Baby Led Weaning

Hi, I have done BLW with both my babies. DS1 is now 3 and DS2 is 14 months. People were very sceptical, especially with DS1 when it was not well known. My plunket nurse clearly thought I was mad, I had to start lying to her about what I was doing, thought she was going to call CYF! Now everywhere we go people compliment me on how well (and how much) the boys eat. They still go through fussy phases like all kids do but generally have a try anything attitude. Makes life so much easier when at other peoples houses or out and about, never have to carry "kids" food with us, they just eat what everyone else is having. We try to eat meals together as a family (they learn from watching you) when we can but sometimes it's too hard during the week as DH and I both work fulltime so by the time we have picked the kids up from daycare and come home it's only an hour till bedtime during which time we also have to baths etc, doesn't leave much time for meal preparation. If I am organised I have something ready we can just heat and eat, otherwise DH and I eat later - on those occasions I make loads of food so we can have leftovers the next night or use the leftovers for weekend lunches as a family.

The key is not to worry about how much the kids are eating. At first it will seem like nothing is going in but you'll be surprised how much turns up in their nappies. Be prepared to throw away a lot in the first few weeks while you get a feel for how much they will have, just offer small amounts at first, you can always give them more if they seem happy. Be prepared also for meals to take a long time while they experiment with textures etc - DS2 will happily sit in the highchair for 30-40 mins playing with his food. It is all important for learning about food, don't think of it as wasted time. Have a magazine handy!

It is messy at first - if you have carpet invest in a sheet of plastic from the The Warehouse to put underneath the high chair. We have wooden floors so that's easier.

And don't be afraid to mix and match - if I am giving DS2 yoghurt or weetbix I spoon feed it because I just can't handle finding hardened weetbix on the walls etc and yoghurt is so messy even when spoon feeding.

I have the BLW book by Gill Rapley and highly recommend it, I still reads bit of it from time to time.

Feel free to ask me anything, I feel like a BLW guru as I have put so many friends on to it now!!! Aside from breastfeeding I think it is the best thing I have ever done for my children.

Good luck and have fun!

P x

ETA: I am assuming Fergus is 6 months + - it is not recommended that you start before then :)

Edited by pumpkino - 14 May 2013 at 8:28am