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BLW help please?

Hi,



i just wanted to ask for some advice from those of you that do BLW on the types of things you give at each meal.



We started weaning at 23 weeks (now 29 weeks) and progressed quite quickly onto 3 meals - i chose the more traditional weaning route but have given finger foods from the start and she has taken to them really well and seemed to enjoy food in general eating most things (mashed never did purees)



this week she has been a bit iffy but is teething quite badly so i think it may be down to this but she seems to be getting frustrated - she has been keen to feed herself from the start which i have encouraged and she would take loaded spoons etc but this week she seems to be really frustrated and throws it on the floor (or at me) and i think its cause she wants to do it all herself fine and cant.



For breakfast she'll take weetabix or ready break (sometimes fruit mashed through) from a spoon and usually lets me feed her and do some of it herself but even thats becoming a battle now - she also eats some toast usually or a piece of banana.



Lunch we do boiled/scrambled egg and mashed veg and she has had tuna pasta, bolognese with mince, sandwiches etc and dinners pretty much the same but as im fed up battling with her i ended up just giving her a bowl with a wee sandwich, some cucumber slices and some slices of cheese and it was the happiest she has been week for lunch - i do think part of it is down to teething as she is alot more irritable than normal at the minute but i also think some of it is frustration at not wanting to be 'force fed' which i dont want to do its only because she took to it so well and was happy with some finger foods that we went down that route but now it looks like it'll have to be a more BLW route we take and thats where i would like some advice as to suitable things i can give her.



Sorry this is so long.



Lx

Replies

  • We do blw, we started at 24 weeks. To start with we gave her sticks of soft veg and fruit(fresh and tinned), toast, stips of omelette etc. But very soon she was having pretty much what ever we have, spag bol, shepherds pie, meat pots and veg, stir fry, fish, tortellini, gnocchi, anything really. The only thing that she has turned her nose up at so far has been mushy peas (and who can blame her for that).
  • thanks.



    so do you just let her eat with her hands/fingers or loaded spoons? its v messy lol? x
  • Hi Hun,

    What your going through sounds like the battle we have just over come. I too gave LO a mixture of pur????es and finger foods. Then 3 weeks ago meal times became a nightmare. He refused anything I tried to give him so he also ended up with a bowl of cucumber and mini sandwiches. I let him be for a few days and then I tried to feed him again. I picked his favourite meal and he has been fine every since! We are back to having a mixture again. He usually has ff for breakfast, mashed food for lunch and ff for dinner. I also think the little episode was down to teething, I'm sure the cucumber felt nice on those gums.

    Good luck xxx
  • thanks im hoping its a sort of phase for us as it does seem to be out of sheer frustration - she will take yoghurt from a spoon its just actual meals although she will take some weetaxix or porrdge (previously eating a whole weetabix now about half so i think maybe boredom 2?)so im thinking of trying the wee nini weetabix/oatabix and making some panckae type things for breakfast but thats why i need some tips on meals.



    2day she had a boiled egg (quartered not from a spoon) and she ate about 1/3 of it and she had some cucumber and tomato slices and she ate some of that 2 she then had some yoghurt - 2nite i made mashed veg and pasta and sauce and she took about 3 spoonfuls then the crying started but she'll let you feed her some of it with your fingers but wont use her own unless its 'whole' she ended up havning some bits of pasta, strips of pepper, a couple of sprouts and some brocolli and was quite happy but not really a meal is it? :?



    i hope to leave it for a few weeks then try again - she has been great with eating took to it well and eating lots so its v.frustraing now....



    Lx
  • Yeah she pretty much just eats with her hands, she has brekkie off a spoon, and soup, yogurt etc, but everything else she feeds herself. It is messy but imo is much easier and less stressful than traditional weaning that I did with dd1.



    Have a look at the book BLW by Gill Rapley, its an interesting read.
  • its VERY messy (and i have a dog 'hoover' lol) she will quite look at food (long as its 'whole' e.g sprouts, pasta spirals) pick it up, inspect it some more lol and put it in her mouth and suck and 'chew' then spit out the bits she doesnt want. she has gagged quite a bit not cause she cant take it but because she is greedy and rams too much in and im trying not to panic...she is my 1st baby but my prefered was to do spoon feeding and encourage finger foods and it worked great for 5/6 weeks but now its a bit of a nightmare. i want whats best for her and she clearly favours this way and wants to be independent as after grumping and screwing her face up at the spoon earlier and clamping her mouth shut as soon as i picked some up with my fingers she opened her mouth so whats that about??!! its not the food she doesnt like just the spoon.



    Anyway im not that clued up on blw as i planned to go the other way but i will have a look at that book - im just worried she wont eat enough this way (i suppose thats more about me wanting to have 'control' though rather than my dd isnt it?) after her 'picnic' dinner which was mix and match i offered her yoghurt and she took about 5 spoonfuls then pushed the spoon away (what she has always done when she doesnt want anymore) so as no tears i assumed she was full and left it at that.



    she has had pasta and spaghetti bolognese and the only 'meas' i can think to make are...



    meatballs, lasangae (maybe if cut into 'chunks' she could pick up?) 'sunday dinner (whole carrots and brocolli, some potato and some chicken shredded down into pieces?) some pastry and fill it with things like cheese and spinach and make wee parcels she can also pick up and also some fish fingers (which i will make myself) and maybe 'pizza' (again if i made one myself with tomato sauce, cheese and some veg on the dough) and just keep giving the sandwiches and toast etc like now and lots of veg and fruit like brocolli or cucumber and banana etc. im also thinking of 'filled' pasta - does anyone have a recipe for anything like this as im assuming the pre prepared packs you can buy would have high salt content in them?



    will get some mini oatabix and maybe shreddies tomorrow as i thought she could pick them up and eat herself (if i soak them first in some milk).



    im happy to just feed her 'whatever' in that a bit of what we are having (if its suitable) and bits off my plate which i do just now anyway but im a bit stuck - i make everything for her she doesnt get jars (been easy to do so far as was mainly just mashed fruit and veg at first)



    sorry this is so long but any suggestions appreciated.



    i will have a look for that book thanks,



    Lx
  • Just a thought, but Annabel Karmel does a Finger Foods book - I can't remember what age it's aimed at, but might be worth a look for ideas of 'meals' she can eat with her fingers.



    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Top-Finger-Foods-Annabel-Karmel/dp/009192507X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294590858&sr=8-1



    I have it but didn't make much out of it as it seemed a bit faffy, but my ds was older and able to eat more 'proper food' when I got it, and I got it to encourage finger foods as he was too lazy for them (!) rather than because it was his preferred way to eat - might have done more out of it if I thought it'd be more 'appreciated'.



    My dd is 6 months and also a bit lazy it seems - she'll happily bite of pieces of bread, banana etc, but sits with her mouth open, she won't feed herself!
  • All those foods you have said sound good.



    Its interesting what you said about having control, one of the main ideas about blw is about giving lo the control. They will explore the food and eat if they are hungry and stop when they have had enough, which is actually a really good eating habit for them to have rather than being cajouled or tricked into eating more. It explains it a lot better in the book.
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