Wanted to do BLW with Awen as C is such a fussy bugger i figured maybe something new...

With C i weaned at 17 weeks due to reflux then when she hit 6 months gave the odd meal of finger foods here and there though not regularly and she was great til 14/15 months (ate a full xmas dinner at 8 mohts just well cut up) then she got sick and afterwards has been fussy ever since to ridiculous amounts.

So with A I was gonna wait and go all out BLW but fecking reflux has hit again so I had to start weaning A at 16 weeks. Ive been doing purees (im a ba mummy and its been mostly jar stuff though ive bought ellas kitchen etc so as to make it as good as poss) but shes def interested in real food.

This week i started giving her some crusts of bread along side feeding her puree and shes loved mashing them up with her gums. The other day she chewed and slobbered all over OHs pizza crust (from an itialian restaurant not a crappy salty dominoes btw before i get shot) and last night i let her have a suck on a garlic bread crust and when i took it off her she went totally batshit, grabbed it back off the table and shoved it in again.

Id love to switch her to fully BLW but im not sure she wudnt start getting refluxy again if i stopped the purees as shes been so good since she got onto 2 meals shes down to ranitidine once or twice a week. Also shes a hungry wee thing, she has 4 bfs and 2 8oz bottles a day and was having a jar and a half twice a day as well so i dont think BLWing fully would get enough in her to start. Have been chatting to JoA about it loads as shes been very helpful and decided to do a mixture so started tonight.

She sat in highchair and had 2 sticks butternut squash, 2 sticks sweet potato and 2 broccoli florets and I made a bowl of puree. Basically I just let her have some fun and she mashed up and licked and slobbered all over the finger foods, her grips still not caught up with what she wants so I put the food in her hand rather than let her pick it up or she gets upset but from there shes doing it all herself and she rammed it in and had fun. In between I was popping in spoonfuls of puree. She actually chewed and swallowed a few bits i think but her puree slowed down to half a pouch. I think that by having time to play with food and chew it she realised she was full before hand rather than eating and eating for the sake of it.

Just wondering if anyone else has done it mixed before and has any advice. Or just general advice. Im gonna get some bibs and splash mats this week as she dint half make a mess! Do you think it matters I have to put the food into her hand at the mo? I know it says they should do it themselves and keep wondering if im doing something wrong but shes loving it once shes got hold of it. She gagged a cpl times tonight but then it just popped back into her mouth and she chewed it some more then swallowed just fine.

I think thats fine. I wouldn't worry about doing it by the book as blw says let them do everything themselves but I feed Jamie yoghurt. I'd probably give her some and put some on the tray so she can practice picking it up but doesn't get stressed. Its taken Jamie 6 weeks or so to swallow anything much and start dropping milk feeds but I would guess Awen would be better as she's had food for a while and has had a chance to practice. Jamie gags loads and has even been sick once but it doesn't seem to bother him at all. I'd say what you're doing sounds great

i'd carry on, let her try picking the food up and just carry on as you are, i'd do mixed too, you know she is getting what she needs too from the puree, but is doing it herself

cant wait for this stage, have to say

What Clare said ^^^

It's all learning at this age, and a lot of learning is taste and texture. Babies will love Licking, gumming and tasting things even if they're not getting any nutrition from it (be it toast, carrot sticks, duplo, carpet fluff - they don't mind!)

Your blw literature will have already reassured you about gag reflex etc and what they can have at varying ages, so just dive in and enjoy xxx

TBH im not overly concerned about the gagging anyway, she did it yesterday and my mind automatically did a nurse mode of "colours fine, shes making noise as shes doing it so she doesnt have airway obstruction so leave her to clear it a mo and if she doesnt pop her out the chair and do what you know". Lol. Sad eh.

I think i am doing right thing doing as im doing guess you always get moments of self doubt. Gonna carry on puree with side dishes of finger food and let her gradually taper off the puree and increase the finger food as she takes enough to keep her full and control her reflux.

