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Megan - that's great! It's taken my DS a while to work it out. Even with each new food it takes him a while to get into the swing of things :). I guess they get there in their own time - and that's half the fun!
Olive - that's an idea - mmm, have't had roast lamb in a while :)
Hi everyone! I'm Ali and my little man, Edward is 6mths (on thursday)
We started BLS yesterday... he's a massive 9.3kg and 100% breastfed (until yesterday) - teehee how much of a proud mummy am i?! So sick of everyone telling me he needed to start solids early, or asking how much formula he has (because he was clearly failing to thrive on BM -NOT) but so happy we waited until he was ready...
Yesterday was so much fun - he discovered a whole new world of toys - food!
He squashed avocado around, sucked on bread, stuck potato on his head, munched on a roast carrot stick then today sucked on a pear - don't think he actually ingested a whole lot - little bits here and there but he LOVED it.
I'm surprised at how many people are unaware of BLS - it seems to natural, messy yes, but more fun than pureeing.
Any good tips from ppl? do you just give food as and when it's around and baby interested? or sticking to once a day? I thought we'd just give him bits when we're eating or cooking etc - it's not like he's eating it all so it won't affect BFing... what about water - are there any 'rules' about introducing water?
I'm so excited! PLUS Edward started moving forward the other day too - it's been a big week (which i had hoped would lead to more sleep, but nope, we still feed 6+ times overnight hohum)...
sorry, this has been a bit of a rant, over-tired and over-excited! :)
(btw - how do i put a photo on my profile?!)
Hi Ali, :welcome:
Sounds like you and Edward are doing just great. Jett was the same when he discovered the new toys, but it really took no time at all for him to start chewing and swallowing his food! Maybe 2 weeks from memory?
When I started to give solids I used to do it for normal mealtimes and also whenever there was the opportunity and Jett was receptive to it. We we kind of went from 1 or 2 meals a day to 3 meals and a couple of snacks within a couple of weeks. It really doesn't take long for them to get interested and understand about food, once they have the inclination. Which could be months for some babies, but days for others.
Water took longer to introduce. I used to just put his sippy cup on his tray and offer it to him. Most of the tiem he pushed it away, but a BF does the job just as well. But I kept perservering, with different types of sippys until he found one that worked for him and then all of a sudden water was his new best friend. That took a couple of months.... so as long as you are BF don't stress too much as he will get his water intake from you - just make sure you keep yours up!! :lol:
As for the photo - I think as you are a new member and don't yet have your post count up, the only way you can add a pic is to a ticker. There are lots of sites around to create a ticker which you can then add to your signature. But don't quote me on anything... the mods should be able to help more on this side of things! :)
Hi girls,
We have started basically giving DS what we are having for tea. Last night we had roast lamb (thanks for the idea Olive :)), and DS absolutely loved it!!! He scoffed down all the roast vegies and had a really good go at the meat (as well as he can with only two teeth). He ate everything, then we have him watermelon for dessert and he ate heaps of that too! He's really getting the hang of it.
Yesterday I had MG and took a banana sandwich along for DS to have - and it was strange... all the other mums were there feeding their babies puree with spoons, and there is my DS feeding himself a sandwich. I felt quietly proud for some reason I can't explain.
I mentioned BLS to one of the mums in MG, and she actually knew of another mum who did it with her baby - that's the first time IRL I've come across someone else doing BLS.
I'm finding myself struggling with new ideas for DS's lunch and snacks. I feel like I'm always giving him the same thing, but I don't know what else to give him. I usually give him toast soldiers, a sandwich or rice cake with cheese, cream cheese or banana. I usually give him fruit afterwards too... I need new ideas!
Hope everyone is going well :)
Hi Thanks!
Wow roast lamb! Do you think they need teeth to tackle meat? Although i dare say Edward would happily suck the juices at least!
Sterla - i love that little tang of pride - for me i think it comes from knowing that I trust DS to do things in his own time, and realising that that normally makes life sooooo much easier than following what is often promoted (often commercially driven) as "normal".
