Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

liliq

I know there is already a weaning thread, but I thought it would be really useful to have a thread dedicated to Baby Led Weaning...
Recipes, tips, advice, links...
Have many people here done BLW?

When I started thinking about introducing solids to my baby all I heard about was baby rice. I bought a box, made it once, and chucked it out a week later. I know some people think it's great, but I think it's about as relevant to a babies diet as wallpaper paste.
So I kind of left solids for a while cos I didn't really know what to do! The PHNs were telling me to start solids at 17 weeks, even though it contradicts advice from both the HSE and WHO.
I can't even really remember when I started considering BLW, but I'm sure I came across reference to it in a few different places.

I eventually decided to wait til "around the middle of the first year", which was just over 5.5 months for us, and started a combination of baby led weaning and purees. I think the purees lasted about 2 weeks, and since 6 months it's been BLW all the way!
There was a really nice article in the Irish Examiner Feel Good section during the week about it as well, anyone see?

missis aggie

Hi,
This is great idea for a thread:) I'm doing BLW since my daughter is 6 months and a bit. She is doing great, she eats anything we have and is very independent. I don't know anyone who is doing BLW so it will be great to meet other people

dublinlady

If love to know more about this - how do you do it, what exactly does it mean, do u not have to purée foods at first for safety, does the child develop good eating habits?
My girl is 20 weeks and just starting to watch me eat - she tried to take a biscuit out of my hand yest and eat it!
She now watches like a hawk when I drink from my glass etc!
But she's not really sitting up too well so I'm afraid to give her anything.
She also doesn't finish her 7oz bottles so I'm not sure she ready!
I also suffered badly with allergies and my nurse said in that case it's sometimes better to wait longer!?

So many qns! Would love to know more tho as I think it's really interesting / if I knew the facts it may be something I'd try!

pwurple

Just wanted to say the alternative to baby led weaning is not baby rice.

A far as I can tell from reading older baby books, there were two main streams of thought on weaning. The first I found referred to as 'the french method' in a few places. This is basically the mother pre-chewing the food in her mouth, and then giving bits of that on her fingers to baby. I am guessing this evolved in the late 50's into purees when sterilisation appeared and transferring from mothers mouth to babies mouth became a no-no.

The other method was considered normal weaning here and in the UK. It was giving long bits of things for baby to chew on. Crusts, cut up things. Lots of warnings about how the food needed to be in big long strips so you could pull it out of their mouth if they started choking. I think this is what is currently called baby led weaning, and it was what our grandmothers and great-grandmothers probably did here.

I went with a mixture of the two at the start, to see which would suit.

Hannibal Smith

I think people miss the point about baby rice. It's not a magic food that will get your baby onto solids. It's only supposed to be a starter that's bland and similar to the milk they've been getting so it's all not totally new. If you don't like the thought of baby rice, there's absolutely no law that says you have to start with it. You can start with any fruit or vegetable you like.

I find a lot of babies start getting properly hungry around the five months mark. Even my second who I weaned at 17 weeks only really got into the full swing of it at 5 months.

missis aggie

BLW is a simply letting a baby take a led when learning how to eat. They learn how to chew first and then swallow when they are ready ( tongue thrust is gone). We started with pieces of fruit, avocado,sweet potatoes, then moved on to meat, pasta, rice. When I introduced new food I was waiting few days to give it again to make sure she is not allergic. And now ( she is 10 months) she eats everything really. We have a good diet low in salt and sugar so there is no need to cook separately. Never had to blend anything. When we have yogurt or soup I preload a spoon. She has now great hand - eye coordination. She is very good in chewing and never swallow anything she is not comfortable with. So far she is not picky although she likes some food over other

dublinlady

So how do u stop them from choking on large pieces etc? Sorry - I'm just trying to get my head around handing her a carrot stick!! I'd be terrified! But she does stick everything in her mouth now and bite on / but tongue thrust def still there - as I found when trying to give her antibiotic!!!

dublinlady

So how do u stop them from choking on large pieces etc? Sorry - I'm just trying to get my head around handing her a carrot stick!! I'd be terrified! But she does stick everything in her mouth now and bite on / but tongue thrust def still there - as I found when trying to give her antibiotic!!!

How Strange

Baby led weaning is essentially about letting your baby take the lead in how they eat solid food. The emphasis should be on taste and exploring and milk should be the main source of nutrition until 1 year.

