Lollipop2123
Chatty Member
We did a mix of both and it worked well. It's all just about experimenting I think. I make up some purees and then also did finger food. Good luck! X
I liked Annabel karmel too x
- Notice
Justreading
VIP Member
BLW all the way for me.
If you do BLW there is no mixing, baby led is just that, allowing the baby to lead 100%. Once you spoon feed, they're no longer baby led they're just spoon fed and given finger foods.
We loved it. Because we followed it to the letter there was no stress at all! My son was always in charge, no pressure on him to eat up etc, he controlled if and when he ate.
I offered 3 meals a day from day one. I didnt start with any particular foods or rule out foods. Just gave exactly what we were having and if he ate he ate, if he didnt, he didnt. His first day he had tomato pasta and garlic bread, second day a roast and I cant remember much after that.
He is an amazing eater now, hes coming up to 3, hes so clean and tidy when eating, never makes a mess at all! And has been able to use a spoon and fork correctly since 18m ish.
Cant recommend it enough
If you do BLW there is no mixing, baby led is just that, allowing the baby to lead 100%. Once you spoon feed, they're no longer baby led they're just spoon fed and given finger foods.
We loved it. Because we followed it to the letter there was no stress at all! My son was always in charge, no pressure on him to eat up etc, he controlled if and when he ate.
I offered 3 meals a day from day one. I didnt start with any particular foods or rule out foods. Just gave exactly what we were having and if he ate he ate, if he didnt, he didnt. His first day he had tomato pasta and garlic bread, second day a roast and I cant remember much after that.
He is an amazing eater now, hes coming up to 3, hes so clean and tidy when eating, never makes a mess at all! And has been able to use a spoon and fork correctly since 18m ish.
Cant recommend it enough
Carrie2019
Active member
Hey
Baby is 3 months old so I’m still 3 months away from it yet but im seriously debating blw. Has anyone else done this?
Baby is 3 months old so I’m still 3 months away from it yet but im seriously debating blw. Has anyone else done this?
Imainlylurk
Well-known member
I started out doing purees and finger foods and quickly moved towards BLW as it's so much easier - I found doing the purees soul destroyingly boring!
Never had a problem with choking, but you can do a baby first aid course with British Red Cross to put your mind at ease. Look at the NHS website on introducing solids, it's really comprehensive and helpful: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/.
Never had a problem with choking, but you can do a baby first aid course with British Red Cross to put your mind at ease. Look at the NHS website on introducing solids, it's really comprehensive and helpful: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/solid-foods-weaning/.
Bitofthebubbly
VIP Member
It was a while ago now for me, but I did blw with both of mine and couldn’t imagine doing it any other way. Just chop anything that needs to be cut into easy to pick up pieces (like sticks) and plonk it on their tray. From veg sticks to spaghetti bolognese anything is fair game as long as it’s not too high in salt, the whole thing is you just let them go to town and explore, and they figure out the eating part in their own time. Eating with them helps as they watch and learn from you. It’s messy in the beginning but I’d say after around 3/4 weeks of it they were pretty confidently picking up food and putting it in their mouthes with decent accuracy. We had some gagging but no choking, I made sure I could tell the difference before starting, there’s lots of videos and articles online explaining it which helped me feel more confident but that’s not to say I still didn’t worry. It did wonders for their hand eye coordination and their pincer grip! It also encouraged me to cook more healthy home made meals although I wasn’t and still aren’t adverse to the odd fish finger/nuggets meal, everything in moderation after all. Think I introduced cutlery at about 12 months but didn’t force it just made it available and they picked it up eventually. The main thing is to not stress too much about how much they’re eating, they should still be having plenty of that milk at that age and they will get the hang of it eventually.
Now they’re older, one of them will try pretty much anything whereas my younger one is a bit pickier so I wouldn’t say it’s a guarantee of them being good eaters as they get older, for me it’s 50/50, but they both eat a lot better than I did at their ages anyway so I consider that a win for me.
Now they’re older, one of them will try pretty much anything whereas my younger one is a bit pickier so I wouldn’t say it’s a guarantee of them being good eaters as they get older, for me it’s 50/50, but they both eat a lot better than I did at their ages anyway so I consider that a win for me.
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ChloChlo
VIP Member
I have completely BLW fed my child. The only real con, is that out and about is impossible to feed him without getting messy as he is all for feeding himself.
My first 3 children, I dismissed it as claptrap and did traditional puree and jar feeds only. I wish I did BLW, my 4th lad first started with strips of toast with cream cheese then eating whatever I ate.
