Blw?

[larzanna]

Hi,

So, i hope that this is the right place to post this.
I have a DS who was 6 months on the 6th. I have not started any solids yet. I want to do BLW, mostly becasue i am much too lazy to go the spoon feeding puree route. And i like the idea that they learn to feel full themselves, not not be pushed into being too full.
I have the book "baby led weaning" So, really, after 6 months you can just give them whatever, just in the right size/shape? Really?
I am not sure how interested he is, i mean he watches us, and tries to grab things, but i don't know if its just the plate or what's on it.
He sits on his own (and is totally crawling), and can pick up the smallest piece of tissue paper on the floor (ughh), so his pincer grasp is very good.

I also feel weird, but like i don't want to give him any food.....the first bite of food is the first step to weaning, and that thought makes me sad, he's so little.

So what do i give him? How do i do this?

Thanks.
-L

[JMJ]

I don't think you have to start solids yet. I have one friend who doesn't even plan to start solids until around 9 months old. I started BLW with my DD when she was about 7 months old and could sit up really well and would dive after our food if we didn't give her some. Food is mostly a toy for her so far that she loves to put in her mouth, but she is eating some. I did have a bit of a sad moment last week, though, when I realized that I am not 100% of her nutrition anymore, but she still does really like to nurse.

[allical1284]

I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one who was sad at the thought of introducing solids! Everyone kept looking at me like I was crazy when I said I wasn't ready to give her food.
The last couple of weeks we started BLW, and it has been so fun! We have given her roasted sweet potatoes with rosemary, sauteed zucchini with pesto, guacamole, black beans, roasted butternut squash...we just put a piece on her tray, and if it isn't big enough for her to not choke on, we give it one smash with a fork, and then let her go to town!!
Don't feel like once you start, you are committed to it everyday. We only offer her something every few days (or less).
Also, don't think of it as a step towards weaning. We have not let solids interrupt her intake of BM at all! 99% of her solids introduction is her playing with them; she is only eating a very very small amount.
Have fun!!!

[mamazee]

I didn't start solids with #1 till she was around 12 months, because that's when she became interested in foods. I started with #2 just after 6 months because that's when she was interested in foods. So long as you wait 6 months for the gut to mature, watch the baby's clues as to when to start.

I started with whole foods, rather than foods mixed together. I wasn't particularly worried about waiting several days between introducing things, personally. I just fed her some veggies or fruits mashed up. She's 9 months now and at this point eats whatever we're having so long as it's mushy enough for her to eat. I just put it in tiny little bits that she can pick up and handle. She has had everything except choking hazards, anything with nuts, honey and shellfish, and she hasn't had anything like steak that requires serious chewing. She has had tiny bits of chicken or foods with ground beef in them.

[Amandala]

I am totally confused about this. Searching the interbutts for the past half hour or more hasn't cleared me up at all.

Isn't anything you give a 6 month old a choking hazard?

I mean, if you give them something big, don't they just break/bite/shave off a little piece, then choke on that? I gave my kid (8 mos. old) a banana and watched him... he took off a little chunk and choked on it. I gave him a teething cookie. He gummed it until a chunk came off, then choked on that. I gave him celery. He took his two teeth and bit off a little shaving, and choked on it.

So how do you feed the foods to the baby? Do you steam them mushy? Even if it's celery? a banana? Do you give them teeeeensy pieces, or really big ones? I've found tons of talk about it, but no actual instructions, questions and answers, or the like.

Can anyone explain this to me as if I really know nothing at all?

[Baby_Cakes]

Just dug up the 2009 support thread for you ...

Just b/c your baby is 6 mo doesn't mean you need to start solids. Look for the signs of readiness!

* Baby can sit up well without support.
* Baby has lost the tongue-thrust reflex and does not automatically push solids out of his mouth with his tongue.
* Baby is ready and willing to chew.
* Baby is developing a “pincer” grasp, where he picks up food or other objects between thumb and forefinger. Using the fingers and scraping the food into the palm of the hand (palmar grasp) does not substitute for pincer grasp development.
* Baby is eager to participate in mealtime and may try to grab food and put it in his mouth.

I started solids w/Nora around 7 mo, but she didn't really get into it until around 8 mo. I am SO happy I did things this way. she is such a good eater - will eat just about anything now. She loves to try new things.

Soft foods are best, cooked but not pureed. Think sweet potatoes "fries" roasted to a soft texture, or banana. You aren't giving them a sandwich and saying "go to town," you're just letting them self feed at their own pace instead of spoon feeding at yours.

[bedheadmaestro]

Originally Posted by Amandala

I mean, if you give them something big, don't they just break/bite/shave off a little piece, then choke on that? I gave my kid (8 mos. old) a banana and watched him... he took off a little chunk and choked on it. I gave him a teething cookie. He gummed it until a chunk came off, then choked on that. I gave him celery. He took his two teeth and bit off a little shaving, and choked on it.

