Crinkle cutter worked for us!

My toppingest tip would be to remember to eat with your baby - just bring them into your normal mealtime, so they've got something to follow. If you plonk the steamed veg in front of them and sit back expectantly watching every fiddle and nibble, you're creating performance anxiety.

We just started over here so I hardly feel right about sharing a tip, but I wanted to repeat the important fact... THEY GAG... a lot.... so calm down about it already.

And Eli spit things out for more than 1.5 months. If he didn't gag on it (rare), he ruminated on it before spewing it all over the place.

Eventually they get it and it will all work itself out and at nearly 8 months Eli at least tries to eat anything set in front of him and a lot more of it goes in that it used to (a lot of it is also dropped on the floor), but he almost never gags anymore.

LOLOLOL Nutmeg, only having started didn't stop me creating A Whole Entire Blog so your contribution is warmly appreciated, believe me.

My tip would be to dish up baby's food first and leave it to cool (or in the fridge) while you dish up everyone else's so that it is ready for them to eat at the same time and no tantrums cause "mummy has food and I don't!"

Also, if you are having mashed potato, put it on a plate of its own, spread it thinly and criss cross it so that the air can get around it, it cools really quickly like this.

when they gag, which they will a lot at first, do very over the top loud chomping faces at them. it seems to distract them from the gagging and they will copy you and go back to chewing. the worst thing is to have a panic face on while they gag. and yes, people will think you're a loon for loudly going 'nyam nyam nyam etc..' while your poor starving baby 'chokes.'

also, whenever you offer something new be very very excited about it. have a taste and do a loud (of course) YUMMMMM!! i sooo see the difference between me doing this and dd getting excited to know what the new fab thing is, compared to friends who give their baby a new food then sit holding their breath with a nervous look on their face in case baby doesn't like it. baby then thinks oh heck what's this, she looks worried, i'm worried, blardy hell i'll just leave it thanks...and chucks it over board.

We started in with finger foods when Nij hit six months. We've only been on the trail for less than two months, but there are a few things that have made a difference to us.

In the very earliest days Nij would store huge amounts of food in his tiny mouth -- I assume in preparation for the event when we'd forget to feed him for days on end. If he'd get laughing huge, jam-packed bits of broc, potato, nectarine, whatever would come tumbling out. I'd read about other babes doing the same thing and being able to clear out the excess so there was no fear of choking, a bit of gagging, and I didn't worry that he was never going to get it right. He spent a fair amount of time laying down or falling over in those days, so, keen to avoid choking we would manually sweep out the roof of his mouth, particularly before bedtime. While he still stores the odd fragment, mostly his mouth is empty at the end of the meal now, the bits of food presented to him have pieces missing and the final evidence of solids being introduced is undeniable.

Just this week we bought a plastic pelican type bib. I cannot believe what a difference it makes to how I feel about meal times. For six weeks I've gone through meals with a thin (or think) patina of grunge smeared across the back of my hand as I retrieved the full meal from the crevice between Nij's legs and his chair over and over again when his tray had been cleared (of course, surreptitiously so it hasn't become a game). We've had this funny little bib for four meals and when it is placed around my boy's neck he immediately reaches inside for what treats may be found. Of course, he then discovers he has to get to work filling it, but most of his food ends up right in that little pocket, within his easy reach and Papa Nij and I can enjoy our meals.

And...here in Canada we see Public Health Nurses. Before our most recent visit Papa Nij and I prepared our most honest, yet innocuous answers for the inevitable questions. "Yes. We've started him on solid foods. He seems to really enjoy broccoli, asparagus, various meats and nectarines. Yes, we realize that iron may be an issue which is why we've focused on dark green vegetables and meats and he is still breastfeeding. No, we have no idea how much he eats in tablespoons. We really haven't paid much attention to that because we understood that solid food at this point was more for the introduction than for the calories." We left off mentioning the method to save the grief but everything else they wanted and needed to know was there. And frankly they didn't ask whether we let him feed himself or I would have reconsidered full disclosure.

