well unfortunately my BLS journey ends here. Interested to why https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...something.html
Thanks girls.
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well unfortunately my BLS journey ends here. Interested to why https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...something.html
Thanks girls.
sorry to see you go missymoo.. hopefully i will see u back here again someday..
So what MissyMoo has just experienced has me wondering about one of my main concerns with BLS, and it is this balance between developing great eating habits, and getting enough food.
I do BLS for two reasons. One is because DS seemed to hate purees apart from fruit. The second is that I really like how BLS develops great appetite awareness, and teaches bubs excellent food skills and habits while using their natural curiosity. I love watching DS explore new food.
But, as I have mentioned in other threads, I get concerned because DS seems to actually consume so much less than other babies who are eating purees in mothers group, and I wonder if he is getting enough, and/or if he is really behind on the whole moving to solids front.
I feel like I am often going back and forth between these two opposing goals- do I focus more on developing eating skills, or on getting him to actually eat rather than just nibble and suck on food? Obviously for MissyMoo, getting food in was the priority she needs to take because of her baby's needs.
I am just wondering how everyone else doing BLS goes with this? Do your babies seem to eat less than others you know as well? How do you feel about this and reconcile it with the BLS approach?
I know "food is fun until they're one" and I usually come back to that. But what do I do after he is one....?
This has been on my mind a lot lately too Jess.... not sure what the answer is yet.:
But, as I have mentioned in other threads, I get concerned because DS seems to actually consume so much less than other babies who are eating purees in mothers group, and I wonder if he is getting enough, and/or if he is really behind on the whole moving to solids front.
I am going to be offering both. Main foods pureed and finger foods in between. I think this will be a good balance for us now and later we will be able to move back onto BLS. I suppose the answer to that question is if they are satisfied then it is enough. If they aren't then maybe it's something to think about.
Yeah I often wonder too but Emily doesn't seem to be unhappy or hungry, she sleeps through and we only really have 2 meals a day. I try and be guided by her, if she was whinging a lot i'd try and give her more but Emily won't eat puree's either so its finger foods for us.
i read your post missymoo just as i had given dd breakfast and she wanted the boob right after, i thought she must just have been thirsty and wasnt keen on her water, but i started thinking 'i wonder if she is getting enough' . like amberj said ''food is fun till they are 1'' but they still need to get enough energy and stuff when they are under 1. Im glad Ash is now sleeping through....dd still wakes up 2/3 times a night...always for boob. i hope all the changes arnt to bad for you....like you said 'ash wont notice' but i know i will be upset when dd wants to BF less. big hugs to you and it has got me thinking about how much dd is getting, although im sure she is getting enough.
Hi Guys,
i hear you on your concerns, for several months i was concerned that MJ was not eating enough, but stuck at it, she now at the ripe old age of 13 mths will consume more than most toddlers her age, her FDC lady is amazed at her dexterity and love of food and can not get over the fact that she really is trying so hard at feeding herself with a spoon at this age.
Yor are NOT starving your baby at 7 months by not giving them purred food.
many babies in days of old were not even started on foods until much later (granted this was a very long time ago) so too babies of other cultures...
Babies up until 12mths should get the majority of their nutrients from the milk that they are given, milk feeds should not be cut back to allow for greater eating.
At around the age of 6-7 months MJ started night waking for a feed, it is very common in BF babies, i chose to go with the flow and get up and feed her when she needed it rather than encourage too much solid food. this lasted several months and again my CMH reassured me that this is normal.
Please rememebr the benefits of why you chose BLS girls, its for the long term, you are teaching the good eating habits, decreasing their chance of obesity, decreasing the fussiness surrounding food and increasing their learning oppertuinities.
BF is also about comfort, MJ has been sick (along with me) this last week and although we are down to 3 full feeds a day (5am, 3pm and 7pm) she wanted signifaicantly more feeds and pulled at my top and did her half laugh half cry noise that she saves for letting me know that she needs BB!!! I think that she had 5 feeds yesterday (man was i dry at the end of the day!!!)
Also in times of growth spurts they will want more milk... its all they have known in their short life, whenever they have a growth spurt coming, they instictivtly know to feed more so that they increase supply so that they get more... we are introducing solids to them, they still dont know that they can derive as much or more energy from the solid food - that comes with time.
