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Baby-led weaning or purees?

My DD is just six months old and has just started weaning. I've been trying BLW so far but she doesn't seem to eat anything, just mushes it up and drops it on the floor, and I'm worried that she's not getting enough. Am wondering if I should swap to purees, or if it's possible to do a bit of both? She's my first so I'm a bit clueless! Thanks for helping image

Replies

  • Youcan definitely do both. What I do is cook up some veggies or whatever for a puree, but then before I blend them I take a couple of bits out (a piece of broccoli or a couple of carrot sticks) and leave them whole. Just put them on her highchair tray while you feed her and let her play with them and eat them if she wants. It's what i did with my son and he's usually a good eater althogh he's teething at the moment so doens't want to eat much :/

  • Yep, BLW is more a fun-way to let your baby eat, but if you are worried that baby is not having enough food you should switch on purees. But still, remember that till 1 year , breast milk is still baby's no 1 source of nutrition.

  • We did both with our son. Every meal he had some finger foods, and some purée/yoghurt, etc. Worked great for us. Some meals he'd ignore finger foods and just sit with his mouth open waiting to be fed. Others how would not let us near him with the spoon, and would just do his own thing.

  • I wouldn't worry if she doesn't eat much at the moment, milk is still her main source of nourishment until she is one.

    She has only just started so she has plenty of time to learn and have lots of fun playing with her food along the way image

    With my son i did a combination of purees along with letting him pick up and eat his own finger foods and I have found it to work really well. I also let him play with a spoon if I'm feeding him so he can have a go for himself.

    Good luck!

  • I did both.

    I would give him cumcuber, skinless pepper sticks, bread sticks, cheese straws while he was in the high chair while I was preparing lunch/dinner and then give pureed meals.

    At 8 months, he is a good eater and he doesn't mind finger food and being spoon fed.

    I would also let him dip cheese straws into the purees for him to feed himself and this worked well.

    I make homemade cheese straws:

    110g plain flour (extra for the work surface).

    55g butter (cut into pieces)

    75g grated cheese

    1 egg 

    dash of milk if mixture is too dry after mixing.

    1) mix butter and flour together

    2) add beaten egg and grated cheese into butter and flour bowl. Mix until smooth dough is formed

    3)spinkle flour onto work surface and then roll out dough onto the floured surface. Roll out quite thin the cut into straws

    4) place into lightly greased baking sheet.

    5) cook 8-10 mins at 220 degrees (do not brown too much)

    6)allow to cook on rack.

    These freezes well.

     

  • my son is now 7 mths and we started 6 mths b lw i also breastfeed, he just loves tasting and experimenting but it didnt look like anythi.g was really gdtti.g eaten, just him learning how to use his mouth etc. niw he has started to eat and swallow properly as evidenced by his nappy deposits! he hasnt had yoghurt yet as he had reflux but gosh he gets so excited at meal times!! i would go with the flow and as long as your baby is getting proper milk feeds dont worry a kut how much solids theyre eating, they make a mess but thats what babies do. my guy eats everything  i put down but he definately has his faves, lo es chilli and curry, tomatoes,cucumber, avocado french toast and chrese o. toast! 

  • I think you have to be guided by what your baby wants, I wanted to do a mixture of both but so far am just doing purees as my LO will not hold any food herself. I have a freind who wanted to do puree, but her daughter will not take anything from the spoon instaed she grabs the spoon and sucks it. So my friend had to go down the blw route which she was nervous about but has so far been going well.

    BLW is not advised for babies under 6 months old so if you do want to start weaning early purees will be best.  

    Let us know how you get on.

  • We are just on purees at the moment which seems to be working, but he also likes to hold things! So, we are mixing it up a little bit!

    I have the BLW book, so am going to try some of the recipes soon! And might end up blending them if he isn't a fan of them with lumps!

     

  • You can't actually do a combination of both. BLW is when a child totally self feeds themseleves (unless you let them feed themselves purees which is a bit pointless when you can just give them real food). Tradititional weaning is when you offer finger foods alongside spoon feeding purees. Nothing wrong with either approach but you can't spoon feed & be baby led.

    As for the original post. I would give it a bit more time, sometimes it takes some babies a while longer than others to actually realise that it's food you've given them rather than just something new to explore. Let them go at their own pace & they'll be eating when they're ready to.

  • Hi Blackcat,

    Thanks for your comment and you are right, you can't really do BLW and traditional weaning together as the point of BLW is to let the baby feed themselves. Where I was confused (and possibly others) is that I thought I was 'doing both' as I gave finger foods a lot sooner than traditionally our parents would have done. I think this is a common mistake that people make (including myself) and think that by giving finger foods they are BLW. To be honest I hadn't really looked into BLW before I started weaning my LO, but it sounds like it has worked really well for you and am pleased to hear about it. When I have my next baby (not just yet) I will absolutely do a bit more research and consider trying this approach.

  • You're right Nicola, I think a lot of people confuse BLW with finger food when that is only a very small part of what BLW is. I would definitely recommend people look into it but, as with most things to do with babies/children, you have to take the path that works for you & your family.

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