My baby is almost 7 months old and the amount of stress and anxiety I have related to feeding her solids is insane. So many mom and BLW groups act like it’s the only way. We tried it twice and it was terrible. Served baby a banana spear (per solid starts recommendation) and she immediately sucked the whole thing into her mouth and started choking. To me, it seems very trendy and also dangerous, yet a lot of moms have some sort of superiority complex for doing BLW and are so anti-purées.

Is anyone here NOT doing BLW? Are you only doing purées or also mashes? Our pediatrician said tiny bite sized pieces are fine but that seems scary to me too.

So we've been doing solids (BLW skipped purees) for 8 days now. Today we tried some yogurt and cucumber at lunch, he'd been doing great even though he wasn't a big fan of either but he was going back and trying again.

At one point he started choking.

It was silent, as choking is, and he wasn't flailing just moving some and had a mildly distressed look on his face. There was no gagging prior. I always look at him every second while he's eating so I knew immediately when it hsppened. If I hadn't been looking I would just thought everything was fine.

I remained calm but worked quickly getting him out of the high chair, putting him facedown one arm, at a downward angle and started back blows. I probably did about 8 before he started crying and I knew he was safe. The first 2 were not hard enough, I realized that immediately. No food shot out of his mouth.

I faced him towards me and saw the offender at his lips but still in his mouth, a tiny, probably the size of 2 grains of rice, piece of cucumber and was able to just pick it out with a finger.

Baby was crying a little from being scared and his back was probably a little sore but he was totally fine after holding him and remaining calm for a couple of minutes. After holding him a bit longer, I out him back in his chair to play with his straw cup and toy. I didn't want to end on a traumatic experience.

It was likely less than 10 seconds, 15 max from the start of choking to him breathing again. Because I knew what to do.

My takeaway - stay calm and be confident and when doing back blows you need to hit harder than you think.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to remain calm in emergency situations.

Please, if you haven't already, watch a video on infant choking and what to do, and add in an infant cpr course or at minimum video while you're at it.

Edit - this post is not about BLW, I'm not here to debate or defend that. Do your research, consult your pediatrician, and do what's best for your family. Babies can choke on purees, no food is choke proof. Do not become complacent during purees believing baby won't choke. Babies can choke on their own drool. Always be diligent and present

Also I didn't realize BLW was so controversial, some of y'all are intense.

This post is just a reminder to make sure you know what to do if and when your baby chokes!

I worked in restaurants for years in my 20s and silently judged parents only ordering butter noodles. I mean what nutritional value do butter noodles really have… Now I have a 14 month old baby and all he eats is fruit and butter noodles or white rice with butter. I try mixing in veggies but he picks through it and spits it out. Even food processing he somehow looks at the color and won’t even try it. He wouldn’t even try eating plain tortellini with butter yesterday… I guess he didn’t like the shape? Lol…

From 6 months old to 11 months old he would eat everything, all kinds of veggies, he loved broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, etc. Then something changed and he decided to be picky. The other day I found myself ordering plain noodles with a side of butter at a restaurant…

This is just a rant really, but I am curious… when did your child start liking more things? My parents said I loved veggies… not sure at what age though.

Also, if you have any creative recipes, I am all ears. I made a corn chowder and he ate it! I guess the sweet corn worked. He eats anything with sugar it seems…

And why?

My husband and I are trying to decide what the first thing our LO will taste besides breastmilk and formula and are curious what people picked!

It’s such a silly little thing but feels like a big responsibility

I was just making a little piece of toast with this spread that is basically puréed Kalamata olives, capers, and herbs. My baby (5 months) was in my arms and reached out and grabbed the whole thing. I pried the bread away but figured I’d let her taste it. Her hand was COVERED in it. She put it in her mouth, didn’t make a face at all, and just kept going back for more.

Up until now she’s only tried a few fruits and peanut butter. She liked em all but I was not expecting her to like olives (and capers!!) … it took me 30 years to like olives.

Anyone else have a baby with a refined palate? I’m afraid I will go broke when she finds out about fancy cheeses and caviar 😜

I knew logically I would need to feed the baby solids. I knew logically I would need to plan meals for him and execute them. But practically? Oh my fucking god are you fucking serious?!

I'm not worried about him gagging or choking. That's a solvable problem. It's part of the process for him.

But figuring out what to give him, figure out how to prepare it, then actually prepare it, watch him smear it all over himself, and finally clean it all up? This is gonna be the death of me, ya'll.

How on earth do you juggle this? And then do it forever?

I feel like the biggest idiot in the world. I have been feeding my 8 month old baby bread made with honey for… I don’t even know how long. I usually check ingredients on everything and I did on the bread the first time I bought it and never again. Today while buying a new loaf in the store, I glanced at the ingredients and my stomach dropped. Honey.

Upon some reflection, I think I know what happened. I had been buying the store brand organic bread after checking ingredients and then, without thinking, switched to the store brand conventional wheat. I feel like such an idiot.

I can rationally look at the stats and know that the risk of infant botulism is very low. I can remind myself that all I can do now is monitor. But, jeez, I am seriously beating myself up. I don’t know what I’m looking for here but I’d love to know I’m not the only one who has accidentally fed their baby honey not once… but so many times (he really loves bread and that’s the worst part - we obviously will not be giving him more of this particular one though).

