r/BabyLedWeaning

Trying to introduce 7MO to water and struggling a bit. I read that we should avoid sippy cups and they’re not great for oral development, and just stick to regular open cups or straws.

I got baby a straw cup (that honey bear shaped one that people always recommend) but he doesn’t really seem to get the hang of it. He won’t close his mouth around the straw, and even when I press it for water to come up the straw, most of the water gets out of his mouth.

How old were your babies when they started getting it?

Would appreciate any recommendations or cups you all used and liked, as well as tips on how to get baby to master the technique.

Thanks so much!

My 7.5 MO is pretty good at self feeding finger foods, but really struggled with preloaded spoons. He would miss his mouth, put the spoon in the wrong way, and just wouldn’t really get any of the food off. He held up just chewing on the spoon the entire time, and I need to get it out of his hand to load it with some more food.

I’m just wondering how long it took your baby (or what age they were) to get better at it. Not expecting perfect but to actually get some food and put the spoon in the right way.

Thank you!

Okay, I'm at a total loss.

I'm a FTM to a 13m son and we've had a lot of hurdles when it comes to solids. We've come so far but each meal is still SUCH a struggle, I end up in tears and so does he (thankfully not at the same time lol).

We've consulted an OT to reintroduce solids to him after a 3 week hiatus around 7m due to travel, sickness and unwillingness. Flash forward to now, we're still breastfeeding 3 times a day, while also providing 5 "solid opportunities" to him. That being said, he probably only eats the equivalent to a snack sized portion a day and it's driving me nuts. He's dropped 30 percentiles from 9m to 12m and while the doctor isn't concerned, I am- lol.

We eat with him, he eats what we're eating, we limit the time in the highchair to 15-30 minutes, we sing songs and interact with him, give him a variety of flavours and textures, we've tried not feeding in the high chair... it feels like we've tried everything.

This guy is so damn picky, right now we're really struggling with protein right now... he truly only loves sweet potato, baguettes and the boob.

I'd love love love to hear any tips or tricks, ride or die recipes and or solidarity stories...

This feels so dumb but this mom is so overwhelmed. I would appreciate kindness and any advice.

My nine month old is still being introduced to allergens and ingredients. We started at 7months. This is taking forever. I’m introducing her to one new food at a time.

All single foods or double foods. Like, egg and oatmeal. And then when that’s safe, oatmeal with raspberries. Then when that’s safe, oatmeal with raspberries and applesauce.

This is taking ages and there has to be a better way. I’m worried she’ll get many food allergies bc of all the time this takes.

People are like “feed them what you eat” but we eat meals with tons of ingredients Shes NEVER been exposed to, even if there are no major allergens in the dish.

She’s been diagnosed with a peanut allergy.

I can’t help but feel like I’m failing her.

Moms and parents, after stage 1 and stage 2 eating (or even baby lead), are you giving them premade foods? Like I’d eat a soy milk yogurt with chia seeds and fruit for breakfast. As long as shes not allergic to soy, can I go ahead and give her this meal even though it might have new fruit and preservatives in the yogurt???? I eat pretty clean but it’s completely irrational I feel to feed her only 100% clean, whole ingredient food, introduced one food at a time. Is this incorrect thinking??? Thank you for your help 🙏🏻

So I’ve been taking a very lenient approach, and we don’t always have 3 solid meals a day. But when we do, I’m really just trying to safely prep what the husband and I already eat. We eat fairly Whole Foods, but not a ton of veggies.

Other than blend veggies together to make a “sauce” for like pasta and toast, what are some ways non-veggie eating parents are getting veggies in their babies? I’ve tried to just buy some for baby to make with dinner, but we’re throwing a lot away.

I know the answer is probably just be more intentional, but looking for some different ideas lol

My baby is absolutely addicted to banana. He is bored of apple and pears. He don’t eat sweet potato. He is not taking any savory foods.

I tried idli(rice cake) with peanut butter and pinch of cumin powder today. He is gagging, pushing spoon away and sealing mouth.

He is 10 months old. I’m Not willing to add salt until he is 12 months old. How can I introduce savory foods to him?