Was he choking or gagging? They are two very different things, and a lot of people get them mixed up. As the book Baby-Led Weaning says, gagging is a normal and healthy response to a new texture or something that might be too big to swallow. As a baby ages, the gag reflex is triggered further and further back on the tongue. At first, anything solid might trigger the gag reflex the minute it hits the tongue. As they learn to manipulate and chew chunks of solid food, the gag reflex is triggered less often.
it's an important thing to let the baby learn about and use his gag reflex, because that's the only way he will learn what is the appropriate size of chunk to bite off and swallow. It's good that baby can and does gag. KWIM?

The important thing to remember is to let the baby work it out on his own at first, don't rush over and clap him on the back or try to dig it out of his mouth, because that's when baby will inhale and choke.

I know it looks scary, but a baby can gag on something unfamiliar at any age, whether its 6 months or 12 months. My DD still gags on stuff sometimes, and she's been eating solids for 4 months, but then she just keeps chewing on the piece a little while longer until she can swallow it.

So, with that said, it's better to give larger soft pieces so the baby can pick the whole thing up and chew off little bits that are sized right for his own mouth. Like half an avocado. If you give him pieces that are pre-cut too big and not mushy enough, the baby can stuff it into his mouth and not be able to swallow it.

[Amandala]

No, he was definitely choking. I let him try to sort it out for a moment, but when he started turning dark red and making choking noises, I sprung into action. Thankfully, when I hoisted him out of his high chair to un-choking him, the piece of celery (in the case of the celery incident) SHOT right out of his throat and into the air!

Should I have steamed the celery first?

I wonder how raw foods people feed their babies... just breastfeed them until they have all their teeth, I guess?

[mamazee]

I only give things that are soft enough that dd can mush it up with her gums. Maybe raw foods people only sell things that are naturally pretty mushy?

[bedheadmaestro]

Originally Posted by Amandala

No, he was definitely choking. I let him try to sort it out for a moment, but when he started turning dark red and making choking noises, I sprung into action. Thankfully, when I hoisted him out of his high chair to un-choking him, the piece of celery (in the case of the celery incident) SHOT right out of his throat and into the air!

Should I have steamed the celery first?

I wonder how raw foods people feed their babies... just breastfeed them until they have all their teeth, I guess?

Woops, I didn't mean to assume he wasn't choking. Got carried away typing there. MIL and friends always panic when watching DD eat so I have that knee-jerk gagging explanation always ready.

I guess your baby just might not be into solids at the moment?

I know some people do BLW because their babies refused the puree texture, so maybe he's the opposite and doesn't like the solid texture? If my DD had the same reaction, I might just give "unchokable" food, like the avocado I mentioned, or a bowl of yogurt, applesauce? as a fun toy to play with and schmear around.

[Amandala]

Man, I'm bummed out. Last night I gave him steamed chunks of carrot. I mean they were steamed til they were just solid enough that they wouldn't simply become mush when he picked them up, but would squash easily with baby gums.

He was doing alright until he choked on a piece, had to be hit on the back, and then vomited up everything he'd eaten so far.

I wonder if I'm making the pieces too big, too small, or what. Is there a right size for the pieces to be?

[Farmin' with Baby]

We got the baby-led weaning book too and were pretty excited to try it initially.

But you can _not_ take that guy seriously. He acts like you can, as a pp said, just give your baby a sandwich and let her go to town.

I read the gagging vs. choking thing in the book and it made sense in theory, but it hasn't made sense in practice. Mealtimes over the last two weeks have been _terrifying_.

So, we're mashing food and using a spoon. I often just hand her a loaded spoon, but no more gumming foods on her own unless they're seriousy mashable. (We gave her sweet potato fries the other night for instance, which were mostly fine, but they had some overly browned spots on them, which she could _not_ deal with. I had to fish them out of her mouth.)

We got one of those cheap baby food mills from Target and are using that to make purees of whatever is on our plate. It seems to work fine. If our food isn't puree-able, we feed her apple sauce or yogurt instead.

Btw, she's almost 7 mo, but is showing all those signs listed as far as ready (sitting up, grabbing at food, looking like she's gumming/chewing food). But it's still terrifying to give her anything--things that author listed as okay: apple and pear slices, potato fries, steamed carrots, steamed broccoli, chunks of steak, strawberries, oatmeal, bread, pasta, what else? I feel like she's just about choked on everything in our kitchen.

So, you can't believe everything you read, even if it sounds good in theory.

Good luck, everyone.

[evening start]

I'm not specifically doing BLW and don't know very much about it, but I have an independent little boy who really likes to feed himself. I also like having family mealtimes where we all eat at the same time (as opposed to my feeding him and then the adults eating before or after -- which I also do sometimes). We have had lots of fun with a mesh feeder. I've used it with slices of raw apple, pear, and banana, with steamed chunks of sweet potato, and frozen grapes. I don't have to worry about the choking, or even scary sounding gagging, and he gets to do it himself -- which he loves. We also do purees and mashes. Sometimes he is totally adult fed, sometimes we do a two spoon technique (I fill up the spoon, give it to him and fill up the other spoon and we trade back and forth until he's done), and sometime I just put the puree in a plastic bowl and give him the spoon and let him go to town (this is the messiest version, but he actually does pretty well -- we do this with foods he really loves and is equally motivated to put in his mouth as he is to play with it).

