Baby Led Weaning

Thanks Shaf, the spoon with cereal just does not work, she just can't get the angel right and she ends up picking up the bowl and drinking from the bowl! TanyaR - the fork seems to be going ok, but she gets a bit frustrated as well when she is hungry, especially when I feed her noodles :) I think the key is to just keep giving them to her and she'll use them eventually. It doesn't matter how she gets it all in at the moment. ;)

Some Advice Please: I did BLW and it is all great. But now at 12 mths she wants to do it herself with the utensils, which I want to encourage, but, I can only cook food she can get on a fork otherwise it ends up on the floor if she uses a spoon. And, how do your LO's eat cereal. So, my question is how to go from BLW with fingers to using utensils and at what age. Miss Charlotte is almost 14 months and can now use a spoon really well. I mean, she makes a massive mess (!) but she can dig it into a yoghurt pot or cereal bowl, get food on it and guide it into her mouth. From almost day one of BLW, any time there has been food that could be 'forked, knifed or spooned' I've just put baby-friendly utensils on the table in front of her and let her go for it. In the very early days I gave her a loaded spoon but otherwise I guess she's just picked up what she's supposed to do with them all by watching the family eat. The only thing I still spoon feed to her is weetbix and milk. I just cannot deal with that particular mess... which sets like concrete! ;)

Thanks Shaf, the spoon with cereal just does not work, she just can't get the angel right and she ends up picking up the bowl and drinking from the bowl! TanyaR - the fork seems to be going ok, but she gets a bit frustrated as well when she is hungry, especially when I feed her noodles :)

SuzieMom, definitely start with a fork (as long as it is sharp enough to pierce the food easily) I am just about to start this with DS (11 months) - utensils can be introduced from 'about' this age. A fork is easier for them to manage than a spoon (apparently)... It makes sense as they don't have to balance things, just stab them... II suspect meal times are going to slow down with these too, and that my DS is going to get frustrated and make a bit of noise. Mealtimes are typically one of his favourite times of the day, but he gets annoyed when he can't do something.. so I would guess this will be one of those times! Will tell you in a week or so! Good luck! <em>edited by TanyaR on 04/01/2011</em>

Some Advice Please: I did BLW and it is all great. But now at 12 mths she wants to do it herself with the utensils, which I want to encourage, but, I can only cook food she can get on a fork otherwise it ends up on the floor if she uses a spoon. And, how do your LO's eat cereal. So, my question is how to go from BLW with fingers to using utensils and at what age. Give her the spoon.. how else will she learn? My DS starts with a spoon, he tries and tries and then just sticks his hands into the cereal! :) But he is better now and can scoop a bit but still doesnt know how to put the whole lot into his mouth. So yep, its messy!

Ok, I've been resisting facebook, but now I'll set up an account just so that I can join this BLW group. No pressure though, TanyaR ;) I am working on it (if I can drag myself away from EW for long enough!) Also you can try searching under this perhaps... [email protected]

Ok, I've been resisting facebook, but now I'll set up an account just so that I can join this BLW group. No pressure though, TanyaR ;)

I can't find the group on facebook, maybe am being an idiot, do you just search under Baby-Led Weaning - Dubai? Eeek! No, I don't think it is you. I am normally very proficient with technology, but I have to admit this group setup is alluding me a bit. I have just logged in though, and seen I have requests, so it is 'there' but I suspect it is the setup, and not you as a user! I am just about to do some work on it, it is a complete shell at the moment, and then accept the requests once it is done - don't want people seeing it, in its current state! If not, email me on brutis dot mctavish at gmail dot com, and I will send you a request (until I have it sorted...) <em>edited by TanyaR on 03/01/2011</em>

I can't find the group on facebook, maybe am being an idiot, do you just search under Baby-Led Weaning - Dubai?

Some Advice Please: I did BLW and it is all great. But now at 12 mths she wants to do it herself with the utensils, which I want to encourage, but, I can only cook food she can get on a fork otherwise it ends up on the floor if she uses a spoon. And, how do your LO's eat cereal. So, my question is how to go from BLW with fingers to using utensils and at what age.

