Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

j@utis

my son doesn't drink water either. I've tried 3 or 4 types of sippy cups with no luck - he chews the spout and that's about it.
I just keep offering water from normal glass during his meals. He loves blowing bubbles or wash his hands in it. I'm not stressing about it. I think he just doesn't need any more liquids. He's nursing 6-7x per day, I don't know how much he's taking in but it could be up to 1litre of milk per day, and that's plenty of liquids. No problems with constipation. he's 8.5months.

seventeen sheep

madeinamerica wrote: »

My fella ate a lump of dry clay in the park on Sunday! babies don't always lead us the right way

We're having a good time with it so far. Just gave him a bit of fish with dinner for the first time, he actually liked it and was looking for more. Not so fond of scrambled eggs the other day though he kept eating it despite pulling faces...

I'm giving him water in a sippy cup from ikea but he just chews on the spout so I just gave him the cup itself. Messy though! Any tips on helping him to drink from a cup? It's only about his third time, I wasnt giving it till recently. He's 7.5 months.

Is that the one that looks like a dog (if that makes sense!) My 15 month old can't manage that one at all, for milk or water. The very basic Tommee Tippee beaker has worked well for us, and it's one I often see recommended. We have another one that works too, will check the make later! We've found that the shape of the beaker makes a huge difference, so in my opinion it's definitely worth trying a good few different brands if one doesn't suit!

dori_dormer

We got the nuby one with the soft spout on it from lidl. My boy just chewed on it til about 1 year old. When we went from 3 to 2 bottles he started to actually drink from it. Do t think he needed to water til then. He can easily drink from a glass though I just not like the mess and with the nuby one I can leave it n the coffee table and he can take a drink whenever he needs.

madeinamerica

Thanks for the tips. We've two from IKEA actually, a green frog one and one with a green lid and vwhite cup with a see-through panel. He hasn't reduced his milk feeds yet so probably doesn't need more liquid. I'll keep trying him anyway

Ms2011

I've been doing BLW with my now 8.5 month old since she was 6 months.
She's still at the exploring stage so not an awful lot is actually getting ingested which was fine because she was still having 24oz of formula per day.
The problem is in the last couple of days she has gone off her bottles but is not eating enough solids to make up the difference. She seems more cranky too which I think is because she's hungry so by the time she sits down the say dinner she is too hungry & gets frustrated easily.
Not too sure what to do, she's never been spoon-fed anything & I don't want to start now if I can help it.

madeinamerica

Ms2011 wrote: »

I've been doing BLW with my now 8.5 month old since she was 6 months.
She's still at the exploring stage so not an awful lot is actually getting ingested which was fine because she was still having 24oz of formula per day.
The problem is in the last couple of days she has gone off her bottles but is not eating enough solids to make up the difference. She seems more cranky too which I think is because she's hungry so by the time she sits down the say dinner she is too hungry & gets frustrated easily.
Not too sure what to do, she's never been spoon-fed anything & I don't want to start now if I can help it.

If she has gone off her bottles and is cranky, she might be coming down with a bit of a cold or something like that. Not intended as medical advice, that is what happens when my fella is coming down with something. Her bottles give her more than food can at this age anyway. I don't live in Ireland so I've no idea, is there a nurse or someone you can call up to just ask about her going off her bottles?

A little spoon-feeding isn't the end of the world. You could try things you could eat with a spoon anyway, like a little yogurt or wheetabix or soft mashed potato on a spoon. It's not like you are spoon feeding her pureed carrot and nothing else Put a little on the spoon for her and she might even like holding the spoon herself. I use two spoons for a while now, I give one to him to feed himself with and I've a second one that I can pre-load and hand to him.

Ms2011

Sorry, when I say I've never spoon fed her I meant I've never feed her myself from a spoon but I give her preloaded spoons with yoghurt, Ready Brek etc & she feeds herself:)
She just woke up there from a 2.5hr nap & was much brighter, even knawed on some steak & a chip (par boiled potato, roasted in the oven not deep fried) so that was an improvement.
Just the bottles that are worrying me now, hopefully she will pick up in the next day or two or I'll have to make an appointment with the PHN.

madeinamerica

ok! I see what you mean.

