Welcome to the Baby Led Solids (BLS) Information and Discussion Thread. This is a place for sharing your experiences with BLS, and also to ask questions. Please feel free to share your food ideas, successes, and challenges with BLS.
What is BLS?
BLS is also known as Baby Led Weaning or Infant Led Weaning. It is way of introducing solids. Instead of starting with pureed foods, it involves starting with finger foods. Traditionally purees were introduced as a first food, as babies were starting solids at 3 months or so. Now the recommendation is to start solids at 6 months, and by this age babies are capable of feeding themselves finger foods.
Interestingly, many parents naturally follow the BLS method with second and subsequent children. Physiologically, it has been shown that choking is less likely when a child is feeding themselves at this age, rather than having a spoon of food put in their mouths.
Why use BLS?
The many benefits include:
Less mess
Easier and less time-consuming, as food doesn?t need to be pureed or spoon-fed
Children enjoy feeding themselves, and it is good for their development to do so
Exposure to a great variety of tastes and textures earlier
Children are eating adult foods sooner, so that the whole family can eat the same meal
HEAVEN - I do exactly what MT said. I let BJ go for it while out, and just clean up after him. The ABA puddle coats are awsome (tough they don't last that long if used and washed 3 times a day). I always take a wet face cloth when going out, just in a plastic bag (to keep it moist). I clean him up with that, and use wet wipes to clean up the floor & high chair. I always pack food for him just in case i'm fussy with the menu. I'll take a sandwich, or zuchinni slice and heaps of fruit, plus cruskits with peanut butter or cream cheese on it. I never leave the house without a bag full of food for him
MT - Thanks heaps for the feedback. That has been an immense help. I knew I could count on you! Just on the raw carrot thing - I give BJ raw carrot peeled, IYKWIM. I of course peel the carrot first, throw away the skin, then peel the rest of the carrot & give it to him like that. It still takes him ages to eat but he really likes chewing on it
STERLA - The thing that kept me sane while starting BLS is the chant.... 'Food is fun until they're one' I just kept saying that to myself. I also gave him a timeframe to eat in. Actually, I still do that now. I don't let him go for more than an hour. BJ quite often chews his food then spits it out so it looks like he is still eating though the food never seems to dissapear. That's one of the signs that he's finished eating
Sterla -I was in the middle of writing you all sorts of tips and then my Mummy duties were being called so by the time I got back to it the thread had closed and I lost it all!!
But pretty much it was what Georgi has said in a nutshell! The mantra 'Food is for fun until they are one' is probably the most important thing! As long as they are getting their milk it won't matter how much or how little food they are getting in. Otherwise just come and ask questions in here any time you are unsure about something or need reassurance. It can sometimes be hard when people are around you saying things like - are you sure they are getting enough?, I never did that with my kids, what about choking? etc and they can make you doubt yourself. That is where this thread comes in to it's own. It really validates what you are doing as a positive thing!
Georgi - You're welcome! And yeah grated carrot, or carrot peelings is fine to eat. I was talking about the carrot in raw chunks/fingers that I just don't give. I forgot about the gratings!!
Thanks for your replies MummyTummy and Georgi. I think that mantra will be said over and over here!
A time frame to eat is a good idea actually - otherwise my DS would be there all day!
When you give your DS/DD food, how much do you tend to give them? I have just been putting an assortment of foods on his high chair tray, and he picks at them - but sometimes it's either ended up all over the floor, or in little pieces he can't quite pick up - but he's still seems interested in more.
I can't believe how quickly my DS is catching on to feeding himself! I broke off some of my Sao biscuit that I was having for morning tea and handed it to DS, and he at it all no problems - only a few crumbs!
As for spoon feeding themselves... my DS has always been good at getting the spoon to his mouth. Actually, when I first started spoon feeding him, I couldn't get him to open his mouth unless he was holding on to the spoon too! So, if I give him a spoon and a bowl of yogurt... I guess he might work it out eventually?
STERLA I only give a piece of each at a time. Then, when he finishes one piece, I replace it with another. So, I may have a chicken tenderloin, a piece of broccoli & a piece of sweet potato, then replace them as they're finished. Once he stops eating that particular food I know he's had enough of it. BJ also leaves the small bits. I also thought he was unable to pick it up, but now he's older, he still leaves the small bits, unless he's really hungry then he'll eat the lot. Once I know he's had enough, I'll then get the second course, which is fruit. He'll always eat his fruit even if he seemed to have had enough of his meal. This is then followed by yoghurt at dinner time. We've had this little routine since we started BLS at 6months. It works for us!