It suits breastfed babies more than those formula fed because breastfeeding is usually baby led therefore they regulate their own appetites. That's not to say that formula fed babies can't be weaned onto solids using the baby led method but it requires a change of mindset as you can't stress over 'how much' they actually eat.

A baby is ready for baby led weaning when their tongue thrust has disappeared. This means they won't just automatically push out any food placed in their mouth. The tongue thrust is a survival mechanism against choking or poisoning.

Sitting up unaided isn't as important as long as you make sure they're sitting up straight in a high chair. Never give a baby food while sitting in a reclined chair or buggy.

You start with simple things like steamed carrot sticks or strips of roasted red pepper. However because you don't start baby led weaning until at least 6 months you can give meat or fish straight away. The only things to avoid are nuts and honey. The strips or chunks of food should be quite large do they can hold them easily.

The food isn't cut into strips so you can take it back out if they start to gag. Never ever try to take food out of your babies mouth as you risk pushing it further back and causing them to choke.

For baby led weaning a mother must trust her baby. The gag reflex in a 6 month old is at the front of their mouth. When they put food in they will gag, their eyes will bulge and water and they'll make choking sounds. I defy any mum to not have near heart failure when she sees this for the first, second, third, hundredth time. However all of this scary stuff is normal.

Remember when someone is choking they make no noise so the more noise they make the better. I almost gave up on baby led weaning in the first day but some one from boards or another forum gave me the best advice ever. When your little one starts gagging with bulging watery eyes etc sit on your hands for ten seconds. If the food hasn't come out in ten seconds then react. In 1 year I've only had to take him out once and that was because what he was eating was too hard to break down and it got caught.

As for what to give them; at first keep the food big do they can pick it up. Around 9-10 months they develo their pincer grip so they take take small things like raisins or peas but at first they are clumsy and uncoordinated. In the first weeks most of the food goes on the floor or their face but they quickly improve.

It's also worth remembering that if you start baby led weaning at 6-7 months you're giving your baby a head start on finger foods and lumpy or textured foods. Babies have to start eating these foods around 7-8 months anyway and it's very important developmentally that they do. So every parent is going to have to go through the gagging and the vomiting, bulging eyes etc. the younger they start the better as the gag reflex moves further back as they get older so a 11 month old gagging is more at risk of choking than a 6 month old. That's why it's not advisable to delay giving finger or lumpy foods.

Baby led weaning works best when you all eat the same food except without salt or normal stock cubes for baby.
Give them spicy food or well seasoned food so they acquire a taste for adult food.

My son is 17 months and he's a great eater for the most part. Some days he eats very little and other days he eats a lot. He's picky when he wants to be so baby led weaning won't mean you avoid pickiness. However he will try different things and he'll eat off my plate so while he is picky he isn't afraid of taste.

Baby led warning as a toddler still means leaving them to it. If he doesn't want to eat his dinner then I don't stress and I never force feed him or try to cajole him with trains or airplanes. I also don't make special meals. If he doesn't want his dinner that's fine but I won't start making something else. I trust that he knows when hes hungry. This definitely takes the stress out of meal times.

I hope I've explained the principles of baby led weaning. There is a great book called Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and I'd advise any parent thinking of using this method to read it as it gives you all the facts and figures. I'd also advise parents to do a Pediatric first aid course or at the very least watch first aid for choking infants on you tube. My husband and I watched it together and I've only ever had to use it once but thankfully I knew what to do.

How Strange

Also I've found that the chances my son won't eat something are proportionate to the amount of time I take preparing and cooking. So if I make something out of my fancy shmancy River Cottage book for babies and toddlers he'll throw the whole lot on the floor. If I make meatballs in tomato sauce and roasted carrot sticks or omelette and smoked salmon he'll devour the whole lot. So I learned my lesson (eventually) keep it simple and stress free. I've ate enough fish cakes and courgette frittatas for lunch to know he doesn't like that sort of stuff!

missis aggie

Very well explained How Strange I have to admit I had to sit on my hands once or twice but I learn that she is well able to deal with gagging I trust she is eating enough ( have loads of energy and thriving ) so yes there is no stress at all

pwurple

About the gagging... was there vomitting at all with that? I started on fruit and veg purees at 5 months, and gave her strips of things every second day or so as well at about 7 to 10 months. When she gagged she vomitted quite a bit. It was fairly distressing for her, she would be crying and upset, and I found it quite restrictive. I felt I couldn't take her to a friends house, or a cafe or even out in public unless I could puree the food, after a few public vomits where I was caught a bit short (Had spare clothes for her, none for me).

