Baby Led Solids Chatter #4

Hi Ladies

This is my 2nd post here but I have had a great time reading about what you have all been doing!

Shazzi- How great is BLS, your DD sounds like she has taken to it really well! Its good to read a few foods that others are trying at the start too. 'The muffin top tummy' cracked me up :D

Sally- Well done Tristan on a great weight gain :clap:, so happy its all working for you too. He seems very adventurous with flavours as well. Cant wait to read all about his tastes!

Stevie-anne- hang in there hun, Im new to all this too, I have done heaps of reading and am still so overwhelmed! There is so much support on Belly Belly so just keep yelling out and someone will be able to share their experiences.

MantaRay- You have given me quite a few extra ideas that I wasnt sure we 'could' try!

Fleur- That gagging scared the crap outta me! Promised I wouldnt freak out the second she gagged because I knew it wasnt choking....but I did :redface:. Isnt it amazing how far BLS babies come in 2 short months!

We started solids today and it was an experience to be laughed about forever :lol:. We offered pumpkin and broccoli trees to start with and apparently we made them a bit squishier than I thought! Gagging was a big 'thing' along with DD making very animated noises about her food before sucking the chunks up off the highchair :ROFL:. She also curls her tongue around the food whilst gagging- any ideas what thats about?

Hello all :)
I need to pick your brains... I have the Gill Rapley book and it's great, but I'm feeling like I'm wasting food... DS has had carrots, broccoli, zucchini, mushroom, chicken, kangaroo, banana and apple (no more than two different things at once) all once each and while he's had a great time playing with them, picking them up and mushing them, only one thing made it to his mouth and that was a coincidence, it was only a corner of apple for about a second... There was no reaction to the taste at all and everything just ends up on the floor... He doesn't really put ANYthing in his mouth yet except his hands... Given that he's not quite six months, should I just leave it for a few weeks and try again, or do I continue as I have been and just let him play with it? I'm not worried about him not eating from a health point of view - he is a champion bfer and is gaining comfortably... just seems like a waste to give him food, when it doesn't even go near his mouth for tasting, let alone chewing. Should I keep sitting him with us with spoons to play with or something and try again when he shows signs of starting to want to explore things with his mouth more?
TIA :)

Now that DS is 6 months, I REALLY want him to start on this - What can I start him on and what do I have to do?? Any info would be awesome :) TIA

LizJessie: A good place to start is steamed carrot sticks, or really any vegetable that you can cut into finger-size pieces (that he can easily pick up) and steam so the food is soft enough for your DS to have a chance of eating some, but not so soft that it falls apart. Lightly steamed pear or apple also works, or a slice of watermelon. Offering a selection of different foods (3 for example) is also a good way to start.
Also, meat is an important early food for the iron, etc, so strips of tender meat are also good. With meat, he probably won't get any actual meat for a while, but sucking on it still gets out lots of the good stuff!

Keep in mind that your DS probably won't actually consume much food in the first few weeks - it's all about play and exploration. Remember the saying "food is fun before you're one" - so don't stress if he doesn't eat very much. Your DS will take as much as he needs.

That's all I can think of for now. Have you read the the Gill Rapley book? I highly recommend it!

Good luck with your BLS journey! It's heaps of fun!

Lilydust - the food enjoyment noises are great, aren't they! I've noticed the tongue curling a couple of times too, I think it's similar to the way that they manipulate the nipple when bfing, but may also just be to do with them trying to move the food around their mouths

Shades - aw, frustrating that you're making all those things but not getting far. Your LO will still be learning about the food, it's shape, texture etc by playing with it. If it were me I would continue offering a few bits of whatever you're eating, so the opportunity is still there and the exploration can continue.

LizJessie - how exciting! Have you read back on this thread? And how about The BLW book? They're both great starting points, then you can ask any questions you have. Many people start with veggies then proceed to family foods soon after... that's what we did and it seemed to work really well

DD is doing well with her eating. She had a couple of shady patches where she became completely disinterested due to colds, but seems be be back on board with renewed enthusiasm and a bigger appetite now. She's eating pretty much whatever we eat, often adapted a bit to make it easier to pick up, and there are only very few things she doesn't like. She loves toast, cruskits, sausages and now we've worked out a way for miss independant here to feed it to herself, cheesy mash and yoghurt are both big hits too.

We've had some issues with low weight recently (all in a separate thread) but her increased solids intake doesn't seem to have effected her milk intake, plus I'm now taking motilium which has boosted my supply and she's gained 500g in 2 weeks - woo hoo!

I had been giving her cream cheese on cruskits but she'd been getting little red spots around her mouth and a couple of red marks where it had touched her skin, so I've stopped giving it to her. Has anyone else had any alergic reactions?

Shades, learning about how foods feel is part of the learning to eat experience, so in that sense the food is not being wasted as such. I know it can feel wrong to throw so much food out though! I recently read an article by Gill Rapley about starting BLS before 6 months. Her view is that the baby's won't eat before they are ready, but that once you start to offer foods, it often leads to an adult feeding some of the food to the baby before the baby is ready. This might either be a parent who is trying to speed things along, or a well meaning relative or friend who doesn't realise that the baby is still at the "learn by touch" stage and not ready to eat. For this reason her recommendation is to wait until the baby is 6 months. Of course, all babies are ready at different stages, so even if you wait another couple of weeks, there is a good chance that the food will still be just played with and not be eaten just yet!

LizJessie, many mums find steamed vegies work well to start with. Usually it is easiest if you choose foods that you are cooking for the family anyway - this way there is less work, and you are getting your baby used to the usual family foods earlier.

I figured I'll compromise by not offering it as often as I was thinking, ie. every meal, but maybe just have a morning tea one day and dinner another... until more starts to go in...
I confess that I held a bit of apple for him to gum just to see if the taste would encourage him to put it in his mouth himself but I knew it was naughty when I did it and I'll try not to do it again *slaps wrist*. It didn't make any difference anyway!
I guess we'll just be playing for a while longer :) I figured it wouldn't hurt to start like a week before he's six months but maybe that has has annoyed me more than being a concern for him LOL... Damn my over-eagerness :P

Thanks sterla and MR :) I've got a steamer thing for the microwave, so I may just have to use that :)
Balmaingirl - I had been in here before when DS was 4 months, but have to really read back on the thread when DS gives me more time ;) I will have to look into the book you mentioned

Hi, I have been stalking this thread for quite some time :lol:
DD is just over 5mths old. I have been getting a bit of grief from the MHN with her weight, she is 5.6kg at the moment, still getting 5-6 BF a day.
I am hoping to do a bit of both...purees and whole foods.
Is this too confusing for them? I have started offering her pieces of vegemite on toast which she seems to really like. I also offered last night a bit of steamed cauliflour and also a pasta spiral which she happily sucked on for a while.
Can anyone recommend a good yoghurt they give their baby or do you buy the 'baby' yoghurts?
I sound like a 1st time Mum!! I have two boys and this didn't seem to be around when I started with them.
I really like the BLW/S concept, it makes so much sense. I intend to buy the Gill Rapley book and downloaded the 'flyer' she has on her website already which has great tips.

Heather, welcome to the group. Starting solids is really confusing! It might help you to know that purees are not so good for weight gain - when you think about it fruit and veg, while good for nutrients, do not contain "good fats" and things necessary for growth. This is why they are good for diets LOL! Full fat dairy products, or non-dairy alternatives, are good for weight gain - for yoghurt I'd look at natural yoghurts like Jalna as these are lower in sugar. I'd avoid the baby yoghurts, they are usually the highest in sugar!! Cheese will also be good. Meat is another good one, and is also an important early food as it's the best source of iron and zinc for growing brains.

Of course breastmilk is also the best growth food for babies under 12 months, and any food you give will displace the milk.

Best of luck with it hun.

Shades, I started DD at 6 mths and it was about a month before she showed any interest. It was like one day she suddenly decided to start eating and there was no holding her back! I think by letting him explore you'll let him do it at his own pace. You'll notice one day that he suddenly seems to be wasting less. ;)

LizJessie - oops sorry! I know what you mean about finding the time to read back... it takes ages, but I did find some useful stuff that way :)

Heather - I give DD gipsland organic yoghurt. I avoid baby yogurts and anything other than natural yoghurt for the same reason MR mentioned, but the natural yogurt can be a bit tart. This variety comes with fruit on top though, or if I get the plain one I either mix in some 100% fruit juice or buy one of those rafferys garden fruit pouches and mix a bit of that in, that way you know it's all natural and you can control how much you add to sweeten it.

Hi girls! We started BLS about 2 weeks ago with DS and are having a lot of fun :) but I am looking for some ideas as to what to offer next and this seems like the right place to find them!

I am too tired to read back through the posts now but will come back over the weekend and have a read.

I was wondering though about cheese...DS is 6 months and I am wondering how I would offer it to him, or should I wait? I have been offering veggies and fruit in large sticks so that he can hold some in his hand and have some poking out but am worried about the cheese breaking off and possible choking? Any advice?

So far we have tried potato, broccoli (not a hit!), carrots, pumpkin, pear, banana & cucumber. There is some going in...cos I can see it coming out :rofl:

I'm also wondering about toast...do I offer a full piece of toast or cut it up into fingers? I read somewhere that cheese on toast could be offered, is this ok for a 6month old?

Okay, maybe I had more than one question ;)

Hi Happy Chick,
Congrats on starting solids! Sounds like you have offered a few foods, which is great.
I gave my son cheese when he was 6 mths, he wasn't a huge fan but still ate some. I gave him a slice off the corner of the block, some did break but it just fell out of his mouth if he didn't munch it - i don't think there was much risk of choking, but not sure if some babies are more prone to this. Its quite a big piece of cheese to handle - so i think cheese on toast is probably a better idea to start - yep at 6 mths. Fingers of toast are best, or little wedges / corners; the bits with crusts are good to start as they stay firm, rather than flopping over. I suggest you start with white or wholemeal, not multigrain, as it takes a while to get used to the grains in their mouth.
My son also loves cruskits and rice cakes, tinned apricots or peach slices (in juice and maybe dry them on paper first so its easier to hold), strips of raw capsicum, slices of raw apple (i remove the skin).
keep trying the broccoli, sometimes they will go back to a food several times - i'm hoping my son will eventually learn to love veges!

Hi, quick question - how much help is too much? I've been giving Mr I pear slices at breakfast. I have him sitting on my lap & hold the plate up to him & he chases them around the plate until I give in to temptation and pick one up and get him to grab it or put it in his hand. Is this too much help?

I can't put him in the highchair as the tray has a massive lip & he'd never get anything - does anyone have some tips for feeding with bub's in lap?

Thanks.

SL - could you try drying them off with a paper towel so they aren't so slippery? Or putting them on a paper towel on the plate?

Happy Chick, I gave DD2 grated cheese to start with, she liked it & managed quite well. Maybe try that?
I agree with kellynz, it can take a while with some things, best to keep offering. For example it took Dd three or four goes before she would eat banana.
Toast I cut into quarters. It's better to keep the pieces either quite big or very small IMO - too 'in-between' and they are likely to shove the whole lot in. Big pieces they learn to bite off what they can manage. Thigns like chicken that can get stringy I sometimes chop up into very little pieces.

Snowy, I don't think that's too much help. He still has control over what goes in his mouth.
FWIW I sometimes spoon feed Pie yoghurt & stuff. She has control over the majority of what goes in her mouth, and she is learning to use a spoon by grabbing it from me & doing it herself. My idea of BLS is that you follow their lead, and we still do this even when spoon feeding occasionally. So I think helping him grab slippery food would be fine, and eventually he will get the hang of it ;)

As for feeding in your lap - can he sit yet? You could try sitting on the floor with him. Otherwise sit him on your lap facing the table so he can grab food. If it goes too far away for him to reach you can nudge it back towards him. Oh and wear old clothes :p

I have read through a few pages but not through the whole thread yet.

As there seems to be a few people interested in BLS around at the moment (unless i'm just more tuned in to those posts) i thought i would bump up this thread.

Also have a question. My little one has had a few foods that she has used as a teething ring- cucumber sticks, watermelon rind and although i don't think she has ingested any, everything went fine. Today we set her up in the high chair and offered her some steamed broccoli flowers and steamed pumpkin sticks. She knew exactly what to do and was nibbling on the broccoli. She gagged a couple of times and then vomited a whole lot of milk. We cleaned this up and a few minutes later she did it again. None of the broccoli had gone down, i think it was just triggering her gag reflex.

So, does vomiting mean her tummy is not ready for it? Or was it too close to her having a liquid feed? DH's response was 'why aren't we feeding mush again?' I told him to read up and get back to me! :lol: But, i'm a bit cautious too and wonder whether i should leave it for a week or so & try again.

what do you reckon?