Thanks Georgi - that's really helpful and has given me a few ideas with my DS .
How do you all go about giving your bub foods that can't be given as finger foods, or that aren't easy for them to eat - like yogurt, porridge, etc. DS loves yogurt, but I don't quite think I'm ready for the mess that would result from me letting him lose in a bowl of it!!!
Hi all, I'm new to this thread. I have a bub who is nearly 6 months and I am going to introduce solids as BLS, when she hits 6 months. Any suggestions as to what the first foods I should give her should be? I have heard that vegies are better first rather than fruits so they don't develop a 'sweet tooth'. Is this true? Cause at this time of year with mangoes around, mmm yum, wouldn't that be nice! Other than that, I was thinking steamed pumpkin, steamed potato and bananas? What else?
Joey - First foods can be anything you want. The idea of vegies before fruit for the sweet tooth thing is really a kind of false economy. Babies naturally have a sweet tooth, BM is sweet, so yes they will prefer fruit, but denying them fruit first is not going to help them not develop a sweet tooth. So the important thing at this stage is a variety of tastes and textures and let your baby choose what they want to eat. They just might surprise you!! We started with steamed carrot sticks and very quickly moved to whatever we were having for dinner!
CAH - Sounds like you are doing a great job - and yes there is definitely hope for you!! Mess is all part of the fun, just enjoy it. It has to happen at some stage or another, so the earlier they get to experiment the quicker they will learn about the effects of force and velocity and gravity on food! We didn't get too concerned about the foods containing nut products. The only thing I wouldn't give (and still don't) is actually nuts themselves. Smooth peanut butter is such a treat around here!! But in saying that it does depend on what school of thought you come from - do you think that the introduction of these foods too early is the cause of allergy or do you think the introduction of these foods earlier may prevent these allergies? Only you know what you are comfortable with... but it is school for thought.
On that note a friend told me the other day that she heard on the radio that the research is now showing that the later introduction of all these allergy trigger foods is not actually preventing any allergies, and so the recommendation is now changing again back to introducing the allergy triggers from 6 months.
EK - Nope not too early for weetbix..... just some MCHN are not familiar with BLS so therefore it is 'wrong'! I am lucky, the nurses in my area are quite forward thinking and up with the latest research, but I know the one 2 suburbs over is very old school and her instructions are strict and firm "Follow the rules or you will harm your baby" more or less anyway! Don't worry about it, stick in here and get lots of advice and support from everyone in here and offer no extra information at your next appointment!
Well, I'm not sure what's going on with DS, but he has been really off his food recently. Whatever I give him, he has two mouthfuls, then starts just playing with his food or throwing it on the floor. Sometimes he'll even take a bit, just to spit it straight back out. I know I shouldn't worry about how much or how little food he's getting - but he's really not getting much at all, and I just feel like we're going backwards. He used to eat so well, now it's as if he can't be bothered.
For those of you who have been doing BLS for a while - is this normal? Is it just a phase that will pass? What can I do to encourage him to try a bit more with his food?
Yes it is normal, yes it happened to us and yes it happens every now and then still.
I think it is different phases that they go through. And suddenly they don't like something they've always liked....frustrating!!! It could be for a physical reason - not feeling well, teething etc. It could even be him trying to assert his independence with you, or it could be just that at this age they just get so busy - there is so much to do and learn that eating just gets in the way. (Yes it is true, sometimes eating just isn't a priority!! )
But yes it shall pass but there really isn't anything you can do to get his interest back until he is ready. So just keep offering the variety of tastes and textures and eventually he will just start eating again. Don't make a fuss and don't try to force him to 'just have a few mouthfuls'. He won't starve himself, and remember this is Baby-led solids, with the emphasis on baby-led. If this is him asserting his independence, and he sees you are leaving it up to him to make the choice then he will realise that you aren't going to give him a battle over this so he will just start eating again. But you might find he starts a battle elsewhere - Jett chose getting in and out of the car!!
So I know it is hard, but take a deep breath and just follow his lead. And just keep telling yourself that he won't starve himself, his survival instinct is just too strong!!