Missymoo, i am not at all saying that what you have done is wrong, please dont think that i am, you need to do what is right for you and your bubs...
Be guided by your baby, if you think that she is still hungry but refusing to eat, maybe try something else... They ahve a unique instinct of being attracted to the foods that contain the nutritional value that they need...
Also another thing to look at... babies should not be on a low fat diet at all, if your meal is low fat then you may need to make some changes to the meal that you bubba is having...
Until about 10 months MJ had separate meal to us, primarily because she ate a lot earlier than us (i found that if she ate to close to bed time she would wake in the night), so these meals that i made ususally were of Pasta/rice/potato with a sauce and meat and veg... these sauces were often 'puree' form but over the top of the pasta made it perfect for messy BLS!!!
Hollye on another note, have you tried melons??? these are a hit with almost every baby i know, watermelon is MJ's fav, but i am careful with it as it is High GI so she gets hungry again soon after it, i usually offer other fruits with it.
Grapes, pealed and halved initiually and then once they get the hang of it they can have them whole.
kiwi is also great
MJ will only eat a firm banana, if it is alittle brown on the skin she wont eat it - i think the flavour is too strong.
Re Bread... MJ goes through stages of liking it and then refusing it... i guess its her instint telling her what she needs and what she does not..
Right i should do some work, sorry for the novel :redface:
My DD had only BLS and ate like a horse. It took her no time at all to learn to chew or gum the food to swallow. From 7 mths she was very interested in food. She even started holding her own spoon from about 8 mths and would shovel just about all of her yoghurt into her mouth. I was amazed that we had some mess, but nowhere near as much as I expected. She also learnt to regulate her intake - she only had what she felt like (which I think sets her up for better eating habits as she goes on). Spoon feeding a baby pureed food is a bit like bottle feeding in that the baby will continue to take in what's being put in its mouth.
I watched a lot of docos that dealt with kids who had eating problems and only wanted to consume purees at 2 and 3 years of age and that put me right off using them! I'm not suggesting that is what all babies do if given purees, just that it underlined why I was happy with my choice to go with BLS.
Like all parenting situations, BLS is a choice and is not something that every parent chooses. But your baby will get enough food and milk by following BLS. A baby can be unsettled for any number of reasons and you may find a tooth comes through or a developmental milestone is achieved soon after. Increased demand for bm is a good thing in a less than 12 mth old, as it means they are trying to get their most nutritious food first. I realise it doesn't work for everyone to keep up with this demand.
I just wanted to pop in and say hello. It's been so hard to get on here recently.
Ashlyn has starting waking for 2 -3 feeds at night again. It's good to know that it's normal at this age. Hopefully she settles soon, I'm soooo tired. She is doing really well with her food. Absolutely loves meat and it's good for me because she sucks on it for ages and I can actually finish my own meal, lol.
:yeahthat: I have to agree with SJ. BLS is about the whole eating thing, for now and in the future. It is certainly working for us, Jett has been stacking the weight on since we started.
I think the hard thing is that we do BLS, and sometimes bubs don't eat everything, and we don't have anything different to offer so they don't eat. This means they try to make it up with extra booby feeds. But because we are on solids, booby feeds may have decreased which means less milk overall. So it really can become a bit of a balancing act.
And then you find yourself comparing your bubs eating habits with those on puree. Those Mums sit there, having a conversation with you while shovelling puree on a spoon into their bubs mouths, while they are playing and not concentrating on what they are doing. Sure they are getting that food in to them, but the babies aren't learning about food and good eating habits. My SIL still follows my nephew about the house shovelling food in his mouth while he is playing and doing other things. He is 2. Not something I want to be doing. The other night we were all at dinner together and Jett was sitting in the highchair concentrating on his food and getting it in to his mouth and stayed there happily eating. My nephew cried and whinged and got down from the table and ran around so that someone always had to be away from their dinner to look after him. Then when he finally did sit at the table he had to have food put in his mouth for him. I'm sorry, but by the age of 2 I would expect that my children could feed themselves. By no means do I expect everything to be eaten, but mealtimes should never be a chore.
