Baby led weaning | Imamother

amother

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 9:27 pm

I'm trying to do baby led weaning with my almost 7 month old baby. I cut/ cooked/ served the food based on the instructions. But she is really struggling to pick up any food in any form. Rarely she'll manage to pick it up but then she ends up putting the outside of her hand in her mouth and doesn't get any food near her mouth. She does want to eat it so she cries and yes I've cheated and helped her and that's what she wanted, she calmed down as soon as I helped her get it. So I know it's really against the rules to help her but she's so frustrated that she can't get it into her mouth. Any tips? Or ideas of things I can do so she can get better at getting the food into her mouth?

lucky14

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 9:34 pm

AAAhhh throw the rules out the window. Do what works for you guys. I started off with jarred food and the oatmeal cereal for a short period and then started doing things she could feed herself. Did the same with my first. They are fine. So we did a couple of weeks of spoon feed and then onto baby-led. If your baby needs even more time- that's fine. Don't stress! Talk to your pediatrician if you have any worries but really it's all for fun and if it's not fun then it's not working for you guys.

chocolatecake

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 9:53 pm

At 7 months "real food" is really just a learning experience and not for nutrition. Most of the babies nutrition is coming from bottler or nursing. Put the baby in the highchair and see what happens if they are not ready to pick up food either feed it to them yourself or just drop solid food all together and try again in a few weeks.

amother

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 9:56 pm

My pediatrician is really pressuring me to start solids. Also whenever she sees us eating she tries to grab our food and is not happy if I don't put her in the high chair. So she clearly wants to eat. She's really advanced in the communicating her needs department. Once the food is in her mouth she does amazing with chewing and swallowing so I don't really want to go backwards to pureed food. Can I just help her get real food into her mouth? If I'm helping her eat does it have to be puree?

amother

Plum

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:00 pm

It'll take her time to develop the coordination. Give her a little in her mouth and let her play around with some of it too. Eventually she'll get the hang of it.

dancingqueen

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:03 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Keep giving her purées and also help her eat very small bites of more solid food. 7 months is still the early days of solids. She’ll progress soon enough.

stillnewlywed

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:06 pm

Start with things that are REALLY easy to grasp and put in mouth.
French toast cut into strips, avacado slices, a banana with the peel peeled back a little, corn on the cob...

amother

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:09 pm

stillnewlywed wrote:

Start with things that are REALLY easy to grasp and put in mouth.
French toast cut into strips, avacado slices, a banana with the peel peeled back a little, corn on the cob...

I've tried banana with peel every day this week, she can only hold it with me. Avocado she couldn't pick up she tried for a very long time. I was thinking of corn on the cob but I feel like she'll struggle to hold it like the banana which seemed too heavy for her.

amother

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:11 pm

dancingqueen wrote:

Keep giving her purées and also help her eat very small bites of more solid food. 7 months is still the early days of solids. She’ll progress soon enough.

I never gave her puree so far she had boiled chicken, whole banana, avocado slices, and cooked carrots. She eats them very well she just struggles to pick it up and then struggles to get it from her hand to her mouth. I either do hand over hand or if I pick it up she'll shove my hand to her face and eat it off my fingers.

stillnewlywed

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:14 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

A small chunk of corn on the cob won't be too heavy. Also if she is having a hard time picking up the avacado because it is too mushy, you can coat it in baby oatmeal so it's easier to grasp. You can also do a prefilled spoon of something thick (yogurt mixed with oatmeal) and put it in her hand and let her eat it herself. Well cooked broccoli florets are also amazing.
Please note - it is perfectly okay to cheat! I do one baby led meal per day, but if I'm in a rush in the morning or whatever I'm totally fine with spoon feeding. If it's getting stressful for you, it is not worth it! You can always start again in a month or so.
Good luck!

lucky14

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:15 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Have you asked your pediatrician? I'm not an expert but I would continue doing what you are doing but also put food on her tray so she has the opportunity to pick it up and play with it and hopefully practice putting it in her mouth. Encourage her trying to feed herself but give her food if that's what she wants.

amother

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:30 pm

lucky14 wrote:

He doesn't care either way he just wants her eating. He said puree, baby led weaning something in between whatever I want. I always put the food on the tray and I let her try. When she gets frustrated I do hand over hand or pick it up and let her shove my hand to her mouth. But I keep encouraging her to pick it up and she does try the whole time. But if I don't also give her food she cries. I was the one who really wanted to do baby led weaning.

stillnewlywed

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 10:31 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

You're doing fine, don't worry! As long as you don't put your hand or spoon into her mouth you're following the rules perfectly Smile

Fave

Mon, Jul 27 2020, 11:59 pm

Honestly - I don’t get this. I have a 7 month old and she’s being happily spoon-fed mashed bananas, cereal, chicken/vegetable purée.

Feeding time has become a real bonding experience for us.

OP, you were probably also spoon fed as a baby and lived to tell the tale. What is this new-age method of turning everything on its head?

avrahamama

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 12:26 am

Feed the baby. After she's somewhat satisfied then you can let her try to feed herself. Maybe she's anxious to eat and then has trouble feeding herself.

I don't know what the "rules" are. I'd assume the rules are make sure baby eats and it's a satisfying and positive experience.

amother

Plum

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 12:46 am

Fave wrote:

It's totally a "you do you" thing. I started with purees with my first and it was a pain. Always fighting for the spoon, spilling stuff everywhere, needing to be sitting with him to feed him (plus nursing so spending hours and hours just feeding him) and he had a hard time learning to chew. Now with my second I do baby led weaning and love it! Park her in a high chair, put some food on the tray and I can wash dishes while I talk to her about what she's eating. She chews well, swallows well, loves eating and it's a total win.

amother

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 12:53 am

Just to clarify the reason I wanted to do baby led weaning is because I had issues with purees with my older kids. I know I sound like a brand new mother but I'm not lol. One of my kids couldn't eat real food for a very long time because she was so used to puree being shoved in her mouth. Also it took my kid a long time to learn to self feed. I figured this way I would cut out those issues.

My concerns I guess are does doing a half way method undo all that. Will she never learn to eat if I'm helping. Seems everyone says that it's ok to help her and let her try at the same time. That's all I needed to hear.

amother

Tue, Jul 28 2020, 12:53 am

amother [ Red ] wrote:

FYI - Corn is a choking hazard.

Eating corn off the cob is super popular in baby led weaning, no one ever discusses it being a choking hazard. Why do you say it is?