Baby led weaning

you are welcome angel joy. LOL on my name. after DS i should actually have changed it to ilovewater :D

oh thanks ilovewine. that makes much sense to understand. i went to kinokuniya the other day to purchase some books on BLW. after few min of browsing i ran back from the store :) so much confusing. would give it a shot again. ds 6 month birthday coming soon so i better gear myself. BTW love your name :D

hi, when you introduce solids, water is definitely necessary to prevent constipation. i am doing BLW with my son and we started on his 6 months birthday. his first foods were rump steak, sweet potato and brocolli. granted, he didnt eat much but he sucked on the steak for hours and brocolli, to this day, is a big hit. i can honestly say that DS 'got it' at 8 months - he now KNOWS what eating is and food actually gets consumed. he finished an entire omellete on monday morning, and over the weekend he demolished a rice cake with chicken liver pate. there are threads on this, i found this one ... http://www.expatwoman.com/forum/messages.aspx?TopicID=186290 dont worry about your son being interested 'some times'. the whole thing with BLW is that 'food is for fun before one'. my DS is also still being breastfed, but i offer him food and water at every meal. if he eats, he eats, if he doesnt then it's no worries because he gets his nutrition from breastmilk. my paeditrian is onboard with BLW and told me (1) to give DS water (2) no vitamins necessary as he is being breastfed (lets face it, BM contains everything that a child needs!) (3) no extra iron needed as DS is eating meat and a baby's iron dont depleat over-night after 6 months. we introduced a sippy-cup at 6 months, DS wasnt too keen on it but preferred to drink straight from the cap LOL now, at almost 9 months, DS drinks from anything! if you want to go the true BLW way, then remember - food for fun until one and no spoon-feeding UNLESS it is preloaded and given to baby to handle. it is a mess, but it is fun. DS is not fussy at all and eats what we eat. as a result, we're eating healthier because everything is steamed or baked or poached and no salt/suger added. loads of other spices though (cumin, paprika, pepper!) - DS eats curry like a pro! careful of store-bought bread, it is loaded with salt. try to bake your own. good luck and have fun! eta: we dont have allergies on either side of the families, so we did not do the 3 day wait between foods. sorry! i keep thinking of things after i've posted. babies' gums are amazing and they really dont need teeth to chew. if you steam a carrot for 30 minutes, it'll be soft enough from him to handle. give all food in chip sizes, so that his little hand goes around it with a piece of food sticking out at both ends, he will gnaw and chew on it that way. brocolli, dont cut of the stem - give him the entire florette. and you'll think he's not eating, until the next nappy change! LOL but dont worry if pieces come out whole the other end, their digestive systems are such that it's supposed to be that way. it'll change and you'll miss that EBM poos! :D edited by ilovewine on 03/10/2012 <em>edited by ilovewine on 03/10/2012</em>

Hi, i used to feed my baby just a few teaspoons of solids at 6 months to get her tummy and tongue used to the solid food.. someone gave me a a very useful advice, that when you start on solids give your baby the same food for at least 3 to 5 days to see whether he is allergic to it or not... this way you would know which food to avoid in future... also start with salty food rather than sweet, since babies tend to reject salty food later on if their sweet tooth is developed on the onset.. concentrate on nutritional food initially rather than tasty, cause this way he will develop a taste for boring nutritional food as well.. finally if possible dont give him any packaged baby food.. make his food urself...thats the best we can do for our babies.. My baby adapted to solids very fast... but i know thats not the case with every baby... so dont despair if your baby takes his time.. Happy feeding... yeah...i read that babies have sweet tooth. i was thinking of starting carrot as the first food but its sweet. what food you mean by salty? i don't want to give him sweet potato first as he already gets enough carbs from my milk and is quite healthy.

Hi, i used to feed my baby just a few teaspoons of solids at 6 months to get her tummy and tongue used to the solid food.. someone gave me a a very useful advice, that when you start on solids give your baby the same food for at least 3 to 5 days to see whether he is allergic to it or not... this way you would know which food to avoid in future... also start with salty food rather than sweet, since babies tend to reject salty food later on if their sweet tooth is developed on the onset.. concentrate on nutritional food initially rather than tasty, cause this way he will develop a taste for boring nutritional food as well.. finally if possible dont give him any packaged baby food.. make his food urself...thats the best we can do for our babies.. My baby adapted to solids very fast... but i know thats not the case with every baby... so dont despair if your baby takes his time.. Happy feeding...

nimonemo as lili suggested you can continue breastfeeding as long as you want. my sister was breastfeed for 3 years. so that's completely upto you. as for the solids i don't know why paediatricians here insist on starting solids and water at 4 months. few weeks back i started a similar thread as my main concern was that my baby is large and my milk is not sufficient for him because suddenly he has started waking up 3-4 times at night for the feed. also he is showing all the signs to start food. he keeps on making chewing motion if i eat anything infront of him. he tries to copy me and stares and reach for food.but i'll wait for 15 more days to start his solids when he is 6 month old. as for baby led weaning i think i will start with the puree first. i'll give him carrot puree then 1 pc of steamed carrot too so that he can associate the taste. i am not totally comfortable with the idea of only giving bits and pieces without puree till the time he shows atleast 1 teeth :) as the other mothers suggested here keep on trying it takes a long time and so many trials and errors for some babies to start solids.(mine's gonna be handful) do try to make him sit with you on the table when ever you eat sothat he can watch you eat. ds loves to sit on the table with us specially for the breakfast.he fusses if i leave him anywhere else! have you tried giving him water with the spoon? i have recently started water for my son to ease constipation. i give him in sippy cup for 2 days but he didn't took. then i gave him with spoon and he drank with a gusto and was asking for more :) i have the one to give medicines actually. its first year brand and it is a long spoon with 10 ml capacity. i have bought all his utensils of tommee tippee and i let him play with spoons and cup for some time. sometimes i place a piece of carrot on his plate to let him suck. the idea is to get used to it. even on the breakfast table his utensils are there(without food :) ) there are lot of people who EBF their babies up till 1 year. if you feel like your baby is not getting enough nutrition try starting any formula with the iron in it. mother always knows best.

I don't even know where to start, so much misinformation you were given.... You can breastfeed your baby as long as you and baby are comfortable. The World Health Organization recomends to breast feed up to 2 years and after that as long as mum and baby want to. Up until about 12 months most nutritional needs are met by the milk the baby drinks, be it breast milk or formula- (cows milk should be introduced after 12 months.) so the solids a baby gets before are to introduce texture and taste to the baby while adding some nutrients, but the main lot of nutrients at this time still comes from the milk. It is a good idea to offer some water to the baby when introducing solids, but it is also ok to nurse the baby to quench thirst. You could try to give your baby water in a spillproof training sippy cup which he can hold himself. My first didn't start solids until 11 months, she tasted food before that from around 7 months, but she never actually ate anything until 11 months and there have never been any issues regarding nutrition or weight. So don't be concerned if your baby at 6 months has times when he is not keen on food. Also it is recommended to only start from 6 months onward with solids, when they show physical signs if being able to tolerate food. before then they get all their nutrition and vitamins from the milk. Although it is widely recomended to give vitamin D, but i am not really sure about that. Please read here for thorough information about breastfeeding and weaning the breastfed baby, this site has tons of information. http://kellymom.com/category/nutrition/ http://kellymom.com/