Weaning

We do purees and BLW. We starts with suuuper soft finger foods with BLW like broccoli boiled to shit it just meant that as soon as it hit her lips it would just fall apart. Rusks are pretty good, as soon as they get slightly wet their like suuuuper soggy so minimal effort is needed to eat them. Tbh chocking is a good thing. It let's them learn how to dislodge stuck food. We do purees 1-2x a day and BLW in-between. I spend 1 day a month prepping food for the month and freezing it into portions. It's been a lofe saver. We introduce allergens either at breakfast or lunch so we don't need to panic about them in the middle of the night. If you can have a chat with you HV as they can give you pointers or drop me a message and I can share more about how we do it as a FTM

Hi, I'm doing purees and textured lumpy foods atm like weetabix with banana for example and sticking to breakfast only. I will be increasing to 2 meals and then 3 as time goes on...however I also have this same fear of choking but it's good for them as it gives them the skill like ebony said. Maybe try with finger foods snacks that melt in the mouth like Iittle puffs and see how you go perhaps?

Hi I'm doing combi, I am also terrified. Will only do BLW woth BD. I'd recommend doing a first aid course or even getting basic skills from the hv so you know the signs when you need to get involved. I always give food that melt in the mouth... quavers, melty puffs, broccoli, mash, toast etc. Hope this helps xx

as mum’s with anxieties we really underestimate our babies abilities! honestly, my boy was only actually given purees at the very start to get him used to tastes and texture, as i knew that i wanted to lead with blw. i honestly thought i’d be more afraid of choking than i have been! you can use apps like solid starts or even just google to find out how best to prepare foods based on age and you would genuinely be surprised with how smart our little ones can be when it comes to the risk of choking! i thought that i would be scared if he ever gagged etc that he was choking but genuinely, whenever he has gagged on a food it has been as plain as day that he isn’t choking and he himself has resolved the issue without me needing to get involved! remember that gagging is 9/10 because of the shock of the textures/flavours and as above, really helps teach them an important skill. i think the best way to ease your anxieties could be a combination of the following: (1/2)

mashing up your own food with a fork so it’s a lumpy type texture and honestly just giving it a go and trusting your baby. as somebody has said above, trying finger foods that melt really easily could also be a great way (melty carrot puffs as an example) and mashed up foods is a great way to start and then you can go from there. i know it’s not the most helpful saying this but you really need to try your best to trust baby because they are a lot smarter than what we give them credit for. you may initially panic after a cough or a gag but after literally two seconds you will realise that baby is not choking and is fine! if baby is accepting puree fine then it could be a shout to introduce something like a melty puff or extremely boiled bit of veg alongside the puree in the meantime. personally, we will be upping our son to two meals a day from monday as he’s been having one at the moment☺️ you’ve got this mama🫶🏼

I do combi. 3 meals a day. Not going to lie - whenever it’s BLW I’m watching like a hawk but she’s very good at spitting up any bit she’s bitten off too big.

I felt like this too but got a lot of reassurance from a great Facebook support group and now baby pretty much eats what we eat… well I mean most of it goes on the floor at the moment 😂 but now I understand more about babies’ gag reflex, I feel so much more confident with it. Let me know if you want me to share the group.

I second @Jodie.. Solid starts is really good app on how to serve certain chunky foods. I started with purees and gradually progressed to more lumpy/chunky texture, it took about 4 weeks and now he is independently picking up and eating finger foods. I know its sooo scary to start with but the more you do it more comfortable you get at it💪

It’s helped me to not think of it as weaning (because milk is the primary nutrition until they’re 1 so should remain the priority) but to think of it as ‘exploring food’. So it’s more of a sensory experience in my mind. Sometimes I offer food once, others two or three times. Whatever I’m feeling in the moment and whatever my son shows interest in. I am doing BLW and started really slowly with one food…literally a single piece of broccoli and built up. Now when I offer something I haven’t done before and feel nervous, I offer something I’ve given a few times before as it kind of helps me feel calmer as if I feel he’s struggling with the new thing, I swap it for the familiar thing and try again another day. I also find eating at the same time as him really helps as I don’t just stare at him eating and he seems to enjoy eating at the same time as me. You are not failing! Starting solids is a major thing and can feel scary! I still feel nervous when he gags and coughs.

I also am part of a UK BLW Facebook group which is great. Lots of helpful advice (sorry don’t know if there’s one for traditional weaning but there probably is).

@Holly please can you share the group🥰

@Chelsey https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1AZgb1Qq8w/?mibextid=K35XfP