Let's Talk About BLW

[stretchad]

What is BLW?

[sarack]

I plan to do this. I just think it's easier and you're not really preparing anything extra for just your children. I love the idea of them just eating what we're eating.

[niq]

BLW seems like something that's more for fun than actual nutrition, but fun is good too! And learning about the world is good! Also it's not like I'm a pediatric nutritionist, so I could be totally wrong.

Anyway we registered for one of those small cuisinarts to make DIY purees, just in case BLW just doesn't work for us.

[shevacc]

I haven't been around much lately (got caught up in April 2012 board land) but we pretty much did BLW. We were planning on it anyway, and then G wanted nothing to do with anyone else putting anything in her mouth. We were pretty lax about it until she was about 8.5 months old, sometimes offering food if it seemed "baby appropriate", sometimes not. We got freaked out by the gagging more than once, but luckily that's gotten much better. Since 8.5 months, she started complaining if we were eating and she wasn't. Lately, she's started to want EXACTLY what we're eating so we have to eat the junk food when she's out of sight/asleep. It's only been in the last 2-3 weeks that she's been consuming largish quantities of food and wanting regular meal/snack times (she's turning 1 on Thursday). So I'd agree with what everyone else said about it being mostly for fun and not that nutritionally important until age 1.

For us, it's nice to not have to buy special (overpriced) food for her. And I don't have to spend extra effort making more than 1 meal. Also, I like eating when she eats bc when she's done she wants to get down and play, not wait for me to eat.

[jennlin]

Apr 14, 2013 18:30:09 GMT -5 sarack said:

I plan to do this. I just think it's easier and you're not really preparing anything extra for just your children. I love the idea of them just eating what we're eating.

this.

it's waaaay easier. i keep a pair of kitchen scissors with me when i eat..i put stuff in bjl's bowl and snip them into smaller more manageable pieces. when she was smaller, i just boiled the sht out of the veggies.

we had a few times of choking, but that was mommas fault for not cooking it long enough. a whack on the back takes care of it, and really isn't all *that* scary. i heard this doesn't happen if you do it right......

[catbus]

I'll just ditto what spunbutterfly said. "Food before one is just for fun," and BLW is tons of fun! I actually had to buy some jarred foods for E to have in an emergency kit at daycare, so out of curiosity I cracked open one of the jars to offer to him. It was Earth's Best peas. He was nowhere near as interested in that food as he is in fresh, ripe avocado, or banana, or steamed broccoli, hummus, plain Greek yogurt, etc. He ate slow-cooker steel cut oats with us yesterday morning (no maple syrup for him . He looks so proud whether he's spooning yogurt into his mouth, or throwing broccoli on the floor. It's all about the experience. And it's messy--SO MESSY. But worth it, in my opinion.

Here's some info I had my H read before we officially started solids.

[catbus]

Apr 14, 2013 19:47:36 GMT -5 niq said:

BLW seems like something that's more for fun than actual nutrition, but fun is good too! And learning about the world is good! Also it's not like I'm a pediatric nutritionist, so I could be totally wrong.

Anyway we registered for one of those small cuisinarts to make DIY purees, just in case BLW just doesn't work for us.

Can I offer one suggestion? The mini Cuisinarts are cute, but an easier and more easy-to-clean solution is to get an immersion blender. I use ours all the time for soups, salad dressings, etc. This Cuisinart one is awesome and cheap. If you were making purées, just steam the veggies, dump in the included measuring cup (which I use all the time!) and blend. 

[niq]

Apr 15, 2013 10:50:10 GMT -5 catbus said:

Apr 14, 2013 19:47:36 GMT -5 niq said:

BLW seems like something that's more for fun than actual nutrition, but fun is good too! And learning about the world is good! Also it's not like I'm a pediatric nutritionist, so I could be totally wrong.

Anyway we registered for one of those small cuisinarts to make DIY purees, just in case BLW just doesn't work for us.

Can I offer one suggestion? The mini Cuisinarts are cute, but an easier and more easy-to-clean solution is to get an immersion blender. I use ours all the time for soups, salad dressings, etc. This Cuisinart one is awesome and cheap. If you were making purées, just steam the veggies, dump in the included measuring cup (which I use all the time!) and blend. 

Oh! I thought using the mini would be more convenient than our full-sized food processor, but I guess if an immersion blender works we'll try that!

[catbus]

Apr 15, 2013 11:01:03 GMT -5 niq said:

Apr 15, 2013 10:50:10 GMT -5 catbus said:

Can I offer one suggestion? The mini Cuisinarts are cute, but an easier and more easy-to-clean solution is to get an immersion blender. I use ours all the time for soups, salad dressings, etc. This Cuisinart one is awesome and cheap. If you were making purées, just steam the veggies, dump in the included measuring cup (which I use all the time!) and blend. 

Oh! I thought using the mini would be more convenient than our full-sized food processor, but I guess if an immersion blender works we'll try that!

The Cuisinart immersion blender is awesome. I actually have the Cuisinart mini-prep as well (was free with our full-size FP), and I barely use it because it's not really as effective and is more of a pain to clean. 

[jennlin]

Apr 15, 2013 11:07:47 GMT -5 @jennuinne said:

So, if you do BWL when they are baby, what happens when they are toddlers? You just give them food and let them eat as much or as little as they want still? Or do you make them finish their dinner, eat their veggies, etc. as so many kids are known for not eating or being picky eaters. I know one goal of BLW is to avoid picky eaters, but I can't image that is 100% effective.

i don't know for sure, but bjl loves broccoli, and most veggies....so i don't foresee it being an issue in the future.