Baby led weaning

[smurfette]

Soooo had a difficult day with my new mindee today and chatting to dh today I am thinking one of his problems was he is hungry., he is breastfed at home as far as I can see most of the time.. He will not be fed with a spoon and she told me he was good at feeding himself. Today he ate next to nothing as when he is overtired he doesn't feed himself but other days he doesn't eat as far as I can see, anywhere near enough! Is it ok with baby led weaning to try and introduce a spoon (was planning on giving him one to play with and trying to get him to try something sweet like yoghurt ) but at ten months and being stubborn can't see it being easy lol!
Any tips?!

[Kidston]

I did blw with my child and im so glad I did.
I did use a spoon when having things like yougrt or soup or beans. I would do it fornher but if she was in a stubborn mood I would load the spoon and help her guide it to her mouth.
Blw doesnt have to be religious I must not put anything in the babys hand or I must not use a spoon.
Is it worth trying to offer more snacks through the day like ever hour or so?
Is mum expressing any milk for you to give little one?

[smurfette]

I did blw with my child and im so glad I did. I did use a spoon when having things like yougrt or soup or beans. I would do it fornher but if she was in a stubborn mood I would load the spoon and help her guide it to her mouth. Blw doesnt have to be religious I must not put anything in the babys hand or I must not use a spoon. Is it worth trying to offer more snacks through the day like ever hour or so? Is mum expressing any milk for you to give little one?

Yes she gives me a bottle of milk which I fill a cup from and he does drink from, its one of those tommy tippee ones but he only takes about a quarter of it over the day

Good to know it's not religiously needing to be adhered to., I am all for them feeding themselves and have always encouraged them too but to be honest not sure in this case it's not just a bit of a cop out :(

[Kidston]

I wouldnt worry how much he is eatting too much, at 10months my girl wasnt eatting much at all only bits here and there, I was prepared for this as its quite normal with blw, the point is they learn to chew before learning to swallow food and they choice when they have had enough to eat so it can take a while for them to build up their eatting. She never lost weight though or anything like that as she was getting everything she needed from my milk. My girl has never accepted expressed milk so if I had to leave her for a day she would just make up for it by feeding extra at night time and im sure its the same for this little one and mum.

Its really hard not to worry when there not eatting enough but im sure their eatting will pick up soon enough.

Once my girl was 12 months it suddenly clicked and now shr eats everything in sight! Sorry ive gone on a bit but thought my own experience might help.

This book is really helpful and doesn't take to long to read
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0091923808/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1400018823&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165

If you never have an blw questions feel free the pm me.

[smurfette]

Thank you that does help! He is weighty enough so I would say he is getting plenty of milk but I am worried he fact he is so unsettled (screams all day) .. Is he hungry?

[jackie 7]

That has helped me with a ble. She is 14 mts and still not a great eater but it is getting better.

[munch149]

Yes give him one to play with. Let him dip it and feed himself. Feeding him with a spoon is a bit of a no as your taking the control away from the child but to be honest I also spoonfed things like yoghurt to my dd. best to find out what mum does and how strict she is with the blw as I had a mum that was very strict on it so I never went near her dd with a spoon.

And chances are he isn't hungry. If he's able to feed himself then he would If he was hungry. Maybe offer little but often if your concerned. Things like bread sticks in between meals

[munch149]

Oh and food before one is just for fun. Blw quote. It not about quantity but about exploring food

[smurfette]

Oh and food before one is just for fun. Blw quote. It not about quantity but about exploring food

But surely that's for a baby who is with mum all day breastfeeding or is taking regular bottles?

[Becci26]

Hi murphf,

How are you?! :)

I'm blw ds 9m and while I allow j to feed himself the majority of the time I do also use a spoon esp for things like porridge (he's not had yoghurt yet as we are dairy free), I tend to give him loaded spoons and let him feed himself but also on occasion do feed him myself. After all they've still got to learn to eat with cutlery. However some people are very rigid with it and don't like the use of spoons at all.
Have you spoken to mum about it? I think that would probably be my first port of call tell her what you're finding and ask her how she feels about introducing a spoon etc
Is mum providing food? If not what sort if things are you giving him? Maybe try things that don't require too much effort to begin with if he's upset?