Actually...we haven't told many people that we've gone straight to self-feeding but once they see Nij eat and start asking questions, they get a great deal of information about a method of "introducing solids" (that's what we call it here) that takes advantage of a child's great desire to explore. And it really is fun.

Lazy, slow meals - think continental, sociable, laid back meal times, dipping in and out of various courses (the Nome likes to have a few tastes of pudding about 3/4 of the way through her meal, and then goes back to eating her now yoghurt-and-fruit covered pasta). I tend to give her her meal first, and chat while finishing dishing up ours, etc. It's good, as it's made us slow down and really enjoy family mealtimes.

Oh, and be careful of evangelising. This is not because I'm not an enormous fan of BLW - I love it. It's just that the next time your friends/family see your child in an eating situation will be the first time in 2 months your child gags/chokes/chucks every single item of food on the floor/refuses to entertain a mouthful. That same evening he/she will eat a vat of pasta without dropping so much as a morsel. But with no witnesses...

Always have a camera at the ready, some of the most fantastic pictures we have of cheeky have been mid meal. Beetroot lipstick is a personal favourite of mine!

Also invest in a deep sided bowl, and don't put too much in there in one go (thanks for that advice Aitch) It prevents the entire meal being windscreen wipered off the plate onto the floor.

To take almost no notice of early apparent likes and dislikes. No, that didn't quite come out right, what I mean is not to assume that today's, or this week's, absolute hits or downright disgusts are going to continue that way. IzzyMouse is now 14 months and still surprises me with what she'll eat one time and ditch the next. Keep offering as wide a variety of the stuff you eat yourselves, with maybe a little alternative as backup stashed in the freezer for emergencies, cos even after refusing carrot for four months your LO may well decide to give it another go...

I haven't started yet but do have a question about getting started...

What temperature are the veg? I mean, cold broccoli sounds gross. Do you just cool it down enough so they can hold it or are the veg actually just room temperature?

Thanks
Claire

aha. well, here's the thing. cold broccoli sounds gross To You. for all you know, it may be your baby's favourite food.

so there's another tip - chuck out your own food prejudices before you start BLW, because your baby has only ever tasted milk at this stage so it's all new to him.

That said, i used to just let it cool a little, so that Babybear could hold it. However, she's certainly had cold broccoli for breakfast on the odd occasion and not been given to complain.

If it's a vegetable, I run it under cool water, because i'm usually too behind the ball to be prepared ahead of time... so not only does the littlest bubs get cold broccoli he gets wet broccoli, and cold wet zucchini and cold wet sweet potatoes.. etc etc.

Aside from being slightly more slippery, he appreciates them just fine.

Haven't started yet but think we are going to. Our wee boy is five months and really showing signs that he is keen.

Is it really antiBLW to puree for a couple of weeks or should we just be brave and go straight to finger foods?

it's just pointless, to be honest. purees don't teach them anything about finger foods, so just jump right in with a bit of steamed carrot. if he doesn't want it, don't fret, but if he does you'll soon know all about it. you should look here for more support from women at the same stage as you.

Thanks for that. I will try carrots tommorrow and see how we go!!

Breadcrumbs. Have a stash in the fridge for thickening any food to a hand-holding consistency. Also for adding to Meatballs, Lentil & Cheese Wedges and a myriad of other just-on-the-too-runny-side of things.

Forget about the concept of baby food - offer whatevers going to go in your mouth once they get the hang of things. It makes life much pleasanter to share a picnic/ food samples at the farmers market/ anything that can be scrounged at Waitrose, than taking a specific meal.
Also - Silly Billyz long sleeved bibs are a wonder. Wash and tumble dry with no stains, and without the added issue of tipping the pelican bib up over your head in our case.
Oh and food doesn't have to be eaten in separate courses. As a scummy mummy I dish up his pudding whilst we are still eating when signs are shown that it is required without removing the first course, and often the first starts going back in after some pudding

I'm sooo glad I'm not the only one who doesn't remove one course before the next!