Lj, I read a really interesting article by Gill Rapley recently. She talked about the issue of starting BLS before 6 months. She said the theory of BLS is that babies won't actually eat anything until they are ready, they will just play and explore. However in practise, adults, be it parents, friends or other relatives might put food in the baby's mouth. This could be by a parent who thinks baby has been eating or by a relative or family friend trying to help. So she sees starting BLS before 6 months as a risk and advises against it.
MummyTummy: Thanks for the info, I too had wondered if teeth might be involved, although I've had a good look whenever I've had the opportunity and haven't seen anything. She does love biting anything she can get her hands on but she's not really dribbling a lot, so who knows. I've given her a cold teether to chew on a couple of times and she does give it a go, but gets bored of it relatively quickly... I think she prefers the cold hard veggies coz then she gets a nice taste too, lol!
MantRay: I was really interested in what you said about Gill Rapleys article. Do you know where you saw it?
I think the main thing we have to bear in mind is that if we do continue to offer the hard veggies for now not to 'help' at all. That makes perfect sense to me, just need to convince DH now as when I said that a few days ago he wasn't really getting it. I will have another chat to him about it though, for her safety, and if I can get my hands on that article it might be a good way of emphasising it. Even more importantly, the MIL is coming next week so I'll have to keep an eagle eye out for her!
I love the idea of a BLS recipes thread by the way. Gill Rapley's website says that they're bringing out a recipe book but I think it's still going to be a while.
Storm, I have been really nervous too about the risk of choking, but I am getting much better as she gets older (my fears I mean) and I am becoming more confident. I will admit though that it has slowed me down a bit.
We had an incident a while back with gagging on a piece of pear (can't remember if I posted here?) and DD1 freaked right out. I explained to her what to do... well yesterday we had another gagging incident, and she picked her up & laid her across her lap Bless you could see she was freaking out still but she was trying to stay calm & do it right (although she wasn't choking). Anyway a bit OT but thought I'd share. I'm obviously not the only nervous one
I love the idea of a recipe thread, having a bit of trouble being imaginative here Is there a thread already here with ideas?
Balmaingal - My DS doesn't dribble really at all when he gets teeth and never has. He also never got in to the teething ring thing either so it could be just the way she is. The cold fruit and vegies should be nice and soothing anyway if they are moving around down there. And with Jett his first two teeth just appeared, there were no real signs of expecting them, no irritability or anything. A couple of days before the first one popped through he just chewed a little bit extra on his spoon. That was it. I was so surprised to see a tooth a couple of days later!! So with those first couple of teeth I think they know what is going on, but we don't get to find out until they are just about through the gum!
Jasp - I don't think that was OT at all. A great experience to share with us. And great that even though your DD1 was freaking out she still tried to remain calm and handle the situation. I think you should be a very proud Mummy. You and your DD know what to do!!
As for this recipe thread - MantaRay and Jennifer13 - is it possible to get a dedicated recipe thread for BLS people? Or is there one already?
hi everyone, like jasp, i'm still floating round as well! i always read the thread but never seem to get around to posting.
i've been a bit slack with the BLS recently. we've been out at lunchtimes a bit & then i usually use some rafferty's garden because it's just so convenient, although i know it'll slow things down a bit.
trying to get back into it a bit more - so a recipe thread would be great! i also need to get started on making some things out of the cookbook that was mentioned - it is the WW healthy babies cookbook. my mum bought it for me but i think she just got it from the newsagents. i'll ask her when she pops round this afternoon
i'm starting to worry a little with all the mention of a recipe thread! we just feed DD exactly what we're having - i thought that was the point! but now i'm concerned cos people are asking for ideas - don't you just give them what you have
ave day for us is brekki (she isn't always hungry as she fills up on breast milk). lunch is a sandwich or leftovers from the night before. dinner is generally at least four different veg and meat of some kind. we just let DD eat what she wants from that. am i doing ok with that?
she will sometimes snack on yogurt through the day, and if we're out she may have a biscuit or something...
ETA - on the teething front - DD had signs of teething from when she was 3 months until about a week before her first tooth popped through. then nothing - the tooth popped through and i only knew cos she was playing and bit my hand!
Baby Led Solids Chatter #4
Just on the raw carrot thing - I give BJ raw carrot peeled, IYKWIM. I of course peel the carrot first, throw away the skin, then peel the rest of the carrot & give it to him like that. It still takes him ages to eat but he really likes chewing on it
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Good to see you all in here!
back to introducing the allergy triggers from 6 months.
Don't worry about it, stick in here and get lots of advice and support from everyone in here and offer no extra information at your next appointment! 
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