FertilityZone

Hey

Try not to stress, I got myself really worked up with my first daughter and used to worry myself to death over how much she did or didn't eat.

I am probably not the best person to advise as I BF my daughter and her routine is all over the place due to demand feeding (I have nap envy, how do you manage that one!). However, I would say try her with food after her milk, she won't be hungry and will probably be more interested to try and eat something. I know that sounds bizarre but she needs to learn that food satisfies her hunger the same as milk does and that takes time.

If you are up for trying BLW then go for it! There's a great thread on here all about it. I have just started weaning my second daughter and am doing BLW with her (as I did my first) and it's amazing how fast they learn and it really is a case of letting them just get on and try anything. Last night Poppy had venison casserole, mash and green beans. OK, so she made a lot of mess and didn't really eat much of it but she loved it and is learning how to deal with having pieces of food in her mouth.

Don't worry too much about water drinking yet either, just offer it and over time she'll begin to drink it.

The motto I learned was, 'Food is fun before they're one' and it's one worth remembering! I honestly feel much less stressed about it all second time around as I know very well that my children won't let themselves go hungry or thirsty.

Hope this helps a bit and

xxx

Hi flossyv

These are the times that I feed

7am or thereabouts - wheetabix with formula and banana, my ds hated baby rice, your lo should be fine with half a wheetabix at 6 months

nap, then when my ds wakes he gets the rest of his formula (7oz all in)

11.30 - lunch, usually soup and fruit or yoghurt

nap

3pm - 5oz bottle

5pm - dinner and fruit

6.30 -7pm - 7oz bottle

hope this helps

x

Hi again

Have you got any books on the subject? I guess there are two camps, Annabel Karmel (traditional method) or Gill Rapley (BLW). Neither method is right or wrong, it's just down to your preference. Personally I always steered away from ready made baby food but that was just my choice, Annabel Karmel has great recipes and to this day my oldest daughter still loves her hidden veggie pasta sauce!

Your daughter must be a similar age to my youngest. Poppy is proving to be very interested in food and tonight had a carrot for her dinner, mostly because it needed eating up and she hasn't had much milk today and I didn't want her filling up on food when it's milk she still really needs. I just steamed it for ten mins (the Avent steamer/blender is a worthwhile investment) and cut it into big fingers.

Most of it ended up on the floor but she very much enjoyed playing with it and experimenting. Babies of this age will be happy just to play with food, it doesn't matter if they don't consume much of it but its amazing to see that despite what you think it does in fact get eaten, the proof is in the nappy!

If you decide to try BLW then just start with fingers of veg, make sure they are quite long as your LO won't have learned how to open her hand yet so can't get to the bit in her hand.

Just pop some food on her tray and leave her to her own devices (just read that back, sorry, I don't mean leave the room, bad wording or what) and I guarantee you'll be amazed and what she will do. Try not to watch her too intently or fuss over her (yes, I know, it's really hard to do).

Ah, listen to me, I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about! I guess second time around it's just less stressful, I worried hugely first time around.

Hope this helps a bit!

Hello Flossy

Good luck with your weaning! Sounds like you're doing great so far. And Gracie is giving you really good advice!

From my experience with one little boy, I can only add two small things: first a recommendation for a book I love which, unusually, has both purees and proper family food suitable for BLW: The River Cottage Baby and Toddler book. It is very unusual in that it gives examples of both approaches in one book. It definitely supports BLW but not in a miliant way, so I think it is perfect for using in real life - it is a good reference book for finding out what suits you and your child and not just following a formula, if you see what I mean.

The other thing is that when I was weaning my DS I used to use pear puree from pouches to stir into home-cooked food, like baked potato / sweet potato / lentils and it would act to sweeten the flavour and soften the texture for him, and it is also is good for digestion (my LO had terrible constipation early on so I was super careful afterwards to avoid that happening again). So if you would like a way to move away from pouches perhaps you could try something along these lines for some meals?

Tastes and flavours seem to change a lot for little ones, so if she doesn't take to something now it doesn't mean you'll be stuck with that - it might be her favourite thing in a couple of months. Appetite can go up and down hugely too, so that's not something to worry about too much. I like Gracie's motto: 'Food is fun before they're one'!!

Good luck

Bee

My only advice is to eat the same things you give LO at the same time. Nothing motivates them more than seeing you eating something. some days my boy don't eat anything off their own plates but they'll eat everything of mine - well youngest throws a lot of it but that's a stage he's going through.

Oh and don't stress too much (I know that's easier said than done), the first months of weaning are really about playing with food, learning its texture and flavour rather than actually sustaining themselves with it. First son took to weaning VERY well, second still wasn't eating more than a few mouthfuls by 9 months, more interested in squishing it or sucking it and spitting it out.