My first 3 children, I dismissed it as claptrap and did traditional puree and jar feeds only. I wish I did BLW, my 4th lad first started with strips of toast with cream cheese then eating whatever I ate.
xoxo GG
VIP Member
I did BLW with my little girl and it is wholeheartedly the best decision we ever made. My little one is now 16 months, eats anything and literally everything you put in front of her (for now) and uses cutlery to feed herself at each mealtime.
I took a lot of time to read into it and decided whether it would work for us. We decided it was worth the ‘commitment.’ It’s messy, a bit of a slog wondering what to cook every day especially if you eat a lot of the same meals, takes up a lot of time at meal times BUT it has encouraged us to eat as a family from day one where possible, we’ve been a little more conscious of what we put into our own bodies because she has ate the same meals as us from the very first day. I’ve found that we eat a lot healthier now and in turn yes, our food bill did increase a considerable amount but for me it was worthwhile to encourage good eating habits in the future for all of us. Everything in moderation as they say so she has eaten takeaways with us, a happy meal etc as for me, no food is bad. I just monitor salt/sugar intake afterwards.
I don’t think BLW is for everybody BUT I’d 100% recommend reading up on it and deciding if it is something that you’re comfortable with and also willing to commit to. Don’t look too far into what people post on Facebook groups/Instagram either because it can be so false which is disheartening and they play it up to be much more difficult than it actually is.
No need to cook special meals, no need to avoid certain foods, just allow baby to explore and play. Some days it does feel like you’ve cleaned up after 3 lots of messy play and you worry whether baby will ever understand how to do it, but it’s all part of them learning new textures, tastes etc.
I took a lot of time to read into it and decided whether it would work for us. We decided it was worth the ‘commitment.’ It’s messy, a bit of a slog wondering what to cook every day especially if you eat a lot of the same meals, takes up a lot of time at meal times BUT it has encouraged us to eat as a family from day one where possible, we’ve been a little more conscious of what we put into our own bodies because she has ate the same meals as us from the very first day. I’ve found that we eat a lot healthier now and in turn yes, our food bill did increase a considerable amount but for me it was worthwhile to encourage good eating habits in the future for all of us. Everything in moderation as they say so she has eaten takeaways with us, a happy meal etc as for me, no food is bad. I just monitor salt/sugar intake afterwards.
I don’t think BLW is for everybody BUT I’d 100% recommend reading up on it and deciding if it is something that you’re comfortable with and also willing to commit to. Don’t look too far into what people post on Facebook groups/Instagram either because it can be so false which is disheartening and they play it up to be much more difficult than it actually is.
No need to cook special meals, no need to avoid certain foods, just allow baby to explore and play. Some days it does feel like you’ve cleaned up after 3 lots of messy play and you worry whether baby will ever understand how to do it, but it’s all part of them learning new textures, tastes etc.
Definitelyme
VIP Member
Our dog was put down in the summer and she was AMAZING at cleaning up the kids’ mess, especially during BLW. Not sure what we will do when we wean No4
the other dog is the most useless vacuum cleaner ever! I’ll have to actually clear the mess myself!We did traditional weaning with my eldest & started that way with my youngest (9 months). I was absolutely paranoid about solids at first. But recently, like others, I’ve realised how much easier BLW is! We’re doing a bit of a mix, I do spoon feed purées/porridge/yoghurt but my little one also loves feeding herself. She loves pasta, veggies, toast, sandwiches - most things her sister eats which makes my life so much easier!
ADBABE
Chatty Member
Happy I’ve found this thread as I’m struggling with this! With my son (now 2.5) I did strictly purée food at first as i was terrified of the idea of BLW due to choking! So when my daughter turned 6 months at the beginning of this month I was confident we would do that to, however she just refuses the spoon so am kind of being forced into BLW! 
does anyone have any tips or advice on best foods to give her? The thing is I’ve just started slimming world so don’t really think my meals will be appropriate for her
does anyone have any tips or advice on best foods to give her? The thing is I’ve just started slimming world so don’t really think my meals will be appropriate for herDeepsigh2018
VIP Member
I did blw with both of my kids and if I ever have more kids I honestly would not wean them any other way. Its so easy, I remember a great aunt of mine being really impressed that my eldest was feeding himself with a knife and fork at a young age.
I’d say just give it a go and see what happens,I didn’t do it purely because I had twins who were premature so were 6 months actually but only 4 months corrected old when we started to give them taste of food, there’s no way they would be able to coordinate putting a piece of food I their mouth at that age!
I think blw is probably the best way to go if you can and the baby is able to just give it a go and if they don’t like it you can always go down the purée/finger food route!
I don’t understand the whole fussy eater thing with either route am sure there theory behind it but I think it just depends on the baby regardless of what route you go!
