BLW and "food before one..."

CatieG · May 2014

Not trying to step on any toes but I saw these articles and can honestly say, I agree with everything she said. I'm also curious about the following:

For you BLWers, are you hardcore purists or will you allow the occasional purees?

And who agrees with the phrase "food before one is just for fun" before reading the blog post and who still agrees after reading it?

Food before one debunked:
https://breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.de/2012/09/bullshitometer-food-before-one-is-just.html

BLW:
https://breastfeedingwithoutbs.blogspot.de/2011/11/bullshitometer-baby-led-weaninggill.html

catycate · May 2014

Thank you, thank you thank you. I have felt this way since DS was a baby, but was super flamed in that birth month club for my opinion on the matter. But it makes a lot of sense to me that as babies get bigger and more active, they would need additional foods. It's one of the reasons we do purées along side chunks of food.

CatieG · May 2014

We do a mix, too. Currently we do purees to fill him up and finger foods to keep him occupied when it's not time to eat LOL

kimbo1216 · May 2014

I was told my my DD1 pedi that food before one is mostly for practice and that we start early enough so that they can acclimate to it. So I heard that from a pretty reliable source IMO.

These articles do nothing to change my mind. The blogger clearly went in with a bias and out to prove a point. We did BLW with DD1 and now with DD2. I know she is getting food because her poop is already starting to smell worse. Lol.

Also, vitamin d is the only thing my pedi is concerned about DD not getting from BM. So she has her on that. But guess what: if you're concerned about iron (mine isn't), they make vitamin drops with iron too. And my instinct tells me that is just as good as any iron you get in cereal.

I love BLW. It's so easy. I just give DD whatever non-salty items we are having. What she eats she eats. What she doesn't, she doesn't.

But I do think all she and other babies truly need at this age is BM or formula. In fact I read once that BM is the only substance that a human could survivor on eating (drinking) it and it alone at any age.

So there are multiple opinions. She has hers. I have mine. Do your own research. Decide for yourself.

Eta; I adhere pretty closely to BLW. The closest to purées she has come is the refried beans my mom have her. Lol. She LOVED the beans. But they still require chewing.

carawasa · May 2014

I've been mixing too because let's face it, watermelon is not purée able. And when I gave her chunks of foods she just spits it out and doesn't eat anything. I feel like my baby needs solids because she is noticeably hungry between bottles. It's good for her to learn and try different tastes and introduce lots of different foods. A lot of children only eat Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and i would like to avoid that..

kimbo1216 · May 2014

carawasa said:
A lot of children only eat Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets and i would like to avoid that..

It's my firm belief that this happens because the parents allow it to happen. Sorry but children won't starve. My child would live off cheese and chicken nuggets if I let her. But I don't. She eats what we eat. If she doesn't want it, she doesn't eat. She most certainly doesn't get dessert or her favorite snacks. Occasionally she goes to bed hungry. But she never starves. Once I even put her dinner in the fridge and gave it to her for breakfast. Haven't had to do that since.

I can tell when she's not eating because she's not hungry and when she's being picky though.

elllaf · May 2014

In the article she makes it sound like "food for fun" equals NO food necessary.
Really it just means to not Replace BM or formula for food.
Milk still needs to be their main source of nutrition until 12 months. If they eat...they eat. If they don't it's okay. There's no need to force feed.
If you're worried about vitamins you can give drops like Kimbo said.

SHAWNACPA · May 2014

My pedi told me that food right now is for practice. We are doing BLW and I haven't given A any purees, mostly because one of the points of BLW is for baby to eat what you eat and I don't eat purees. My baby seems to be doing great with BLW, but BM is still her main source of nutrition. I am really glad that we decided to go with BLW, it is easy and we really enjoy having A eat with us (and she seems to like it too).

The articles do not make me rethink the "food before one is just for fun" because I heard that from my pedi, but to each their own. I feel like you can find an article/blog/etc. on the internet to support any opinion that you have, so I choose to listen to my pedi, rather than try to sort through all of the internet jumble.

carawasa · May 2014

@kimbo1216‌ oh you are completely right! I just know I'm a super picky eater, and if I can avoid my LO to be like that, it would be ideal. It really has nothing to do with introing foods before 1 except the fact that I think it might help her be open to more flavors, I'm hoping anyways.

Jenball717 · May 2014

So, I'm not a BLW mom but I don't have any issue with moms who choose to do this or moms who want to extend breast feeding. I like to do purées because there are a lot of healthy, flavorful choices out there that offer a variety that would be tough for me to match if I were making my own or doing BLW. I mean, have you seen the Ella's Kitchen flavors? 5 different fruits and veggies in one pouch! That would take a lot if work on my behalf. I'm tempted to start adding purées into the diets of my whole family!

jennlin · May 2014

exactly exactly everything @kimbo1216 said. except change dd to ds

my pedi agrees, food is just for practice.
milk is a perfect food.
no, i don't trust a random bloggers opinion.
i give vit d drops
not worried about iron, as we're a meat eating family.
no purees, period. not because i'm anti-puree, just because they are messy as hell and i'm lazy as sht. i'm not cleaning up after a puree. my toddler has had applesauce and mashed potatoes, if that counts for anything. but the only applesauce she had was a sample from costco.
kids eat like crap only if their parents let them.

