Early BLW?

[Cherry Alive]

DD recently has had a horrible bout with teething (4 teeth coming in at once...2 have broken the gums and the other two are almost out). She already has two complete bottom teeth she got very early (3 months).

A Russian woman at our vet's office gave me the interesting advice of freezing a stalk of celery and letting DD chew on it. Our pediatrician concurred this was safe as the celery couldn't be busted up very easily and had a nice texture to chew on when frozen.

I tried it yesterday. DD seemed to enjoy it and it really did seem to help her. When I took away the celery I discovered (much to my surprise) DD had scraped away and ate the underneath of the celery with her two bottom teeth. It was crazy, because there was nothing left to the top half of the stalk, but the fiber and skin (IOW, it was like a hallowed out piece of celery).

We wanted to start BLW next weekend when DD turns 6 months, but does this count?

Since she's already eaten a little bit of celery, should we just go ahead with BLW little early?

She'll be one week away from 6 months this weekend. She sits up with a little assistance (sits perfectly in her high chair), has the pincher grasp, and has lost her tongue thrust reflex. She is very fascinated with watching DH and I eat, and would grab our food if given the chance. Last week she ate (bit, chewed and swallowed) most of an LC's entire business card while she was on my lap (I didn't know what she was up to until it was too late...she was FAST).

[hotharmony]

I think the really important thing about blw is the readiness signs and not really the age. If you LO is displaying all readiness signs I would go ahead and feed away.

Check out my blog for a recent post I did about feeding babies.

[bedheadmaestro]

haha it looks like you'll have to mark down "celery" as her first food!
My DD took the lead on BLW at 5 months. For a while she had been showing all the 'signs of readiness,' making chewing motions, and a general obsession with our eating. I had her in my sling and I was eating a piece of melon. I felt a tug on the melon- she had put it in her mouth. She took a bite, chewed it, swallowed it, and went for some more. I was disappointed, since everyone always mandates "wait until 6 months," plus I wanted to have my camera ready and make her first solid food a big "occasion." But she absolutely took the lead on BLW and there was no stopping her from then on. I immediately began offering her different fruits and veggies and she ate them all.

[dachshund mom]

I say go for it if she's acting ready. I've let DD taste and suck on misc fruits and veggies this past month and she's not quite 6 months. I couldn't take the excited squealing followed by crying when I don't share. She watches us and knows exactly what food is.

Chewing frozen washcloths helped DD with teething. I'll try the celery thing next time.

[MadiMamacita]

also, you could try frozen carrots- they are a bit harder to break up than celery.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

Please correct me if Im wrong, but doesn't BLW mean YOU don't start anything? She does?

[bedheadmaestro]

Originally Posted by Barbie64g

Please correct me if Im wrong, but doesn't BLW mean YOU don't start anything? She does?

Yeah, the term is misleading...I think for weaning off the breast, people call it CLW, "child-led weaning." But BLW is the term for starting solid foods that the baby can feed itself, not weaning off of milk. I don't know why they call it 'weaning,' I think it's a British English term.

[tankgirl73]

Yes, British english uses "weaning" to mean the ENTIRE PROCESS of gradually shifting from all-milk to all-solids. The 'weaning' period is when they're still doing both. As soon as they start solids, they've started weaning -- they just might not be finished for a few years more.

In North America we tend to use the term to apply specifically to the very very END of the process, when they have completely stopped nursing. Or just breastfeeding, since we also use the term when someone stops BF and switches to formula. In that respect the term applies more to the mom than to the child, in a certain sense... But then we also will use 'weaned from formula' when they're done, or 'wean off the pacifier', etc.

I've come to actually prefer the British term. I like the idea of 'weaning' being a name for the entire process. It recognizes that starting solids is the beginning of the end of breastfeeding -- which is a truth we don't need to hide from, be ashamed of, or even be regretful about. It's the natural order of things. And it has nothing to do with how lengthy the process is.

Anyway, just shy of 6mo should be fine if she's leading the way. DD was a week or two short of 6mo when we started BLW and it was fantastic. Gill Rapley's studies were originally on babies 4mo and up. What they found was that 6mo was the average age when babies were ready. The vast majority were ready right around 6mo. But a few are indeed ready sooner, just as a few babies walk or crawl earlier than others.

By making 6mo the general recommendation, we ensure that parents don't artificially pressure babies who are still too young. If a baby is indeed ready at 4.5mo but doesn't start until 6mo, there's no harm done. But the inverse isn't true -- starting at 4.5mo if they're not ready carries a host of possible problems. So 6mo is the "better safe than sorry" guideline. If in doubt, wait.

In fact, so many of the 'readiness signs' really aren't. Things like sitting independently are obviously prerequisites, but the sign of being interested in you eating and putting food in their mouth aren't necessarily signs of biological readiness for solid food. Babies are interested in EVERYTHING we do and put EVERYTHING in their mouths because that's their primary sense organ at this age.

However, I think that after about 5mo, if they do put food in their mouth we don't have to WORRY about it. In general, if they're not ready, they'll spit it out and be done with it after checking it out for a bit. If they are, however, they'll be fascinated, intrigued, chew at it a bit (rather than simply checking it out), and beg for more.

Here's some photos of my DD's BLW journey: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lovecat...7600330803313/

[emamum]

yeah weaning means starting food... blw refers to going onto solids and clw is weaning themselves off milk...