Baby Led Weaning 411!

KH826 · November 2014

Hi Everyone!

Will turns 6 months on Dec 4th, and we plan to start introducing solids. We plan to give BLW a try and see how is goes.

For those with experience in this area, here are my questions:

* What foods did you try first?

* How long did you wait in between each new food you introduced?

* What do you wish you had known before you started?

* What would you do differently in the future?

* Any big tips or neat ideas?

* Are the splat mats for under the chair useful, or a waste of money? ;-)

I look forward to everyone's advice! Thanks!

redrockmama · November 2014

I don't have any experience obviously, but look forward to heating others advice because we are wondering these things too. M is starting to be very interested in food and I guess will be ready by 6 months (Dec 19).

so, this morning J put M in his highchair and gave him some cereal to play with. The dogs immediately laid under his chair eating all the pieces he threw on the ground. They will be our splat mat

KH826 · November 2014

Thanks, @herbabymama - this is great advice! We do have a book, and have been doing some reading online, but I was interested in some real life experiences from people I "knew" and trusted as well

We are planning to start with steamed sweet potato, so I am glad to hear that is what you started with as well...

I have been trying to engage my wife in talking about this a bit more to make sure we are both 100% on the same page... some times I think she THINKS I can just read her mind and we are automatically on the same page just by virtue of being married to one another LOL. I have to keep reminding her that just because she has had a convo in her own head about this when I am not at home, does not mean that I know what she wants to do!

On the topic of eggs... I have read a few different things in different places. I have read a few times that the hard boiled egg yoke is OK starting at 6 months, but to wait until 12 months to offer the whole egg. What have others heard on this?

Also, did anyone else's baby already have teeth when they started offering solids? Did it make it easier? Harder? No impact?

Anyone know of any BLW blogs or websites that you like? A google search produces TONS of results. Interested in recommendations if anyone has any...

Karlamo · November 2014

Like @herbabymama‌ we do both BLW and purées. I found with BLW it took a long time for him to actually eat the food and not play with it. I found purées were a sure thing to get him eating solids.
We started with banana and avocado and let him mash it up himself. We also give apple slices and pear slices not cubes, to gnaw on. It's been great for teething.

We wait every 3/4 days before giving a new food. We are conservative with diary and haven't even given yogurt until last week. We do give him tastes of foods like red sauce, hummus and last week was beef stew but I think it was too "peppery" for him.

I wish we were both CPR certified before we started. Honestly, I'm not as brave as I thought I'd be with it. Mostly because I don't feel prepared if something did go wrong.

I love the splash mat. It's saving my rug right now!!

R didn't have teeth till 3 weeks ago. You use your molars to chew not your front teeth so I don't think teeth have any impact at this point. They're gums are very strong. Just ask my nipples

I've been told that food the first year is just for fun and for them to get used to it. It's not their main source of nourishment. I have a hard time remembering this when I'm trying to feed him and he's not eating but playing.

@ATXmommas‌ has had great luck with BLW.

redrockmama · November 2014

KH826 said:

I have been trying to engage my wife in talking about this a bit more to make sure we are both 100% on the same page... some times I think she THINKS I can just read her mind and we are automatically on the same page just by virtue of being married to one another LOL. I have to keep reminding her that just because she has had a convo in her own head about this when I am not at home, does not mean that I know what she wants to do!

You seriously just described my life. J always thinks I've been privy to the conversations she's had with herself haha

ATXmommas · November 2014

Like @Karlamo‌ mentioned, Ash really took to BLW and we have really enjoyed it.

* What foods did you try first?
Steamed zucchini and squash cut into long rectangles. At 6 months babies need a handle to hold onto and another end to gnaw on. We offered sweet potato and avocado early on. We ventured to bread and tofu maybe a month or so in. And hummus. Once his pincher grip was more developed we started offering beans and grains. We also waited until he was regularly eating veggies before we offered fruit to try to avoid him having a preference for sweets.

* How long did you wait in between each new food you introduced?

2-3 days. We don't do dairy or eggs, but did start peanut butter before a year - pediatrician told me that new research supports giving PB (not whole nuts) before a year.

* What do you wish you had known before you started?

Just things I learned along the way - in the beginning, there will be ebbs and flows. Days he won't be interested in eating doesn't mean anything in the big scheme. Rejecting a food once doesn't mean he will always reject it.

* What would you do differently in the future?

Nothing!

* Any big tips or neat ideas?

My biggest recommendation is to stay relaxed. Formula will remain his primary source of nutrition for a while still, so give him time to play with and explore his food. It will take a little bit of time for him to figure things out and that's perfectly fine. Babies don't learn to roll in a day. They have time to practice and develop muscles before they are able to, and then it takes even more time to get good at it. Eating is the same.

Oh, and I found that Ash did use his bottom teeth to scrape the flesh off the zucchini sticks we gave him, though I think gums work perfectly well too.