I went back to mashed things again, and only recently gave her strips again at 14 months. She's fine now, eats whatever I eat.

missis aggie

My little one never vomited, it might have something to do with giving purred food first. When babies get purred food they just swallow as there is nothing to chew. So when they get something chunky it goes down without chewing it and that's why they vomit. BLW babies chew the food and swallow only if its small enough and safe to.do so. That's my theory

How Strange

pwurple some babies do vomit. Maybe they have a sensitive gag reflex or it could be, as ms aggie said, they're used to puréed food so not used to chewing. Unfortunately they cant tell us but its hard if shes distressed about it too. My son has only vomited a couple of times and usually when he was being really greedy and eating too quckly. It didn't bother him at all and he just kept on eating. That's boys for you!

iguana

Still about a year away for me but I have a few questions. When you give a baby some of the spicy food that you are eating should you give then a seriously toned down version? We eat a lot of seriously spicy food here (my husband worked as a cook in an Asian restaurant through college and still loves experimenting) and I'm worried that it will be much too hot for brand new taste buds.

Also what about pastas and cured meats like chorizo? Are they safe for young babies.

Lola92

iguana wrote: »

Still about a year away for me but I have a few questions. When you give a baby some of the spicy food that you are eating should you give then a seriously toned down version? We eat a lot of seriously spicy food here (my husband worked as a cook in an Asian restaurant through college and still loves experimenting) and I'm worried that it will be much too hot for brand new taste buds.

Also what about pastas and cured meats like chorizo? Are they safe for young babies.

For really spicy foods I used to add a couple of spoons of natural yoghurt to tone down the heat a bit but at 19 months E loves hot foods, especially chilli!

Once they are cooked to be not too hard, pasta and chorizo were both fine with my girl after 6 months.

There is a baby led weaning group on face book. I will edit this post later to link it in, I can't now as I'm posting on my phone.

dublinlady

do you feel that its possible to do if you are going back to work? As in A will be 6 and a half months when i go back to work in september - she will be with a nanny/creche (not 100% sure which yet!!) for about 24 hours a week. Is it something that you really need to be around to do, or is it just as easy in a different enviroment?
oh id love to stay at home with her forever

How Strange

dublinlady my son was 7 months when I went back to work and I only started weaning after 6 months. In the crèche he is spoonfed because I couldn't realistically expect the crèche to sit and feed my son finger foods. I asked that they didn't cajole him to eat so no 'here comes the airplane'. I don't know if they do it or not but at this stage I don't care. I don't do it at home and that's the main thing for me.

When he's with me I give finger foods or let him feed himself except for yoghurt. For yoghurt I give one loaded spoon for him to eat and I give one spoon. That way it limits the potential for damage.

Kids are pretty adaptable; he'll be spoonfed no problem in crèche but he won't let me spoonfeed him.

ceadaoin.

iguana wrote: »

Still about a year away for me but I have a few questions. When you give a baby some of the spicy food that you are eating should you give then a seriously toned down version? We eat a lot of seriously spicy food here (my husband worked as a cook in an Asian restaurant through college and still loves experimenting) and I'm worried that it will be much too hot for brand new taste buds.

Also what about pastas and cured meats like chorizo? Are they safe for young babies.

I haven't tried any spicy foods with my daughter yet but I'd say they are fine once you aren't eating vindaloos or anything that hot! I find pasta great, its long enough for her to hold in her fist and still be able to eat what sticks out.

I'd imagine chorizo might be a bit high in salt to have on a regular basis but occasionally would be fine

liliq

Yay! Glad there's some interest already!!

iguana wrote: »

Still about a year away for me but I have a few questions. When you give a baby some of the spicy food that you are eating should you give then a seriously toned down version? We eat a lot of seriously spicy food here (my husband worked as a cook in an Asian restaurant through college and still loves experimenting) and I'm worried that it will be much too hot for brand new taste buds.

Also what about pastas and cured meats like chorizo? Are they safe for young babies.

