Worried about weaning...

[ann_of_loxley]

and tell me if I am being silly about this worry or not! lol... (and when I say weaning - I mean, onto solids! lol)...

We plan to do BLW. This worry wasn't a problem with DS because he got his milk via bottle (long horrible story) so 'controling' what he got was much easier but DS2 is very much a boobie baby. He feeds little and often so is there a lot because he also likes to suck for comfort. He is also a very different baby to DS1! He very much wants to be on the go, very nearly is on the go and is very curious! He is no where near ready for solids personally - but trying to eat with him on my lap now is becoming very impossible because he is trying to reach and grab anything and everything. In fact, simply having him in the sling requires my close attention now because if we walk past a tree and he grabs and rips off a leaf - in it goes! He certainly doesn't have that tongue thrust reflex anymore but still can't sit up or do the pincher grasp....

But eventually he will be ready for solids and this is my worry. I worry that he will be eating too much food and then not getting enough milk. I base this worry on what I have seen of him already. As I don't control what he gets now - its pretty free flowing here! - and as I plan on doing BLW - I am not sure how to approach this. Food before a year should really be about exploring but I worry that he will be actually eating it all and filling up on that and being the stubborn Taurus he is, really letting me know about it if I plan on otherwise!

So would I go with that flow? Would I limit how much I put out for him? Do I try and hold off on solids then, with him, for as long as I can? I know some people wait until a year. We have no medical reasons to do so in our family, but I know families do this - how do you do that? I can't see that working for us as he has already eaten paper!

Is this just a silly worry?

[jenfl]

Hi, Ann!

I really don't think, at 6-7-8 months, if you're doing BLW, that babies are coordinated enough to get enough food into themselves to fill up! Breastmilk is easy and fast and tasty. Food is messy and takes coordination and a long time to eat.

I'd give him a little at 6 months, see how he does with it, and go from there.

[redvlagrl]

We did BLW with DD (now 23 mths) and it was great. We didn't bother offering her food always at first, probably just once a day, and then we got more orgnaized. We just plonked stuff down on the tray and let her go to town. If she was really frustrated we would help her out.

According to some studies released recently, *early* introduction of potential allergens is seeming to have a protective effect, so to that end we did not delay anything. DD had scrambled (whole) eggs from about 7 mths. Around this time she got some peanut too from some noodles that had crushed peanuts on them.

It's not like I was giving her peanut butter by the spoonful or anything, LOL.

Just chill out about it and don't worry if they don't go for it (though it sounds like you won't have that problem).

[treeoflife3]

I always nursed kiddo before meals so should she actually get a lot of solids in (unlikely hahaha) they already had breastmilk first. sometimes she'd refuse to nurse just before but often wanted to nurse after too.

Of course, there were lots of days in the beginning where I forgot to give her any solids at all... hehehe

[momto4plus4]

Originally Posted by treeoflife3

i always nursed kiddo before meals so should she actually get a lot of solids in (unlikely hahaha) they already had breastmilk first. Sometimes she'd refuse to nurse just before but often wanted to nurse after too.

Of course, there were lots of days in the beginning where i forgot to give her any solids at all... Hehehe

ditto!