Official/Reputable websites on BLS?

[littleberlin]

Hi there,

I'm just wondering whether anyone knows of any 'official' web sources that explain BLS, its safety, suitability for six month olds, etc? My increasingly irritating mother-in-law has requested more information on this after she decided that it wasn't appropriate for our daughter (we've already made our feelings on this very clear). Mostly I'm just looking for things to, essentially, have her leave us alone. I have the Gil Rapley book, and I know of the ABA booklet; mainly I'm interested in reputable online sources - can anyone help? My husband and I are being driven to insanity by her judgments.

Thank you!!

[Barb Glare]

Hi,

There would surely be more reputable source than the World Health Organisation and the Australian Breastfeeding Association? Babyled solids is just basic common sense, really. It's a new name for what we've always done (except for a slight 20th century abberation when we fed particularly young babies pap on a spoon for months when they couldn't eat that, really, let alone anything else.
I think you should be asking your MIL to provide you with reliable references to prove to you that her point of view is safe. You might have to have a calm but firm word to her and let her know that her advice isn't helplul in this circumstance

[littleberlin]

Hi Barb,

I didn't realised that the WHO had written on this? That's great news. I will look into it.

Believe me, a flurry of VERY firm emails have been sent; I'm actually quite annoyed that I have to waste my time justifying a decision that makes perfect sense to us (and our daughter - she's having such fun with her food!), but as an ex-MCHN and very stubborn woman, she is making it very difficult for us at the moment. It's funny that no matter how many times you politely explain to someone that your child is your own, and that they have no authority when it comes to raising them...it just doesn't compute!

[The[cookie]Doctor]

Just tell her to get stuffed!

It's YOUR baby!

Similar to what Barb said, we all know it's what second time mums do when they get lazy it's just that this is a new name for it

[~Raven~]

Similar to what Barb said, we all know it's what second time mums do when they get lazy it's just that this is a new name for it

Oi! Who's lazy here More like not enough hands to sit there and spoon it in lol!

I think having an exMCHN for a mother in law would be hard littleberlin. Though I'm sure she might be swayed if you can get your hands on some literature from your local centre about it. I'm sure I was given a handout about solids that said to give them a selection of food to try for themselves. It wasn't called BLS though. I'll try to dig it out for you.

[MantaRay]

Oh dear, an ex-MCHN for a MIL must be very tough for you

I too am like the others here - I accidently did BLS with my second even though I hadn't even heard of it yet. It's just how it goes with number 2 - no time to puree and before you know it they are grabbing the food from their brother anyway. Interesting too that DS2 has always been a much better eater than DS1 who started on purees.

Could you tell your MIL that you will show her the proof in a few months when your DD is healthy and a great eater and you are much more relaxed because you don't have to make special meals for her?

[littleberlin]

It's hard mostly because not only does she have the prior professional experience (as she told me in an e-mail today, tallying up the number of years she previously spend in health care, as though this should make us rethink our position!), but also raised two boys. And here we are, new, young parents, doing 'crazy' things like (gasp!) allowing our amazing daughter to pick and choose what she wants to eat, rather than force-feeding her like a goose about to become foie gras...the horror! The biggest problem is that she lacks any kind of self-awareness to understand that she is being extremely overbearing about it; for her, expressing concern isn't just mentioning something...it's bringing it up again and again, and then sending hysterical emails accusing us of not taking her seriously because we haven't responded within an hour or two (because, erm, we have a six month old baby on our hands!), and....well, this is almost looking at being moved to the vent thread now, isn't it? Sorry! Suffice to say - AAARGHH!! My husband has just authored a particularly severe email to her...I actually feel kind of bad for her as I know her heart is in the right place, but she's just careened out of control on this issue, and I think the only way for her to understand is by being very blunt.

Anyway, would anyone happen to have the specific link to the mention the WHO makes of advocating a self-led approach to eating? I can't find anything even remotely connected to it; actually, other than the recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for six months (which MIL thinks is a good idea anyway), it seems like they recommend more of a conventional approach. Anyone? Oh, and p.s. - thank you so much for your support!! It's so nice to post on here seeking assistance, and to actually receive it in a supportive way. I wish you could all be my mother-in-law!