We eat fairly spicy food here ourselves, a lot of Asian food, a lot of chilli for seasoning etc. We started off with fairly bland food- roasted veg sticks, rice cakes, avacado,well cooked pasta etc, but the last month maybe a little more, we have been feeding him almost exactly what we'll eat. We've brought him for lunch in Wagamama a couple of times and he'll happily eat my choo chee (sp) chicken curry (minus salt) He's 9.5 months now.
In saying that, I ate a lot of those foods while pregnant and continue to eat them while breastfeeding so he would get a limited exposure to those flavours that way.
Pastas, particularly fusili at the start, are perfect! Easy for little hands to grasp. Patsa is really popular here...
Chorizo and cured meats we've avoided due to the high salt content, along with any other salted food.

Lola92 wrote: »

There is a baby led weaning group on face book. I will edit this post later to link it in, I can't now as I'm posting on my phone.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/412752832070143/

dublinlady wrote: »

do you feel that its possible to do if you are going back to work? As in A will be 6 and a half months when i go back to work in september - she will be with a nanny/creche (not 100% sure which yet!!) for about 24 hours a week. Is it something that you really need to be around to do, or is it just as easy in a different enviroment?
oh id love to stay at home with her forever

It depends who is minding the baby... my mum or step sister mind my so while I'm in college, so it's fine for me to be quite specific in how and what I want him fed. I'd say some childminders might be similar, but creches might be a bit less willing or able to take the time.

As well asthe Gillian Rapley Guide to baby led weaning, there is also a cookbook (which i've yet to get) that I've heard has great recipes!

foodaholic

I'm doing BLW at the moment, and she is loving it. Her favourite foods are broccoli, avocado, butternut squash and hummus.

Would recommend Baby Led Weaning Cookbook by Gill Rapley. It explains the theory of BLW ( gag reflex ect) with the benefit off the recipes and how to actually start. the recipes are great - for two adults and 1 baby !

Would strongly recommend putting a shower curtain for under the high hair ( its messy work)

it's so enjoyable seeing them try new foods.

Check out video clips of BLW on YouTube - there is a 6 month old baby eating a leg of chicken, and to give you a heart attack babies eating spaghetti ( total mess)

Lola92

liliq wrote: »

https://www.facebook.com/groups/412752832070143/

Thanks liliq, I didn't get a chance to get back online before this evening. I'm wondering what your real identity is now!

liliq

Lola92 wrote: »

Thanks liliq, I didn't get a chance to get back online before this evening. I'm wondering what your real identity is now!

Likewise!;)

wmpdd3

always wondered what this was, i started weening my girl at 6.5 months, she was still taking very little milk and didnt seem hungary. She hated the purees i made, so i tried jars, she hated them too. She loved cheese in hers hands so we just gave her what ever we had. she used to suck and grind fingers of steak and prawns. She only got top teeth at 18 months, so its only now she can bite things. She eats what we eat. She's always fed herself, she has a big tray on her high chair so doesnt make a mess. ill be starting all over again in 4 weeks and i have a few purees made, we'll see how we get on.

quozl

We went with BLW for our twin boys. They never had pureed food, and IIRC started eating what we ate at 6 months - with some restrictions like no salt, and sometimes needing chopping up.

There was a motto in the book we followed something like "food is fun, until they're one." So we didn't bother about how much or little they were eating till they were a year, as they got their nutritional requirements from breastfeeding.

They really liked BLW and I think it was much easier than it would have been trying to spoon-feed two babies at the same time, as they didn't need us to do it for them. It was sometimes messy as they might dump stuff off their high-chair if they'd had enough but cleaning that up is easier IMO than sitting their spoon-feeding them.

We also added yoghurt if the food was quite spicy.

Currently 22 months old and will eat pretty much anything we will, even as far as happily eating Asian food in restaurants with us.

One of them even chanted for 'dumplings' while waiting, last time we went out to lunch.

Hobbitfeet

First day of blw for my little man today he had steamed carrot and loved it didn't gag at all which was great. The only problem we had was the carrot was really slippery and this frustrated him.
Do I need to stay with the 1 food for a few days and then introduce a new one for a few days??

How Strange

Hobbitfeet you can try new foods every time if you want. None of those rules of x veg for y days apply with blw. Dry the food in kitchen towels before giving it and it'll be easier for him to hold. Good luck!

foxinsocks

Mine is 8 and a half months now, and we've been blw since just short of 6 months. She's been off her food over the last few days, but I think she's teething. I have a few tips for now:

1) For the slippery foods, get your hands on a crinkle cutter. I use it for carrots, pears, whatever really. At 6 months, they can't eat whatever is in their fist, only what sticks out, so make the food the size of YOUR finger, not theirs.

