Feeding your baby BLW style

Just quickly want to list the BLW pro's and cons list

Pro's - Benefits
1) Appetite Control
2) Baby isn't left out at family mealtimes
3) Better Nutrition
4) Dealing with shapes and textures of food
5) Developing skills
6) Easier, less complicated meals
7) Eating out is easier
8) Enjoyable and stress-free mealtimes *(YES YES YES!!!)*
9) Enjoyment of flavours and textures
10) Gaining confidence
11) Learning about food
12) Learning about their world
13) Leaning to chew effectively
14) Learning to eat safely
15) Less expensive
16) Less pickiness as a toddler
17) Long-term health benefits
18) Natural part of baby's development
19) No mealtime battles
20) No need for games or tricks to get them to eat
21) Positive attitude to food
22) Practising hand-eye coordination
23) Reaching potential by learning at every meal
24) Trusting food because they are allowed to reject certain food they try new foods easier because they know they can reject it if they don't like it
25) Willingness to try new foods

Cons - Disadvantages
1) MESS (huge mess sometimes)
2) OTHER PEOPLE (their fears, their worries or their silly comments when they haven't even tried it so they can't really say anything about it.)

Let me just clear teh air - I said I hop eI'm not stepping on toes, I simply gave MY MY M Y opinion about why I I I am uncomfortable with it. If, somehow, you got the idea that I was mean, or that I thought you are harming your child - that is because you WANT to think so. I did NOT imply such a thing. YES you are brave for doing it, MUCH MUCH braver than I am. I will never ever consider doing such a thing - so good for you, or anybody else who is doing it - BRAVO for being so much braver than me ... WOW you are judgemental, wtf are you saying that I am not freaking brave? SHow me soemone else in this screwed up country trying to raise 6 kids, NOW THAT IS FREAKING BRAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zodwa, don't worry about it! I read all that was said and wanted to comment but felt it wasn't my place. You are braver than all puree feeding mommies out there, combined! (sorry yes, I am a bit harsh I know but have seen the benefits, so no one can really disagree with me)

I'd just like to comment on one of the points made, that babies were apparently 'meant to be eating purees'

Mouths were designed to mash and food that has been mixed with saliva (by chewing) actually kick starts the digestive system. Pureed food rarely even get in touch with saliva as it is sucked off the spoon like you would suck on a straw and pureeing food - specially fruit and veggies - destroys some of it's nutrients.

Here's my take on it. If babies were meant to eat only pureed food for the first 1 - 2 years of their lives then purees would grow on trees. The only reason why purees look like they are better absorbed in the tummy is because it already looks like poo. I'm sure if you have a babies poo(spoon fed puree baby) analyzed a huge chunk of it would still be pureed food that went through the digestive track without being absorbed.

And lastly babies don't LEARN to chew, it just develops, so there is no need to start off with purees and gradually move to lumpier foods. Their ability to chew develops much at the same time as their ability to pick up food and take it(swiftly and accurately) to their mouth.

Ruru seems to like colourless food like cauliflower, potatoe, pear. So now to make him eat something with colour like carrots or pumpkin or green beans, i put only that infront of im so that he has no other alternative.

feeling a bit down/irritated
I chat on the Feb 2010 group & am the only person doing BLW. All this time Iv been told how brave I am by doing this as they all worried bout choking.
I log on today & they talking bout how they not comfy with it, fine, whatever.....
Then they start talking bout how a child must learn how to chew, how a 5 month old's tummy isnt ready for solids eaten the way I give them to him, that they should b pureed. Implying that somehow Im hurting him or Im not being a good enough mom. All the while they talking bout this in the 3rd person as if this is being done by somebody somewhere else, yet we all know they talking bout me
Im the only one in that grp with a 5mnth old who is doing BLW.

I know not everybody will do as I do or agree with what I do, but I just felt like it was implyed that Im doing something bad & putting him at risk of choking & dying.....
Its not gonna sway me from the way I feed my baby, just made me feel a bit crappy

My book just arrived:) Thats goning to be James reading material for the next bit ( I read out lod to him while breastfeeding, I started with fairy stories, but then realised that he doesnt understand so while I can choose what to read him he'll be listening to my books)

Now I know y he's been gagging so much.
When we chill on the floor & eat he likes leaning against me while he's chewing. Then when he starts gagging I make him stand up, then it stops.
I noticed that his feeding chair isnt straight the, the back reclines a bit. When he sits he sits up straight but he likes putting his head against the back of the seat so when he gags I put his head upright & he stops gagging & either swallow or spits.
Now I have to hold his head at the back so that he dsnttilt it backwards
Was so proud today, he ate a whole cauliflower, cldnt eat the tree part of it though. & he ate 2 apricot slices. All the time Im watching his head, the second he rests it on the back of the chair, I fix it & he swallowed everything & didnt gag
Unfortunately I cant make the chair more upright. When I dnt sit behind him he dsnt lean against me though. But Iv noticed that whenever he puts anything in his mouth, he tilts his head back

Your hubby is SO right! Ruru is doing so very well. In a month or two's time you will be sitting around laughing at the mommies who are struggling to spoon feed their babies being ever so grateful that you didn't give up,

Wait for it, I still giggle!