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BLW - A fad that's causing a rise in Anaemic babies?

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  • I don't think BLW is a fad, to me it seems a very reasonable option. I say option as I wouldn't preach it to anyone, but I am often asked about it as other mothers are often very impressed with how well Sasha eats and we have only been doing it for 2 weeks. I find it unfortunate that some are so closed minded to differing opinions and to suggest that we are starving our poor children is ridiculous. Like I say we have been doing it for only 2 weeks and I am very impressed with what Sasha can eat already. And I am relaxed and she really enjoys meal times, a very different story to when I weaned dd1 in the traditional style which was a case of tears and tantrums at many a meal time, and now 5 years old still happens quite often.

    I think I read somewhere that babies will sometimes drop a centile on the weight charts when weaning starts as they can fill up on purees, which are if you think about it are the types of foods we eat when we are on a diet (fruit and veg), so they don't have room for enough milk.

    As for the original question of anaemia, I don't think so. They can easily ingest iron rich veg from early on, and even though they may not swallow the meat yet just chewing and sucking on it will get the iron and other nutrients out of it.

    I saw a baby no older than 8 or 9 months drinking what looked like coke out a bottle yesterday, maybe the increase in the number of people following a generally bad diet at home could be a cause, I'm sure we've all seen many a tv program showing young kids being fed junk food at very meal.

    I also think the increased use of baby jars instead of home cooked food could be a problem. I'm no nutritional expert but I remember seeing a Jane Moore investigation into food aimed at children and babies and that they are not as good as they make out, the AK ready meals spring to mind as being particularly bad.
  • THG - Totally agree with your last paragraph in your last post. Most people do seem completely unaware that the puree-ing process should move on fairly quickly, for lots of reasons.

    My step mum springs to mind. My brother was fed stage 1 jars well past a year as she was so frightened of him choking that she refused to give him anything remotely lumpy. We started weaning the day they turned 5 months and by 6 months their food was lumpy. Now, at 9 months it is simply chopped/mashed and they eat much more on their own (makes my life much easier)! However, the boys go to my stepmum once a week and she would refuse to feed them if they even hinted at coughing or 'choking'. Problem was it took them a little while to get used to lumps (2 or 3 weeks and they stopped choking completely) so I would sometimes pick them up and they would be starving! I always tried to get home before dinner time that day!

    My boys love trying to feed themselves now, but they couldnt have done at 5 months, and the dietician said they needed the food, so a mixture of the 2 has really worked for us.

  • I saw a baby no older than 8 or 9 months drinking what looked like coke out a bottle yesterday, maybe the increase in the number of people following a generally bad diet at home could be a cause, I'm sure we've all seen many a tv program showing young kids being fed junk food at very meal.


    image The problem is that this doesn't actually shock or surprise me that much! I hate seeing kids as young as 2 or 3 drinking coke but 8/9 months!!!! Ridiculous!

    Don't know about the OP but can i just say that reading these posts is bringing me back around to the idea of BLW. I am doing purees at moment (as have weaned lo since 18 weeks due to reflux) but will definitely introduce finger foods asap. Think I must have just seen a pretty bad and unconvincing video to be honest. Obviously I know that it won't be classed as BLW as I will still be using purees but I very much like the idea of mummy-led weaning.
  • Hey Mrs CP my ds2 is 20 weeks at the mo and I am going to start to introduce finger foods from about 22 weeks and even in the few weeks that I have pureed for him it has went from a yougart consistency to a thicker not so runny, almost like very well mashed potatoes and he is loving it xx
  • I really wanted to BLW as having issues with food myself i was scared that they would rub off on alyssa (much the same as you i think Nat, hope you dont mind me saying that?)

    It didn't go well she was clearly hungry for the food and would just get frustrated after not gaining weight due to a few other health problems we resorted to purees to get some weight on and we haven't looked back, she is thriving on the purees and is loving every minute of it and eats soooooo much.