[tess1981]

Hi murphf,

How are you?! :)

I'm blw ds 9m and while I allow j to feed himself the majority of the time I do also use a spoon esp for things like porridge (he's not had yoghurt yet as we are dairy free), I tend to give him loaded spoons and let him feed himself but also on occasion do feed him myself. After all they've still got to learn to eat with cutlery. However some people are very rigid with it and don't like the use of spoons at all.
Have you spoken to mum about it? I think that would probably be my first port of call tell her what you're finding and ask her how she feels about introducing a spoon etc
Is mum providing food? If not what sort if things are you giving him? Maybe try things that don't require too much effort to begin with if he's upset?

Just wondering if you gave the child soup how do they eat it lol

[wee_elf]

with a straw :laughing:, seriously though I would love to know too!! x

[JKL]

I'd guess in much the same way that I feed my 10 month DS, dump chunks of bread in and see how he goes? Lol! :D

[tess1981]

I'd guess in much the same way that I feed my 10 month DS, dump chunks of bread in and see how he goes? Lol! :D

I have never heard of blw before so am curious why are spoons a no no? Surely we should be teaching children from as early on to use spoons and forks? Now no one jump down my throat I am only asking as know NOTHING about it

[smurfette]

So he ate a lot better today! Thanks for the tip about snacking that really made a difference to our day! I suppose I don't really let the others snack but this might be the way to go with him since he is younger .. He ate a reasonable brekkie. Then snacked all morning on rice cakes and Ella cookies , had a good sleep on his full tummy, and scoffed lots this afternoon! His mum says he doesn't eat when tired so hopefully today is the norm!!

[Becci26]

I'd guess in much the same way that I feed my 10 month DS, dump chunks of bread in and see how he goes? Lol! :D

I dip the bread in....tbf using a spoon with soup at this age regardless how they're fed would be a challenge - very messy lol :/

[Becci26]

I have never heard of blw before so am curious why are spoons a no no? Surely we should be teaching children from as early on to use spoons and forks? Now no one jump down my throat I am only asking as know NOTHING about it

Indeed we do, it's more about getting the children used to different tastes and textures as opposed to spoon feeding mushed up stuff, the theory behind it is more to do with avoiding fussy eating and encouraging dexterity,
Once they've got to grips with handling the food you introduce cutlery, for example I give my son a spoon to play with/ or a loaded spoon at times and I will do more and more over the coming months

[clareelizabeth1]

with a straw :laughing:, seriously though I would love to know too!! x
I did blw with ds and have used a straw for soup as well as a tommee tippee sippy cup.

[funemnx]

My lo was blw and did eat yogurt himself with his fingers - very messy!
At 3 1/2 now he is using a spoon most of the time :thumbsup:

[squeely wheely]

Soooo had a difficult day with my new mindee today and chatting to dh today I am thinking one of his problems was he is hungry., he is breastfed at home as far as I can see most of the time.. He will not be fed with a spoon and she told me he was good at feeding himself. Today he ate next to nothing as when he is overtired he doesn't feed himself but other days he doesn't eat as far as I can see, anywhere near enough! Is it ok with baby led weaning to try and introduce a spoon (was planning on giving him one to play with and trying to get him to try something sweet like yoghurt ) but at ten months and being stubborn can't see it being easy lol!
Any tips?!