2) I bought a fancy chicco high chair (80something euro) and it was a disaster. BLW is MESSY!!! The highchair had six hundred and twenty eight places for food to be shoved into, many of which only accessible for cleaning using a fingernail covered in a dettol wipe, as well as 2 layers of padding with a big hole in between for food to go through. I washed it, folded it up, and hightailed it to IKEA for their €17 Antilop high chair with tray. Best money i have ever spent.

3) The gagging is uncomfortable to watch, however it means that she ISN'T choking, so it doesn't worry me. A piece of food capable of choking her has no chance to do so as long as she can gag and get the food out of her mouth if needed. Mostly now after gagging, she chews and swallows though.

4) Think of it as messy play rather than nourishment. You absolutely cannot get at all worried about how much they eat. Izzy goes for days where I'm reasonably sure all she's 'eaten' is 2 cheerios and a maybe a spoonful of yoghurt. She does not *need* solid food now, all we're doing is ensuring that when she does actually need it, she has developed the skills necessary to consume it. I still breastfeed on demand, so I know she is getting everything she needs.

5) Hold off giving whole raw apples, they are a choking hazard that you might not have though of. I've only just given Izzy some this week, and only because I have seen her chewing food properly already. Even then, I peeled it. No whole nuts, they are a choking hazard too, and smaller nuts are an inhalation risk. I still cut grapes and strawberries into quarters, and I will until she gets more teeth.

6) If you wouldn't eat it while pregnant, hold off on it until 1 year old. eg: no soft boiled eggs, no blue cheese, no 'rare' meat etc

I have really been enjoying BLW so far. There is something so cute about watching my little baby sitting there chewing and enjoying her food. However, I know myself well enough to know that I couldn't have done this with my first kid, I did not have the confidence in myself or my ability as a parent. Back then I was much happier being able to measure exactly how much was going into the kid

As to the spicy foods, Izzy has had chilli, and she did enjoy it. However, I don't know how to cook proper curries. Although I love eating them I end up using sauces from a jar. They have too much salt in them to allow Izzy to eat really. I'd say if you're making stuff from scratch, then spices are just fine, it's the salt you worry about.

I did buy the gill rapley book, however I think I found it more useful for relatives and the 'but sure she'll choke!' brigade.

This turned in to a novel, sorry!

dublinlady

Hey, so A is almost 22 weeks. I've been spoon feeding her purees and she is enjoying it. Her teeth seem to be at her at the mo tho and also she's quite independent so I'd like to try her with a strip of cucumber or sonething similar. Just wondering if this would be ok and if so what size to make the cucumber strip and how thick - presumably I dont steam it or anything?!? Cold would be good for her gums.
I do think she would be happier playing with food herself but as she is not yet 6 months I'm spoon feeding her purees . She def needs some form of solids - not that she's hugely hungry - she just seems to prefer food to bottles - she also likes new experiences all the time so enjoys discovering the new flavours!
She is always trying to grab the spoon and the odd time I let her but really it's awful messy with purees!!! I'd rather sge could gum some finger food but just don't know what to give her if anything considering her age.
All advise welcome!!
Some great informative posts on this thread!

How Strange

dublinlady the general advise is 6 months for finger foods/blw but you're her mum so if you think she's ready ie tongue thrust has stopped. Sit her up very straight in her high chair and prop her up with towels if necessary (we had to do this until 8 months).

Cut thick fingers of cold cucumber without the skin. Dab then in kitchen roll so they're easier to hold. you can also give chunks of melon to suck on.

To follow the principles of blw just let her do her own thing. Don't coax or cajole her and don't get caught up in how much she's eating. It's her fun, messy time. I use a bib with sleeves from mothercare as it still gets very very messy.

After that quarters of peeled ripe pear are good, steamed florets of broccoli, steamed carrot sticks, roast carrot or parsnip sticks, slices of roasted pepper without the skin. Fingers of toast and fingers of omelette are also good.

littlemissfixit

Just want to start this up again, any more suggestions of first foods, I know the cooked vegs and soft fruits or stewed fruits, but I think I will doubt myself about everything else, so throw it out here please!!!

Also whats the accepted thought on eggs now, with my daughter they said no egg whites until after 1yr old, but there is absolutely no allergy in both our families...