https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 02 May 2026 20:50:32 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853968 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:54:53 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1853968@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: its ok! Just making sure that was clear. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853967 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:54:34 +0000 blackbird 1853967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: I'm not. I love a food fight. LEZGO</p> <p>@mae: she figured it out :wink: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853963 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:52:39 +0000 Silva 1853963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: oh, I know! Sorry! I'm just joking :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853962 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:52:26 +0000 Mae 1853962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: lol &lt;3 I've seen the pics of E eating... whatever you're doing, you did right :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853959 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:50:22 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1853959@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not trying to sound exclusive...just answering OPs question about why people say you can't do both. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853950 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:44:06 +0000 Silva 1853950@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853949 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:42:00 +0000 blackbird 1853949@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Silva: my confused toddler and I will simultaneously fling whole foods AND purées at you from our new Table of Awesome </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853941 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:37:08 +0000 Silva 1853941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@blackbird: you can't sit with us. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853935 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:23:06 +0000 blackbird 1853935@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>From now on, I'm going to just call it "I fed my baby" so as not to be incorrect lol.</p> <p>I understood the concept of BLW to be "letting your child feed themselves with whole foods". I don't see how it can't be mixed though </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853872 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:20:21 +0000 Arden 1853872@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: Yes exactly! BLW is ALL self feeding, but self feeding mixed with spoon feeding isn't BLW. It's just giving some finger foods. Which is totally ok, it's just not BLW. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees/page/2#post-1853864 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:10:08 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1853864@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>It's kind of the same as sending formula to daycare with your child but saying he/she is EBF. By definition, it's not true, and while you may get some of the benefits of breast milk it isn't quite the same thing as actually EBF. </p> <p>There is nothing wrong with sending formula, just like there is nothing wrong with spoon feeding, but it just isn't blw. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853857 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 17:06:49 +0000 Vegmama 1853857@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Arden: I see. I was looking at your "work" thing about the overall purpose of BLW, which is teaching your child to eat food ... With that overall view, it doesn't matter if you do BLW, purees, or a mix. Eventually, they will all "work". Thanks for explaining!! </p> <p>We decided to do BLW for the same reasons you did. Now that she's 8 months old, I'm comfortable introducing a spoon for self-feeding. It's pretty awesome to watch her swirl it into a puree or food on the tray, then "take a bite". </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853805 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:28:15 +0000 Arden 1853805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Vegmama: Well the main reasons for BLW are teaching a baby to follow his own appetite, and eat what he needs. When you spoon feed purees to a baby, that isn't baby led. </p> <p>Also from the BLW site:</p> <p>"The key thing is that in the BLW method, the parent just has to take a step back and let the child get on with it. The baby learns to chew first, and to spit out, and THEN to swallow food.</p> <p>Is this mixing of spoon-fed puree and finger foods a problem?<br /> Probably not. Is it Baby Led Weaning? No, it is not."</p> <p>My reasons for doing BLW were to teach my baby to chew/swallow safely from the beginning, to eat only to her appetite and know her limit, and to safely and on her own terms, experiment with new foods. I would not expect those results from spoon feeding. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853791 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:14:09 +0000 Vegmama 1853791@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Arden: Totally not arguing with you, as I agree with your post. Just curious what you mean by "work the same way as BLW"? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853775 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 16:04:28 +0000 tysonja 1853775@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we did a bit of both! :) my babies are not prone to choking or gagging (I think I've only seen them gag a bit once each?) so it was easy to give them some table food -- however I spoon fed a lot of puree's, too! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853765 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:58:20 +0000 Kelley_lovelikecrazy 1853765@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't want to get into the conversation of what is BLW vs just finger foods, etc. for fear of being wrong ;)</p> <p>But we had to do purees for daycare, they wouldn't allow anything else. And when home we gave Olivia large chunks of avocado or sweet potato, etc. </p> <p>By nine months she was eating everything we ate for dinner. We'd throw it on her high chair and she'd go to town.</p> <p>She also knew to bite, spit out too big of bites, and chew.</p> <p>Her friends at daycare had a hard time eating solids. The other day, daycare gave them a muffin (at a year old) and the kids started shoving the whole thing in their mouth - they don't yet understand to bite off pieces. Olivia was just fine.</p> <p>I think you can do both - and I am really glad we did! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853739 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:41:09 +0000 Arden 1853739@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I have to say, I feel like people, including a LOT of hellobee, don't understand BLW.</p> <p>BLW is not just giving babies finger foods. It's an entire philosophy. It's about letting babies feed themselves and choose how much they want. It's baby led.<br /> You can't do a little BLW and a little of spoon feeding. That would be like doing a little sleep training and then other times just rock baby to sleep, and calling it sleep training. One negates the benefits of the other.</p> <p>That said, you can ABSOLUTELY feed your baby a mix of purees and finger foods. It's just not BLW. :P</p> <p>There is nothing wrong with feeding your baby some finger foods and then spoon feeding purees. I don't judge that in the least. If it works for you, great! Just don't expect it to work the same way as BLW, because it isn't the same thing. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853737 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:40:41 +0000 Vegmama 1853737@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Can I just add ... I was in a BLW on FB that I ended up leaving. It was so dogmatic, and I just couldn't handle it. I ended up joining "Baby Led Weaning : Our Way", and I find them to be so much kinder, and full of awesome knowledge on mixing BLW and purees. </p> <p>As with most things related to raising babies ... It's all about what works best for your family! I know you'll figure out what works for you!! :) When our babies go to kindergarten, no one will know if they started on purees or solids. Or if they were formula fed or breastfed. :) I don't give an eff if a hardcore BLW advocate judges me! