Babies: 6 - 9 Months
burnseek
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BLW
burnseek
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Looking for advice on BLW. I've just learned about it. My LO is 6.5 months. We started solids at around 4 and a bit months with rice cereal then different puréed veggies and fruits. Since reading about BLW I've tried her with toast cut into fingers, sticks of carrot and parsnip, mango and melon (she gets very frustrated because she loves these but they're slippery lol). 1. I'm worried about choking and 2. I feel like she's not really getting as much as when she gets spoon fed the purées because she just ends up playing with it. Is it just a case of persisting until she gets used to it and more willing to eat? Plus any more ideas on what to give her?
Thanks (first time and worries-about-everything mum!!)
Thanks (first time and worries-about-everything mum!!)
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Re: BLW
Babies don't 'need' adult food so there is no concern about how much they are actually eating. Their solids intake before 1 year is not supposed to decrease their breastmilk/formula intake. So whether they eat and little or a lot they should get the same about of nutrients from their main source of food (breastmilk/formula). Solids (what ever form) just does not have enough nutrients in comparison, so we need to ensure they still get their full feeds from bottle/breast. Time the meals so they are not starving when they do BLW (they'll get frustrated), usually aim to do BLW about an hour after a feed (breast/bottle).
Have you read the Baby Led Weaning book? It has a lot of information in regards to choking. My daughter is almost 9 months and has been BLW since 6 months and has never choked, she gagged a handful of times but has never choked. Gagging is normal and good. It is their way of keeping themselves safe. Their gag reflex is far forward on the tongue so they gag before the food is far enough back to choke. This teaches them how to handle food. By doing BLW earlier they figure it out before that gagging reflex moves further back. ALL children will go through this stage, even those spoon fed to a year old then introduced fingers foods when they are older. They will have to figure out how to handle the food and will gag as well.
Don't force feed. BLW is all about letting the child decide when and if to eat and what to eat. If they don't want it they don't have to eat it. They will pick and choose based on their mood at that given time. This is the key part of BLW. It helps them grow to be a healthy eater that knows their needs. They grow up less likely to over eat, less chance of obesity etc.
Feed pretty much anything and everything (except honey). Give it in large french fry shaped pieces that they can hold in a fist. My daughter loves all meets, steak, pork chop you name it. She will sit and eat lettuce and cabbage. For some odd reason she loves cooked onions. She has had and is fine with shrimp, peanut butter, eggs and the allergy concerning foods.
While teething watermelon with the rind (and other melons) were a life saver. They were cold and she could chew away on it working those teeth through. You mention melon being slippery...keep the rind (peel) on it helps them handle it. Mango and avocado are very slippery just keep introducing it while giving other foods at the same time so they can handle something easier if they get too frustrated.
So if bits break off, from say the toast, do I just leave it up to her to spit it out if its too big or see if she'd like to swallow? Thanks again :-)
Yep, baby will know what to do. In the early weeks my daughters gag reflex would instantly spit bits out. Now she swallows most of it. The 'rule' is not to put anything in their mouth (they have to put it in) because if you put it in the risk of choking is higher than if they put it in. So, if they bite off a chunk they will figure out how to deal with it.