I had so much fun at the markets yesterday buying loads of summer fruit and veg - i think this is going to make DH and me eat healthier too!
Mummy-Tummy - I seem to have the opposite "problem" with water - DS seems to LOVE it! he loves drinking out of his sippy cup - i was worried that he might not be thirsty for BM - silly thought really, but if i've noticed one change then he has seemed to have good big BM feeds atm whereas before he was starting to be on and off the boob all day long but only for little feeds, so all good... they're clever little things aren't they?
We had avocado for lunch so DS ending up looking a little like Shrek - thank god for the warmer weather so we can do this outside!
glad the lamb went down well sterla!
alimoy DD has no teeth eats most thingsm she chews with her gums etc..
Yeah, it isn't that they have no teeth - they have them, but they just aren't exposed. So eating and chewing is really not much different except when they are teething when it becomes more tender in the local area. So no need to stress about their lack of teeth and eating!
AliMoy - yeah they are so amazing what they figure out for themselves! And as you said that it is easier to follow than the commercially driven 'normal'.
Sterla - an idea for you is a Weet-bix with 100% fruit spread, or any of the spreads, or a little milk, or just plain! Jett just loves them!
Alimoy, DS loved to suck on some steak we gave him a couple of weeks ago. He had it for ages and the look on his little face was priceless.... a bit like he was thinking "wow, this is what I've been missing out on my whole life!" lol He has since had some chicken, but he didn't seem too keen on that.
Sterla, it's hard to come up with new ideas. We have only been doing this a couple of weeks and it feels like we have the same things all the time! I actually just introduced weet bix to DS yesterday and he loved it.
I have a question regarding dairy... is there anything I should be avoiding? I read the ABA booklet on solids and it said cows milk could be introduced from 6 months (although I am assuming you wouldn't use it as bubs main source of milk) but I guess I still have it in my head no cows milk until 12 months (which is what my MCHN also told me). I did give him some cows milk on his weet bix and he has tried a little bit of cheese. I just find all the conflicting information really frustrating.
Megan - There is so much conflicting advice, and it does get very confusing, but going by BLS, which is after 6 months not much is off-limits so dairy is just fine. But this dilemma is always raised - does introducing too early increase chances of allergy/intolerance? No one can answer this for you, it is something you need to research and work out what you feel comfortable with.
Personally I think cows milk is fine from 6 months, as long as it isn't the main source of milk/nutrition. And of course as long as bubs doesn't have an allergy or intolerance. We introduced cows milk on cereal right from the start and cheese and yoghurt.
Lactose is the hardest enzyme for them to digest and it is usually the culprit for gut flare ups and sloppy poos, but that doesn't mean they are allergic, and it isn't always a permanent intolerance either. That is the main reason for the 'no dairy until 12 months'. Jett got gastro I think about a month after we started solids and his guts just didn't repair themselves, so I had to go dairy free (for breastfeeding purposes) and he had to go dairy free for a couple of weeks. We then introduced it slowly back in to his and my diet and we have had no problems since. So if you do find a problem flares up you can always do this to get things back on track.
Re cows milk: i think some medium ground is the way to go for us... i probably wont offer DS a glass of milk or anything until after 12mths but milk on and in things are fine - unless it doesn't seem to agree with him then i'll reassess... i think i'm right in saying that a lot of food allergies, as opposed to intolerances which can change, are genetic so if your families don't have a history of food allergies then you're probably safe to try things out from 6mths.
I had a proud mummy moment yesterday at a picnic with a bunch of girls and bubs. Babies all around 6 - 9 mths and the mums were all getting out their little tins and packets of baby foods discussing which had less preservatives in them etc, and DS is sitting there sucking on a whole pear and LOVING it... mind you, in the most non-judemental way possible, a few of them were shocked when i took DS clothes off and be 'free' to explore in the warm shade to quote one girl "OMG I've NEVER taken DS's clothes off outside"... perhaps they're not the right crowd for me lol.
Alimoy - yeah middle ground sounds about right. We never gave cows milk to drink until after 12 months, just in cereal. And yoghurt was introduced on cereal too - it was actually easier for him to eat that way - more solid IYKWIM. Cheese he wasn't a big fan of until about 9 months or so.