With the picking it up ill keep trying to encourage her to pick it up off the tray but if not i know shes capable of taking it from my hand its just scooping it off a flat surfaces she struggles with so if thats what i need to do initially i guess its ok its not like im forcing it into her hand and mouth she wants to do it just wants her manual dexterity to keep up with her mind and mouth lol

Quote :

TBH im not overly concerned about the gagging anyway, she did it
yesterday and my mind automatically did a nurse mode of "colours fine,
shes making noise as shes doing it so she doesnt have airway obstruction
so leave her to clear it a mo and if she doesnt pop her out the chair
and do what you know". Lol. Sad eh.

haha the one thing that helped me loads during those early day was my mum telling me that if eli was coughing then he wasn't really choking

This is what I'm planning on doing with Amelia. I started weaning her at 14 weeks on the advice of her consultant because she was taking so much milk it was making her reflux 10 x worse. Shes a very hungry baby, will easily take a 6/7oz feed and a whole stage 1 jar so her belly couldn't cope with the volume of food she wanted. If I kept giving her food shed keep eating it At the moment shes having a bowl of porridge in the morning, and a jar at tea time. She already tries to grab the sppon off me and shoves it in her mouth so as soon as shes big enough to go in a highchair Ill be giving her food too smush up and have a feel of. Have noticed her reflux is alot better now, it seems to have done her the world of good x

Sounds brilliiant hun, she certainly looked like she was enjoying it from the pic, well done Awen!!

mariheartselijah wrote:

Quote :

TBH im not overly concerned about the gagging anyway, she did it
yesterday and my mind automatically did a nurse mode of "colours fine,
shes making noise as shes doing it so she doesnt have airway obstruction
so leave her to clear it a mo and if she doesnt pop her out the chair
and do what you know". Lol. Sad eh.

haha the one thing that helped me loads during those early day was my mum telling me that if eli was coughing then he wasn't really choking

yeah now if only i could persuade my OH of that, he refuses to do BLW cos it freaks him out, luckily (!)enough hes never fecking home these days with all the overtime so tuesday will be the first time hes really seen her do this and im probably gonna have to try and keep him from spazzing out if she gags.

Olliesmammy yup Awens like that will easily at dinner have a jar and a half after a BF then still be fussing so I give her water til she wokrs out shes full but today and yest has been down to less than a jar cos all the playing shes doing is giving her a chance to actually feel full without her getting mad about it. Her reflux has improved since the purees anyway but before she was guzzling every 2 hours and often screeching and vomming after. Shes now on ranit just once or twice a week and vommings slowed way down though it is multi coloured now blech

Well today for lunch she had 2 mini organix ricecakes which she LOVED and had a right old cham on and some mango in one of those food nets. She also had 3/4 pot banana yoghurt so like yest took less puree. Not actually sure how much longer ill be alowed to give her puree anyway cos everytime I take her food out her mouth to put the spoon in she looks at me like this: LMAO. She wasnt too good qith the food net cos her hands are too small yet but the rice cakes were perfect, still have to give it to her in her hand yet though cos she still cant quite control the thumb to pick them up herself and gets stressed when she drops them but as soon as its back in her hand she knows where to go with it next! Def gotta sort some decent bibs and splash mats out though

Sounds like she's doing fab! How much does she weigh now? Any imporvement since staring food? x

Shes 12-10 today so gained 14oz in 3 weeks which for her is an astonishing good gain as in the 3 weeks before that she did 5oz.

Her reflux is def on the downside now since weaning and shes on ranit maybe cpl times a week. Main probs im having atm is her brains ahead of her body so she knows she wants to pick the food up and eat it but is having a few dexterity problems and getting mad as hell. Im trying to do as little as poss but am just steadying her a little so she can still put it in herself.

She had broccoli and sweet potato last night and handed her a fishfinger out of sheer intrigue and ill be damned if she didnt demolish it. She then carried on calmly sucking her broccoli. Today for lunch she had ricecakes (which she adores) and melon but couldnt cope with the melon as its too slippy.

Whats amelia weighing now?

She was 8lb 1oz 2 weeks ago. Being wieghed again tomorrow as shes got her last lot of jabs, bless her.

I have that problem with Amelia all the time she seems to be folowing her actual age rather than her corrected. Shes started commando crawling up her changing mat when she has tummy time after her bath

I dont think anyones told her shes only supposed to be 4 weeks old lol

I think I am doing it, but didnt realise, lol!



Lily started off on pureed food, but recently I have been giving her whatever we have/Aimee has.



I was away at the weekend and James gave her chicken nuggets and potato stars, which apparently she loved. Today, I gave her spag bol at lunch and then Aimee and I had a toasted sandwich, so I gave her a crust to chomp on.



Just now (after her own meal), she helped herself to a potato waffle of Aimee's and polished it off.



Lately I have been trying to give her a bit of what we have and she seems to like most stuff (this child does not stop eating!).



x