Baby Led Solids Chatter #3

[Visitor8]

Shanti I do the same. Spoon feeding and finger foods Most of the time now he doesn't have anything from a spoon.

Last night it was broccoli, peas and corn, and chipolatas. Ashton LOVED the sausages, they were the perfect size for his hand. It was cute watching him eat the peas and corn now cos he is good with his 2 finger grip

[Moi]

MummyTummy - A suction bowl might be a good way to start. That way M can't pick it up and try to eat it. Thanks for the suggestion. I've also shown friends how I feed M and they can't believe that she can eat by herself! Actually my mother came round the other day while I was feeding M lunch. She'd never seen M eating before. M was having avocado on toast, cucumber pieces and cubes of cheese - popping them in her mouth and eating them. My mother was so shocked and said "OMG she can eat those things already?"

For now my solution to M filling up her mouth is not to give her the foods that she does it with. I just don't know why it's some foods and not others? For example I made a minestrone and was giving her the bits of veges, meat, beans and pasta and she'd just shove it all in and not chew.

Georgi - Yes sometimes I just have to laugh at M.

sterla & shanti - Welcome. There's an article in wikipedia that would be a great intro to baby led solids. It also has links to other great sites. Just go to wikipedia and search for baby led weaning. Or PM me if you can't find it.

I started Maya on sticks of banana and cooked sticks of carrot. At first she had trouble picking them up and getting them into her mouth. She'd often squish them too much. Now I cut her food into bite sized pieces and she can pick them up and pop them straight in her mouth.

[Moi]

I think I've worked out that it's meat that M has trouble eating. She just stores it up in her mouth. Any ideas on ways to prepare meat that she might find easier to eat?

I also haven't tried giving M sandwiches. I assume that would be a great food for taking out. I was wondering what kinds of things I could put in a sandwich that would still be easy for her to eat. So far I've only thought of avocado.

[MummyTummy]

Hey Tanya. Jett can also be a bit fussy with meat, but he doesn't store it in his mouth!! Mince meat is usually pretty good because it breaks up easily in their mouths. You could also try slow cooking the meat to make it really tender. Jett loves meatloaf too....

Is it all meat or just red meat in particular? The reason I ask is that still to this day I can not swallow red meat. I don't know why - I chew and chew and chew and chew until the meat is white but I can't swallow it. Chicken I am just fine with.... A doctor told me that it is quite common and it is something to do with the chemical make-up of red meat which I kind of have an allergy to (not a real reaction allergy, just means that I can't swallow it). And indeed I have met at least 6 people, all female, who have the same issue.

[Lady-bug]

Hi ladies,

Hope you don't mind me jumping back after so long!! I'm after some advice...if your LO doesn't eat something you've made, how many different things do you offer before you give up?? DS is generally a pretty good eater but lately he has been refusing alot. Or do you just stick with the same foods?? I feel guilty when he has had much to eat.

Any ideas/suggestions would be great!!

[Mumma2three]

Hi there, I've just started my 5 month old DS on solids. He is having organic millet cereal and that is all at this point. Im wondering at what age is best to start BLS. Is 6 months recommended? Also before that is it better I just mush vegies for him rather than puree? I have two DD's but just pureed all their food.
Im giving DS all organic foods at least until he's one and will not be introducing wheat or dairy before then either. We have a DD with allergies and I've just read up on this as a way to introduce solids (both BLS and no dairy/wheat) to let their system develop a bit more.
Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. We only started solids last week and are on one meal a day xo

[Moi]

MummyTummy - Maya has trouble with all meat. I think maybe because it's not moist enough? She also has trouble with pasta, but can eat that better than meat. I hadn't thought about making a meat loaf. I made one this week and she's been having some of that. She is still having a bit of difficulty but she is managing it.

hippiemummy - I find that if Maya refuses to eat something she'll eat it if I put it on toast. It's weird but it works. Maybe cos it's easier for her to pick up?

Mumma2three - I'm not sure if there is a recommended time to start? But you don't have to start with mushing veges. You can start with sticks of cooked veges.

[MummyTummy]

Hi Everyone, as usual I have been having trouble finding the time to jump on here!

Tanya - It might be something that she will need to grow out of then. Like you said not moist enough, then her mouth dries up which doesn't aid swallowing!! Just keep offering small amounts and see how she goes!

M23 - Best time to start BLS is 6 months. By that time bub should have lost the tongue thrust reflex (which pushes food out!) and are more open to the idea of swallowing food. We personally started at 5.5 months, but Jett was very ready - stealing food, desperate to put our spoons in his mouth and wanting to feed from me every couple of hours for over a week. Other babies don't start eating until 7 or 8 months and that is all completely fine too. The mantra is "food is for fun until they are 1" meaning that BLS is not about how much they eat, but introducing them to different tastes and textures and letting them experiment with it themselves. Tanya is right - you don't mush veges, just offer sticks of food - we started with steamed carrot sticks, and let them explore these tasty new toys.

HM - I offer food to Jett and if he doesn't eat it then that is his choice. There is usually a reason they are refusing and it is usually only temporary. So a typical meal for us is meat and 3 or 4 veges, followed by dessert and/or fruit. Most of the time he eats it, but sometimes certain things that he normally likes just don't cut it and it pitches it overboard. It could be lack of hunger, tired, not wanting that particular food etc. So the easiest solution is to just offer as varied a diet as possible, different foods, tastes and textures. Eg, Potato - chips, mashed, boiled, baked, with different herbs etc. If he is particularly active at the moment it might even just be because eating is getting in the way of 'doing stuff' and he will grow out of that phase very soon! He won't starve himself as long as he doesn't feel the pressure of having to get a certain amount of food down! And don't feel guilty, you have given him a great start, and he won't starve himself!