Hehe, it is funny when you realise you are surrounded by a group of people that seem to follow 'the rules' blindly without questioning. I think it is fantastic to get some air to that precious young skin. The babies love it and learn so much without the bulk and restriction of nappies and clothes. Good on you! :clap: Half of my MG is like that (there are only 4 of us) so two of us catch up weekly and as for the others - only if we have to! :redface:
Hi there everyone!
We have just started BLS with DD in the last couple of days. The plan was to wait it out until at least 6 mnths, but last Sunday while we were munching on some watermelon, she grabbed mine out of my hand and off we went.
I am looking foward to the BLS journey. My DS was puree fed... and he is the fussiest eater I think I've ever seen, so I am hoping that DD will be alot better.
Ok, so we've started with Watermelon. She loves it and has so much fun. MIL gave her some banana 2 days ago and she enjoyed that aswell. My plan is to start some broccoli probably next week and go from there.
I hadn't been giving her any water to have with her solids ( admittedly, she's not getting a great deal of food down at the moment), but will probably do that from now on. I am breastfeeding at the moment and it's still going pretty well.
Is there anything you think someone who is just starting out should know about BLS? Is starting with naturally softer foods a silly way to go? Should I just get straight into the good stuff?
We are currently only giving her food once a day... should I continue like this, or should I offer at every meal?
I look forward to hearing how everyone goes and getting a great deal of tips from you all.
xx Nicky.
:welcome: Nicky! Sounds like my DS - started by stealing food and munching away. We started at 5.5 months - I was also trying to stretch him to 6 months but he was just getting too determined and as he seemed to know what to do straight away I don't think it has harmed him in any way and he is such a good eater. How far off 6 months is your DD? I think timing is very important with BLS. If it is before 6 months (and too too far before) and they are leading the way then I see no problem. Puree kind of forces food on them when they may not be developmentally ready, whereas BLS lets them be in control.
As for water - we discussed this a few posts back. My advice is offer it, but don't stress about it too much as long as she is still BF well, this will be her main source of both nutrition and hydration, just remember to keep your water intake up.
Food wise - because I started slightly before 6 months I did keep to fairly soft plain foods such as steamed veges to begin with, but as soon as we hit 6 months I started offering everything. Including meat. But this also let him get used to this new idea of eating his 'toys' so by the time the 2 weeks had passed he was fully eating and chewing and knew how to handle his food. The only times we had 'choking' or gagging issues was when a new food was introduced. But these episodes never seemed to bother him. So that is one of my tips - be aware of the difference between choking and gagging (choking - turning blue, not crying, not breathing. Gagging - coughing, spluttering, turning red, crying, breathing) and try to remain calm. If she does gag give her a chance to bring it up herself and more than likely she will just look at the offending piece of food and pop it back in and try again.
Offer any foods you feel comfortable with giving. But there is no need to hold back on anything unless it is a choking hazard (such as chunks of raw carrot - grated is fine) or things that are not recommended for babies such as honey due to the bacteria in it, coffee, alchohol, etc!!
Mealtimes - we started with two meals, but because he was so keen I very quickly got to 3 meals plus snacks. Just follow her lead! But also don't worry if you have a super busy day and you only get 1 meal in, or even none. As long as she is getting the milk she won't starve.
Remember it is a messy experience, but the more they get to experiment and explore their food the less messy it will become as time goes by. Enjoy it! It is really fascinating to watch.
Remember the mantra 'Food is for fun until they are 1' meaning as long as they are getting their milk, their nutritional needs are being met and any solid food that gets digested is just a bonus. So no stress if they choose not to eat, and just keep offering even if they have rejected the food before.
And last but not least - remember we are here to support you and answer any of your questions. There are alot of negative people out there that look at BLS as almost torture or child abuse, and they can make you doubt yourself. But of course they are only talking from their experience and knowledge base - they don't know the first thing about BLS or about the advantages to both you and your child.