I say that it helps her to appreciate all foods without thinking that desert is a treat that she has to get through the main first for. Besides, it's only because of how we are brought up that we decide to not mix meals, she doesn't know that it should be "yuck" it's all food and she enjoys it!

Ha - the Nome is exactly the same. It's almost as if she wants her palate refreshed (think sorbet between courses), and then thinks "ooh, pasta - how novel" after a few spoons of yoghurt. What I love is that it's all her decision, and we sit back and marvel.

Just three weeks into the BLW and still a little anxious about how much littleun's actually eating (check those nappies!) having stuck to Gina Ford by the letter (only from five months not four as her then book was - a bit more DOH compliant in the latest issue I think!).

No. one (nearly three) was brought up on broccoli flavoured yogurt - ie he moved on to the yogurt while we sneakily shovelled in the rest of his main course!

Already realise that we'll still be shovelling food into no. one when he's 16 while little bro (6 months next week) is already in control! It's great - but hubby has already declared that broccoli is no longer on the menu as it took him 30 mins to remove it from the (marvellous Ikea) highchair - bless!

PS how does the BLW B actually eat yogurt then?

Alice, I've seen yoghurt eaten in the following ways: licked off fingers/hands/wrists/bibs; slurped off pre-loaded spoon handed to babe by parent; licked out of bowl either on the table or held at that day's preferred angle (which is why greek yoghurt is good - has greater staying power when waved around); and most recently, sucked off carrot/potato/organix cheesy puffs/whatever handy leftovers are lying around to dip.

We got on best with the loaded spoon method for months, but as with all BLW go with whatever works for you.

Oh, and I know there are many many posts on quantity, but do your best to chill out on that score. After three everyone, until they're one, it's just for fun... Honestly. Milk is the main attraction. And so much comes out the other end almost entirely untouched by the digestive process that it becomes obvious that eating really is just for practice in the beginning.

Have fun!

I know one and fun rhyme, but I think that it is also "one" because it doesn't mean 12 months, I think it is more upto 23 months, if you get me.

I haven't really tried Tink on yoghurt yet, but she has found dips when we've eaten out and she just gets her hands in, she's no found how to suck things off of her fingers (lots of demonstrations later).

I know it is a big debate over spoons or not, but I think (IMHO) it goes into the if they can't put it in their own mouth they're not ready.

Thanks Mij
We'll try the yogs next week when we hit the 6 month mark! (that is if big brother willing to share any of his top favourite food stuff!)
I think I've got a fair bit of Gina baggage still to shed - her blurb on depleating iron stores and dropping milk feeds by 7 months is still imprinted on my sub-conscious!

I make lunchtime the messiest meal of the day (pumpkin, beetroot etc) and we eat it outside. Oh god, I just heard her poo and it's been 5 days since the last one...

We've been at this just a short while - only this week started to give Bruno food every day but I find that he's keener if we just plonk him in a chair with some food & get on with our own. He doesn't swallow yet but is more interested if we ignore him.

Does that seem odd?

Unfortunately, at lunchtime with just the two of us its a little harder...

Ours is the same - she always eats better when we're ignoring her. Very strange, but...

Performance pressure I guess. I put the food on his highchair (arrived yesterday!!) and let him play while I walk around, eat mine and I just watch out the corner of my eye.

Can't say he was too impressed with the courgettes yesterday though!

Only been at it for a few weeks, but our Top Tip so far would be to cut up toast into 4 triangles rather than strips. We found that Baby Bumble would grap a strip of toast and it would just bend and fall apart whilst he tried to shove it into his mouth. The little triangles are great though, he has quite a bit to hold on to while nibbling at the corners, plus it's easier to lick the cream cheese off this way ;)

Thanks for that tip. I'm going to try that out in the week when we have some bread as soldiers are only interesting if covered in egg!

hey, this is my first post here - i've been lurking since LO was about 2mths old - so excited about it all and now i am a bit beside myself!

i need some high calorie ideas for my little sausage... she's not gaining weight as my HV would like... probably due to her high activity level!! She's been crawling since she was 5 and a half months and is now pulling up on the furniture, so she's about 2months ahead of herself. which would be great if it wasn't causing the weight issues...