So I think if you are concerned about how much they are getting, it is def a valid concern, but perhaps rather than go completely to jars, try offering thick, lumpy food (mashed with a potato masher rather than whizzed in the blender). That way they won't get used to smooth puree, because so many bubs find that a bad habit to break. Otherwise look at what you are feeding them. If you are only feeding vegies and fruit, you are feeding them something that you would eat if you were on a diet. So we go by the food pyramid. And of course be careful with foods that may be high in salt (this includes most bread) because this will make them extra thirsty.
But of course you know your baby and you have to do what is right by them, and MissyMoo I'm not judging your decision, it is your call. If you think you are struggling with your milk supply, I take Fenugreek to help with this. It just keeps it up at a good level because I found my supply was dropping just before we started solids, which meant that he was trying to feed more often, but shorter burst which just didn't help anything. Since starting the Fenugreek I have not had any milk issues and Jett feeds well. Just thought I would mention it in case you needed some help in that department!
Right, I had better go and do some housework, but just wanted to help remind people why we are here in this thread. Don't give up, just play and adjust it a little if you need to! And of course we are all here to discuss any issues you may be having, so please don't be shy!
Mwah!
ETA - Yep, agree with Jennifer too!
Oh and I forgot to mention that Jett has been waking up at night too, but it doesn't worry me, because BF babies do tend to want extra feeds, because they are so much bigger and more active and BM is so quick to digest that it really is no wonder they want more. And I think Bec you said that Grace wanted her booby after eating, you are probably spot on with the thirst thing and not wanting water. BF babies tend to prefer boob over sippy cup of water for quenching thirst. Probably because they like the comfort of it.
I am already on fenegreek for expressing. I don't have supply issues, never have. In Ashtons case he just needed more then he was eating BLS way. I am still offering a lot of BLS foods, today he had wheetbix and banana for breakfast but then had some watermelon.
He has never slept through but since about 4 months wakes up to 5 times a night. He feeds then too, it's not comfort sucking.
Now he still feeds 5 or 6 times a day from both sides but not overnight and not as frequently during the day. I am happy as I am pretty sure he is getting plenty of BM too :)
I will be back in here no doubt once he has more teeth and can eat more things and will be fuller from the foods he is eating so he isn't starving all the time.
As for the healthy eating, mushed or not I think it has nothing to do with it. I didn't do BLS with my 4 and 5 year old but they are very healthy eaters and would choose a banana over a muesli bar. It's about teaching, not the way it's taught.
And I never followed them around feeding them. Food times were sitting and eating until they were full, not forcing food into their mouths or doing it while not paying attention.
MissyMoo, sounds like you are doing the right thing, and like I said, you know what is right for Ashton and it is your call. My observations are based only on the people around me that I see and my post was for everyone perusing through this thread, not aimed directly at yourself, so please don't think that I am judging you. :D
Mel - just reiterating that i was not having a go, nor was any of my comments directed at you and your personal choice.
:yeahthat::
My observations are based only on the people around me that I see and my post was for everyone perusing through this thread,
Please dont feel like you need to justify your actions, you are doing the right thing for you, your baby and your situation.
sorry. Just one of those days and I read it allllll the wrong way.
SJ, that was a great post. I think the thing to keep in mind for those worried about this issue, is the end goal. We all know that milk is the primary source of nutrition until 12 months, and we all know that some babies eat more than others (my own two sons are at either end of this scale). What we are trying to achieve at this stage is good eaters down the track. There is no competition to have the baby who eats the most or who sleeps through the night the earliest. What we want are first and foremost healthy kids, and then down the track healthy kids who are good eaters. BLS is a great tool to achieve this goal.
Some BLS babies might eat less (although not all, you should have seen DS2 eat at that age LOL and he hasn't stopped since!), but this doesn't matter. They are getting all the nutrition they need from bm, the lessons they learn from BLS are what's important, more so than the actual food they are eating. They are learning to eat according to their own appetite, not the quantity that someone thinks they should have and puts in their mouth for them. They are learning about texture and taste. They are learning valuable skills with learning to feed themselves.
