[Impatientmummy]

I have given bub a real small taste of food only about 3 times over the last week, I didnt think she was ready for food as she pushed it out most the time or had a suck & chew then spat it. Last night she screamed when I went to feed her (exclusively breast feed atm other than the tastes of food) took us ages to settle her, she screamed every time bottle of ebm or boob went near her. This arvo same thing not as bad settled her after 10 minutes but same thing again tonight however when I ate my dinner with her facing me on my lap she kept lunging for my food (maccas hell no was she getting that!) then started her screaming again, so I grabbed some yogurt on a hunch & she ate some, mooshed some, spat some, had fun making a mess lol! I was planning to do BLW, I have the book to read to get an idea but have only ready a very little bit so I'm not sure if she will be ready to feed herself yet. Do I just do puree until she can grab stuff & easily get it in her mouth or give it a go now as she can get her hand in mouth? Guess I'm worried with her being so young of choking. I did puree with DS & was hoping to avoid it to some extent this time. Feeling very thrown out here lol. Sshe had booby after her yogurt without a single scream just lots of smiles & crashed better than she has for a while

[Tesseract]

Do try to read the book soon if you can find the time. It goes into all the stuff about how if a baby isn't ready to feed themselves then they are not ready to eat.

You were there and you know your baby best, but I am wondering whether her behaviour was normal 4 month fussiness and the food thing was just a useful distraction?

I wouldn't start BLW until a baby can sit up comfortably in a highchair (not reclined), has lost tongue thrust etc etc all the other readiness signs (goes though it in the book). Incidentally these are also the signs that conventional feeding (purées) guidelines also recommend parents look for before starting solids. It's an unusual 4 month old that has these.

[AntiBourgeoisie]

At four months your baby is at risk of both choking and gagging. She will not be able to handle big chunks of food. In order to eat chunks, you have to gain enough tongue control to move the food to the back of the mouth, and enough swallow control to initiate a complex series of motions.

It is not uncommon for babies to show interest in food at this age, but until she can grab at chunks and take them to her mouth, I would not put big chunks in her mouth.

Personally, I don't take a strict approach to BLW. I think it's about the philosophies rather than a strict method - it's about letting babies regulate their intake and not force feeding them, and giving them the opportunity to learn to feed themselves, and about trusting their ability to eat 'adult' food (both taste and texture). I don't think that the odd spoon fed mushy food (given gently and with respect) is incompatible with BLW, especially as a gradual shift from feeding a young baby to a 9-10 month old close to exclusively feeding themselves.

Your daughter does not need solids, as you know, but if she is interested I personally see no harm in giving her small tastes of what you are eating. I certainly did. Generally I mushed my own food between my thumb and forefinger, and let the baby grab my hand and pull it towards his mouth, or if he opened his mouth widely for me, I'd place it on his lips and let him lick it off. I also tended to feed mushy fruit (smooshed avocado, fork mashed banana, small fingee smushed berries etc) from 5 months on with my finger rather than a spoon - easier and less messy than a spoon!

You can pick and choose parts of any philosophy to suit your child.

[libbylu]

It is quite common for babies to go through a period of breast refusal around 4 or 5 months. I don't think this is related to being ready for food. DS made a massive fuss about being fed for about 10 days at this point and my breasts were almost exploding from being so full, as he just wouldn't feed properly. I was really worried and it was quite stressful. The best feeds were when he was sleepy in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning. I just think he was going through the opposite of a growth spurt and didn't need so much. I know this doesn't really answer your question, but I wouldn't confuse breast refusal with being ready to start solids. PPs have suggested a few good resources to look at. I know my DS wasn't ready until close to 6 months because his tongue pushed everything out before that.

[Impatientmummy]

Thanks for the quick replies. She didn't seem to be pushing it out with her tongue so much tonight, she had a good chew & suck at it as well. She sits quiet well by herself she was not reclined at all while eating as I know that is a big danger for choking, I'm not going to force her to eat either, she seems enjoy trying food & I'm happy for that if that's all she wants I would never & have never forced my kids to eat if they aren't hungry, as soon as she didn't seem to want more I stopped. I really dont think it was breast refusal, after 10 minutes eating/playing with food she was quiet happy to breast feed but will keep that in mind if she refuses food & breast, would she refuse bottle to if its breast refusal? I will hold off on BLW for now & just continue to give her tastes as she requests then move on to it when she is older. I will try to read the book as soon as I can too, definitely will before I try to star BLW.

This post has been edited by Impatientmummy: 12/01/2013, 09:58 PM

[Phascogale]

I didnt think she was ready for food as she pushed it out most the time

This is telling you a lot. Babies are much more ready for food when they lose the tongue thrust reflex. They do want to suck and feel and taste and look at your food before they are ready to actually eat food.

Can she sit up properly in a high chair and support herself. Much less risk of choking once she can do that.