I think blw is probably the best way to go if you can and the baby is able to just give it a go and if they don’t like it you can always go down the purée/finger food route!
I don’t understand the whole fussy eater thing with either route am sure there theory behind it but I think it just depends on the baby regardless of what route you go!
caitlinbullen
VIP Member
BLW all the way! Good luck; there’s loads of great advice here !
Bluetomato
Well-known member
I did it with my youngest (now 9) - so a while ago now! We loved it - just cooked a family meal, put some on her tray and let her get on with it! I have some lovely photos of her caked in food and one particular favourite of trying to stick a broccoli florette in her ear. It was definitely more about play, textures, exploring etc at the beginning, but she was soon eating a really wide variety of foods. I used the babyled weaning cookbook, but there seems to be more choice now, as well as Pinterest so the world is your oyster for recipe ideas!
Lauren1994
Well-known member
My daughter is currently 11 months old and she always nearly chokes on lumps of food! I have to purée all her dinners.
I’d suggested giving them smooth purées first, then at 7 months old give them the lumpy/textured purées. If you are strictly led weaning I’d suggest starting them off with things like scrambled egg, over cooked broccoli and cauliflower, banana and raspberries. Always start with the softer foods they can suck before swallowing.
My sister is strictly led weaning, she did with both of her daughters and they eat lumps really well. It’s okay for a baby to cough on food but if your baby goes quiet, red and is clearly choking - be prepared! There’s so many times where I’ve been nervous with my daughter but I think they sense your emotions. Try to relax, be prepared and I even looked up how to deal with a choking baby before giving my daughter solids.
always have water nearby too
your baby will have a natural gag reflex, if the food is too big or they struggle to swallow you will see their tongue poke out where they’re trying to drop the food out of their mouth.. When my daughter does this I squeeze the food so it’s crushed up then feed her it.
I don’t want to worry you, just saying my experience. It works for some babies and others it doesn’t. I think you will know what to do when your baby tries food. You can always start with purées then build up to led weaning. I do both with my daughter, I find that led weaning has taught her more but spoon feeding has made our connection stronger I like communicating with her while she’s eating, I like to have my full attention on her when feeding her and the best stimulation for babies is communication; this also takes her attention away from getting bored and needing the TV on when eating like most people do with their children.
good luck!
I’d suggested giving them smooth purées first, then at 7 months old give them the lumpy/textured purées. If you are strictly led weaning I’d suggest starting them off with things like scrambled egg, over cooked broccoli and cauliflower, banana and raspberries. Always start with the softer foods they can suck before swallowing.
My sister is strictly led weaning, she did with both of her daughters and they eat lumps really well. It’s okay for a baby to cough on food but if your baby goes quiet, red and is clearly choking - be prepared! There’s so many times where I’ve been nervous with my daughter but I think they sense your emotions. Try to relax, be prepared and I even looked up how to deal with a choking baby before giving my daughter solids.
always have water nearby too
your baby will have a natural gag reflex, if the food is too big or they struggle to swallow you will see their tongue poke out where they’re trying to drop the food out of their mouth.. When my daughter does this I squeeze the food so it’s crushed up then feed her it.
I don’t want to worry you, just saying my experience. It works for some babies and others it doesn’t. I think you will know what to do when your baby tries food. You can always start with purées then build up to led weaning. I do both with my daughter, I find that led weaning has taught her more but spoon feeding has made our connection stronger
I like communicating with her while she’s eating, I like to have my full attention on her when feeding her and the best stimulation for babies is communication; this also takes her attention away from getting bored and needing the TV on when eating like most people do with their children.good luck!
Gemgemgemgem
Well-known member
Our first 3 (much older) children were traditionally weaned with purees. Our woopsie daisy baby is 9 months old and we are doing BLW. The mess is incredible but we love it. It is so much better in my opinion.
We did a bit of both. I read that purée just teaches them to swallow whereas BLW teaches them to use their mouths to taste and chew
It can be it daunting so educate yourself on the difference between gagging (very normal) to choking
food before one is just for fun - we would often have a few spoons of purée and then some pepper sticks/ carrot sticks to feel out how he felt
Ella’s kitchen melty puffs also a good halfway house as they disintegrate into nothing but allow them to hold and use mouth eye co ordination
It can be it daunting so educate yourself on the difference between gagging (very normal) to choking
food before one is just for fun - we would often have a few spoons of purée and then some pepper sticks/ carrot sticks to feel out how he felt
Ella’s kitchen melty puffs also a good halfway house as they disintegrate into nothing but allow them to hold and use mouth eye co ordination