I know this won't be the right option for everyone, and that's ok. But those who do feel that this is the right option for them shouldn't be worried if their children are eating less, provided they are showing all the signs of getting enough (you know, the wet and dirty nappies, putting on weight etc). Anecdotally for me, my BLS DS is a far, far better eater in terms of both quantity and variety than my non-BLS DS. I have no doubt that part of this is genetic, DS2 has been a better eater since the very first day I introduced solids. But I think BLS certainly played a part, and in no way harmed his appetite or growth.
HTH.
alot of interesting posts the last few days, made me first of all question the way i have chosen to do things, which is easy when so many around me question it too, but i now feel very sure and happy with BLS and what my DD will gain from it! this is my first so i have very little experience with doing it any other way but this just feels natural and right for us! interesting to hear all the different stories and sittuations others are in. DD is currently sitting, eating a veggy pasta bake i made yesterday and LOVING it!!!
Just wanted to check in and see how everyone is going, and say how proud I am of my little man. Tonight I made very mild chicken curry with carrot and broccoli in it (yeah, I know, who puts carrot in a curry, right?!!) and I put some on Peter's tray, together with some rice. At first when he put the broccoli in his mouth he made the Face of Extreme Disgust, but then he tried it again and he had an awesome time sucking away on it all. Hours later I found broccoli still in his mouth!!
But rice.....well. Lets just say I think I will be cleaning that up for the next month...
ive been abit slack with the BLS thing as we have been so busy and somedays its just easier to feed her myself, which she hates, she grabs the spoon and the bowl. I have to get back into the swing of things.
Tho im seeing the benefits of BLS already, everything i give her to feed herself she will eat.. like ANYTHING!
Well done Peter eating his broccoli. LOL at it still in his mouth after so long.
We're going along well. Ashlyn loves her food, but what I find amazing is the way she is learning to use her hands. She can now pick up her food and turn it around so she can get the bits she wants. Still haven't found any food she doesn't like, though I think she finds porridge a bit boring.
I am having issues with my milk supply though. Don't know why which is really frustrating. Hope we can work it out soon though.
Captain Em wasn't keen on porridge bit I found some organic apple and cinnamon porridge and she loved it!
I gave her a little bit of our singapore noodle from chinese the other night. It was quite hard for her to eat but she tasted it which was good.
Thanks SJ and MR for your reasurance.
Holly - Same thing happens here, so frustrating!:
Yep K is like that too which I think is great!! The past two nights I have given K vege thats was done in the oven that we had for our dinner so he's tried potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, parsnip, and carrot plus peas, asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower and broccoli :lol: and surprisingly didnt gag on most things as much as I thought he would, yay!! Yesterday for lunch he had some pieces of cucumber too!:
Meat wise he is going great with that too - last night we had rump steak so I gave him a piece and he sucked all the juices out of it and the night before he managed to finish off a chicken tenderloin LOL so I guess you could say we are going good here hehe
Yesterday's breakfast consisted of 1/4 cup of porridge and nearly a whole banana LOL He can now hold onto pieces of banana really well - such a clever boy, I'm so proud!
I know that it is really frustrating, but try and let them hold the bowl and spoon, or if you have to feed them, have 2 spoons and t them self feed with one. It is more messy but so much better for them in the long run.
MJ is now self feeding wth a spoon and a fork... she will still get her fingers in occasionally, but most of the time it is with a spoon now, Yoghurt is incredibly messy, but she is getting better each day and i figure that she will put it all together soon!
Yep thats what I do with K - but usually him reaching for the spoon is his way of telling me he's had enough, well thats how I interpret it anyway :lol::
I just wanted to say hi. We are starting BLS with Logan who is 51/2 months. He just got his front two teeth and no longer has the gag reflex. Have started with soft fruit such as pears, and toast both of which he loves. I love watching his little face when he tries something new. He is still BF and this is offered before food as per the guidelines. Look forward to following this journey with you all.
wooohoooo kylie!!! welcome!!!!!!!!!!
I am a big BLS thread lurker :)
My little man just is not interested in food - we share a pear which he mushes around in his mouth and spits out inadvertently I think with saliva, loves mushing a bit of banana - but anything else couldnt care less.
I have tried - swt potato, potato, carrot, pumpkin, broccoli, chicken mince, porridge - you get the picture.
