Question about BLW

[courts&munchkins]

I just have a question for those that BLW. Did you find if you had a baby who doesn't put things in their mouth that BLW was harder to initiate?? Reason I ask is DD2 is 5 months old now so solids will be in our near future. I've done a couple of attempts at pur?e but was met with such an adverse reaction by her I don't think it's for her. With my others BLW was easy because everything the picked up went straight in their mouth. But dd2 is not a mouthy kid. She sucks on her fingers or hand at times and very occasionally chew on her cuddle rug but she does not bring toys or the like to her mouth. She now watches every mouthful I eat and often tries to grab at it but if I offer her something she'll take it, look it all over but it doesn't go anywhere near her mouth. So just curious if those with non mouthy babies found BLW somewhat harder to initiate.

[Barb Glare]

Hi, solids can e a tangled web, can't it? But the answer is in the title. Its baby led. World health authorities agree that babies do not need solids before 6 mnths. And many babies aren't ready for much longer. So it sounds like really yourilittle o e is spot on - watching what you are doing but not developmentally ready to eat yet. She'll eat when she's ready- they all do!

[onthefly]

Yep, when she's ready and she needs it, she'll stick it in

[~Kim~]

I agree with the PPs. When they want to, they will. Not all babies are ready to start bang on 6 months though.

Anecdotally my eldest DD was not a mouth kid and did take a long time (nearing 9 months) before she wanted a bar of anything solid really, whereas DD2 puts everything in her mouth and took well to solids straight away when she was offered. Now however, they both eat like teenage boys.

[onthefly]

My son didn't really put much in his mouth but food, yes, from 6 months. My DD put everything in her mouth, but couldn't eat till 8-ish months. (except paper)

[courts&munchkins]

I guess I'll just have to be patient and let her do it in her own time. We are just having a number of issues with breast refusal and crying even after she's drank from both sides. So I guess I was just hoping that some solids might help alleviate those issues a little.

[Barb Glare]

Hi, 6 mnth olds are often very opinionated as to how and when they feed. Often they feed very quickly and want to move on to the next exciting thing, wheras mum hopes that if they feed a little longer they might sleep a little more! You will be told in no uncertain terms if they don’t agree. If she’s full but crying it’s something else she wants - not more food. Maybe tired? Bored? She knows how the system works and no healthy baby will starve in the presence of breasts. Breastfeeding goes best when you follow her lead

[courts&munchkins]

Hi, 6 mnth olds are often very opinionated as to how and when they feed. Often they feed very quickly and want to move on to the next exciting thing, wheras mum hopes that if they feed a little longer they might sleep a little more! You will be told in no uncertain terms if they don’t agree. If she’s full but crying it’s something else she wants - not more food. Maybe tired? Bored? She knows how the system works and no healthy baby will starve in the presence of breasts. Breastfeeding goes best when you follow her lead

She's hungry, she's just a complete fuss pot and feeding her can be a nightmare on some feeds. She will latch, suck a couple of seconds and then pull off crying. We do this over and over again. Sometimes in a few minutes she will settle and we will finally get a feed but others she just keeps getting more and more worked up until she's completely hysterical and hyperventilating. She takes a long time to get a let down so I think a lot of it is frustration because we also often have issues with her pulling off and crying as soon as let down finishes. Sometimes she will cry when she has finished both sides, she keeps trying to latch again which makes me presume she's still hungry but will pull off crying as soon as she latches. I know she is hungry because if I do express and put it into a bottle after one of her refusals where she is at the point of hyperventilating she always finishes the bottle. And I know you'll say bottles aren't ideal but unfortunately my circumstances mean the occasional bottle is a necessity. She also refuses to feed at all in public, will not latch at all and will just scream if offered even if it's been 5 or 6 hours since her last feed. Which is incredibly stressful when I am out for the whole day. She is just a fussy little miss. ANd I know she isn't starving herself as her weight is ok, not as good as my other kids but she's still healthy. It's more the whole process of feeding can be incredibly stressful and frustrating for both of us so I was hoping that the introduction of solids would just alleviate that pressure just a little. We've gotten this far but her fussiness has become worse since my period returned so it's become even harder recently.

[onthefly]

That sounds really tough! It is very stressful when they on and off like that, it sounds though like you're feeling ok about how she's going in terms of her milk intake, weight, etc?

Both my kids were like this at this age. They would *not* feed unless we were home in the bedroom. It's very annoying. But they got through it just fine. I, however, found it extremely difficult first time round (second time I knew more and it was easier).

Babies do often fuss with hormonal changes such as a return of periods - it tends to get better with a bit of time, though.

I hope things get easier for you soon - you're doing really well