Cow milk is ok in food & cereals from 6+ months in addition to any dairy like yoghurt & cheese

@Novice - Every baby is different, and it sounds like you gave BLW a good try We have the same issue around the types of food we eat (I love spicey food, that no other adult can handle, yet alone a baby - LOL) so we just made sure he eats at the same time (where possible) and we pretend to eat his food as well, which he gets great delight from! re: the shop brought puree .. my sister used to be so disheartened that she slaved over Annabel's recipes, only to have her children turn their noses up at her carefully prepared meals, yet lap up the storebrought food! It is there for a reason - hehe. I personally would just be checking the content to ensure no added salt and suger (I was shocked recently when I discovered I had been giving DS baby rusks full of sugar - no wonder he loved them..)

Lots of great advice and experience below! I thought I would add a few things as well ... I have been BLWing with DS since he was 6 months old (now 11months). He seems to love it, he has never turned his nose up at anything (famous last words!) Just remember that when your baby is younger (6 months) when they are start on finger food, their choke reflex is further up their throat, so the food isn't very far down before they start to cough, once they get older, the reflex moves further down, and therefore you are likely to get a more severe choking reaction because it has further to travel back up to the mouth (if that makes sense??) But to be honest, regardless of when you start giving finger foods, you are still going to have a fear that they are going to choke .... Yes, you have a bit more of a clean up at the end, but you spend far less time cleaning, than you would spooning the food into their mouth - trust me, all my friends are jealous when they see that I just pile his meal up in front of him, and let him do it himself! I ALWAYS leave his 'messy' meal of the day (anything with sauces basically) until the end of the day, just before his bath - this seems easier to manage. We always feed him while we are out (get quite a few looks, and people taking photos) I just take heaps of babywipes with me, and wipe everything down afterwards (I also use dettol wipes to clean down any surface he will be eating from before also.) The only things I am careful with and/or avoid, are things that can get caught in his throat - things I find irritating, so...e.g. corn kernels, leaves (lettece, cabbage, tomato skins etc - these things he can't break down with his gums) sausage skins, b@con, on the chunks of steak he gets, I make sure they are free from any stringy fatty parts. I may be a bit cautious and others may include them, but at this stage, I am still steering clear of them. Lots of people say, they can't BLW because their child has no teeth (my DS had about 6 teeth from 6.5 months), so people told me this is why I found it so 'easy'. This isn't true, we all grind our food up with our back teeth, so his front teeth play no role in his ability BLW. Of course he can bite chunks off food, but it doesn't help him chew. A problem I have found, is that I struggle a little getting things like yogurt into him. He is fiercely independant now, so me trying to spoon yogurt into his mouth is not really an option, he wants to do everything himself. We actually discussed a while ago setting up a facebook group for BLW in Dubai, so I have just gone ahead and done it. It is just called Baby-Led Weaning - Dubai. Hopefully I have done it right! If you would like to join, just send a request, the group is completely blank at the moment (and closed so only people that join can view), but I thought we could add some guidelines, tips, advice, recipes, and organise BLW eating lunches - that would be a laugh!! Anyway, we will see how we go. I will try and get onto adding information in the next day or two... HTH <em>edited by TanyaR on 02/01/2011</em>