I dont mean to sound rude, but I think you should get a book and learn about baby led weaning because it sounds as if you dont really understand the concept. I BLW my children and at 10 months my boy was still drinking milk and playing with food sounding much the same as your mindee. The idea with BLW is to let the child feed themselves and give them milk until they are eating enough food to take over from the milk. Give the child a spoon or fork if you like, but if he's not swallowing food yet I'm not sure its the solution. Once they get to grips with chewing and swallowing then they eat like demons :) keep going with it. and ask mum questions about it too if it's a new concept to you :)

[smurfette]

I dont mean to sound rude, but I think you should get a book and learn about baby led weaning because it sounds as if you dont really understand the concept. I BLW my children and at 10 months my boy was still drinking milk and playing with food sounding much the same as your mindee. The idea with BLW is to let the child feed themselves and give them milk until they are eating enough food to take over from the milk. Give the child a spoon or fork if you like, but if he's not swallowing food yet I'm not sure its the solution. Once they get to grips with chewing and swallowing then they eat like demons :) keep going with it. and ask mum questions about it too if it's a new concept to you :)

Well exactly that's why I came on here!!! To be honest I am not sure she really is doing baby led
Weaning more just not bothering except to breastfeed him which is hardly conducive to him setting at a childminders! I have had a very difficult few days with him and he is screaming all day and I can't ask mum at drop off or pick up as he is screaming and during the day she is getting back into a job after maternity, besides this is the dad who wanted copies of my and husbands id and they freaked out when he cut his finger in the garden so not exactly approachable, and I was looking for some quick help which I got.
I dislike people saying 'I don't mean to be rude' because they think it gives cart Blanche to be rude.. Same as 'I am not racist but'"..!'

[smurfette]

Well exactly that's why I came on here!!! To be honest I am not sure she really is doing baby led Weaning more just not bothering except to breastfeed him which is hardly conducive to him setting at a childminders! I have had a very difficult few days with him and he is screaming all day and I can't ask mum at drop off or pick up as he is screaming and during the day she is getting back into a job after maternity, besides this is the dad who wanted copies of my and husbands id and they freaked out when he cut his finger in the garden so not exactly approachable, and I was looking for some quick help which I got. I dislike people saying 'I don't mean to be rude' because they think it gives cart Blanche to be rude.. Same as 'I am not racist but'"..!'
And a solution of him drinking mostly milk and it's ok if he doesn't eat is not gonna work here if he isn't taking much from a cup

[wee_elf]

Maybe if you approached the parents saying that you have found out more about blw and it doesn't seem as though little one is confident with it yet as he is not eating the food that is provided, this coupled with the refusal of milk has you concerned. Maybe ask them to take little one to be weighed to see if he is still gaining weight?
My own LO is 7 months and we are doing mostly BLW and it has been a long frustrating process, as she seems to be really interested in food and is able to 'chew' but the swallowing part makes her gag, I have been told this is normal though and they need to learn to swallow and not gag as much. Weird thing is she is happy to demolish crusty bread, rice cakes etc, but gags on fruit and veg, guessing it is a texture thing? :)

[critch]

I had never heard of it either and I had a lo 6 mth , she is a great eater although messy, she eats everything, mum puts in a massive choice of foods and I just put a bit of everything on the tray, she will eat Weetabix off on spoon but I struggle with yogurt unless she is in the mood, so I just load the spoon and put it on the tray, I don't stress now if she eats or not as sometimes she is off her food and eats nothing just throws on the floor so I lift her out the high chair, when she is on form she eats everything mum sends and I'm not kidding she sends loads of food!

[clareelizabeth1]

About weight loss they only ever worry if it's really drastic have just had about 5 months of problems with ds getting ill then not gaining any weight and dropped about 2lb. Went doctors health visitors everywhere and they all said as long as the child is still happy and playing they don't want to know. Finally found out he can't cope with drinking whole milk but that's another story.

From that illness though the doctor did tell me that a baby can get enough from bf till they are two with no other food they won't gain weight or hight but will meet developmental mile stones. This has worked for ds he is tiny for his age having not grown for 5 months but he has reached all developmental mile stones ahead of time if anything. Might of only worked as he could bf anytime day or night and of course the doctor could of just been trying to stop me coming back every few days. It might reassure you though that from the age of 12 months to 15 months he ate no solid food. Then two weeks ago he just started eating again properly and now eats like a horse.