We gave our baby steak at 6 months, she has it pretty much once a week now (i’m vegetarian but her and her dad have steak nights it’s very cute), however she’s only interested in meat!!! Veggies, she can do a couple bites of avacado or some potato and cheese. fruits she absolutely hates aside from banana. I can’t get her to sit with her food for longer than 5 minutes unless it’s something like steak or pork chops, which I’m grateful she likes.. but it’s expensive!! We have a boujie baby and I don’t know how to get her interested in other foods.

I do also try to feed her meals I cook like curry, roast dinners etc. Purées just don’t work for her, she throws the spoon or seals her lips shut. I’m worried she’s not getting enough solids but can’t afford to give her steak every day lol

Long story short, I was previously hospitalized for 7 months with Anorexia Nervosa several years ago. I still have certain triggers when it comes to food, but I overall have recovered and felt that it was in my past and had overcome it.

Teaching my 9 month old son to eat solids, and have healthy eating habits has been the hardest thing I have had to do. I find myself dreading meal times, the slowness of eating, the mess, and overall the overwhelming amount of anxiety I have of being surrounded by food for 30-40 minutes at a time.

I was just wondering if any other mamas have been in my position, and had healthy ways to cope and teach their child healthy eating habits when they struggle with it themselves.

Hi All,

My son is 10-months-old. Everything I give him (rice, pasta, etc.), I either overly mash to a soupy texture or blend it. I’m just not ready to offer him solids.

I also spoon-feed him.

I can tell you he’s ready, but his mama is not. I basically don’t believe in myself to act “right” or “quick” if he chokes. So I’m straying in the “safe” area.

Please help me!

I have the solid starts app. But since he didn’t do BLW, should I follow the 6-month size, shape and texture or the 10-month as per his current age ?

Also, I’m vegetarian and so is he. Any ideas for a balanced plate and low-risk for choking, please let me know.

Thank you so much!

My almost 11mo is doing crappy with solids and I’m wondering if it has anything to do with how I’m offering bottles. Right now he gets about 30-32oz of formula a day. I got stuck in a feed to nap schedule bc those 2 bottles were the only bottles I could get him to drink his full 6oz. He gets pretty fussy nearing the 3hr mark for feeds but then doesn’t drink his whole bottle.

Of note: He does good with BLW and loves to pick up and put food in his mouth and try but he is not swallowing much at all. He still tongue thrusts most food out - not so much gagging. He has never liked purées or yogurt consistency.

His schedule is :

5:30-6:00 : wake up (on his own)

6:15 : offer 6oz (usually takes 3)

7:15ish : offer breakfast

8:45 : 6oz bottle (drinks all)

9:00 : nap

11:45-12:00 : offer 6oz (usually takes 4)

1:00 : offer lunch

2:00 : 6oz bottle before nap (drinks all)

5:00 : offer 3oz (usually drinks all)

6:00 : offer dinner

7:00 bedtime : 7oz bottle (drinks all)

I know food before 1 is just for fun but he just is not swallowing much at all!!! He has a lot of interest but doesn’t want to swallow. I haven’t reached out to his PCP for early intervention bc he has interest but I’m wondering if I need to cut out the afternoon bottle OR cut down on the volume offering.

Please help!!!

Hey everyone!

I’m honestly feeling so defeated. With my daughter 5 years ago we fully did BLW and everything was fine and great. With my son however it’s been a completely different journey.

We started off doing blw but within the first few foods he had he was having a lot of allergic reactions (egg and dairy anaphylaxis and soy FPIES). Now it’s at the point where most things I give him that aren’t puréed or mashed he will just refuse to eat them. Any time I do give him bigger age appropriate things to try he has a hard time chewing and will choke, gag and vomit (which then strengthens his aversion).

I don’t know what to do. I feel lost and defeated. My firstborn was so much easier to feed and he is so difficult to feed 😭

If anyone has some tips or advice I will gladly take it. Thanks in advance 💜

Longish post alert!