I guess it depends on the baby. It sounds as if your LO is catching on quickly to BLW, like Green-ish and Beigey's LO's. But my DS (now 8 months old) gets very frustrated with the amount of effort required to eat finger foods when he is hungry. Not to mention Mommy's effort! I started BLW full of enthusiasm at 6 months but within weeks I was really really dreading mealtimes to the point of being in tears 3 times per day. Slicing and dicing and boiling and steaming and 95% just ended up sticking to the floors and walls. And then cleaning the whole mess up and doing it again in a few hours. I know people say they feed their babies from the family table and don't cook special foods for them but DH and I eat lots of spicy food and like salt in our food (we have tried but just cannot do without), so I guess you should also consider your own diet when you decide whether BLW is for you. And whether you have a maid to help clean up :) In my DS's case he made it easy for me, went on hunger strike and refused to eat any solids for 2 weeks until one day I offered him some puree and he gobbled it all up. So I reverted to spoonfeeding and suddenly he loved meals and his appetite and interest in food really took off from that day. I stil give him finger foods at every meal as he is used to it, but it is now in addition to the "real" food as most doesn't go "in" - it's just a fun sideshow! He has his moods and some days he feels stubborn and insists on feeding himself, but when he's really hungry he is too impatient for that and more interested in gobbling down puree from the spoon. I just go with the flow. I also find that it is much more convenient making your own baby food in bulk, pureeing it and freezing it in cubes, so you always have something available, whereas finger foods (beyond bread and fruit?) are generally not that easy to make in advance & freeze (or maybe it is just me? am I missing something? maybe I should have bought the book? :)). So while in principle I am still in the BLW camp in practise it just didn't work out for us, maybe I should do my homework better next time! Re: going out: I always carry store bought jars of baby food (yes, shock, horror!) as well as a few rice cakes around in the nappy bag so I always have food in case we unexpectedly find ourselves "out" during a mealtime... and disposable bibs! so we don't have to take any mess home. When I eat out (somewhere casual ;)) he sits at the table in a high chair and I spoonfeed him while I wait for my food. Then when I want to eat I give him a rice cake or bread or whatever from the table (I don't really give him restaurant food as most of it contains added salt - I assume - but sometimes let him have a taste) to munch on while I eat. If he is still hungry when I'm done eating we do some more spoonfeeding. It is fun and we both enjoy it :)

My 13mth DD was having solids from 4 months. Obviously at that age she had no pincer movement so she was getting baby rice, youghurts etc and as soon as she could hold and pick things up she was offered that too. We started with breakfast cause it meant if she made a mess she was still in her pj's and needed changing anyway and we could take time and relax doing it. It also meant if she had any adverse reactions to any of the food it happened during the day. My DD was such a hungry little monkey and loved all foods that I couldnt have waited to do BLW but Im happy we now have a good mix. Go with your instincts, all mothers have them we just have to have the courage to trust and act on them ;)

Just cover the floor and walls with plastic covers, wear wellies and tin hat and give baby a little plate of chopped up food, fruit, cheese, whatever you think. There will a bit of spluttering and watery eyes but most babies get the hang of things very quickly. I used to give my 2 a spoon to "play with" as I popped in the odd mouthful but they managed fine. Choking is a big fear of course but babies cough reflexes are pretty good. Just make sure that pieces are not too big and make sure he/she is upright when eating and never leave baby alone while eating. Agreed on most points except the size of the pieces, for two reasons. If following 'true' BLW, baby must be allowed to do it all for themselves. At 6 months old, to have a fair shot at that they need to be able to hold the food. Each piece of food (my daughter's very first meal was steamed broccoli) must be big enough for them to grab and for it to stick out at either side of their fist. :) The second reason is the possibility of choking. If the pieces are too small the risk of choking is greater. You're better off with very large pieces of soft steamed veges or soft fruit or finger sized chunks of lean meat they can gum to death and swallow mushy bits as they get them into their mouths. :D BLW is brilliant because baby gets to truly enjoy food a whole lot quicker. I did the puree 'nonsense' (just my opinion having used both 'methods' ;) ) with my first two and BLW with the third. BLW is SOOOOOOO much easier, except for the mess. And boy is there some mess! :D Will be interesting to see what advice will be given to mums in 20 years from now. Things seem to go full circle don't they? Babies can choke on small pieces and big pieces and yes, 20 odd years ago, I gave my kids finger size pieces to munch on as well as the pureed stuff. I can still see DS sitting howling with a piece of finger sized cooked carrot wedged firmly between his little cheeks trying to cough and howl at the same time!! We all got a fright and I had to hook my pinkie underneath the carrot piece and whip it out while holding him over my knee. Best mess he made was with spag bol!! He even loved brussell sprouts!! You should have seen the nappy mind you!! :D

Thank you ladies - all of your posts are making me feel much much better. I thought that I would have to start including her for all 3 meals a day, which would literally mean that she would be either eating of BFing all day with the amount of time it takes. It makes a lot more sense to offer one meal for a while and then add to that when her nap times start reducing giving us more time in the day to do things. Shaf - your little one must be very good if he doesn't make a mess with broccoli - I found that to be the most messy veggie of all!! Give her pasta with red sauce, then u will love your brocolli!

