I am a huge fan, I’ve been converted completely. Admittedly I never started off down the baby led weaning route..read about it here, however being in the middle of moving countries, not having a blender etc it seemed the easier option.
I probably haven’t done it “right” I haven’t read any books and avid followers would probably be completely disgusted at my attempt but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.
Why did I try this with LPV? However saying that LPV did eat everything until he turned 18months but BLW is so much easier. I don’t have to worry about heating food, I order a normal child’s meal for Miss C and she munches her way through. She’s eaten Dim Sum, the biggest Christmas dinner I’ve ever seen (including sprouts).
The only problem I have now is that she kicks off if she doesn’t get the same as LPV, mainly when he’s got quavers with his sandwich or if he’s earn’t a chocolate pudding by eating all his dinner. I’m not sure whether Miss C won’t turn into a fussy eater later down the line but at the moment she’s an absolutely joy to feed. There’s no negotiating, no bribery just lots of yummy noises.
The choking is still a worry, I still make sure I cut things up small or in sticks so she can hold it, when she does gag she usually clears the food herself. Most of the time after meals she looks like she’s done 10 rounds with whatever she’s eaten, kiwi was the culprit this morning, if you hate mess or your children getting dirty then it’s definitely not for you. I just let Miss C free on the food the mess can be cleared and that’s the beauty of ceramic tiles. I think it’s actually encouraged me to start cooking and baking more too, that and my kitchen aid *does little dance*.
I don’t think they’ll be anymore children going through weaning in the expat house but if there are we’ll be baby led weaning!
expatfamilyescapades 
We did this with our second child and I am so glad we did. Sure it gets messy sometimes but she’s 2 now and eats on her own, there were no major set backs. We didn’t even had blender, I just mashed a lot of fruits and veggies or cut them into strips. I don’t know if it helped but she is very independent in a lot of ways. The first born was not and he is now 8 and sometimes I have to literally spoon feed him so he will eat!
Same here…I literally have to chase him with a spoon. Thanks for stopping by
That saved our sanity with our first born: she just wouldn’t eat anything, at the very least not if it was mashed. So bits and pieces it was. And the 2nd one didn’t eat anything mashed between 6-9 months, I even baked his porridge! Worked for us!
Oh my sounds like it was tough…
I just heard about baby led weaning recently. Blackberry #2 is 13 months now, and still only eating mashed things. He gags even if something is a little thicker… I wish we would be eating strips, pieces… And Blackberry #1 is the worst eater, also has to be spoon fed at age 6 😦 otherwise he won’t eat 😦
Sorry you’re having a rough time with them eating. Have you tried giving #2 the choice of both, always give him something he has to hold himself., carrot, cucumber
The trouble is he has only 4 teeth, that are not under each other, so he cannot bite yet. I do give him baby biscuits and he kind of sucks on them.
I have nominated you for a wordpress-family-award, congrats! 🙂 :
http://theblackberryboys.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/wordpress-family-award/
Miss C only has two teeth, the two bottom teeth, she copes quite well. I don’t give her huge chunks of meat though.x
With Z I was so scared to try baby led weaning I always gave him purees and soft fruits. With a second I think I’d be much more braver and try finger foods!
Once you get over the initial fear it’s so easy
I would not worry if I were you about how properly you are following baby led weaning. Take us for example, we do not give Zoárd any purées but at the same time we do not encourage him to eat on his own either. (He does not put toys in his mouth either so if you hand him finger food, he throws it on the floor or mashes it in his hands. Period.) We pop the food in his mouth. If he is hungry, he lets us feed him with anything, if he is not than he lets us know so it is easy to feed him. We do not have a high chair so he stands by our chair… Not ideal but I doubt that he will become fussy. We cook and bake everything without salt and we add the salt to our plates or we separate his on the baking tray.
xoxo, Eszter
http://kukolina.wordpress.com/2014/01/13/back-in-barcelona/
I wish miss C wouldn’t put toys in her mouth, everything goes in
Oh dear…
We are about to start weaning with our third and are pretty much following your style, no books just letting our termite do her thing !