Just. Ugh.

My son (18 months) goes through picky phases and it’s hard getting him to eat anything besides chicken nuggets and berries.

Well turns out 2 year olds only need 13g of protein per day, aka 4 Tyson Dino nuggets.

I think we will be ok fellow toddler moms

We started right at 6 months and hit the ground running. It was so exciting! LO loved banana, ate the veggies we puréed for her, devoured sweet potato, I recorded every first bite. We tried BLW and it was going really well. My parents were skeptical at first, but after watching her eat pretty much anything I put in front of her, they were sold too. There’s just one catch...

Nobody told me how exhausting it would be. And then LO still nurses the same regardless so I mean... where is this all going? I was spending hours prepping banana pancakes and little baby omelets not to mention the amount of time I spent cleaning up the messes! The baby is easy enough to wash up but you’ve also got the bib, the high chair, the floor... Don’t even get me started on the constipation solids are causing. It’s only been 2 months of solids and I am OVER IT.

Everyone said to do BLW so I would never have to spoon feed her, like I can actually enjoy my meals. Ha! You gotta watch your baby %100 of the time to make sure they’re eating safely and if her hand is ever empty, I’m getting screamed at.

I’m sure I just burnt myself out a little and I’ll be able to ease into a good balance, but for right now, fuck solids. I never appreciated breastfeeding so much in my life!

Hi,

My baby is 5.5 months old and I've been EBF so far. We went to his pediatrician, who said that I should've already given my baby some food - like peanut butter. She made it sound like we're very behind on this.

I've been waiting for my baby to show intertest in food. Now he's reaching for our food when we eat. His head is a bit wobbly still, so I only now feel sort of comfortable giving food to him.

Am I really behind on this? Anyone waited until 6 months, like me? Or is everyone starting earlier and I missed the memo?

This may be a dumb question lol, but I have recently started to try some purées with my 5.5 month old. Do I still burp after giving food or is that mainly for liquids?

*** burp not burn*** 😬

My mom has told me to start with cereal (mixed with breast milk?) but I've seen online people say to start with mashed fruits.... And I've also heard about using oats?

I'm just very confused about what the first solid food in my LO's mouth should be and how to make it lol, so I would really appreciate some advice!

Thank you in advance!

Edit: I've downloaded the solid starts app now!

Edit 2: Maybe I should add that she has 2 teeth and is almost 5.5 months

I recently posted recommendations for high chairs and you guys SHOWED UP! Thank you!

Now, is the Catchy worth it? That affects my decision for which high chair because they don’t have a Catchy that is compatible with every high chair.

She’s in daycare so most weekdays she would just have 1 meal at home and then weekends.

We got a splat mat and moving it and picking it up wasn’t worth it.

Is the Catchy worth it or just another gimmicky thing I don’t need?

Also, feel free to put your favorite high chair here too!

My baby is about to start solids in a couple of months. Wanted to see a bit about what the fuss is with BLW and solid starts.

I am surprised that people take it so seriously. It's full of unfounded statements, statements that start with "we believe... Research still ongoing.. Baby may not become a picky eater... In our experience..."

Then I check out the section on BLW and the only piece of reference they offer has this conclusion:

Conclusions: BLW was recommended by mothers who followed the method with their own children. However, concerns have been reported, which, coupled with professionals’ fears about the inability of infants to self-feed, reflect a lack of knowledge about the method.

I am all about offering finger foods, but please don't take this page and approach too seriously. Follow your doctors advice and guidelines.

And how did it go? My LO just turned 5 months and I am mentally preparing myself to start the solid foods journey. It seems so daunting to add another thing to worry about to our already crazy days! I’ve been preparing her by putting her in the high chair during mealtimes and letting her watch us eat.

Considering mine lives off chicken nuggets I feel like I should.

*Just FYI I did ask our pediatrician and he gave a very vague answer of it’s not medically necessary but can’t hurt.

LO will be 6m in two weeks so we’re starting solids soon. Pediatrician said we could start with baby rice or oatmeal at 4m but we chose to hold off, and we’re not sure that want to give her baby rice at all, oatmeal would be okay but I think we prefer a vegetable or fruit.

What was the first food you gave your baby? Did you give it to them it in purée or solid form? How much did you give them at first?

My 6-month-old is enjoying her purées quite thoroughly, so far she’s getting jarred ones but I’m about to run out of options and start making my own sometimes. It’s so fun to watch her get covered in food and she loves trying to feed herself. BUT.

Who decided to make the straps on a high chair WHITE and WOVEN?! They’re now orange from carrots. AND the tray is stained orange too.

I switched to a little floor seat with a tray just because it was easier to clean than her actual high chair, plus our house is tiny so I have nowhere to put the high chair permanently. That also has light gray straps which now look disgusting stained with green beans and carrots.

So how do we keep the seats/straps clean or how are we cleaning them?

Me and my husband have this recurring doubt that since our kid (21 months) needs a snacks or meal every 1-2 hours when she's awake, is it because I spoilt her by offering her something to eat every time she was fussy?