My DS dint east 3 meals a day till after 12 months. I would give him fruits, veggies and stuff through the day. Please dont stress yourself Nashila. U dont have to start on the dot at 10 on 5th Jan. A few days/weeks here and there wont harm her! When you go out, dont give the baby pasta. Just order or bring from home steamed veggies. Brocolli, carrots, cucumber, baby corn, these foods arent messy and perfect for outdoors. Even rice biscuit thingies, breadsticks, etc. My son likes to eat pasta with the sauce (like we do) when we go out italian, so i know what mess means, but i dont think it will be that bad till your child actually figures out what food is. Its only when they actually figure that its fun to throw food around, the real mess starts. But yes, always best to have bibs, 1 extra set of clothes and wetwipes ready. And for the mess on the floor, i just bought a cheap plastic sheet and put it below his high chair. Easier to clean. Nutrition-wise, dont stress. Just try to give different colored foods. Honestly, i think thanks to BLW we've ended up eating all colors of fruits and veggies which is a health benefit.

I understand what you mean about the ease, but must say that it's rare that we need a change of clothes, or a hair washing after a meal. It obviously depends on what you feed the baby, but with the right bib it's pretty easy to avoid all that. As far as the floor is concerned, I always offer to clean it up myself at which point the waiter says not to worry about it, and I leave a big tip. We are regulars at a few restaurants and still welcomed with big smiles. I feed ds at regular meal times, though i try to make sure he is neither too tired nor too starving.

We've been doing blw for about 3 months and it is going very well for us as well. I actually think it is easier to go out, as instead of needing to go for lunch when the baby is asleep I just pop a bib on him and he is happy to eat at the table with us. Mothercare also has some great long sleeved bibs that make it much easier. My son will eat pretty much anything that we are having, though I do order him his own dim sum if we are having chinese as that's his absolute fave and then I can eat shellfish. While it is messier than spoonfeeding, I must say that at 9 months my son is already eating much more tidily than at the beginning. He also gets a decent amount of food into him, though there are days when he eats very little. It also isn't quick, but instead of spending hours cajoling and begging him to open his mouth and eat it's very pleasant time spent together at the table. I don't think you necessarily need to be doing 3 meals a day at 6 months. We started with lunch, added breakfast at about 7.5 months and have just recently started doing dinner, though I'll still skip it if ds seems too tired. His dinner is actually more of a snack around 6 pm since there is no way he could make it to our dinner time. As long as your baby is getting enough milk you don't really need to worry. I also tend to take a week long approach to nutrition. Yesterday ds was into m foods, he only ate meatballs and mangoes. Today he has had carrots, rutabagas, pasta and some cheese. As long as you offer a selection of healthy foods it should equal out in the end.

Nashila, until the age of 12 months breastmilk (or breastmilk substitute) remains the *main* source of nutrition (ah, I see Beigey has already mentioned this) - so you don't need to worry about 3 balanced meals yet :). BLW is all about letting your child be the guide - she will let you know what and how much she needs. After 12 months is when milk becomes a less important (but still signifciant!) part of a child's diet, and solids/family foods become the main source of nutrition. With regards to going out and about, to be honest I found it easier to carry little tubs of finger food (biccies, sticks of cheese, little sandwiches, bits of fruit...whatever...) than to have to sit down with a spoon. But really, as Green-ish says, BLW and puree-feeding are not mutually exclusive. You can do whatever works for you and your daughter at any given time!

Compared to my first two children, and having to carry prepared mush with me, I found BLW much easier when going out. Charlotte just eats whatever is safe and interesting to her from my plate. Like beigey, in the early days we just carried bibs (and spare clothes just in case) and got on with it. Don't forget, your little one will eat if she's hungry. If she's not hungry, she'll spend more time playing with her food (which is a good thing when you have the time). If you want meals to be 'quick' when you're out, make sure you are feeding her when she's both hungry and well-rested. :) A nutritionist once told me that it's ok in babies to look at their diet over a week rather than over a day. As long as there's variety in the meals over the course of a week, all is good...no sweat if they have the occasional carb only or vege only day. ;) I focus on 3 balanced meals and healthy snacks from about 12 months of age. Of course, plenty of people combine the two and do feed purees when out. For me, the whole point of trying BLW was to teach my daughter healthy eating habits and to reduce stress in the process. Do what feels right for you and your little one. <em>edited by Green-ish on 02/01/2011</em>

