Baby Led Weaning What was your experience with this? How has it been so far? I've read a few things…

Following. I just read about this for the first time yesterday. I'd like to know more about it.

That first year was a blur so I'm not the best answerer... but I did like it enough to do it again with this baby.

And when you start more food will end up on the floor... their highchair... their hair... but it's okay.

And when teething started I froze breastmilk together with other foods (avocado, pumpkin, whatever) into popsicle molds. She liked being able to hold it and the cold made her feel better.

I did it with both my kids starting around 6/7 months. They need to be able to sit pretty well and have good coordinated head control. Also I treat in food and reaching. No tongue thrust reflex either.

I started with banana or avocado usually. Also used some baby oatmeal made thick enough to grab.

Do be prepared for some gagging lol. It's a squared skill that takes time. Also be very prepared for messes. My kids always are completely naked for a long time.

I liked that I know exactly what's going into baby and that they learn to chew before swallowing which baby food doesn't. It also opens their pallet a bit more to differing textures. I like that there's no need for specialized food for lo. Pretty soon they can eat what we eat (sans the salt).

To start out I just offer a little snack once a day. Usually around dinner time. It slowly increases as skill level goes up until they're eating a mini meal after nursing. Then you move to two meals. By about 12-14 months my kids are eating three meals followed by nursing and a couple small snacks a day.

I think I answered most of it.

Anyone else?

Following

I've logged onto my computer for this one.

Signs that your baby was ready to start?

-No tongue thrust reflex (where they push things out with their tongue, similar to the motions of breastfeeding.

-He was interested with what was on my plate.

-Sitting up straight, holding head up straight, not wobbling at all while sitting.

What age did you start?

-I started at about 7-8 months. Continued blw even till this day. He really got the hang of it after he turned 1. I eventually introduced him a spoon as well when he stopped throwing things on the floor.

What foods did you give?

-Mostly everything steamed. Steamed sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, steamed baby carrots, steamed apple/pear. I also gave banana and avocado.

-We did do 2 weeks of just veggies giving him one at a time, then two at a time. The idea is to control for allergies and also wait on the introduction of sweeter things until he developed a palate for non-sweet stuff. Then we introduced fruit, berries, then oatmeal, then eggs, chicken, fish, rice.

How often did you introduce new things?

-Each food was given 3-4 times before introducing something new to make sure there was no allergy.

What size pieces are safe?

-Big enough so they can hold it in their hand. If everything is steamed or soft, i would worry less about size, just not too small so they can't swallow whole and choke. Anything harder texture, like chicken, I would wait till they have swallowing down. You can make chicken patties, with hidden veggies as well. Those are soft and they can hold it like a pancake.

How many times a day did you offer food?

-When we started, about once a day. Then we increased every couple of weeks. It was gradual, so just go by ear.

Things that were difficult?

-My son threw A LOT on the floor (I had a plastic sheet under his high chair every time like the ones used for painting, to make clean up easier). There was a lot of clean up involved, so don't get frustrated during the process, just clean up afterwards. Also, it took a while for my son to catch on. He just only wanted boob, and didn't want to eat. To the point where he became anemic. My biggest advice would be to focus on iron-rich foods. Also, I would refrain from grapes for a while, they're a choking hazard..when you do introduce them later on, make sure you cut them length wise, not across. Also, no honey before 1!!!

Also please don't be afraid of gagging. It WILL happen. Don't freak out. Its a natural process of learning to chew and swallow. I would read more into it, so you don't go into panic mode. Gagging and choking are verrrrrry different. When my son gagged Id quickly see if he can get it out himself, sometimes I'd give a pat on his back or scoop the food out with my finger if its taking him too long (not right away because thats how they learn). Thankfully he's never choked. I found that actually in the beginning small pieces are harder than something they can suck on like a sweet potato chunk, for example

Things that were easier than you thought?

-It wasn't easy lol. A lot of trial and error. A lot of messes. A lot of frustration because I was worried about his hemoglobin levels. But thats not always the case! Some kids take to it quickly. There are also a lot of BLW accounts on Instagram with a lot of blw ideas. The AMAZING part is, is that my son is turning 2 in one week, he eats EVERYTHING we do, isn't afraid to try anything new, and eats 100% on his own.

Also, no salt and no added sugar. No dairy till 1.

To make soft and shapeless foods into something a baby can grab, make "fingers" and "muffins" or "bites" out of things like mashed potatoes, oatmeal. Load those with veggies, fruit, berries.

On porridge, thick soups etc. These are still great blw foods. Work with two spoons and preload them. Hand one to your baby, load the other and keep switching. Put the loaded spoon in front of them, help guide to mouth. I have seen blw'd 9 months olds self feeding with a numnum spoon. My son actually had no interest in the spoon (we did a lot of hand eating) until 15 months.

Best of luck, I really hope this helps! Some more advice, make it fun! Praise a lot. Be consistent and just keep offering. :)

I can't see the end of my reply on my phone so here is it.....

To make soft and shapeless foods into something a baby can grab, make "fingers" and "muffins" or "bites" out of things like mashed potatoes, oatmeal. Load those with veggies, fruit, berries.

On porridge, thick soups etc. These are still great blw foods. Work with two spoons and preload them. Hand one to your baby, load the other and keep switching. Put the loaded spoon in front of them, help guide to mouth. I have seen blw'd 9 months olds self feeding with a numnum spoon. My son actually had no interest in the spoon (we did a lot of hand eating) until 15 months.

Best of luck, I really hope this helps! Some more advice, make it fun! Praise a lot. Be consistent and just keep offering. :)

These replies are amazing ladies. Nice and detailed. Thank you.

Dd has a few more readiness signs to take care of before we start. She's not yet sitting up but i think in the next two months she'll be a pro at it. She's definitly interested in what we're eating. She shouts at us and reaches whenever we eat. She also doesn't seem fully satisfied by breastmilk anymore so she's nursing often. So hopefully in the next two months we can start.

Again thank you.

Oh does baby need teeth for this? She's getting her bottom two (that's been a nightmare ?) and i think her top two aren't far behind.

No teeth necessary. It just needs to be Mashable. You can test is something is soft enough by mashing it agains the roof of your mouth with your tongue. Those little gums are tough and mash a lot of stuff.