    xx
  • THG I totally agree I see it myself when I am out my HV always said that pureeing was only the start and an introduction to tastes and what the spoon is to be used for, may be I was lucky in that I got a very good HV as to be honest if she hadn't have directly told me about making it lumpy I don't know (and to be honest can't remember what my train of thought would have been back then but I was younger living at home with my dad and had no support so really relied on my hv advice) if I would have introduced lumps and then onto solid foods, I remember seeing my nephew still get jars at 18 months and it used to make me cringe AND I have to say he had and still isn't a great eater, I remember minding him when he was about 2 or 3 (is 4 and a half now) and made both him and ds1 a wee fruit salad (ds would have been 3 or 4) with banana, apple, raspberry, blueberry etc (I love the fruit salads as does my ds) and I thought he might not go for some of the fruits as not every one likes blueberries etc but he wouldn't eat one bite it made me really sad for him, plus tbh my oh family are the give them fanta at 9 months type so I wasn't that suprised that he wasn't keen on fruit I've seen him refuse dinner and be given chocolate instead and aslo biscuits for breakfast but thats a whole other kettle of fish (for the record my kids are never minded there lol)
  • My Lo is 22 weeks so have not started weaning him yet. He has not shown me any signs that he is ready for weaning yet and so have not given him anything.

    Iron - yes i have heard supplies in BM do not last past 6 months, and that in these cases iron supplements can be given, however formula does contain all the iron that is needed

    I really like the idea of BLW. I feel that it gives the baby time to explore their food and also it's colours and textures etc, rather than a puree or mush (not that there is anything wrong with this if thats what you decide to do) being given to them. It is also well known that a babies digestive system isn't ready for anthing but milk before 6 months (unless other wise advised, or baby is ready shows signs??), therefore i don't really see how a baby can suddenly need solids over night? Yes there needs to be a time when you introduce solids and the baby will get used to these solids over a period of time. I think it is also true that babies need all the nutriotional value from milk still up to around at least 8 months and that maybe some people are too quick to want to drop milk feeds. If a baby is being fed up on food (pureed) that they will be getting a lot of quickly, then maybe they will be too full for the milk that they do need?. Where as if a baby is given solids to explore with, the process is slower and so transition slower so that by the time they are 12 months they are on three good meals a day. I also beleive that even by a baby sucking on say a peice of meat they are still getting nutrients from this.

    I have also heard that by given them food that they can feed themselves with helps them to move food around their mouth and also learn to chew quicker!! Obviously different types of food need to be chewed differently, therefore if a baby is given a variety of foods as a whole (not purees) this process will happen quicker.

    As i say i have not started this yet but i am looking forward to it. I don't think any other methods are wrong (and i think it's wrong for others on here to say BLW is a load of rubbish). It's upto us what method we choose and as many people have done both methods than none of them can be harmfull can they!! xx
  • Sorry, I don't want to sound really thick, but what does BLW stand for?
  • Ive got 3 kids and have always done the puree/mashed /proper food route. My last baby from a very young age has fed himself with a spoon, eaten what we eat and now at age 3 will sit with a fork/spoon and scoff whatever is on his plate.

    I used to give him a spoon to try and do his own with while i spooned in the grub, he would get his own in every few mouthfulls. He had our food mashed, jars and finger food, just whatever and he is a great eater.

    Good encouragement and a varied diet and not taking I dont like this, is my idea of good eating habits

    Gemm x
  • gemm while your on do you want those inserts??? I have had no joy and no point in them going to waste?? If so click on my email button and send your address and i'll get them to you xx
  • Ive always thought that the traditional method was purees because traditionally, children were weaned at 4 months when they still had the tremendous gag reflex and didnt know how to chew. Since weve moved to a 6 month reccommendation limit, I think its a bit strange at that stage to assume our babies cant chew..at this point babies are picking up their toys and shoving them in their mouth so what makes putting food up there any different? Anything that a child does is natural instinct...you could argue that when the baby is able to put things to its mouth it is naturally ready to feed itself as if we were in the wild (as in still living primally) surely this action would have some significance?

    I have always done the puree and finger foods thing but I just followed my baby and hes now on eggy bread with tomato ketchup (homemade) toast, omlette and big chunks of scambled egg. But...I still offer him purees and im going to begin mashing things up and offering second stage jars (for some reason he hates my cooking!)

    Since hes teething aswell the finger foods are not lasting very long in his mouth and theyre getting him completley worked up and he just ends up sobbing so I always have things at hand to get some food in him.

    I also think its worth noting that iron is something that the body sometimes has trouble absorbing...so even if you have a baby who loves their spinache, there are some other things you could do to help them retain it...like orange juice with every meal, or little orange segments as their fruit choice.

    Also, if you're really that worried, change to follow on milk that has the iron added

  • I haven't read all the replys although 1 really did stick out and I feel the need to add my point of view.