* Are the splat mats for under the chair useful, or a waste of money?

Nah. Our dog is also our vacuum. And it was a while before he dropped lot of food.

If I think of anything else I'll
Come back. Rushed today. Boo.

ATXmommas · November 2014

Finally on a computer! This might be a bit repetitive, but I'll expand a bit on what has already been posted -

I'm glad you have book in hand - I read the BLW book you probably have and I learned a lot of great tips from it, but no need to over-research in my opinion. I was really overwhelmed at the thought of starting solids, but we started slow - just once a day and one food at a time. After a couple weeks, you will get into a groove. You will become more aware of what he's capable of, when he is ready to add a meal or snack, and when to introduce new foods, different textures, etc.

We followed the advice in the BLW book regarding the size of food we offered in the beginning. We did not cut food into small pieces. We cut veggies into shapes so that he could hold one end in his fist and put the other end in his mouth. While he can get small pieces of food in his mouth now, at 6 months a small piece of food would have just ended up clasped in his fist. We, of course, supervised him very closely when he ate, but we absolutely let him feed himself (other than letting him lick hummus or guacamole of our finger - but I like @herbabymama's suggestion of just putting the blob on the highchair tray). We simply placed the food in front of him and let him control what he ate or not. Especially at the beginning, there was no expectation that he actually consume food. We just wanted him to practice. We kept meal time relaxed and didn't make a big deal when he didn't eat. We always offered, though.

We had a couple of gagging episodes, but nothing that reached the scary stage. Again - stay relaxed and calm. For us, thankfully, the gagging was brief and he resolved it on his own. I honestly can say that we were never scared/worried from any episode. Babies can/will gag on purees as well.

So, I think you can see the theme of my advice is - RELAX and follow his lead! I truly feel that babies can sense what we are feeling, and meal time should be a pleasant and relaxing time to share with family. Different babies will display varying levels of interest in food at different times, so follow his lead. If he doesn't take to solids at first, just keep offering.

I look forward to hearing how it goes! Meal times are still really fun for us. I hope you have fun with it! It may seem overwhelming now, but you will get the hang of it in no time, I'm sure!

KH826 · November 2014

Thank you everyone for your advice and offering your experiences. So much good info!

We definitely plan to start slow, that is one thing we talked about, and we are very much on the same page there. We also won't force anything. I know that food is for fun from 6-12 months, so I am not going to worry if he isn't super into it at first.

I am definitely more nervous about gagging (more so than my wife, I think), but I will try very hard to relax and just have fun with it (while be watchful of course). I am sure it will work out fine. Like everything else, it is just a little scary until you do it...

I will keep everyone posted & probably share PIPs of my boy covered in food at some point LOL

trisholio · November 2014

I didn't do blw with K, but my advice in any new stage is to relax. Don't rush them and have fun with it. Though from the beginning we tried to control spitting, throwing food, ect. We call our dogs the clean up crew, they def have eaten more people food since it's having the girls.
As far as being CPR certified, you can look up videos online. We are certified because of being foster parents, but I feel like most of the first aid stuff is common sense.

ball.and.chain · November 2014

So I just wanted to say, regarding allergies -- I know all the books tell you not to introduce certain things until after a year, e.g. eggs. Those guidelines are based on American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations that were retracted in 2008 after it was determined that there wasn't really sufficient evidence to support delayed introductions of allergens (and that rates of allergies were not decreasing as a result of delayed introduction). In fact, the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology released a paper in 2013 that says that allergenic foods can be (and maybe should be) introduced early. In fact there are some studies (cited in the paper) that indicate kids are MORE sensitive to eggs at age 5 if they are introduced after 10.5 months. If the child's genetic parent has severe food allergies, more caution may be reasonable.

With pet allergies, it is generally believed that early exposure lessens the likelihood of developing an allergy. It seems they are starting to realize this is probably true with food allergies as well. Honestly I think people are just terrified of experiencing a severe allergic reaction with an infant.

I think everyone still agrees on no honey at least until age 1, though! That's a botulism risk.

ETA link to the paper: https://www.jaci-inpractice.org/article/S2213-2198(12)00014-1/fulltext#

redrockmama · November 2014

So, another question. Is reading the, or a, BLW book necessary? I'm not opposed to it and probably will, but I doubt J will read it. Can we get enough out of just reading the website?

ATXmommas · November 2014

jrtmom said:
In regards to waiting until a certain time to introduce some foods (eggs, strawberries, etc..), our pediatrician said unless there was a history in our family of allergies, there was no need to wait. She said the only foods to stay away from were honey, and of course the obvious (pop corn, seeds, etc..)

Same.

Also, I only read the book, not the website. I'll be happy to pass it along to anyone who wants it.

Want a personalized experience?

Baby Led Weaning 411!

Re: Baby Led Weaning 411!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards