r/BabyLedWeaning

FTM. I got some smock/long sleeve bibs for baby and also silicone bibs. I have a 15% baby so he is small and most of these smocks type bibs and actual bibs are too large on him so he seems to get food that leaks through the neck hole and ruins his clothes underneath. The smocks are a disaster too because it seems like most of these are one standard size so the long arms bother him so much and it bunches up so he can't effectively move his arms and eat. The silicone bibs he thinks are delicious and chewy so he lifts it and tries to eat it and all the food leaks out of them.

Currently I have resorted to have 3-4 throwaway onesies for him to wear where they are meant to get stained and wet and I just wash it and get rid of it when he ages out. I also sometimes strip him down to diaper only but I live in Canada and I can only do that probably for another month before my baby freezes being naked at home so it's not a long term option.

What are you guys putting on your baby because the food stains are ruining everything!!

How many oz of water did your pediatrician say your 6month old+ baby can drink per day since starting solids?
I know every practice is different. I know breast milk and formula are still the main sources of nutrition. I know excessive water is not good for the baby due to dilution of sodium. I know all that stuff already lol. I’m just curious what other people are doing based on what their ped recommended if any lol

My 6 month old is a pretty great eater. He knows how to bite off food (often time pieces that are wayyyyy too big). He begs for food. He holds food in his hand great.

I want to provide him iron rich foods and steak seems like a great option. But, every time I try it he bites off huge chunks. Chunks that even I would have a mouth-full of. I’ve tried three times and it just seems like such a choking hazard. I thought I made the steak pretty tough? I’m confused how people are doing steak with babies without teeth.

My 7 month old has an EXTREME gag reflex. Anytime I try to give anything outside of milk or SUPER pureed, he gags and throws up as soon as it hits the back of his throat to swallow. This is my second child, my first son could eat like a champ. I could give him things like avocados, bananas, eggs cut into strips, etc. and he would be fine. He had the usual gagging to try to chew and swallow his food but nothing that was this intense as my second born. My second born even throws up and gags when I tried to give him unsweetened applesauce, so it seems like anything with any sort of texture, causes him to gag and throw up. I really liked doing baby Led Weening with my oldest because it made it easier if we went out to restaurants and he could just eat off my plate instead of having to remember to bring jarred food.

Is there any advice for this? Should I call my doctor about this or is it just something some kids go through? Is there something I could do to help him build more of a tolerance so he isn't throwing up every time he eats something?

My baby is turning 7 months old this week. We’ve been doing solids for about a month, and started with baby led weaning and mashed foods on a spoon which she self feeds - and it’s going really well! Very messy, but she’s liked almost everything she’s tried, and manages food well.

However, I’ve really struggled with feeding her out and about. There are a few different issues:

Mess: At home, I don’t worry about mess, and then wipe her down with warm water as soon as she’s finished, and use a bibado bib which I immediately rinse off in the sink. When we’re out and about, the high chairs are usually quite big and rarely have trays, making the bibado less efficient. She often drops her food or her spoon, and I feel very self conscious and like I’m too focused on mess. Wet wipes don’t get her as clean as water either!

High chair: High chairs in public are often too big, they don’t have a foot rest (which I’ve read is importance!), and they don’t have a tray, so her food needs to go directly on the table, but then there’s usually a gap! I’ve also tried feeding her in her pushchair but then the pushchair gets messy.

What to feed: When you’re meeting someone for coffee etc. do you order baby something off the menu? Or do you cook snacks at home and bring them? I’ve tried a few BLW recipes that I guess I could bring out and about, mostly she just has veggies cut into appropriate sizes, toast with toppings, omelette strips, or mashed up versions of what we’re having - which would be hard to transport! I’d love to order stuff for her but never sure about salt content…

I think I’m probably massively overthinking all of this, but any tips for BLW in public, or a walk through of your process, would be really appreciated!

One of the most challenging things about solids has been figuring out how to make non-fruit foods tasty and appetizing for baby without just defaulting to seasoning with salt. I am not really a good cook and don't have a good grasp of how to use other seasonings. I do enjoy the occasional well-cooked meal out at restaurants, but in my own meals at home, I prefer either lightly seasoned with salt or just plain.

As we are starting to get baby used to finger foods, she seems to gravitate towards fruits because those naturally have sugar. She has not been as interested in our offerings of unseasoned/lightly seasoned veggies and meat. I see Solid Starts suggests that babies like big flavors, but I don't know how to do that? I know that there are recipes I could look up, but it feels overwhelming to have to use a recipe for every meal.

Any tips on basic seasoning combos or ways to flavor baby's savory foods that are manageable for a non-cook?

My baby is 9 months old and he does very well with purees and sometimes we mash avocado and other things. We really want him to eat other solids but we are scared of him choking.

We see videos of parents giving things like shredded chicken and honestly cant fathom our baby eating something like that without choking.

Can anyone recommend some simple foods that will help him with chewing and swallowing?

