips, I'm also curious to know what gear is needed. I'm thinking high chair, floor mat, and body bib - anything else? Which bibs are great for keeping messy laundry to a minimum? TIA ladies for any advice!

nanabanana06 · September 2013

Our son eats when we eat and whatever we eat. If we're having something like fast food then we'll steam him some veggies and chop up some fruit. For instance when I make breakfast Cade eats it with us. He loves pancakes and waffles with fruit inside or on the side. When I get a yogurt or cheese stick I share with him. My 8 month old has had lasagna, Indian food, Thai, Vietnamese, ect. He loves to eat!. Don't be afraid. We did not change his bottle intake either, he'll do that himself.

kjsmith9 · September 2013

JenS2203 said:

I don't have any advice as I did cereal and purees with my first two babies, but I'm following because I'm really interested in skipping those this time around and letting baby feed
@kjsmith9 What did you serve for the first food? I haven't looked into it too much yet, but DS is getting close to six months and is showing interest in our meals.

Honestly, I don't really remember... She had whatever we had that night. I want to say it was baked chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes. She "had dinner" with us every night, but didn't actually start swallowing food until 3 or 4 weeks in. She had fun playing though (and still does)!

=Lee=B · September 2013

I wouldn't worry about it too much. We've been BLW for about 2weeks and many times the veggies are too hard or too soft. She still eats it. She spits it out as needed and makes a mess as she pleases. Doesn't seem to bother her in the least.

It would be way too much effort and wasted food to try and get it perfect every time. We started 2 weeks before she turned 6 months because she was sitting up on her own, was so focussed on our food and she had been sitting in her highchair with us since one month of age (with the chair reclined). It was just time to start.

I thought it would take a lot longer but she figured it out the first night and I was finding chunks in her diaper after the second feed. We only give her food once a day...and not every day.

I've only done avocado, sweet potato, squash and carrot. Since we started a bit before 6months I wanted to keep it limited to easier to digest foods for a bit. My husband is insistent that we don't give fruit for a couple months...he wants her to be happy with veggies and to eat many foods so we are holding off on sweet fruits.

After this week we'll start giving more of what we eat rather than just our veggies.

Just remember that gagging is GOOD and is different than choking. Baby's are smart and they will shock you with BLW!

kerbear135 · September 2013

DD's first food was steamed broccoli from a restaurant and she loved it...it wasn't super soft, and all she ate was a little of the floret, but she had a good time. She loves blueberry muffin, yogurt, scrambled eggs, baby cheetos (some off brand of puffs shaped like cheetos), mum mums, bread of any kind, broccoli, spaghetti, orange slices, and water from a straw (she has a sippy cup but really prefers to drink out other people's cup if they have a straw). She's only gagged a couple of times, and those were both times she didn't gum it fully before she tried to swallow. We use a vinyl type bib and a high chair- that's really all you need. We too started with giving her veggies before sweet things (fruit etc) and she loves both. She's had meat some and seems to enjoy it, but we've mostly stuck to veggies or fruits b/c they're easier for her to hold (she's still working on her pincher grasp).

PinkandLove77 · September 2013

I hope no one minds that I ask a question. DS is 6 months and has no signs of erupting teeth. Does he need teeth for some foods? When he can have eggs, it seems like teeth would be needed to mush. So he has to wait or no? And spaghetti?

What foods need teeth?

Thanks so much!

ebp913 · September 2013

PinkandLove77 said:

I hope no one minds that I ask a question. DS is 6 months and has no signs of erupting teeth. Does he need teeth for some foods? When he can have eggs, it seems like teeth would be needed to mush. So he has to wait or no? And spaghetti?

What foods need teeth?
Thanks so much!

They don't need teeth to eat. Saliva goes a long way in breaking down food as does just munching it on toothless gums. No foods need teeth really.

nanabanana06 · September 2013

PinkandLove77 said:

I hope no one minds that I ask a question. DS is 6 months and has no signs of erupting teeth. Does he need teeth for some foods? When he can have eggs, it seems like teeth would be needed to mush. So he has to wait or no? And spaghetti?

What foods need teeth?
Thanks so much!

They don't need teeth to eat food. My son just got teeth, but was eating perfectly fine before he got his toofers.

PinkandLove77 · September 2013

Thank you both!

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