TELL ME... Getting Started #1

Every time I speak to someone about weaning their baby I hear a different story. Some little ones are into food from day one, others take their time in learning to love their grub. Lots of people make a deliberate choice to BLW, others sort of fall into it like I did. I love hearing about all the different journeys other Mums, Dads and babies have been on; everyone seems to have different challenges along the way and it's helpful to know that when your baby is joyfully lobbing mashed potato at the wall or refusing to eat anything except raisins, the chances are that someone else has been there (and come out the other side!).

I asked my Instagram and Facebook buddies five quick questions to get the lowdown on their weaning adventures. The variety of answers in just this small group of people is really interesting but there are a couple of reoccurring themes from this wise little bunch:  

Trust your instincts, trust your baby and eventually you'll both figure it out. 

In the meantime - enjoy yourself!

1. What made you choose to do BLW?

"Little Dude's absolute refusal to be spoonfed. We battled with purée for a month or so then switched to BLW. We've never looked back!" @blwmamauk

"I chose BLW because our little guy seemed more interested in touching the food and looking at it himself than having a spoon" @bramblebites

"I was actually very anti BLW at first, wasn't until I watch a video - yes video at my local Health Centre that I got to understand more about it and saw the benefits of BLW. Then when I showed my husband YouTube clips he was adamant that was the route we would take." @blwinspiration

"I decided to do BLW after watching a good friend of mine do it with her son. I was terrified and wasn't completely on board...until my daughter reached on my plate at 6.5 months and took a piece of meatloaf off and tried to eat it. From that point on we have been strict BLW" @babiesgotsnack

"I had read about it but was scared about choking and stuff. I started with purée and oddly my baby could self feed herself at 5 months [yes early - but she was ready, proper ready, holding her head up, 5 teeth, could sit and stand independently, showed an interest in food and hand to mouth coordination] :/ a few of my other friends were doing BLW so I tried her with stuff. She preferred it and we carried on- the rest is history!" @azalea_and_mum

"I wanted my little boy to have a healthy relationship with food and thought if he didn't need to be spoon fed purees and could just eat what we do it would make an easier life for all of us" @annakaura

"My pal did it with her wee boy while I was pregnant so I read up in it and just went with it!" @vblogg

"A few friends tried it and sounded good. Fitted with my lifestyle. As a single mum, I liked the idea of eating together (rather than me feed him then eat myself)." @asbellina

"I choose BLW as my sister done it with my 2 nephews. I was pretty sure I would do a combination of BLW and purées as I was terrified when I had to give the boys lunch when I was babysitting. Turns out (like most things) it's totally different when it's your own little bundle and I haven't puréed a thing!" @twelvetwelvebaby

"It just seemed like a no-brainer to me. I read the BLW book when Millar was about 4 months and it all just made sense. I liked the idea that it was fun and gave the baby control" @suzie_crossland

"little man refused the spoon after three weeks of purées?" @mrs30

 "Feeling that there's not much nutritional value or fun in rice cereal and advice from nurses at the hospital who were (very surprisingly) pro-blw. They didn't call it that, but suggested to forgo the cereal and start with strips of cooked veggies and chicken (same thing!)" @cookingforgrey

"I have no idea how we ended up with BLW. I had always know I wanted to be a'free-range' parent and that my kids would get bumps and bruises, stiches and casts. I wanted to be abe t oinclude them, to bring them to resturants and to travel the world with us, I knew I wanted to breastfeed for a year but I had never thought about how I wanted to introduce solids.I have no idea how I found it but I do remember thinking 'oh this makes much more sense!'" @dylansfoodadventures

"Chose BLW after seeing so many other kids at my job (preschool teacher) and my daughter's cousins who were being bribed, coaxed and tricked to eat. I wanted my daughter to have a self awareness of her eating and a good relationship with food." @ashjos

" had read a bit about it online when my daughter was a baby and got the boom when she was about 4 months old. It seemed to follow on naturally from on-demand breastfeeding for me, and since weight problems run on my side of the family and fussy eating runs on my husband's side, we thought it would be a great idea. It went so well with our daughter that we didn't even think twice about doing it again this time round with our little guy." @aoifekids

"Wir haben mit 5 Monaten mit Beikost begonnen, und nach 2 Wochen wollte er keinen Brei mehr, da ich sowieso von Anfang an auch Fingerfood gegeben habe gabs dann nur noch das! Den letzten anstoß hat mir das Buch "Einmal breifrei, bitte" gegeben."  @chrischdl85

"I did a lot of research and reading and it seemed like the right thing for our family" @mydairyfreedinner


I'll post the answers to the other 4 questions shortly once I've caught up with them all... :)

First foods for the nervous BLW'er!