[oolongtea]

My LO is 7 months and I haven't started solids yet. For one thing, he doesn't have a pincher grasp yet. But also we're doing EC for poops and he's just about got it... I'd love for him to be able to sign for toileting before we start getting those yucky poops! So as much as we want to see his face as he tries real food, we're waiting.

[motherbirth]

My son has had teeth early and actually wants to chew on things. He doesn't like purees at all. I think it's one of those things where each baby is different. We wouldn't give him raw apple. But he bites pears, plums, and bananas if I am holding them (he wants to share my fruit), and he chews little bits of meat. He is also 9 months old... He definitely wasn't ready for pieces of food at 6-7 mos (except banana, which he stole from me. )

[EmmaJane]

Well, I was biased pretty heavily towards BLW, since DD1 essentially insisted on it, before it had a cute name or a book to go with it -- refused purees, started eating real food at about 8 months. Also, she never choked on solid food -- liquids, yes, and she _still_ chokes on liquids at 4 -- but not solids. And we have no food allergies in the family.

DD2 is much, much grabbier. She'll be 6 months on Tuesday, but we've been giving her BLW-type stuff in a booster seat while we eat for a couple of weeks now. It's been going well. She still has her tongue-thrust reflex mostly in place, so while she's been mashing and tearing and gumming, just about everything that goes in her mouth comes back out again. Have just seen a few tiny bits of broccoli and unidentifiable beige-y stuff in her poop.

There has been clear motor development, though. Now she is using her two teeth to bite off little bits from the apple slices we give her. And she's much better about holding things. (Seems like she'll be right-handed; almost everything that goes to the floor goes to that side.)

And she's SO MUCH HAPPIER while we eat. Meals used to be: hold baby while she screams and try to keep her from pulling plates off the table. Now we put her in the booster, let her play with a spoon for as long as that's amusing, and then give her some chunks of food to play with, one at a time, each until she gets bored with it.

What have we been giving her? Raw apple, sliced to the "french fry" shape BLW recommends. Cooked broccoli, w/stem as handle. Organic Cheerios-type cereal -- no pincer grip, but she loves pushing them around the tray. Can't get them in her mouth yet. Chunks of banana. Chunks of homemade bread, that have a good strong crust to hold them together. Cooked plain noodles. Romaine lettuce leaves with a strong rib down the middle. Really, just picking out an ingredient or two from the meal that seems suitable and cutting it to an appropriate shape. Oh, and, yes, a couple times -- bits of (simply) cooked meat cut to that "french fry" shape. Wow did she love those; sucked 'em dry...

So, it's been going fine. But we have been lucky that, so far, DD2 also doesn't seem to choke easily -- there hasn't even been any serious gagging. We also only give her food at meals where there are 2 adults present, one on each side. I think she is learning about food, even if she's not consuming much yet.

We haven't done any mushy food yet. I may try some Earth's Best oatmeal, w/pre-loaded spoons; that was the only "baby" food her sister liked... plus I think she'd like using the silverware like everyone else at the table is.

I do recommend reading the BLW book; the authors (both female) present a coherent overall theory, and talk a lot about stages of motor development and what you can expect to see your child doing with the food you give her. They don't worry as much about food allergies as crunchy Americans do -- but you can choose what foods to try introducing in accordance with whatever restrictions you want, yk?

[motherbirth]

Originally Posted by EmmaJane

Romaine lettuce leaves with a strong rib down the middle

I never thought about offering lettuce, I figured he'd choke. This summer my son kept stealing lettuce at the farmer's market while I was shopping; I'd be carrying my produce in one hand and him in the other and I'd see him chewing, and when I opened his mouth it would be all green inside!

[MadiMamacita]

mine steals cilantro to munch on in the grocery store!
we started with very ripe bananas. he would hold on (i would also hold it) and he would just gum it up into mush. he put away a whole banana the first time, just a few days before 6mos old. you could also try cooked chicken breast, pulled apart into strings that the baby would not be able to choke on. tiny peices of ground lamb, beef or turkey could work, too.
we tried broccoli early on, but it gave him terribly painful gas so we havent tried it again. now he loves cheese and yogurt.
we lucked out in that our baby eats absolutely anything. he has no taste or texture issues.
he has never choked on anything.

[Farmin' with Baby]

That's funny (or embarrassing) that I just assumed the author was male. I don't remember ever looking at the name of the author.

[blumooned]

I have been trying to learn about BLW too. DS is 7 months and has been eating pureed foods since 6 months. I started giving him foods in large pieces but I think he is frustrated now because they are difficult to pick up. The pear & avocado pieces are too slippery for him to hold. Also, I cooked (steamed) carrots for a long time, but they don't ever seem to get soft enough. I am nervous to "just give him anything" and am trying to introduce foods one at a time - maybe that is not necessary? Any advice would be great. The previous posts have been helpful!