My son is 9 months old and I've been doing BLW since he was just over 6 months.  I do a combination of purees and solids and he loves it.  I think it's really important to get babies used to feeding themselves and it lets them explore food and tastes and textures all on their own.  it is also very important for their fine motor skills.  Watching him learn to pick up one pea at a time was painful at first but within a couple of weeks he had mastered it.  How else would he have learned that skill?  At first he did GAG a lot - but it is so important to remember that gagging is NOT choking - it's meant to prevent choking.  It might be scary to see it, but they truly will stop gagging very soon after starting. Also, a baby's gag reflex is MUCH further ahead on the tongue in order to prevent choking.  The sooner you start this the better so that the gag reflex is far ahead on the tongue. 

One thing about this way of feeding is that it isn't necessarily easier than preparing your own purees simply because big chunks of food don't really freeze well.  It isn't always possible to make a bunch of food ahead, but I've gotten much better at buying and preparing things that he can eat that don't require a lot of preparation and we're almost at the point where he can eat whatever we do. 

I have recently baked him some very healthy gluten-free, sugar free muffins (sweet potato and some avocado banana ones) and he loves those.  Avocados on their own are a great food too, very easily portable and he loves things like blueberries (cut in half!), peas, sweet potatoes, cereals (gluten free brown Rice Krispies and gluten free sugar free "Cheerios"), pieces of cheese, melon, peaches, apples (soak in some hot water to soften the pieces), and he'll eat an entire pear in about 2 minutes LOL

I highly recommend this way of feeding to anyone considering it, and I believe the sooner you start the better.

Steph wrote:

Hi!  I would love to revitalize this topic!  My DD is turning 6 months next week and I am planning on doing BLW with her because it just makes sense to me.

Is anyone just starting BLW or has been doing it for a few weeks / months now?  I'd love to hear your stories and the types of foods you started with :)

We have been doing BLW for more than 6 months now and my baby girl who is one year and 2 week old, uses the spoon very well (not only to eat but to make "beautiful" art with the food all over the kitchen once she is done eating :S ).
Only advice i would give you is to be patience as it can get pretty messy and even thought i know i'm doing the right thing for my baby's development, i do get bored of cleaning the floor 3 times a day, specially because my little one would eat mostly soups and well... you can imagine lol
Good luck and congratulations 

Jennifer wrote:My son is 9 months old and I've been doing BLW since he was just over 6 months.  I do a combination of purees and solids and he loves it.  I think it's really important to get babies used to feeding themselves and it lets them explore food and tastes and textures all on their own.  it is also very important for their fine motor skills.  Watching him learn to pick up one pea at a time was painful at first but within a couple of weeks he had mastered it.  How else would he have learned that skill?  At first he did GAG a lot - but it is so important to remember that gagging is NOT choking - it's meant to prevent choking.  It might be scary to see it, but they truly will stop gagging very soon after starting. Also, a baby's gag reflex is MUCH further ahead on the tongue in order to prevent choking.  The sooner you start this the better so that the gag reflex is far ahead on the tongue. 

One thing about this way of feeding is that it isn't necessarily easier than preparing your own purees simply because big chunks of food don't really freeze well.  It isn't always possible to make a bunch of food ahead, but I've gotten much better at buying and preparing things that he can eat that don't require a lot of preparation and we're almost at the point where he can eat whatever we do. 

I have recently baked him some very healthy gluten-free, sugar free muffins (sweet potato and some avocado banana ones) and he loves those.  Avocados on their own are a great food too, very easily portable and he loves things like blueberries (cut in half!), peas, sweet potatoes, cereals (gluten free brown Rice Krispies and gluten free sugar free "Cheerios"), pieces of cheese, melon, peaches, apples (soak in some hot water to soften the pieces), and he'll eat an entire pear in about 2 minutes LOL

I highly recommend this way of feeding to anyone considering it, and I believe the sooner you start the better.

Hi Jennifer, are you able to share the muffin recipe you referred to?  Sounds great!

Thanks everyone for your tips :)  I have read the BLW book, it was great and made total sense!  We are still BFing primarily and my LO will sit with us in her highchair at the table 'for fun'.  She loves doing what we do!  Last night she gummed away at a wedge of boiled potatoe.  Tonight she gummed away at a banana.  I don't yet want to give her too much so I'm starting with bits and pieces here and there.  My DH is also starting to feel more comfortable as he watches her learn how to pick up and manage a slippery wedge of potatoe and get it to her mouth :)

I found this site tonight with some great BLW recipes http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning-recipes.html

 

Hi Ladies,

Thought I'd share a little BLW milestone my daughter is going through. We started solids back when she was about 5 months old, rice cereal to begin with, but very quickly stopped because it was causing her too much constipation. We moved right into avocados (puree), then other beginner foods as well (sweet potato, carrots, the usual)

She'd always wanted to feed herself from the get go, so I'd always end up letting her play with her own spoon (with a little puree on it).

3 weeks ago, she started feeding herself cheerios, which she loved! Then 2 weeks ago, she caught her first cold, and during that week, she refused all solids, which seemed normal to me, so I didn't care.

Then this week, we tried to go back to solids, with me feeding her puree, what do I get? A full on strike on puree foods! Turns out, she's decided that she wants nothing to do with me feeding her, and that she's going to do it all by herself...so I just cut up food in tiny pieces and let her figure it out on her own, so far she's doing pretty ok...she's just turned 8 months

I had never intended to do BLW but since my daughter has decided to do this, I just kind of go with the flow, and I'm really enjoying it! Yes, I've been lectured by many people about how irresponsible I am, including giving her own small portion of corn on the cob (I boil it long enough that it becomes very soft, and she will go at it for a good half hour or so, this gives my husband and I the time we need to have a quiet dinner!) My Chinese mother has a near heart attack everytime she sees her granddaughter eat, and my Scottish mother in law is concerned that her granddaughter is not getting enough to eat...

So what if I'm a "lazy" mom as labeled by other people, but heck if my daughter wants to feed herself, why the hell not? All I need to do is cut up some of my own dinner and let her at it!