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated, as without them i'm gonna have to resort to the mush ideas my HV, mother and friends dished out - and i'm not ready to give up on BLW as she is doing soooo well feeding herself and isn't keen on being spoon fed.

she's nearly 7mths old but like i said prob needs the calorie intake of a 9mth old. crazy.

thanks so much :D
Han x

lovely to meet you, han. you could also post on our forum as well, at the moment it's on a different bit of the world wide internet while we get our Proper Site us and running, that's why this place looks a bit unloved.

tell me a bit about the weight thing... is she breastfed? she is gaining weight, right, just not putting it on the way your HV's charts want? are they the right charts for her, first of all?

weight's not my best subject, i stopped getting dd weighed because i went through hell with bfing at the start and i wish i'd trusted my instinct a bit more. with dd's weight, i'd say she's lengthened and thinned out and then chubbed up again over time while she's been going through growht spurts, and she's fine and healthy and bright-eyed.

high calorie-wise, avocado, cheeses, creamy sauces on pasta, stir oils into yoghurt, nut butter other than peanut (but not if your concerned about allergies)...

what is the HV suggesting you feed her that will have more calories? carrot mush? what's her solution?

I have to be honest - My HV clearly has no idea of BLW. SHe actually saw the wriggler chomping away on her cauliflower cheese and suggested cutting out the "finger foods" in preference of the mush.

I wouldn't be bothered but for the sleep issues. I have given her rice pudding for breakfast and dinner and she seems to be sleeping better (although it's not necessarily healthier for her)

Made a decision to ignore the "follow-on milk" although i can't take it back as DH has helpfully already opened the box. hmm. i think he wanted to know what it looked like.

She HAS put on weight, but "only" (?) 120g in 7weeks. it looks like nothing in the red book on the graph (the way she has plotted it anyway - do all HVs plot with a football sized dot instead of a x?? it really bothers me as an ex-math teacher, i start itching to correct them), and i compared it with the proper BF ones that you can download and it looks to be the real deal. Aparently my sisters and i were slow gainers too. I don't want her to chubb out like a marshmallow, so i'm gonna take it easy. Just make sure she has pudding rice (and fruit) at dinner time, to help her sleep (i need it, no other reason) and continue with BLW, stepping up on some higher calorie things i guess, making more effort to make sure she really does get a "proper" meal

I'm the same with having babe weighed - only did it this time since HV insisted after i mentioned (at BF group) she wasn't sleeping great and she noticed the activity levels.

It's nice to know that she's not abnormal - i haven't met a single mum with a kid like mine - people are always shocked about what she's doing, and i always feel a bit embarrased (silly isn't it)

I have been collecting recipes and stuff, so once she's given me a few good nights sleep on the mush (rice pudding onlY!!) i'll get back into it.

She is BF and this whole thing has had me doubting my supply and feeling guilty that she has maybe been hungrier than she should be. i don't know.

She loves pasta (penne) and one of the creche workers at my local childrens centre was shocked to see her tucking in to (my) tuna pasta... she actually said she was doing very well considering i hadn't mushed it up. People really underestimate babies don't they. They always look at me funny when i ask them to give her the fruit whole rather than mush it up and spoon feed - like i'm a complete weirdo.

arrrghhh. I got a bit of sleep last night, so i'm feeling more human, more rational, and more able to deal with this in my way than what everyone else has suggested.

My mum has actually been extremely supportive. She's probably one of the few who has seen how good wrggler is at "finger foods" and gets that mushing things up would only be a step backwards. She even suggested giving her her banana whole rather than mashing it into the pudding! and admitted the only reason for spoon feeding is so that you know how much they're getting and you can check they are getting it.

Is there any books around on BLW that i can buy and thrust under my HVs nose if she decides to check up on us again within the next few weeks?