Hi Nicky :hello: sounds a similar story to my sister - my eldest nephew started conventionally on puree and rice cereal etc and now is RIDICULOUSLY fussy - he's now 4 and pretty much has a fear of food except a few self proclaimed "safe foods"... second nephew now aged 2 started straight on family foods and eats everything in his path (including nephew#1's leftovers!!)
Well said Mummy Tummy! and it's great to come here and bounce ideas off other people.
I think the thing about starting BLS is that initially you might want to just give softer foods more so for your own peace of mind, it doesn't take long to trust you baby's lead and build up confidence in the gag reflex! We've only been doing it for a week and already i've worked out that DS actually prefers bigger, slightly firmer pieces of food that are easier for him to hold on to.
Initially i thought we'd just do one meal a day and introduce new flavours slowly (i read somewhere that you should do one flavour every 3days or sthg) but tbh i found that doesn't really work with BLS as the idea is to let baby take the lead... and DS seemed to want to have a go of whatever i had or whatever was around! But obviously i'm not going to wake him up if he sleeps through lunch or something!
I think - make food fun and family/social time and hopefully that will continue for life!
Thanks for the welcomes.
Allira (DD) has been LOVING food from the very first try. She knows exactly what she is doing which is fab. She will be 6 months old next week.
She's tried Watermelon, apple and banana and I'm going to give her broccoli tonight and then I might start offering a few different types of food at once.
So it's ok to give her bread, pasta meat etc from 6 months? These are things I suppose I think about. I feel at the moment by restricting what sh'es eating, that it feels just like pureeing in a way. I didn't want to get into it too quickly though as she's not quite 6 monts old.
Allira has no trouble grasping and chewing no food. She doesn't get alot down and she has gagged once, which surprisingly didn't worry me all that much. I knew just to keep an eye on her and let her work it out.
I'm nearly tempted to give her some gnocchi and chicken that we will eb having for dinner tonight. Is that a bad idea at this stage?
I don't know anyone who has ever done the BLS thing before, and I think it freaks my poor mothercraft nurse Mum who has only ever seen the puree side of things (although I also educated her on MCN aswell).
I will probably keep coming in with lots of stupid questions. I guess it's just a bit strange doing this after puree's with DS (which wasn't all that long ago really).
Hi all thought I might pop in here and see how all these other bubs are going with BLS. V prefers it, but is such a terrible eater it drives me insane.
She has turned off some of her food, so it would be good to see how well some of your bubs are going with BLS.
Trust me to end up with the fussiest of fussy eaters. :lol:
Niadla - if it were me I'd def try the gnocchi and chicken - especially if she seems to have the hang of this eating thing- sounds like she developmentally ready, and has the gag reflexes to stop her from digesting anything she's not ready for - go for it!
Edward is just starting to get the hang of things after 2 weeks of BLS - there's defintiely a lot more getting in (i know, i can tell by what is coming out of the other end - bring back BM poos... especially with cloth nappies!!!!)... he's LOVED meat the couple of times he's had it, and i've really started to trust him to take what he wants and leave it when he doesnt - it's amazing how even at 6mths they can self regulate - DS is very definite when he does and doesn't want things, and when he wants water or BM - i'm blown away by how well he communicates with us.
favourites for us are still pears - he loves them whole, i just bite off the skin and he sucks and chews away at the flesh, cucumber, meat, brocilli, toast and promite...actually just about anything if he's in the mood for it! lol
Csab - how old is your one? I guess even having a fussy eater shows a level of self regulation and preference as opposed to just eating everything that tastes and looks the same! bright side?!!
Allimoy - V is almost 13mths old. She is on the very small side, and is being seen by a dietician too. None of my other kids were like this, but she will get there. She loves her apples, cucumbers tomatoes as well as cheese and watermelon. She loves her bread with v/mite and nutella 9as we need to get more fat on her), but lately wont eat like she was. However she is on some other type of calorie additive that makes her not feel as hungry, under the direction of the dietician.
Ohh and she loves spagetti, still trying to get her into eating meat, chicken and fish but she is not interested just yet. I know she will get there, it is just going to take a little bit of time.