Baby Safiya hits 6 months on 5th January and I am getting a little anxious now as I know that I have to start giving her 3 well balanced meals. So far I have just been giving her sticks of veggies and fruit to try when we sit down for our meals but not all meal times.. Some days she would have 1 mealtime and other days 2 or 3 mealtimes. When she hits 6 months is it really important that she has 3 meals and gets a combination of foods at each meal? And how easy/hard will it be when we are out and about? Usually I would slip into the baby room in the mall and feed her but now I will have to make a point to sit somewhere and give her a full meal (or is it ok to skip one here and there?) I feel like the BLW way is going to tie me down to the house a lot more as it will not be as easy to go out and about anymore. And what kind of meals are convenient to take out with you with the least amount of mess?? Sometimes I feel that spoonfeeding is a lot easier as we were at the beach today watching an 8 month old being spoonfed and observing how quick and clean the whole thing was. DD is 8m's and we have been doing BLW since she was 6m - I follow her cues in terms of how balanced a meal she wants - some days she does binge on protein, other days its a carb overload and some days its a perfect balance of meat, veges and fruit. I don't worry about the balance as long as she is offered all the good stuff during the day. Right now she is on a bit of a milk fad - she isn't eating anywhere near as much as she was because she is teething and wants milk instead - this is absolutely fine too as primary nutrition until she is 12m is breastmilk/formula. DD does sit at the table with us for breakfast, lunch and dinner but that is our choice. When I go out I give her what I am eating. I have just bought some apron bibs from IKEA that just about fit her that keep the mess off her clothes. In all honesty I don't feed her the same things as I would at home when we are out. I keep rice crackers in my bag, some apple etc .. things that are not really messy. I went on holiday with DD when she was 6.5m and we ate out a lot - she had a blast and it really wasn't that messy at all. If it is too much to feed you LO when out just give a snack and more milk assuming its not a regular occurrence and your baby will let you eat in front of them (DD won't - she has to eat too!) (I do find it interesting how you comment that spoonfed baby meals are quick - this is something that I can't understand to be desirable ... meal times should not be quick - eating fast is not a good thing, yes it may be convenient for the parent but there is no end benefit for the baby) BLW is not just about nutrition - its about learning correct eating habits and food associations, its social, interactive and very healthy. Sorry if I have gone on ... its something, as a foodie, that I am very passionate about! Good luck ...

Just cover the floor and walls with plastic covers, wear wellies and tin hat and give baby a little plate of chopped up food, fruit, cheese, whatever you think. There will a bit of spluttering and watery eyes but most babies get the hang of things very quickly. I used to give my 2 a spoon to "play with" as I popped in the odd mouthful but they managed fine. Choking is a big fear of course but babies cough reflexes are pretty good. Just make sure that pieces are not too big and make sure he/she is upright when eating and never leave baby alone while eating. Agreed on most points except the size of the pieces, for two reasons. If following 'true' BLW, baby must be allowed to do it all for themselves. At 6 months old, to have a fair shot at that they need to be able to hold the food. Each piece of food (my daughter's very first meal was steamed broccoli) must be big enough for them to grab and for it to stick out at either side of their fist. :) The second reason is the possibility of choking. If the pieces are too small the risk of choking is greater. You're better off with very large pieces of soft steamed veges or soft fruit or finger sized chunks of lean meat they can gum to death and swallow mushy bits as they get them into their mouths. :D BLW is brilliant because baby gets to truly enjoy food a whole lot quicker. I did the puree 'nonsense' (just my opinion having used both 'methods' ;) ) with my first two and BLW with the third. BLW is SOOOOOOO much easier, except for the mess. And boy is there some mess! :D

Just cover the floor and walls with plastic covers, wear wellies and tin hat and give baby a little plate of chopped up food, fruit, cheese, whatever you think. There will a bit of spluttering and watery eyes but most babies get the hang of things very quickly. I used to give my 2 a spoon to "play with" as I popped in the odd mouthful but they managed fine. Choking is a big fear of course but babies cough reflexes are pretty good. Just make sure that pieces are not too big and make sure he/she is upright when eating and never leave baby alone while eating.