I hope she comes back to herself soon

mirrorwall14

Our lad goes off the bottle and inhales food (BLW) when he is teething badly. Becomes a battle to avoid dehydration until the tooth comes. He's 10.5 months and has 8 teeth

moving_home

I wouldn't worry about temporary being off bottles. We have had lots of bottle strikes for a day or two for no apparent reason. Keep offering lots of water, milky foods etc to get fluids into her. Obviously ring your phn or gp if she's showing signs of dehydration or taking no fluids at all but hopefully it's just a temporary blip.

moving_home

I'd offer food I know she likes little and often to stop her getting too hungry and frustrated.

Ms2011

Can't see too many signs of her teething, though she only has 2 teeth that she got 2 months ago so maybe she's due some new ones

Ms2011

moving_home wrote: »

I'd offer food I know she likes little and often to stop her getting too hungry and frustrated.

Gonna do Wheatabix for brekkie tomorrow, always a winner & I can use some formula to make it so kill 2 birds with the one stone

Diamond Doll

I'm an admin of the BLW Ireland Facebook page, if anyone wants to be added, just send me a PM! It's a great resource for recipes etc.

angeldelight

Ms2011 wrote: »

Gonna do Wheatabix for brekkie tomorrow, always a winner & I can use some formula to make it so kill 2 birds with the one stone

How's she doing now? My almost 8 month old has just gone on a bottle strike too, very frustrating.

Does anybody have any recommendations for restaurants in Dublin city centre? I know Milano and Wagamama get mentioned a lot but hoping for somewhere a bit nicer/non-chain!

nikpmup

angeldelight wrote: »

How's she doing now? My almost 8 month old has just gone on a bottle strike too, very frustrating.

Does anybody have any recommendations for restaurants in Dublin city centre? I know Milano and Wagamama get mentioned a lot but hoping for somewhere a bit nicer/non-chain!

A boardsie recommended the Silk Road cafe in the back of Dublin castle to me, its very nice, not pricey and buggy accessible.

moving_home

angeldelight wrote: »

How's she doing now? My almost 8 month old has just gone on a bottle strike too, very frustrating.

Does anybody have any recommendations for restaurants in Dublin city centre? I know Milano and Wagamama get mentioned a lot but hoping for somewhere a bit nicer/non-chain!

Carluccios just off Grafton Street is very child friendly as is Zaragoza and the Market bar. Taste at the back of Stephens green shopping centre are very friendly for brunch.

Ms2011

angeldelight wrote: »

How's she doing now? My almost 8 month old has just gone on a bottle strike too, very frustrating.

Does anybody have any recommendations for restaurants in Dublin city centre? I know Milano and Wagamama get mentioned a lot but hoping for somewhere a bit nicer/non-chain!

Bottles are better, she's now on dinner strike :rolleyes:
Breakfast & lunch are fine but she seems to get frustrated quickly at dinner time though she did try some mushrooms this evening so that was good

Don't eat in the city centre too often but we did have Christmas dinner in the Belvedere Hotel & enjoyed it plus they didn't seem to mind a blw baby chucking random bits of her dinner off her high chair tray

Lucuma

Hi ladies, do any baby led weaners have suggestions for a 16 mo for breakfast apart from bread?
She has started refusing the spoon so porridge seems to be getting rejected now :-( I got away with it for long enough I suppose! I've read horror stories of kids becoming fussy eaters and demanding bread all the time so I'm trying to prevent that from happening by not giving her too much bread. Her childminder already gives her bread for lunch every day so I'd be keen to avoid it at breakfast time. The childminder also gives her fruit every day so I don't want 2 out of her 3 meals to be bread and fruit! I also think if she's eating bread and fruit all day, she'll probably start refusing her dinner in the evenings after a while.
TIA

dori_dormer

Pancakes? Waffles? Cereal?

If you are following baby led weaning she should be well able to use a spoon by herself by 16 mths.