[Daydream Believer]

Hi ladies,

Hope you don't mind me jumping back after so long!! I'm after some advice...if your LO doesn't eat something you've made, how many different things do you offer before you give up?? DS is generally a pretty good eater but lately he has been refusing alot. Or do you just stick with the same foods?? I feel guilty when he has had much to eat.

Any ideas/suggestions would be great!!

DD will not eat broccoli but I give her one "tree" every time we have it. Because one day she may decide to pick it up & eat it
But generally she has whatever we are having for lunch or dinner because I dont want to be making 2 or more meals at every mealtime

[Heaven]

Hi everyone, I'm new in here!
We decided to try DD with some solids yesterday! I was wanting to wait until 6 months but we decided that she was ready now. She is showing all the signs, can now sit up unsupported and the biggest thing has been her frequent night waking and increased feeding which has been going on now for 3 weeks!! So, not just a growth spurt I assume.
Anyway, we put her in her highchair and gave her some pieces of cooked carrot and cauliflower and also a piece of banana to try. Wanted to give her a few different things so she could pick herself. She's really good at picking up everything and putting it in her mouth and is also developing the pincer grip but she had a bit of trouble picking up her food coz it was so slippery!! It just kept slipping all over her highchair and she was chasing it around, lol. Anyway, she finally got hold of some carrot and had a bit of a suck on that, then some cauliflower. None went down I don't think, just sucked on it. (is this normally how they start??) Then she got the banana and sucked on that and a piece came off in her mouth, she gagged on it (I secretly was freaking out but remained calm in front of her, phew). Anyway, she spat it out and had a horrible look on her face and kept shivering and making yucky faces like it was really gross iykwim. LOL. She also kept gagging, well not really gagging, I can't explain it. There was nothing in there to gag on I don't think but maybe like she just wanted the taste of the banana out of her mouth? I don't know what she was doing but it made me uneasy anyway, lol.

Anyway, how did I go? Did I do it right?? lol. Do they usually just suck on it at first? Is she supposed to know how to chew yet? What do I do now? Just keep offering her some cooked veges once a day to explore?

[Daydream Believer]

Heaven - thats how DD started, she gagged on most things & pulled the poison face, but she just sucked on stuff the first couple of weeks

[Heaven]

Thanks DB!

Just talking to my Nan on the phone who made me doubt myself (again) She asked if we'd given DD any food yet and I told her about yesterday. She said 'oooh I wouldn't be giving her banana without mashing it! They can choke easily on that and it's scary when they choke!' and was saying how her kids choked on arrowroot biscuits and you would have to get it out of their mouths and hit them on the back etc coz they were coughing and spluttering. She didn't listen to anything I said just saying 'I don't trust all their theories these days'. I know she's not right but after having her gag on the banana esp yesterday it still makes me doubt if I'm doing the right thing

On another note ewwwwwwwww.......... just discovered she did actually eat a little bit yesterday.

[MantaRay]

LOL at the ewwwww Heaven! It'll get worse yet. Has anyone warned you that banana poos look like they have worms in them at first, and that some food turn poo into a very alarming colour?

It is important that you are comfortable with the process hun, although even then people can do a great job of giving us doubts. Gagging is normal, but if you would feel better mashing a banana a bit first, or combining mash and finger foods, or whatever - that is all ok. The idea of infant led is that you work at their pace and allow them choices. It doesn't mean that you have to be uptight at every feed, or avoid anything on a spoon. Do whatever works for you hun You are doing a great job so far.

[Heaven]

Thanks MR!
I think it must have been banana that she ate then!! haha. Gross! Oh I didn't think about the colour, is there anything that will stain her nappies??

I was thinking I might try a bit of mash today instead but didn't want to be feeding her it with a spoon and making her eat it if she didn't want to iykwim so I wasn't sure how to do it but I just realised I could just let her eat the mash with her hands! Messy, but anyway. I also have lots of stored EBM so that would be a good way to get rid of it. Now...what to mash...

Also, I hear alot about bubs being constipated when starting solids, is there anything I need to avoid?

[MantaRay]

You have totally the right idea hun. Mash with fingers will be messy, but a huge part of her learning about food is the texture etc, and playing with it is an important part of the process.

The best way to avoid constipation is to make sure that her milk intake doesn't drop. Some mums find that potato, banana and beans can cause constipation, but I don't think you need to avoid them altogether - she will only be having small amounts for a while so give things a try and if it seems to cause a problem then you give that food a miss for a while.

I don't think I had any problems with stained nappies - although I imagine beetroot could be interesting!

[Heaven]

Thanks MR, I'm feeling more confident I'm on the right track.

Well, she just had her second 'meal'. I decided to try not to get put off after the first time and it was mainly the banana she had trouble with so I just didn't give her that again. Thought I'd try again without mashing anything and gave her some carrot, broccoli, and beans. And she was great!! I can't believe how much better she was after only 1 day! I dried them off a bit first so she could pick them up herself better and she had no trouble. She picked each one up and had a munch. Gagged a bit on the carrot but nothing bad, just coughed it back up and chewed more. Bit off a big hunk of broccoli and swallowed most of it!! DH and I heard a big gulp and just looked at each other amazed!! So I am feeling much better about it now. Got some good photos of her screwing up her face too, haha.

[MantaRay]

That's great Heaven! Well done!

[ezymay]

Hi everyone,

I haven't been in here for a while but I need some advice. We have been doing BLS since the begining but DD isn't eating so well at the moment. if we cook a meal and she doesn't eat anything should I then give her something I know she will eat? SHe will be one in a couple of weeks..eek!