Advice on baby lead weaning

[donnymum]

Hi All

I have started weaning my 6 month old baby and was wanting some advice on Baby Lead Weaning. Has anyone done it before? Could they send me meal ideas? What is the best food to start the baby on? I have the baby lead weaning cookbook but am not sure about the ages for each recipe (for example homemade pizzas on page 133 or homemade hummus on page 73 ect...)

Also does anyone have a weekly menu planner for this age group?

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY ADVICE.

:)

[Beagle]

there was a thread on this very topic last month. Put Weaning in as a search and it should bring it up and be a good starting point.

B

[Audrey]

Bar the issue surrounding allergies and choking hazards, the whole premise of blw is that anything goes. I started on steamed veg and fruit, and worked up to carbs and protein, to regular meals. Once the little one gains more dexterity the wider the range of food you can give. Check out the blw web site there is a vast forum on there, or pm me if you would like, am no expert but Miss M has been loving food blw style since mid dec. It's fun, I'm so glad we went this road. I'm actually home with granny who had been very impressed with how a plate of fritta was dealt with earlier....

[hanstands]

Its a great way to wean. We did it with our first baby and will do so again soon with our second. Can't wait! I started with simple things at first like a steamed floret of broccoli in hand or a piece of very soft banana to hold and gum on. But anything really. Later on you can give them yoghurt and wet foods by laying out spoons full of it in front of them or handing them a loaded spoon to hold and feed themselves. Messy but feels good. Oh, and a lot of breast milk.

[Lakey]

I would recommend the BLW cookbook. I am not a great cook so I find it really useful. We often cook recipes for dinner then save some for the following day for puddle. It may be basic if you are an established cook, I do not have that problem. Otherwise - anything goes just avoid salt and sugar wherever possible.

Its loads of fun. We are two months in, you will be amazed at how quickly they learn.

But, yes, be prepared for mess and, unfortunately, wasted food. But lots of fun.

[apenn]

I also did BLW and loved it. All the sceptical family and friends were eventually converted. The book is great on theory but not on practical matters. Agree with Audry that anything goes really. I usually just gave him whatever I was going to have myself, the only difference being that I cut easy to hold shapes for the baby and if I was going to add salt I took out a portion for the baby before doing so. I remember cucumber cut into half moons and fingers of toast being particular big hits when I first started.

-A

[sylviamaria]

We did BLW as well. It went/is going great. She now eats everything we do as well - no added salt of course!

Have started a food blog for family meals and also have some specific BLW recipies on there. The sweet potato chips were a favourite for the early days! http://bighungryfamily.blogspot.com/2011/07/sweet-potato-cinnamon-chips-blw.html

[Saffron]

Little Saff was a textbook BLW baby. She absolutely loved it. The BLW book by Rapley and Murkett stresses the importance of giving food a 'handle', so that Baby can hold it easily. Plain grilled meat that is cut into strips is great for little hands. Even if Baby only chews it then spits it out, many of the nurtrients will be dissolved and swallowed in the saliva.

You just need to find creative ways to make your food accessible to Baby. Don't cook with added salt or loads of fat for a while. If you like salads, offer Baby large pieces of salad veg, perhaps to dip in yogurt. I found that of all the store-bought breads, pita bread tended to be the lowest in salt. So you can use pita bread cut into strips for Baby to dip in messier meals, like stew or lasagne.

You'll soon see how your Baby's personality shows through their food choice. Some babies like foods mixed together, like tuna and sweetcorn. Others would prefer you presented the ingredients separately. Some like to dip, others prefer to hold a loaded spoon for themselves.

Some foods that seem difficult for a weanling can be made Baby-friendly. Take the peel off a firm apple or pear. Then use the peeler to shave off bits of the fruit's flesh long enough for Baby to hold easily. Cut large seedless grapes in half and score the flesh. This makes it easier for Baby to move them around in the mouth.

As Baby's pincer grip develops over the next few months, different food become more easily accessible. Make oatmeal or barley porridge with a bit less liquid. When it's done cooking, drop it into little balls and let it cool. It will set up very firm and easy for little finger to grab. Blueberries and raspberries are great for little fingers, as are peas. Firm set scrambles eggs were always a winner here too.

Have fun weaning! xx

[cmacnew]

If you like social groups like this one, then there is also a BLW group on Facebook called Baby Led Weaning - let your baby feed themselves and there are comments and questions on there daily. I found a meal planner on there.

[mima08]

Definitely agree that you get to see your baby's personality coming through: mine decided at one point that he does not like lots of food on his tray and would throw everything off that was too much... a bit frustrating at the time, but now we know to give him things one by one (not sure where he got the tidy gene from, though ;)). We ended up giving some food on spoons as well (like mashed potatoes or yoghurts) though nothing especially pureed for him. For a little while he then insisted being feed - no interest in doing it himself, but now (at 1yr) he is great at handling the spoon/ baby fork himself.

I found BLW great fun - and weaning was nowhere near as stressful as people told me it would be...

Enjoy! Mx