Porridge sticks are great too. Don't know exactly how to make them as my boy was well used to using the spoon himself by 12 months. The baby led weaning fb page or book is a great resource

angeldelight

Would she eat porridge fingers if she doesn't like the preloaded spoons any more? Or mini quiches/boiled egg/scrambled egg?

fro9etb8j5qsl2

We give our little one cereals that she can pick up herself- things like shreddies and cheerios. If I'm feeling brave I'll let her loose on a pile of porridge or weetabix. She's 11 months so I should probably be letting her try with a spoon herself but I'm afraid of the mess, it's bad enough when she's using her hands

My little boy went through the no spoon phase at around 18 months and he's just coming out of it now at almost 2. We worked around it with the hand held cereals and toast.

RentDayBlues

Breakfast for both of mine from 6 months on was weetabix, porridge, scrambled eggs or pancakes, we've never done toast as they get bread for lunch. I spoon fed my first breakfast for ease, but didn't bother with my second at all. Yes, it was messy but by 12 months she could spoon feed herself with ease.

Ms2011

I'm just 3 months in so by no means an expert bit I'd be inclined to follow the baby's lead & I just let her feed herself.
Make the porridge thick, strip her down or use a bib with sleeves & let her go at it.
There are also alot of great muffin recipes out there like spinach & cheese or banana & peanut butter you could make in advance & just hand to her in the morning. Quick & mostly mess free

pwurple

Lucuma wrote: »

Hi ladies, do any baby led weaners have suggestions for a 16 mo for breakfast apart from bread?
She has started refusing the spoon so porridge seems to be getting rejected now :-( I got away with it for long enough I suppose! I've read horror stories of kids becoming fussy eaters and demanding bread all the time so I'm trying to prevent that from happening by not giving her too much bread. Her childminder already gives her bread for lunch every day so I'd be keen to avoid it at breakfast time. The childminder also gives her fruit every day so I don't want 2 out of her 3 meals to be bread and fruit! I also think if she's eating bread and fruit all day, she'll probably start refusing her dinner in the evenings after a while.
TIA

Try giving her the spoon.
16 months she will manage it fine.

How Strange

When you say she's refusing the spoon do you mean she won't let you feed her? My daughter insisted on feeding herself from 12 months. It was messy as hell to start with but she got the hang of it pretty quickly. With blw weaning there's so much you can give: porridge, weetabix, yoghurt (lidl Greek style is very thick so excellent for blw), omelette, scrambled egg (with smoked salmon!), boiled egg, mini frittata things you can do in muffin tins in 10 minutes, toast with butter, pancakes (you can batch cook a few and freeze them). I always disliked cereal as a child; I think I only liked ready brek, and my daughter seems to be the same so she often has yoghurt or eggs for breakfast.

Lucuma

pwurple wrote: »

Try giving her the spoon.
16 months she will manage it fine.

That took nearly 1 hour for her to eat a few mouthfuls. We just don't have that kinda time in the morning unfortunately - we both work. Mornings is rush, rush, rush. I hate to send her to the childminder with an empty belly.

We will defo do that at weekends though so she gets used to the spoon

Great suggestions there everyone, thanks a million! How Strange great to get tips on quick things or things taht can be batch cooked and frozen in advance especially!

madeinamerica

Lucuma, we are in the same boat! 16 months and used to wolf down his breakfast of wheetabix and some shredded wheat feeding himself, which was great as I also work. But in the last week he's having none of it. He won't take any wheetabix and the few shredded wheat minis that he puts in his mouth get chewed a bit then spat out again. He also has a cold, so that may have something to do with it. might try some of these tips here.

Whispered

I started making overnight porridge and it's absolutely fab. My little fella (1 yr) wolfs it down, even this morning I used it to get meds into him as he's unwell and refusing food and drink last few days.

Brekkie here, when not porridge, is usually fruit, mini shredded wheat sweetened with coconut or a boiled egg.

moving_home

Whispered wrote: »

I started making overnight porridge and it's absolutely fab. My little fella (1 yr) wolfs it down, even this morning I used it to get meds into him as he's unwell and refusing food and drink last few days.

Brekkie here, when not porridge, is usually fruit, mini shredded wheat sweetened with coconut or a boiled egg.

What's overnight porridge??