Still undecided about baby led weaning or just interested in others experiences and successes?


Have a read of our short stories written by other parents.


If you would like to add a short story then please email mail@babybanana.biz

"Deciding to use BLW was one of the best decisions we made for bringing up our baby.  We discussed it at the early stages, and I believed this helped the decision.  Our baby regularly sat at the table whilst we ate, taking with interest our food, and forming an idea of what food was and how to handle it.  Once she was old enough (our understanding was 6 months based on our research) slowly introducing different food groups was fun for both us and our baby.  In fact, she was desperate to start eating and playing with her food, and I believe the inclusion at meal times at an early stage improved this desire.

Our baby regularly eats what we eat, however if we choose a particularly spicy meal, often the vegetables we eat, can be separated, or occasionally a separate meal can be cooked.  The enjoyment on her face when she is introduced to new foods is fantastic to watch, as is chasing peas round the tray, or deciding animal, vegetable or mineral grasped firmly in both hands!

Meal time is never a chore, it is in fact a delight.  We never sit force feeding an angry child, just get smiles and waves from behind a messy face!  I can recommend this to everyone."
 
James, Daddy to Erin 9 months
"All three of my daughters were initially weaned on baby rice and purees at around 20 weeks. However, they all refused to be spoon fed within about 6 weeks and we progressed to finger foods/blw. When my eldest daughter progressed to this in 2000, blw hadn't been named as such and it was difficult to find any guidance.  
 
I looked in toddler and baby recipe books for ideas for finger foods and tried her on foods that were relevant to her age range - fruit, tomatoes, chicken, cheese, ham, breads, rice cakes, pasta etc. I've followed the same pattern with my second and third daughters and the whole family eats pretty much the same now. Our third daughter is nearly 10 months old and feeds herself a huge variety of foods. Breakfasts are cheerios, weetabix, toast, banana, french toast, bacon. Lunches are sandwiches, cream cheese on toast, pasta with cheese or tomato sauce, blueberries, apple slices. Supper is fish pie, spaghetti bolognese, lasagne, fruit. She eats pretty much anything and the handiest thing about blw/finger foods is that they can eat wherever we are, never have to find a microwave or cook separate meals.
Haven't really discussed it with friends or family as to how they feel about it - nobody has ever questioned it really. Perhaps with my first daughter starting finger foods at 5 and a half months, some people did think that was a little early but could see that she managed it well and refused a spoon!!"
 
Kerry & Alice
When Casper my second son was born I hadn't heard of BLW. Oliver who was now 2 had been weaned on all the traditional purees and I remembered slaving away in the kitchen cooking recipes fit for a king only to blend them all down and add formula! Yuk!

Well as everyone says, you do relax a little with your second child! I literally had no time to be cooking fancy foods only to be spat and dribbled out so when it came the time for Casper to start eating solids I just threw him in at the deep end! He was exclusively breastfed until he was 6 months and his very first food was a crusty piece of French bread! I was amazed how fascinated he was with the textures and he happily spent 30 minutes sucking on it. BLW came very naturally to us all, Casper would sit in his high chair whilst we would cook and every so often we would pass him bits of things that were ready. He loved everything from Yorkshire puddings, to Quorn burgers!

He is now a very bonnie 10 month old with a very healthy appetite, one difference that I have noticed between my two boys is that Casper definitely as a baby has a great understanding of when he is full. Where as with Oliver he would simply feed until I stopped!

Jasmyne, Mother of of Casper & Oliver