He too has started to wake again during the night for a feed - earlier than normal - 3am - !!! I have even thrown away $$$ opening a few jars but he just wont touch it.
Its been a month and I am still hopeful of course, and it brings me to tears that he is not interested as it is so frustrating - dinner time he wants to sit on our laps and touch our stuff - but is too tired to eat etc. So I try to do it earlier in the day, but sometimes he cracks it even getting put into the highchair so I dont bother!!! Should I still *sigh*
He will take it in little pieces off my fingers, but not off a spoon. He can grab it but gets very frustrated losing it on the way to the mouth with the slipperty stuff.
What a test!!
Hopefully next time I post I will have a success story - he has a dietician appt made for 8.5 months as recommended by my MCHN (hard to get into so made it just in case) but I hope I dont have to use it!
:hug: Sami. I know from experience how frustrating it is. My first DS had very little interest in food until he was nearly 12 months. I didn't realise at the time how common this in with bf babies - for some of them they don't seem to need much else other than the milk until they are older. He isn't a bad eater now, I'd probably even say good, but his brother is such a fantastic eater so I think that makes his eating seem worse than it is. Certainly he eats enough, and he is healthy, but he is not too keen on vegies!
The one thing I really regret with DS1 is trying so hard to get him to eat. Looking back now (and after getting lots of advice from MCHNs, paediatric dieticians and paeds), I think I made his eating worse by trying so hard to get him to eat, and always giving him his favourites just to get him to eat. The advice I was given (which I now believe) was that they will eat when they are ready. Just offer food and if he eats it great, if he doesn't just take it away without fuss. I was also told that even touching food and playing with it all part of the learning experience - just let them do that and take their own time with eating. I am sure it would be different with an underweight child who was losing weight, but otherwise, just keep offering and they will one day eat.
And you know what - it happened. Literally overnight. One day he refused food, the next day he ate things he'd never tried before. Just like that. I would never have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes.
So because of my experience, I can say to you (even though I know how much you feel like you need your little one to eat), don't worry. It will happen. If it was me, I would just offer finger food, just something that you are eating anyway when possible, and just leave it at that. It gets eaten or it doesn't, but in the meantime believe it or not, he is learning, and he will eat when he's ready.
GL hun. I hope it happens sooner rather than later for you.
Hi All!!
We have been experimenting with spoons lately!!
nagoreyk- Shane oes that too- when he grabs at the spoon that was usually my cue that he was over it and just wanted to play - but lately i have been letting him grab the spoon as it goes to his mouth- and he manages to get it in there- and SURPRISE SURPRISE he now gives the spoon back when he has eaten what is on it and i put more on- i have tried a few times to aim his hand to the bowl so he can fill the spoon up himself, but he's not keen- baby steps!! lol
We have been trying new things lately- i braved my fears and we have now become fans of Arrowroots!! He loves them!! also Kiwi fruit and orange that he loves to suck on and Avacodo on his sandwhiches and also tonight he had steak!!! He chewed on it for a bit- but i dont think he swallowed any!! lol
Oh also he has worked out that if he drops food on the floor- that the dogs (i have two of them- but one in particular) will come along and eat it!! I was in the kitchen and he was in his highchair in the lounge room and heard him cacking himself laughing!! I peeked around the cornere to see him purposly dropping his toast on the floor and laughing as the dog ate it!! lol Needless to say- now the doggies are OUTSIDE at meal time until he is done and THEN they can come in and clean up the mess!! lol
loving BLS SB
hmm I wonder if I am still welcome in here since I am doing both? We have found a good balance in 3 jars of junk and lots of finger foods a day.
Well today Ashton had a roast lol He loved it
I'm really trying with the spoon thing when I give Peter yoghurt. I think the problem is that I didn't start with BLS and when he wanted to grab the spoon at the start, I discouraged it, so now he doesn't reach out for it anymore (unless he's finished and wants to play).
But I did have to tell this funny little story. Today I was giving him some yoghut and I filled the spoon and then held it near his hand for him to take. His hand didn't move so I kind of moved it closer and wiggled it. Then I look up and his little head is leaning down as close to his hand as he can get it and his mouth is open as wide as possible like this hungry bird. He desperately wanted the spoonful of yoghurt and couldn't work out why I wasn't putting it in his mouth like normal! Poor little man!