    I realise people have different views on BLW however, when we started weaning, it was puree all the way, however one day my lo decided he wasn't going to open his mouth anymore and be spoonfed, he wanted to be Mr Independant and feed himself. Mealtimes became a battle, I got stressed, my hubbie got stressed and baby was in tears!! I got the idea of BLW from this forum, sounded good so decided to give it a go, my lo loved it, getting messy and feeding himself which equals happy mummy, daddy and baby. My lo was weighed today, hes so active I thought he may have lost a bit of weight due to him not eating a great deal but hes put on nearly 2lb in just over a month.

    So my question is: dollywotsit why you think its ridiculous??my lo is BLW and putting on weight, hes happy, we're happy, surely thats all that matters?I'm not about to force feed him and give him something he doesn't want so where's the problem?
  • I've weaned both my boys with purees. I could never use stage 1 jars as they were too runny, they loved thick babyrice to start! They have then had lumps introduced within the month and at 9m now the only thing I puree for ds2 is meat, he has exactly what the rest of us have (minus salt). He prefers to feed himself too, so has a lot of finger food. Ds1 was slightly different. He did not take to finger food so well, but even so by 1 year he was having what we have.

    My only experience with BLW is with my best friend. He dd is 4m older than ds1. She has always been tiny and had to have liquid iron from 1 year. She was bf until just over 2 years as well as weaned the BL way! So that would seem tp proove the anaemia link, however she is only 1 baby and so not a fair way to tell!

    xxx
  • Sorry, I don't want to sound really thick, but what does BLW stand for?

    baby led weaning.
  • We use BLW. My lo like some of the other mums have said, refuses to be spoon fed by me or anyone else. She is happy to hold the spoon/fork herself or just pick up and grab things. I have to say I absolutely love this approach and for me it totally takes the stress out of mealtimes. Which I think if nothing else is reason enough for me to choose this approach.

    Like THG said I find it interesting that there is so much focus on quantities of food.

    Also where is this article? I have googled searched and can't find any reference to any research about this.
  • Can someone please explain baby-led weaning to me please? :\? What is the difference between that and 'normal' weaning?

    With my son we started giving him baby rice and fruit/veg purees when he started waking up during night and drinking huge amounts of milk constantly (showing he was hungry and needing more basically :\) )

    Thanks

    28+6 with number 2 xxx
  • I haven't had time to read through all of the replies but I'm not entirely convinced that BLW is the cause for increased cases of anaemia. I could be wrong but I would be more inclined to point the finger at the appalling diets of some families in Britain today.

    BLW should be entirely that. Baby led. I didn't wean until 6 months as was keen to start DS on finger foods. Mainly due to his reflux. It didn't work for us & DS wouldn't eat a thing this way. He was and still is a hungry boy so needed more than milk but finger foods made him wretch to the point he would just cry if I put anything remotely 'finger food' in front of him. I would often revist every few weeks inbetween purees but his gag reflex was too sensitive and he wasn't having any of it. I still let my baby lead the way, just not on a diet of solely finger foods iyswim.

    Summer, your post annoyed me slightly as my DS is 1 and will still not eat lumps in his food and the only thing he will feed himself in bread or fruit. This is not through my laziness of not trying. He just won't eat his food in any other form. He has a great diet of plenty of fresh fruit and veg, all homecooked meals including chicken, fish, red meat, etc and no jars. He loves his grub, he is thriving and I am sure he will eat 'proper food' in his own time but in the meantime I am not going to force him into something that quite clearly distresses him. I want dinnertime to be fun not a chore.

    Anyway, I've gone on a bit but each to their own. Some babies thrive and take to BLW very well. Others don't. Some babies hate being spoonfed. As long as baby is healthy and happy I really see no harm and if BLW weaning does work I can see the massive positives that contibute to the child's development.
  • Thanks happyflump. You learn something new every day!

    My son was given finger foods along with purees so not sure if I really have an opinion on it as I cant see whats wrong with mushed up fruit and veg but also think finger foods are great.

  • Well I don't believe that BLW causes anaemia, i think every parent has their method of weaning and finds what works best for them.
    We weaned Olivia early due to reflux and so we started on purees, she still gets mostly mashed food but she gets finger foods along with it, toast soldiers, bananas, organic rusks, chicken etc...the problem is at 9 months she has no teeth so still can't chew her food very well but she loves eating and has a go at everything. So I suppose I am on the middle of the road on 'mummy lead weaning' MLW :lol:
  • i think every parent has their method of weaning and finds what works best for them.

    Couldnt agree more! x
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