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853728 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:32:43 +0000 Foodnerd81 1853728@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: we did mostly blw with some purees being spoon fed. I think you do really need to wait until closer to six months for blw. </p> <p>However my friends son had a pretty dramatic drop in weight percentile somewhere between 4 and 6 months and she couldn't breastfeed him any more than she was (he wouldn't eat more even f she offered more) so her ped had her stop blw and just do purees and up his solids intake. She focused on calorically dense things (avocado vs carrots) and did do oatmeal and traditional baby foods. He gained faster that way- the breastmilk alone just wasn't doing it for him. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853714 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:23:31 +0000 spaniellove 1853714@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: I've heard you can do purees to start, especially if you start on the younger end of the range, and introduce BLW at or after 6 months, when their motor skills are a little better and they have the grasp down? Honestly, if I've learned anything it's that there is no black and white. You can do what works best for you. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853688 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:09:14 +0000 Mae 1853688@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Vegmama: that is sort of what I was wondering about the choking thing. We will see what the ped says. I may be way ahead of myself here anyways :) I think more formula would be ideal but she just won't take it. We dealt with a few weeks of outright food refusal wherein we could only get oz into her by feeding her while she slept (ridiculous). She is eating willingly while awake now but most days she doesn't reach the bottom edge of what is considered normal intake. I'd love if she would just eat a bit more but she just won't! Stubborn babies :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853685 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 15:05:05 +0000 Vegmama 1853685@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: Hardcore BLW people say no purees, because it can cause choking when the baby is eating non-purees. With BLW, baby's learn to chew/mush and then swallow. With purees, they learn to swallow, then chew. </p> <p>We started with BLW. She wasn't interested until 6.5 months. There are some foods like soup, applesauce, or fun squeeze pouches that are best on a spoon, so we give them to her on a spoon. It's fun to watch her "eat" from a pre-loaded spoon. </p> <p>So yeah, we weren't strictly BLW. We did what we're comfortable with, and it's been awesome. I don't like how hardcore BLW people will give a baby a big banana, or raw apple. Some things really are a choking hazard, so we steam a lot of raw fruits and veggies or put them in a mesh feeder. </p> <p>Food before 1 is for fun. Baby's guts aren't always able to handle food before 6 months (which it sounds like you know that), and I wonder if your ped would recommend formula or more breastmilk/formula over introducing solids as a form of nutrition. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853671 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:56:03 +0000 immabeetoo 1853671@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mae: we did a mix; loaded the spoon for him in the very early days so he was always in control. We haven't had weight issues but he definitely did not actually eat much until closer to 9 months (when I'll probably start with #2). He actually had some stomach issues, etc. dealing with the foods that would've concerned me if he hadn't been a chunk! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853661 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:51:21 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 1853661@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: my LO just throws her spoon, &amp; if I try to feed her from my fork she takes the food off with her hands :wink: lol i don't know if she will ever use a utensil! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853654 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:47:55 +0000 Boheme 1853654@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We didn't follow the hardcore BLW rules. We did a mix, and it was really successful! DS isn't picky at all. Basically, we decided to keep meals fun and easy. If a food was hard for him to eat in whole/BLW form, we gave it to him in a puree form. If we were at a restaurant, we gave him a pouch just because BLW can be really messy. I spoon fed him his yogurt when he was smaller just because the mess was ridiculous. At home, we always did BLW style (minus yogurt). He ate what we did, so I just kind of based our meals on things we could all eat togther - like pot roast with potatoes and carrots. There is really no right or wrong way! Just do what works for you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853651 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:47:13 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1853651@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Sunshine: meh, mostly I was just lazy ;) It was easier to clean him up at the end rather than be on standby with the spoon. Plus he is such an independent soul, once I let him have the spoon he never would have let me take it back ;) Even now, if I try to give him a taste of what I am having from my fork, he closes his mouth tight. But if I hold the fork out to him he will take it and shove it in his mouth. Stinker ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853648 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:44:59 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 1853648@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Lion: ahh, I spoon fed those things to LO. I think your way is more BLW than ours was :happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853641 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:39:53 +0000 Mrs. Lion 1853641@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Sunshine: We did those too :) But since I let LO feed them to himself instead of me putting a spoon in his mouth I still considered it BLW. :) Maybe I am wrong haha! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853635 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:37:09 +0000 Mrs. Sunshine 1853635@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did both, kind of. We never actually did purees but LO had mashed avocado &amp; sweet potatoes, unsweetened applesauce &amp; green smoothies, we never bought baby food nor did I make any but we didn't fully do BLW either. I liked our balance &amp; LO is a fantastic eater. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/blw-v-purees#post-1853634 Mon, 08 Sep 2014 14:35:40 +0000 Bubbles 1853634@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We did both finger foods and purées right from the start - started a week before 6mo (he was starting to growl at us when we ate in front of him!) and now at 8.5mo he still gets an option of both at each meal. I did intend to do pure blw, but I couldn't bear how upset and frustrated he got when he couldn't get the food into his mouth at first. The book says this bit doesn't last long and it's important to let them get on with it - but I couldn't resist helping him out. </p> <p>He usually picks away at his finger foods for a while, and then starts grunting at me to feed him some purée - then will go back and do a bit more self feeding afterwards. </p> <p>As Mrs Lion said it's not true blw - but I think whatever works for you and baby is fine. The way I am doing it can be a bit of a hassle (as I have to prepare him both kinds of food for each meal!), but for us it works and he is eating plenty, enjoys his meals and is really good with his fine motor skills from all the self feeding. </p>