I tried cruskits and avocado this morning - a huge hit!! He sucked off the avocado and in the process the biscuit dissolved. He is definitely swallowing small bits. What fantastic inventions the plastic scoop bibs are, stops so much from falling on the floor.
missymoo- i think you are still welcome- at least i hope so- coz i am doing both too!!
I have stopped all jar food as such- but for breakie i still occassionally give him the farex with fruit that i use a spoon with or weetbix- which today i let him eat with his hand and a spoon- and he did well- but till today i used just a spoon- and yogurt i use a spoon. But like you i totally follow his lead- and if he is "over it" i dont push it. i think any experimenting with BLS is welcome here :)
Thats pretty much the point of BLS, the reasn that you let them feed themselves is that they know when they are full or had enough. If you bubba is turning its head, pushing you away etc etc its not a behavioral thing, they are full or have had enought of what ever is in front of them. Spoon feeding teaches them that they MUST eat what is in front of them and by partaking in the pushing of foods, it can become a game or a habit and then you are setting yourself up for food refusal and chasing your baby to eat.:
If they dont want it, dont force the issue... if its a food that they normally eat and now dont want it, well there could be something in it that they dont need or want any more... MJ now rarely touches broccoli, but when we first started it was a fav... i dont push the issue, its still there on her plate, but she just takes it out of her bowl and puts it n her tray! (along with the other things that she has chosen not to eat.)
With the runny foods like yoghurt, try loading the spoon and then letting your bubba feed itself with the spoon... or if you are really game, let them put their hands in it. Its mega messy, but it helps with the learning.
MJ was rarely ever 'fed' with a spoon (usually if we were out somewhere and i couldnt give her finger foods) and as a result she is using a spoon and fork now and it is more predominant than finger feeding - not bad for 13 months old!
:welcome: to the other girls
Sami, try not to worry, its awful when they seem not to be taking loads of food, but it will happen.
If he cracks it going into the h/c i wouldnt push the point, he will just end up hating it and associating meal time with being forced to sit somewhere he doesnt want to.
Some other girls have used bumbo's the other thing is the older style car seats, just the booster with no back, could you sit him in one of those and do meal time in it for now.
If he will only take food from you hand, well, thats ok isnt it? bit more time consuming, but if it works ? i am sure that once he gets the hang of it he will be scofing it down in no time.
At 8 mths MJ still want consuming loads and most of it went in and out of the month loads...
todays lunch consisted of broccolli and cauliflower cheese nuggets i made....and grated apple mixed with yog, which she ate really easily with her hands! and is now using as hair gell....
how do you make cauliflower and cheese nuggets?
:rofl: about the homemade hair gel!! Maybe you should bottle it, you could make a fortune!!
MissyMoo, I have no problem with you staying in here! All BLS experience is welcome.
I want to know how to make the nuggets as well!!
I am quite interested in where you got that info from? I never force Ash to eat what is on his spoon. If he turns his head or pouts his lips I don't force it in his mouth. How is spoon feeding teaching them they MUST eat it?:
I really don't like this "I do it better than you and my way is better than yours" attitude that's coming across.
Ashton had macoroni cheese and tuna and corn for lunch. He loved it... I didn't love the nappy that came out!
oh Mel.. i hear ya on the nappies.. ewww.. just ewww.
Mia tried Zuchini last night, loved it :)
Missymoo - please dont take my comments as an attack on the methods that you use to feed Ashton, they are not. Also the comments were in respones to another post...
I dont think that i do it better than you, however this is a BSL thread and i am only giving suggestions to others, to assist... spoon feeding is not part of BLS and is discouraged, i am not saying that you are wrong by doing it, but i feel that if we are having a discussion on how to do BLS we should have give our comments and suggestions on how to do it iykwim. In saying this, please dont think that i am saying that you are not welcome in here either.:
I will see if i can find some of the research and post it in here if you are interested, i am off to work now, so it will be later
Again i apologise if you took my comments as an attack, they were not directed at you and certainly were not an attack on you or anyone...