Am I cut out for Baby Led Weaning?
If you have been a regular reader of my site you will know that the weaning journey did not go well at all with Little Bean and so as the time approached to wean Beanie Boy, my anxiety began to rear its ugly head! It has started off well, Beanie Boy seems receptive to most food and if he doesn’t like something on the first day, he generally likes it on the second. He has taken stage 1 foods really well and is very keen to try solid food but now I just don’t know how to approach it so I keep putting it off.
I have tried him with steamed carrot sticks, which he messes about with and generally throws on the floor or sticks them too far down his throat and ends up being sick. I’ve given him pieces of bread which he loves chewing on but he choked on it a couple of times last week and on one occasion I actually had to pick him up and tap his back to get it out.
At a weekend I’m happy to just hand him anything off our plates to munch on but during the week, Hubby isn’t home early enough for us to eat our tea with the children. With Little Bean only eating nuggets and chips or fish fingers most days I don’t get the opportunity to give him food that I have cooked for her and as I’m not inspired by food much myself I just ‘forget’ to give him solid food everyday and carry on with stage 1 foods made up to a very thick consistency.
I really need some help and advice on this one – you will not be teaching me to suck eggs, please tell it to me like I’m a simpleton and help me to wean my baby successfully?
14 Comments
notsosinglemum
April 8 at 10:45 am
Sorry I’m no expert in baby led weaning, infact I hadn’t even heard of it when my daughter was born 9 years ago so I’m not use to you at all! I was just interested to know what it was all about. Good luck with it all and I’m sure a baby led weaning expert will come along soon and leave you a comment full of wisdom – unlike me!
mummymatters
April 8 at 8:34 pm
Thank you for your comment anyway xx
Superamazingmum
April 8 at 11:45 am
I have 3 kids and my middle son was a very fussy eater at the time of weaning my daughter. Would I would suggest is that you try and change his eating habits at the same time so that rather than eating nuggets/fish fingers/chips all the time.
Start of slowly and introduce veg to BOTH of them – your baby would be fine on a bit of bread and some steamed brocoli as at this age it is more about tasters than actual full on dinners. Offer as much variety as you can and your eldest may then take inspiration from your youngest.
Let me know if you want any other tips! @superamazingmum
mummymatters
April 8 at 8:34 pm
My daughter is very bizarre in her relationship with food, she can get very upset over the foods that I am giving to her baby brother, telling me that he doesn’t want it or doesn’t like it, even before I have offered it to him. We are currently awaiting a further appointment with a dietician for her so will see how that goes.
I think you have highlighted one of the things that I keep forgetting, its mainly about tastes at this age, not full on dinners! Because of my daughter I worry so much that I will get it wrong again and so I panic that he’s not having enough. I hate having these issues so definitely need to work through them!
Thank you for your helpful advice, I really appreciate it xx
Laura
April 8 at 11:47 am
I’d say, relax… take a deep breath… and keep going. It doesn’t actually matter if they don’t eat anything at six months, it’s more important that they get used to the idea of food and have a play with it. Toast and pitta bread and other flatbreads are generally easier than bread, which some babies can find too soft and can stick to their mouths. Cheese on toast was always a winner at our house. Try bits of melon or strawberries that he can suck on rather than munch? Big bits of pasta like the giant penne and fusilli were a good find for us. Also, if you give him a chicken nugget or fishfinger once in a while, it won’t do him any harm- it’s just another taste and texture! Most of all, be patient! It’ll come, and it’s much easier than puree weaning in the long run!
mummymatters
April 8 at 8:26 pm
Thank you for your comment, I saw it on my phone earlier and so have been to the shop and bought some pitta bread and potato cakes, hadn’t thought about anything like that before so we’ll see how they go down and will be trying pasta too. I really appreciate your advice xx
Karen
April 8 at 11:47 am
I did baby led weaning with my 4th child as it was so much easier than trying to prepare little pots of homemade dishes. I simple gave him a little bit of what we were having.
I did begin with the usual baby cereals, fromage frais and occasional jars just to make sure he was actually eating something but agree chicken nuggets/fish fingers every night aren’t ideal (if I remember rightly your little girl isn’t a great eater?).
I honestly wouldn’t stress too much about it or go to too much effort with cooking as he is still being breastfed. Also, don’t worry too much about the choking, as long as you are giving him either finger food or tiny pieces he won’t choke but he will scare you with gagging but you’ll get used to is just as he gets more used to chewing!
A few favourites I gave my little boy were sweetcorn/peas (couple of mins steamed in microwave), corn on the cob (even at 6 months he loved chewing on it), sticks of cheese, breadsticks dipped in soft cheese/houmous, fish fingers with the breadcrumbs taken off. Little sandwiches cut into fingers.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you can come up with a nutritious meal that will be safe for him to chew on and have fun with. But be prepared for mess because if one thing Baby Led Weaning teaches them is how to play/have fun with food! Not a bad thing though.
Hope this helps and good luck x
mummymatters
April 8 at 8:22 pm
Thank you – yes you have remembered rightly about my daughter, she hasn’t improved very much and we are currently waiting to see the Dietician with her again. I saw your comment on my phone earlier so have now bought some sweetcorn and peas for him to try. I have been trying him for the last couple of nights with breadsticks and soft cheese which he seems to quite like. I had never thought about trying fish fingers with the breadcrumbs taken off but sounds like a great idea to me. Thank you, I will certainly be giving this a go! x
PetitMom
April 8 at 8:02 pm
Stick to purée food for a while to get him use to food going down his throat. For finger foods I’d recommend Organix Rice Cakes. They are very soft and break down very easily. Another good one would be Organix Baby Biscuits, again they easily break up from sucking and licking. Once they have got the hang of holding the food and where it goes (and learn that shoving it deep down their throat isn’t a good idea!). Don’t worry too much about finger foods if your child doesn’t seem to be ready for them yet, if they haven’t got the hang of it then no worries! 🙂
mummymatters
April 8 at 8:16 pm
Thank you for your advice, I have been doing puree food (quite thick consistency) for a little over a month now and he LOVES it, can’t get enough. I do have some Organix Rice cakes at the ready and he has tried them once or twice though pulls a funny face when bits break off and go in his mouth. I haven’t tried the biscuits yet but will definitely get some in 🙂
Kate
April 10 at 1:06 am
Csn’t help as I didn’t BLW either of mine but good luck! My Daddy Cooks on twitter did BLW with his son, you could ask him.
mummymatters
April 10 at 9:28 pm
Ok thanks for the heads up though, will tweet Nick for tips 😉
Amelia
April 10 at 8:03 pm
I did baby led weaning with both my two. I started with mainly fruit, bananas, pears and plums. My two both liked breadsticks too and toast with cream cheese.
If you want more ideas check out
http://www.squidoo.com/baby-led-weaning-first-foods
mummymatters
April 10 at 9:35 pm
Thanks, I’ve just popped over and had a look – its given me some great ideas and I’m sure that my little man will try anything. We had a picnic and if he could have got in the picnic basket I think he would, he just wants to put EVERYTHING in his mouth!! My daughter didn’t want her ice cream so he ate it 😉