[covgalxxx]

You do have to give time My dd started baby led at 6 months ,toast for breakfast, soft bread with cheese, bread stick cheese cubes, cucumber sticks, tea broccoli, potato , carrot sticks, at the began she didn't eat nothing that's what it looked like to me, but you have to keep going if there hungry they let you know, I found my dd was a gazer so had small snack meals 6 times a day , she did better that way than 3 meals, she started of hating food a lot like broccoli , now at 16 months loves broccoli , eats really well, have always gave her a spoon or a fork she is now picking up with a fork, I feed her wet stuff like yogurts, porridge, she like Cheerios with no milk, she feed her self angel delight last week and didn't make a mess and wouldn't let me help her, it is a slow progress, and I did have days with her eating of my plate, but now she is a great little eater, x

[tess1981]

Indeed we do, it's more about getting the children used to different tastes and textures as opposed to spoon feeding mushed up stuff, the theory behind it is more to do with avoiding fussy eating and encouraging dexterity,
Once they've got to grips with handling the food you introduce cutlery, for example I give my son a spoon to play with/ or a loaded spoon at times and I will do more and more over the coming months

Thanks for the reply can see the point about the textures. I would just be afraid of them choking how do u avoid that at such an early age

[clareelizabeth1]

Give them pieces that are too big to choke on the bits they bite off they should be ready for. It's small bits of food children mostly choke on. You will also find that because they learn to chew first they don't often choke.

[loocyloo]

Interesting. Thank you everyone. I don't really know much about BLW but my new LO eats this way. ( apart from baked beans ... He loves them but they have to be on a spoon! ) he eats yogurt with his fingers too :-) horrifies my dd!

And to be fair, it's pretty much the way I've always fed babes ... Just I do use a spoon sometimes.

Everyone has been helpful.

[AliceK]

Babies have a strong gag reflex, a lot of time parents / carers see that and assume they are choking. If you can be brave and just watch for a few seconds you will usually see that they are not actually choking and don't need any assistance. You have to be brave though. Both my own children did seriously choke once each which required my intervention just as we have been taught and it was very scary but for me knowing I could do it and it works it made me less worried in future.
BTW, one of my early mindees was blw and I found it brilliant and have used the principles on a few children weaning since then :thumbsup:

Xx

[squeely wheely]

Well exactly that's why I came on here!!! To be honest I am not sure she really is doing baby led
Weaning more just not bothering except to breastfeed him which is hardly conducive to him setting at a childminders! I have had a very difficult few days with him and he is screaming all day and I can't ask mum at drop off or pick up as he is screaming and during the day she is getting back into a job after maternity, besides this is the dad who wanted copies of my and husbands id and they freaked out when he cut his finger in the garden so not exactly approachable, and I was looking for some quick help which I got.
I dislike people saying 'I don't mean to be rude' because they think it gives cart Blanche to be rude.. Same as 'I am not racist but'"..!'

Well **** if trying not to offend you is the same as being rasict then I think you need help.

[wee_elf]

Well my lo just ate two big slices of tiger bread by herself, no choking...I think the butter must have greased the way down!!

[smurfette]

Well **** if trying not to offend you is the same as being rasict then I think you need help.


Not what I meant sorry

[munch149]

A baby's gag reflex is right to the front of the mouth so they gag a lot earlier than adults so choking is unlikely.

You are right it is more about the milk and if there not taking it it does make it difficult. It's one of those trial and error things I guess

A spoon is a no no as it takes the control away from the child. The child no longer has control over the amount that is being eaten. Blw children are meant to be able to better control potions and less likely to be obese. With a spoon we can often over feed a child as we don't know when to stop. It's the same with a bottle over Breast which is why a lot of breast feeders choose blw as it follows on nicely

[Kerry30]

One of my lo's whose now 2 and a half started with me when she was 9 mths old. Parents were doing blw with her. Ive never given her any food off a spoon. It was the first time I'd ever come across it in all my years of childcare! Lo coped with it really well, altho she was breast fed lots at home til about a year old (maybe longer). The swallowing of whole pieces of pasta freaked me out abit at first but I would highly recommend it. Only thing is she eats with her hands with me and wont use a knife and fork at mine but mum says she does at home.
And her speech is really good and has been from about 12 mths old.