Any twin moms doing BLW (baby led weaning)?

We started this past week and it is going so well! So far we've had sweet potato, avocado, broccoli, cauliflower, watermelon (their fav), apple and pear.

It's messy, but so great to let them be in control!

 

We kinda do. I give them some purees (usually once a day) but for the most part they eat what we eat. It's been really fun watching them explore the different tastes, textures..

 

I started purees at 6 months. At 7.5 months, I started doing BLW for all meals at home (I realize this is not at all in the spirit of BLW, but I just follow their strategies). They still get purees at daycare. Let me tell you that having them feed themselves is SO MUCH easier. Yes, it's a bit messy, but purees are messy too when you are trying to feed two screaming babies at once.

Does anyone have a good website that shows pictures of baby led weaning foods?

 

I found this website that had good recipes...
Wholesome Baby Food

 

What is BLW?

 

I was scrollling down to post the same question!

 

Baby led weaning

 

Baby-led weaning (often also referred to as BLW) is a method of gradually weaning a baby from a milk diet onto solid foods. It allows a baby to control his solid food intake by self-feeding from the very beginning of the weaning process. Infants are offered a range of foods to provide a balanced diet from around 6 months. They often begin by picking up and licking the food, before progressing to eating. Babies typically begin self feeding around 6 months, although some will reach for food as early as 5 months and some will wait until 7 or 8. The intention of this process is that it is tailored to suit each particular baby and their personal development. The 6 month guideline provided by the World Health Organisation is based on research indicating the internal digestive system matures over the period 4-6 months. It seems reasonable to posit that the gut matures in tandem with the baby's external faculties to self feed. Initial self-feeding attempts often result in very little food ingested as the baby explores textures and tastes, but the baby will soon start to swallow and digest what is offered. Breastfeeding is continued in conjunction with weaning and milk is always offered before solids in the first 12 months. Although breastfeeding is the ideal precursor to baby led weaning (as the baby has been exposed to different flavours via its mother's breast milk and the jaw action used during breastfeeding helps the baby learn to chew), it is also entirely possible to introduce a bottle-fed baby to solids using the BLW method. Bottle-fed babies can successfully wean using BLW, although it may take a little longer for the baby to get used to flavours and develop the ability to chew.

Sorri for the long definition haha

 

I'd never heard of BLW, but I may take some of the cues. My girls have been eating solids since five months. They've both started getting the chewing motion down and we had success with yogurt melts. I was thinking of letting them try self feeding with peas or baked apples. Any suggestions?

 

It's working well for my singleton. We started with bigger items that she could suck on or gum but her pincer grip has progressed really well.

Basically just follow common sense on introducing foods slowly (watching for allergies) and based on their abilities. Early on: watermelon, well cooked veggies such as carrots, cauliflower (see pic), beans, plums, peaches. (spoon feeding baby cereal, applesauce and banana). Moved onto chicken (tender dark meat worked best) (some pureed chicken stew), grilled zucchini and sweet pepper, pasta with olive oil and garlic, baby cereal biscuits, spoon fed yogurt. Now at 8.5 mo...just about anything. (still breastfeeding) I give her 1-2 tbsp protein, 1-2 tbsp yogurt, 2-4 tbsp starch/breads per day, and 4-6 tbsp fruits & veggies (spread out over 3 meals). We've just started cheese (small cubes). She had roast beef tonight (small pieces), zucchini sauteed with garlic (she likes garlic!), potato, grapes.