baby needs to sit before solids?

[millifiori]

So our dd is about 6 1/2 months old. She started crawling all over the place this week but still does not sit for more than a couple of seconds unassisted. We wanted to do blw but she all of the sudden is a maniac when we are eating and lunges and fusses and does everything she can to get some of our food. So....does this mean I need to start purees and spoon feeding? Should I wait until she can sit by herself for blw and purees? Can I help her sit up and offer her mashed up avocado and/or blw size pieces for her to eat? Any advice would be appreciated by me and especially ms hungry

[Blueone]

I don't think sitting unassisted is a huge requirement, but that's me. If your baby is really interested and can sit, even if it's assisted, hold his the head and really wants the food, they should be ready. I would just place them in a high chair or hold them in a sitted position. It might actually help them sit unassisted in time too. But that's solely my own opinion!

[Abraisme]

My DS started eating before he sat up. I used the mesh feeder bags or would give him organic teething biscuts. He would sit in his bouncy chair, on a bean bag or on my lap. I would just have to hand him the food if he dropped it or ran out.

[treegardner]

I was under the impression that BLW meant no purees, is that incorrect? Personally, I think for spoon feeding with purees, sitting with assistance is ok. For BLW, I would feel safer is baby could sit unassisted.

[JMJ]

Are you sure she's interested in the food out of hunger or out of curiosity? If it might be the latter, you may try occupying her with something else interesting at mealtimes. Most babies at that age just want to get at anything they can and grab it and put it in their mouths, not necessarily out of hunger, but out of exploration. They want to get their hands on anything Mom and Dad have their hands on.

I know somebody who started BLW at exactly 6 months before her baby could sit on her own. She put her baby in a high chair with a towel behind her so that she was held upright and could not fall into a leaning position. Choking was not a problem for them.

[millifiori]

Yes I'm sure it is much more out of curiosity than actual hunger. I was just being silly calling her ms. hungry. She gets plenty of bm so again no, not actual hunger. But, that said, she won't be occupied by anything else when we are eating. We have tried and it has become impossible to distract her. That's why I think she is ready to eat and I should follow her cue. Just wanted to make sure that if I did feed her now that I could still skip the purees.

[elmh23]

I'd skip the purees. Just give really soft small pieces of food and let her have at it. She might eat it all or she might just mush it in to the tray or plate or you

[Drummer's Wife]

I think the sitting thing is more along the lines of sitting mostly unassisted, ya know? Like, baby doesn't have to be able to sit up straight on the top of the kitchen table alone w/o tipping.

I would definitely start with small chunks of whole foods - I found this a lot easier than spoon feeding. and since it's all about experience at this point, there isn't much texture going on with purees.

[AFWife]

You can also give her firm fruits and veggies to just gnaw on... Sometimes we give DS a slice of apple, carrot, broccoli, or whatever to just play with while we eat. That way everyone gets to eat!