Hi everyone, I weaned my DD who is 16 in the traditional way ie: purees then mashed food then finger foods then chopped up versions of our dinners and it was very successful, she has always been willing to try new foods and eaten a varied diet and doesn't have any allergies and so I intend to do the same with Myles (in fact we started two weeks ago). I don't really like the idea of baby led weaning, I tend to agree with what my husband said 'babies shouldn't be leading anything they need us to guide them!' and also think that maybe all this letting them play with their food and squish it etc... will lead to fussiness and them thinking that it is ok to mess around with it instead of eating it!

Anyway, that is just my humble opinion and I know many people are in favour of BLW, I just wondered how many are doing which kind of weaning and I would be interested in your reasons

I am doing a bit of both, Alex is on 3 purees a day and loves it, but when we have dinner he goes crazy to get some, so if its something suitable i give him a wee bit, he also is starting to love finger foods ie bread n butter, rice cakes and pitta breads which he picks up and licks at all on his own.

The BLW sounds fantastic and i can see how some people would prefer it but Alex had to be weaned early and was too young for BLW.

I think i have chosen what suits my lifestyle best all our babies are individuals and sadly babies dont seem to have read all the books lol

at the books!! that sounds like a good plan, M is always watching us eat and keeps reaching out for stuff i am eating (pickled onion monster munch yesterday!!)

We did traditional with my 3 now, but in the future plan to do baby led. I think that babies can lead us to things, sure they need guidance with certain things, but I think they also are capable of letting us know what they need. I think allowing them to eat what they want, play with it, touch the new textures is all a good thing. It's not fully baby led, the parent is still deciding what to offer so if you're only offering healthy stuff and they are choosing from that I don't see the issue We use child led parenting in alot of ways, weaning from the breast, learning styles and how to teach certain things too. But traditional has worked well for us, the boys eat well and lots of healthy food, they aren't picky...but I think that's more us offering a variety of foods no matter which way we decide to wean

LOL Wait till the hands start trying to grab the packet of crisps........does wonders for the diet when they start making you feel guilty for eating.

having done traditional and blw

i cant praise blw enough.

its a lovely way to wean. it learns baby's to chew before they swallow and actually leads to a less fussy babuy. my son has never refused any food, i havent had to stand puree'ing food to mush and then learn him to eat something solid form.
why not let your child take his time when eating as this is where the "led" part comes from, if you go back in the ages blw is actually the traditional way as there was no such thing as food processors. he tells me when he's hungry the same time as puree weaning, he just eats it himself at his own pace. blw also prevents constipation as when they chew it activates the breakdown acids in the stomach so they actually digest food properly

just to point out too, when my son had his 8 month check his hand eye coordination and motor skills were off the chart

Im doing traditional, my dh is so worried about blw and says its far too 'hip' for him lol (I tried to coax him by saying hey since we are eating melon slices we can offer one to the baby and dh freaked)
saying that i personally want to do it this way, I like making purees and I am so paranois of him choking! I do give him a teething biscuity rusk (meant for babies) after dinner

I do BLW and can't speak highly enough about it. Ruby chose it, not me, anyway - she refused to be spoon fed as she won't let us put anything into her mouth without a fight. Not wanting fights at mealtimes, BLW is a godsend. There are a million reasons why, but among my favourites are the not having to feed Ruby while my own food goes cold, not having to 'amuse' her during adult mealtimes if she's awake, giving her normal food means she eats my diet which I have made healthier, so good for us as a family too. No pureeing is good for me too, as is not having to go through different stages of weaning then giving finger foods.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not the biggest believer in totally child led parenting but when it comes to weaning I am. I do believe babies need guidance and encouragement from us as parents, as they don't always know what they need - but as mommyof3co says, we are still leading in some sense by offering a selection healthy foods.

I'm doing BLW and loving it. I tried to feed him some spaghetti today and he tried to back away from me and nearly fell out of his bloody bumbo so I'm extra glad I didn't try purees. I had a feeling he'd be like that though as he refused the dummy, bottle, and won't take medicine which is part of why I chose blw.

My experience giving G calpol was enough to get me very scaredabout starting traditional weaning. He was gagging, coughing and screaming when the spoon went near him. I'd already been toying with the idea of blw after seeing how well a friends baby ate. I read up quite a lot and thought it would suit our lifestyle. I was particularly keen as my brother refused to eat spaghetti bol unless the sauce was luquidised until about age 12.

I believe the term baby led is a little misunderstood. As parents we read our childrens cues and make decisions to guide them in what we believe is the right direction. This applies to all aspects of their lives;
for instance I choose when to put george to bed but I base that decision on cues he provides such as tired signals, rubbing eyes etc.

With weaning G was showing a keen interest in foods so I started to offer him a few suitable options. Already after a week he is showing that he knows that it's for eating and as he gets better at swallowing and chewing I'll offer more adventurous things. He is leading the timing by showing me his abilities/readiness but I will be guiding him by providing a wide range of healthy nutritious options.