CatieG · May 2014

Okay, I should edit my original post to say that I agree with her overall statements. I'm definitely not anti BLW but it's become a "fad" that some just take a little too seriously.

SweetCFly · May 2014

@jgslr I couldn't have said it better myself. Also what are we defining as "purées"? Avocados, yogurt and sweet potatoes are very soft and mushy and some of DS faves and they are very messy (unless we spoon feed it to him which we sometimes do)... His other favorites are orange slices, turkey, chicken and pork which aren't as messy. It depends on what we are BLWing.

We are doing a mix of BLW and purées (unorganized I guess). I do find that he enjoys the experience of BLW more because he really likes to feed himself #allthethings... I just get nervous and if I am trying to multitask at times purées are easier (if I'm making meals for us too). I am very paranoid about choking.

blondolphn · May 2014

Jo loves to feed herself with a preloaded spoon. She ended in the tub after breakfast.

jennlin · May 2014

jgslr said:

Also, how are you guys feeding puree that it's messier than blw?! Spoon meets mouth and that's it. Finger food meets hand, table, hair, eye, and then possibly mouth. Blw is waaay messier imo, but it keeps her entertained between spoonfuls just enough for me to get bites of my food.

when i used to feed my niece she would spit it out all over the place. but i was thoroughly grossed out...maybe it was just her?

MtnChickaD · May 2014

Just food for thought:

We recently had a patient in our department who was SCHOOL AGED and could eat nothing but alimentum formula due to severe gastrointestinal issues. They looked just like any other kid.

I believe that one could survive off of breastmilk/formula but I think it's important for babies to experience new tastes and textures, purees, BLW, a mixture....whatever works.

edaire · May 2014

DS flat out refuses all food. I've tried everything, and at best he will eat a few spoonfuls then he's done. Mostly he just refuses hardcore. I was concerned about it, but pedi told me to relax. He's growing well and is perfectly healthy. He's not a big eater to begin with, and has never taken a lot of formula. I don't force feed him. I figure he will eat in his own time.

brooklynnerdymama · May 2014

I agree that the phrase is probably more just a generalization to take the pressure off and let parents be patient with their child while they learn to feed themselves. BM alone would probably be ok (if not ideal). Adding food is likely better, but I doubt many babies make it all the way to 1 without figuring out how to ingest at least some food when it is placed in front of them.

Iron is the only point of pushback I got from my pedi. I said we could get iron drops but she said oatmeal is better which I highly doubt... I'm pretty sure they're both fortification so there should be no difference.

On the plus side, E's dexterity is awesome already and she's figured out how to mash up foods really well with her gums. I do give her oatmeal (mostly out of anticipated guilt in case her iron comes out low) and any foods that we eat as purées (ie mashed potatoes, apple sauce).

Overall I think the purist form of BLW is a bit faddish and the mixed form is really more just common sense with a fancy term to justify to the in-laws why I'm comfortable giving a chicken bone to my 7-month-old.

Eta edited for relevance to OP

tashad18 · May 2014

A random blog isn't going to change my mind on things that I have researched and am decided upon.

I fully believe that babies would be fine without solids for the first year, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to get my LO used to textures, tastes, and the eating process.

LO eats purees and our food. I won't say that I do a mix of BLW and purees because I'm sure someone will point out that if I'm giving purees I can't be doing BLW. So I feed my kid whatever I feel like feeding him that day. He is healthy and gaining appropriately. I think to each their own so long as their kid is taken care of.

CatieG · May 2014

I need to see if I can find the German feeding guidelines for solids in English. First of all, it's #puréeallthethings and then the things and amounts they want me to feed my baby...ca-razy!

dovetail223 · May 2014

Our pedi basically said food before one was more about brain development. Meaning it's good for DD to have the brain activity that comes along with tasting different foods, chewing, swallowing, and picking things up. She was not concerned about nutrition from food and hasn't mentioned iron once. We just do whatever DD is into that day. If she tired then it's purée - if she's not we try different stuff. She still gets more than half her nutrition from formula.

SnoopyLuv · May 2014

I've had two pedi's tell me that solids are for practice and not to change milk intake. That's what I think it's supposed to mean more than anything.

I did BLW with DD1 because I was too lazy to feed her purees separate from our dinner and I liked how it went. DD2 has taken to it even better than DD1 did. Since I'm not worried about the content and amount of what she's eating it makes my life easier. Tonight we had thai food and everything had peanuts so I just gave her some blueberries. She was happy, we were happy, life goes on. If you like spoon feeding your kid, do what you want. I hate it with a passion, so I like BLW.

slh6363 · May 2014

I do believe that BM/formula has all they need nutrition wise. But my LO was clearly interested in food at 5 months and needed it to fill him up a bit...if we did strict BLW I do not believe he would be getting much at all. We do mostly purees with a little chunks here and there whenever it is something easy to give chunks of. He is starting to love grabbing at things and feeding himself so I will begin to head down that road now that he is able/willing.

germanpickle · May 2014

CatieG said:
I need to see if I can find the German feeding guidelines for solids in English. First of all, it's #puréeallthethings and then the things and amounts they want me to feed my baby...ca-razy!

I was once told by a pekip nutritional advisor that my 10month old needed to drink 50ml of water with each meal or he ran the risk of dying of dehydration or becoming stupid (actually the R word but I'm not going to write it down) I still wish I had taken her name and complained officially

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