Baby turns 7 months next week

We started introducing solids to baby at 5 months. At his 6 month appointment his weight dipped a little and the ped asked us to offer meals 3 times a day. I wanted to do more finger foods but due to the weight dip we got scared and now doing 2 purees (lumpy rather than flowy) and 1 finger food. For purees I load the spoon and hand it over to him sometimes close to his mouth and let him control. Regardless, as expected, there's a lot of mess at every meal time with food every where, in his ears, hair, eyes, chair, floor and what not.

Lately he has started resisting food. He would start great, take the spoon and eat a couple bites but then starts screaming and crying with the spoon in his mouth. I stop the meal time at this point and take him out of the high chair to wash. But I do get disappointed if he doesnt eat. More importantly, my inlaws are staying with us for a couple months and they get even more disappointed that he didnt eat and want either me to try again in a few mins or MIL wants to try. Sometimes on 2nd or 3rd attempt he would eat a little more and then start screaming again!

- What am I doing wrong? Why does he seem to enjoy the first two bites and then start screaming with spoon in his mouth (he is the one holding spoon, I'm not forcing him)

- Is it okay to try again in say 10 minutes after a screaming & crying episode?

- How many times should I be trying?

- What are some long term possibilities if we keep retrying frequently after rejection?

The last two questions are so I can educate my in laws, I wanna stop after the first try and wait at least 30 mins but they dont wanna give up.

Baby girl is 9m old. She’s been eating solids GREAT the past couple months.

Pediatrician & GI have given us the go ahead to reintroduce dairy. Which she hasn’t had since she was about 8 weeks old. She had a bunch of symptoms then. Biggest being microscopic blood in stool for both regular formula & while on hypoallergenic. Along with reflux, bottle refusal, and generally just very very fussy.

I’m wondering if anybody in here has dealt with reintroducing dairy. How/what foods did you start with & how much/how often? And what reactions should I look out for to determine if it’s a fail? She’s still a pretty fussy 9 month old so going based solely off that might be difficult for me.

My baby is soon to be 10 month old. Today, I made him pasta

Sauce - added little butter, green peas, 1-2 basil leaves, 2 pinches cumin powder and handful baby spinach sautéed them

Grounded to paste. Cooked sauce with tiny cube of mild cheddar.

(he loved this sauce🤩)

Added calamarata pasta- not a good idea he couldn’t bite with his two little teeth, as it is thick even after cooking well.

Can anyone suggest thin and best pasta to start with?

Hi! I have an 8 month old daughter and we have been doing mostly baby led weaning and she’s definitely more interested in foods now.

We had a pediatrician appointment recently and we were talking about solids - she currently has 1 meal/day. We both work full time so it’s hard to incorporate any more, daycare will give food too, just want to make sure there’s no allergies first.

Question 1: I know breast milk is supposed to be the primary nutrition until age 1 but what does that actually mean? Because I know babies drink less milk as they get closer to 1, so how much milk is considered the primary source?

Question: when and how did you start reducing bottles for solids? Baby is exclusively on breast milk but mostly via pumping. I’m not sure when/how I should be swapping any bottle feeds for solids. She has 6 bottles/day at 4oz each right now and sleeps 12 hrs overnight with no feeds. Thanks!!

My kitchen is tiny, and I’m trying to avoid the "one-use gadget" trap. My MIL is insisting I need a baby food processor for when we start solids, but I’m worried it’ll just be another bulky thing taking up counter space for like 3 months.

I’ve seen some compact ones that claim to do everything (steam, blend, reheat, etc.), but are they actually useful long-term? Or should I just stick to my old-school pot and a fork? Would love to hear from people who actually use theirs for more than just 3 weeks of purees.

Baby is just shy of 6 months! I’m semi ready to start four solids journey but as a first time mom I’m a bit anxious. I’ve been doing some research but I don’t feel prepared.

I’m someone who needs things just laid out in front of me and easy to follow with there being so much information to know!

I’m thinking of trying the 101 before one bundle with the book and the app. But with the steep price I’m having a hard time jumping in. If you got this bundle how did it affect your solids journey with baby? How long did you get to use it for?

I see there’s another book for toddlers. Is it worth adding that one on as well?

Is the app a monthly subscription or is it a one time thing once you buy the bundle?

Thanks!