Thanks for the support and comments - didn't realise there was a forum :s i will post there next time!!

Apologies for the long post i needed to vent.

Han x

Han - just do what I do - don't go to the HV!! I know my LO is healthy, he eats as much as me some days, and other days hardly anything. He's happy and sleeps from 7pm till about 4.30am, then has some milk and sleeps with us till 7am. He's the happiest, most content of all the babies I know (and I sit feeling smug while they all talk about the difficulties trying to get their babies to eat lumps!)

Hang in there.
Quokka

AMEN, Han.
sometimes you just need to get it off your chest, don't you? have a look on the forum (it's only new so that's why it and the blog aren't better integrated), there's a thread running where people are offering virtual pats on the shoulder to the mothers of non-sleepers.

Hi Han,

I would say two things: who is claiming your LO is underweight and who is saying she should be eating like a 9 mth old?

My babe also started cruising the furniture at 7 months (took him to 11 mths to get his balance and actually walk though) so he was also very active, but then again, crawling is a lot of work and that's what other babies are doing at 7 months. So I don't buy that 'she should be eating like a 9 mth old' statement.

If it is something that you have decided I would just let it go because it is putting you under a lot of pressure to 'get food in' and that just leads to stressful mealtimes.

And re: underweight children. I think there are very few children who are underweight (at least in affluent countries). Some children eat a lot and others eat like birds. They all grow and have enough energy. Some kids sleep 12 hours a night, my LO gets by fine on 10 (unfortunately!).

Children do not starve themselves, they just couldn't, so all you need to do is offer a range of healthy foods and let your child decide what and how much to eat. Once you see what your role is (offering the healthy stuff) and what her role is (to eat it - or not) you give the control back to the babe and that is where it belongs.

Don't listen to any HVs, grandmas or MILs who tell you different! Your child knows best about how much food it needs to have enough energy and feel good. And if you take his/her lead you will be fine.

Sorry if this has come over a bit strong but I feel like it really needed to be said

Take care,
Lor

also, who's really to say what a nine-month-old eats versus a 7-month-old? as it happens i think dd ate more at 7 than 9, so i don't know what that would mean...

I had similar problems with Euan's weight (detailed somewhere on this site). At a couple of points he actually lost weight rather than gaining. We are under a paediatrician becaus they wanted to check there wasn't an underlying problem - nothing showed up n tests. And everyone has now come to the conclusion that he is just skinny - like I was as a baby. At the moment he is meandering between the 0.4 and 2nd percentile - at one point he was off the bottom of the chart, even though he was between the 9th and 25th when he was born.

Has your little one dropped by 2 centiles? If not, there is really nothing to worry about. They only think about referring when that happens - and even then it isn't necessarily an indication of a problem, just that there *might* be a problem.

As regards food, I tried giving high fat foods because along with his low weight, Euan ate practically nothing at the time. ut itdidn't seem to make much difference. he seemed to eat more and gain weight when he was ready to, and not much I did made any difference to that.

Katy

The best indicator of weight is "bracelets" if your child has bracelets at the joints of their arms and legs there is nothing wrong with their weight.

What a great blog, really fun to read.

Anyhow, T is now 10.5 months and we have been doing a mixture of blw and spooning in stuff since five and a half months. I wanted to go down the blw route but have such a big hungry little man and he would scream at the frustration of not being able to get enough food in so at the same time as he would mash broccoli up his nose I would place bits in his mouth for him. These days he is mostly in control. For sogy/runny stuff I load the spoon and he puts it in (and under and round) his mouth himself. In the early days I would make mashed potato, veg and fish balls which could be squidged between his fingers and (mostly) eaten. Now he eats pretty much everything (accidentally gave him really hot thai curry which he really liked), particularly strong flavours.

Babies don't need bland food. I wouldn't eat mild cheese, why should he?

Top tip to avoid mess: get a dog. Ours have a symbiotic relationship with our son; he throws food on the floor, they make sure I don't get cross by removing the evidence ;-)