If you've read my previous post you'll know that BLW wasn't really my choice, it was Little Dude's. He hates anything being put in his mouth for him; spoon, cup, toothbrush, Calpol syringe (that last one is a nightmare!). Having been geared up to do traditional weaning (aka puree), I was very nervous when I started BLW. On my Instagram feed (@blwmamauk) I've been getting a lot of similar questions:

 'Is this OK for beginners?' (this answer is almost always yes provided the baby is over 6 months!)

and...

'My LO shoves it all in his mouth at once and gags - what do I do?'

The best answer is to do your research and trust your instincts. When we started, L didn't chew anything until he was 7.5 months old so spent a lot of his early meals with food just sat on his tongue until he gagged it out. To reduce the stress (for me - he wasn't bothered by the gagging at all!), I started with foods that were soft, grated and dissolved easily in his mouth. I've listed some of them below to help the fellow Nervy Nellies out there :)

Bear in mind that the ages below are completely individual to L and his personal development. All babies do things at different times and the same is true for their abilities to pick food up, put in their mouth, spit it out, chew it,  and swallow it. Your baby will lead the way. Or trail a bit behind in our case!

Avocado - I started by mushing up with a fork (6 months) and moved to slices that he can pick up and hold (by about 7.5 months) 

Grated Cheddar Cheese -  Soft and quick to melt, plus it comes in different strengths. L likes mature cheese best, just like Mama. At 9.5 months I still give cheese in grated form rather than chunks.
 

Tuna fishcake and banana

Mashed Sweet Potato - Packed with good stuff and appeals the baby's natural preference for sweet tastes. I add a little unsalted butter before mashing.

Nectarines, whole - One of L's first foods, he was leaning forward in his highchair trying to get at a nectarine I was eating, I peeled off the skin with my teeth, held it to his mouth and he had a good ol' munch!

Grated Carrot - Requires a bit more chewing than cheese but is easily to swallow and nice and juicy.

Omelette - You can start with just egg or add pretty much any veg you fancy. I often throw in red pepper, onion and courgette. Omelette is nice and soft and breaks up easily in little mouths. Egg is a potential allergen though so keep an eye out for any symptoms of this. Having said that, I don't personally know anyone with an egg allergy so assume it's reasonably uncommon.  

Squashed Peas - I squish these with a fork first to reduce any choking hazard though I suspect at 9.5 months I'm probably being overly cautious. Again, nice and sweet and a lovely appealing colour. L always goes for the green things on his tray first for some reason!

Broccoli - This is a classic BLW first food - interesting texture, built-in handle and the little green bits dettach easily. 

And on the flip side, some foods we struggled with at first...

Bread - L just seemed to gum this into a claggy, sticky mess which plastered itself to the top of his palette and stubbornly stayed there. Cue Mummy trying to coax it out with drinks of water and the odd finger sweep (note - this is NOT recommended. I only did it a couple of times in desperation but there is a risk of you pushing it further in and causing a choking hazard). Toast crusts baked in the oven for crispness worked much better for us.

Weetabix - I do give this now at 9.5 months but again, it gets quite thick and lumpy and L sometimes struggles with it even now. Adding more water loosens it up but also makes it difficult for him to hold.

Banana - I've since discovered the 'bananas in pyjamas' technique where you leave the banana in its skin, with about a centimetre removed so the skinned banana forms a handle and the exposed flesh sticks out the top. Initially I gave half a 'naked' banana (didn't expect to ever type that!) which goes slippy and difficult to hold very quickly.

Cornflakes - L loves these and can pick individual flakes up very well. Unfortunately they make him gag loads (I guess they stick to his mouth) so we're taking a break for now. I'll try them again in a few weeks to see if he's mastered the technique.

Which foods did you give first?