Hello all - I’m going to try summarise this the best I can. My LO is 11 month olds and his solids journey has been difficult. We started with purées at 6 months until he could sit independently which was 8 months old. Since then he has made what I would class as very limited progress. He has never once brought any of the finger food I provide him to his mouth, no matter what it is, it will get played with or thrown immediately on the floor. I’ve tried everything I eat with him I mimick food I try guide his hand but nothing. And with purées I’ve started trying to introduce thicker textures but most foods he downright refuses to even try. He will eat his breakfast which is porridge, he will eat mashed avocado, he will eat yoghurt with mashed fruits, but that’s about it. I visited the GP in the uk as I wanted extra support as I worry he may genuinely need some sort of therapy, they just referred me back to the health visitor for weaning struggles, who I’ve had bad experiences with the health visitor so far. I expressed concerns to the health visitor at his 10 month review, she gave no advice just said he should be eating things like sandwiches now and only on two bottles a day. We tried cutting back his bottles but he still refused foods so all that meant was he was starving. He struggles with water too, he can’t understand any sippy cup or straw cup with tried him with.

Baby's dad has major food allergies - all nuts and peanuts, coconuts, egg, some fruits and chocolate. I've been introducing all of these bar the choccy in the first month of weaning as my GP said the earlier the better. No issues so far but I know allergies tend to develop closer to one year. I know chocolate is unhealthy due to the sugar and fat content, and also has caffeine. On balance, should I give her a bit to hopefully prevent an allergy or leave it til she's older? I thought maybe I could put some cocoa powder into her oatmeal and fruit a couple of mornings a week?

Please be gentle I'm trying my best!

Just as the title says, I am terrified of giving my 9-month-old daughter solids, and I’m hoping to hear from other parents who have been through something similar.
In the beginning, I felt pretty confident. I introduced rice cereal and oatmeal around 4 months, and she loved both and tolerated them really well. We eventually moved on to purées and started introducing some finger foods as well. I used the free version of the Solid Starts app since I don’t really have extra money for the full version (thanks, daycare), so we were learning as we went.
There are definitely foods she has loved, especially things like pancakes, and I felt like we were making good progress.
Then about a month ago, we had two really scary things happen back-to-back.
First, we found out the hard way that she is allergic to peanuts. She broke out in hives and was extremely itchy, so we rushed her to the hospital. She has since had additional skin and blood testing, which also came back positive for a peanut allergy.
Then, shortly after that, she choked on a piece of watermelon rind that she somehow managed to bite off. I had given her the watermelon in the way recommended by Solid Starts, but she managed to get a piece of the rind and actively choked on it. We performed back blows and thankfully got it out. That experience really shook us. We took a break from finger foods and went back to mostly purées.

Now we’re trying to get back into solids, but I am SO anxious. I’ve been giving her very tiny pieces, basically about the size of the tip of my pinky, and so far she has been completely fine. But I’m also worried that I’m not giving her enough opportunity to actually learn how to chew and manage different textures.

I did talk to the nurse practitioner she sees for her checkups, and she told me not to worry and that I should expect her to choke on things as she learns. Honestly, that advice didn’t sit right with me. I understand that gagging is part of learning, but after actually watching my baby choke, I’m having a really hard time being comfortable with that.
I’m also trying to find a pediatrician who is closer than an hour away since we live in a small town, but in the meantime I’d really appreciate advice from other parents.
How did you regain confidence after your baby choked? How did you safely transition from purées to more textured/finger foods? Did you work with a feeding therapist or someone else?

I know I’m probably overthinking everything, but I can’t help feeling like I’m failing her by being so afraid to give her solids. I’d really appreciate any advice, experiences, or reassurance from parents who have been through something similar.

Hi all, I have a four month old who is not ready for solids yet, but thinking ahead to when we begin to introduce in a couple of months.

We live in a tiny apartment and don’t actually have space for a dining table (adults eat on the couch over the coffee table or sitting on floor cushions). We have been handed down a proper high chair but don’t really like the idea of bub just sitting in it in the middle of the room since we don’t have a table to put it up against? It seems impractical to just be standing around her while she eats rather than all being seated at the table together.

I like the idea of just putting her in a little booster/floor seat next to us on the floor so it can be shared experience and I can feed her more easily. Has anyone else done this and are there any concerns with doing this for all her meals? TIA!

We have been exposing our 9 month old to the common allergens, and using the guide of continuing to provide them 2-3x per week after. I am having difficulty understanding how much allergen she needs to ingest to keep the exposure up. Our little one often doesn't love the allergens so we usually get a few bites in each attempt, but I'm worried that it's not enough (she doesn't take a bottle so not able to use the mix ins). We try to mix them in with other foods but it's not always successful. We use the Solid Starts app and the third try is usually 1 tsp, so I wonder if that's the goal - but we are probably getting more like 1/4 tsp in 2x/week.

She developed a dairy allergy so we are working with an allergist, but when we have tried to ask this question, he just keeps saying "an age appropriate amount". How much allergen are you providing if you have a system that's working?

My 8 month old started purées at 6 months. She was absolutely NOT ready. As in, wouldn’t even open her mouth. So no progress made on solids in month 6. Cut to month 7 and she showed interest in food from my plate but continued to reject purées.

I got the idea that maybe she was just going to be a BLW baby, which terrified me, but I had to roll with it.

I decided to go really slow and keep giving her similar foods because she rejected oats when I added things to it. She has had egg strips, toast, avocado strips, and zucchini strips on rotation.

I understand that at 9 months I can transition to small bites but what is the criteria for that? I don’t think she’s had enough experience in chewing and gagging yet or is it simply age that will now allow her to chew and pick up small pieces?

Am I supposed to be looking for a type of readiness?

Sorry if this sounds silly but I definitely was not attempting blw and have just had to quickly get on board with it.

I’m trying to find a low sodium lunch meat like turkey or chicken for my baby, but can’t find any that has a reasonable sodium amount. Has anyone found any good options? Thank you!