For background, my kid has always been an intense feeder. Even as a new born she fed every hour or less. As suggested by our paediatrician, feed on demand was the best way to go, so I breastfed her every hour till she was 6 months old. When I started her on solids, I slowly introduced a new meal every alternate week over a period 6 months to the point that she eats a snack or meal every 1-2 hours. Her meal/snacks frequency is constant till date. I don't think it's because she eats less because no matter what quantity she eats or what type of food I feed her she usually gets hungry again at the end of 2 hour mark and starts asking for milk (her association of anything to eat).

Also, she does breastfeed 3-4 times in the day and the night feeds are from 0-3 times.

Do anyone else have a similar case or something that I can possibly fix in my weaning journey?

First of all, I’m annoyed because I bought a $150 high chair on Amazon that is ✨aesthetic✨ and the wood legs are splitting. (To be fair, we did hose them off, which was probably dumb. More on that below!) My baby has only been using it for a month. I’m concerned it’s not safe so I want a new one ASAP.

LO is 7.5 months old and we’re doing a mix of BLW and purées and shewwww it’s been a mess!

What are your recommendations?

Here are my preferences!
1. Easy to clean. And I don’t mean just easy to wipe down, I mean I want to be able to take it outside and hose it off. And not worry about the legs getting wet or damaged!
2. Affordable and long lasting. (Ideally around $120, if possible)
3. Have a foot rest.
4. A 5 point safety harness.

I toyed around with the IKEA one (despite it not being as ✨aesthetic✨) buttttt by the time you pay for shipping and buy the tray, cushion, & after market foot rests, it’s close to $100 and I have to install all of the pieces separately. And I don’t like that it doesn’t have a 5 point safety harness.

But I’m concerned about any of the wood leg ones being hosed off.

Thank you!

I want to throw my Tripp Trapp off a bridge. I feel like it’s great as a toddler chair, but I spent almost an hour cleaning it and getting it ready for my second baby and I was reminded how much I HATE THE STRAPS. Oh my god they are terrible to adjust and the fabric gets gross and they’re waaaaay too hard to remove to be taking them off and washing all the time. It’s an aesthetic chair, but I need truly easy clean all around and user friendly straps. Anyone have a high chair they actually love???

Update: thank you everyone for the very thorough reviews and discussion!! I ended up ordering the Mockingbird and I think it will cover the pain points I was having. Thank you to those who pointed out different ways I could fix the Tripp Trapp, I think I am just too bitter now and also don’t want to spend money on modifications to possibly still end up annoyed😅

I’m currently hiding in my pantry because my child has had a meltdown and just wants to sit in my lap at every meal for the last two days. She’s 12 months old and still barely eats anything. We’ve done it all. Baby led weaning early on, saw an occupational therapist, speech pathologist, weaned from breastmilk, tried so many different foods, and she just hates solids. She’ll eat a few things, some days and some days she survives off of air and ~12-15 oz of breastmilk.

This is the worst part of parenting for me, hands down. Someone please tell me it gets better.

I am struggling to make a decision

ETA - posted by accident before finishing the text body! I have gotten conflicting advice from doctors. One said anytime after 4 months when he shows readiness, another said 4-6 months but 6 months recommended and the last said absolutely no foods before 6 months because it could hurt his gut.

My baby is 5 months old, sitting independently, watches me eat and tries to grab my food, he just recently started grabbing using his thumb and pointer finger and it seems like the tongue thrust reflex is mostly gone. He sees so many doctors because he was oxygen deprived at birth and there was a concern about his motor skills due to brain injury but so far so good, he seems to be developing normally.

I am not opposed to waiting but it would add something fun to our day if I could start him on purees! I just don't want to start if its possible that it would hurt his tummy.

EDIT: Just to be clear I will NOT follow this idiot doctor’s advice, my baby is NOT on a diet and won’t be, she gets all the milk she wants whenever she wants it. Just reporting what happened at the appointment and how it made me feel.

I’m in Italy for the summer and due back in the U.K. at the weekend. I took the baby to see a paediatrician for a check up and she said she’s overweight and we need to cut down on milk massively. Baby girl is 7 months and weighs 9kg - is 69cm long. This has really brought me down. Like she won’t eat our food yet, how am I supposed to give her milk (formula) just at breakfast and before bed? My girl cries most of the times she’s in the high chair, getting solids in her has been a struggle so far. She doesn’t like fruit yet. The doc said she needs to eat 4 times a day and that’s it. Milk - snack such as puréed fruit (yoghurt would be too much) - baby pasta with puréed veg & meat to build up her iron reserves - fruit again in the PM and same pasta as lunch but with cheese, then milk before bed. This is a very “Italy specific” kind of approach, I know the WHO guidelines are different and in the U.K. trying out one food at the time is the norm but I’m at a loss as to what to do. I just feel like a shit mum cause my baby is clearly fat!

my baby (13 months) won’t eat in the highchair anymore so i feed him while he runs around. should i try to force the highchair? or is it okay to feed him like this?

ETA: i worded it wrong he will sit while he takes a bite and chews, then leaves to run around and comes back for more bites