# Anyone do Baby Led Weaning AND GAPS diet/protocol? Trying to figure out what to feed 9mo



## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

I'm having trouble finding very much information and wasn't sure where to post this. Preparing to start myself and 2 kids on GAPS hopefully soon, but in the meantime I'm starting solids with 9mo DD as she REALLY wants to eat. I'm trying to do only GAPS legal foods. So far I've tried:

Bone broth made from 100% grassfed organic beef: this is OK but she only gets a tad bit in her mouth by dipping her hand in the broth and putting to her mouth. Way too runny.

Saurkraut: this works a little better for getting in her mouth

Meat: I have given her chunks of chicken and turkey to chew on/taste.

At this point I think she is not really swallowing except maybe a bit of the bone broth. It's only been a few weeks. The GAPS books says to start out with broth, add juice, THEN solids such as veggies in the broth. The poor kid wants to chomp and chew! Someone told me raw chicken liver (I have some but when it thaws I will cook it, don't feel comfortable with raw) for her to gnaw on. Thanks!


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## SundayCrepes (Feb 15, 2008)

I don't know anything about GAPS so I just read a brief bit. It sounds like you're following what they say. It seems pretty specific so I'm not sure what info you're looking for. It spells out what to feed when.

It doesn't seem like baby led solids and GAPS are compatible. Baby led solids is letting your baby just explore and eat whatever you are. GAPS sounds rather regimented. I'd say choose one way or the other. But, as I said, I don't know about the GAPS diet, so maybe I'm reading it wrong.

We did baby led solids. Just healthy food we were eating and very little processed stuff. My daughter's first food was avocado. My son ate the potatoes and peas out of a samosa when we went to an Indian restaurant.

It sounds like you'll mainly be feeding them healthy food, so I don't know that it matters other than your baby may be frustrated at not being able to choose what they want to eat.


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

You're right, GAPS for babies isn't really BLW friendly, that's why I'm having trouble combining the two. I really want her to be able to grab the food and chew on it herself.

I'm wanting to start her on GAPS friendly foods to try and heal her gut, because she reacts to many more foods than I had hoped, including some major ones such as corn, tomato, dairy, egg and odd ones such as lemon, blueberry, pea, cauliflower, and others.

I'm pretty sure avocado is OK on GAPS, but not potatoes. There is also something called Intro diet on GAPS which is more limited but I will have to read again what is allowed on that. Kind of pointless to start her on Intro anyways if I'm not on it.


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## geekgolightly (Apr 21, 2004)

i do BLW and quasi paleo and paleo is not too dissimilar from GAPS and we are doing pretty ok.

feed any fruits veggies meats fats that you deem appropriate. cook/roast in coconut oil or butter if you feel comfortable with butter. GAPS steers you towards CLO i bet you could find a way to put that in a food she loves.

typical day for my boy

egg cooked in butter

apple slices (I take the skin off for now. he's seven months old)

banana

avocado

hamburger patty with purple onion cooked in it

asparagus roasted

yogurt (this is something you're probably avoiding? but eventually youll be ab,le to give yogurt. he *loves* whole milk plain yogurt)

steak slice or two that he sucks on and munches on

roasted tomatoes

peach or pear slices


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## geekgolightly (Apr 21, 2004)

oh my gosh! i just found the list of foods and there is so much variety!

http://gapsdiet.com/The_Diet.html


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## geekgolightly (Apr 21, 2004)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ophelia*
> 
> You're right, GAPS for babies isn't really BLW friendly, that's why I'm having trouble combining the two. I really want her to be able to grab the food and chew on it herself.
> 
> ...


doh! didnt see this when i posted. you have some limitations unrelated to the GAPS diet.

but still! there is so much you *can* give her! really, we just give him anything we are eating (we don't eat grains or sugars ...most of the time!) and he goes to town.

eta the winter squash family is something you can roast up and have a huge bunch of it ready for eating. my guy eats butternut squash hand over fist!


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks! I will definitely try squash and avocado with her (I think I react to them myself so that's why I normally don't use them). I'd also like to figure out something that the bone broth will mix into easily, squash could do that.

I've heard of paleo, it's grain free correct? GAPS is grain free because I think it says grains are hard to digest. Yes, there are a lot of OK foods on GAPS, but for the baby solids part, it starts out with meat stock (well, I made bone broth), yogurt which she can't have, veggie juice (again, she doesn't really take a bottle well from me nor has had sippy yet).

http://www.gaps.me/preview/?page_id=34

I'll keep working on it. I gave her raw carrot but I think I may cook them instead. I'm also trying to think of things she can't easily throw on the floor like mushed up stuff instead of large pieces, like the apple I tried last night (because unless it's easily rinsable, I can't use it again if it's been on the floor due to lots of cross-contamination!).'

One of the problems I'm having with GAPS it is wants to puree everyhing, which goes against BLW!


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## geekgolightly (Apr 21, 2004)

i put a large towel underneath my guys high chair to catch food. i feel more comfortable putting things on his plate that way.

as for gaps wanting to puree everything, is there a reason other than "she's a baby!" for them wanting to do it? if not, just ignore that bit.









yes, paleo is grain and sugar free. ideally all free range meat products and minimal dairy depending upon who you listen to in the paleo/primal world.

paleo subscribers are also wary of grains for digestive issues. i started it as a last resort to lose weight and it cured my debilitating gerd. i had no clue or expectation of that, but now i wont go back to eating SAD ever again.


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks for the towel idea, I will try that!


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## SundayCrepes (Feb 15, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ophelia*
> 
> Thanks! I will definitely try squash and avocado with her (I think I react to them myself so that's why I normally don't use them). I'd also like to figure out something that the bone broth will mix into easily, squash could do that.
> 
> ...


Help her drink out of a regular cup. She's watched you do that her entire life so she'd probably love a try. Sippee cups are actually bad for babies as they promote an immature suck, so definitely stay away from them. Regarding the food on the floor. They did a study and there was no growth on anything until it had been on the floor at least 30 seconds. So the five second rule is actually the 29 second rule. That said, I am an RN. My guiding motto is, "A bored immune system is a dangerous immune system." If your kids live in a super-sterile environment, when will their immune systems learn how to operate properly? I wouldn't let my kids eat something they dropped in the chicken coop, but I do let them share food with the dogs. Not really sure the difference there. Probably just the ick factor.


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## Ophelia (Feb 16, 2005)

Thanks! Don't have any baby-friendly cups at the moment so would have to go get a safe one. I'm concerned about food on the floor due to cross contamination of things that i know she already reacts to. I have a DH and 5yo who also eat at that table and spill crumbs on the floor ALL the time and don't clean them up even though I repeatedly ask (I don't expect the 5yo to remember but I do have him help clean sometimes).

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SundayCrepes*
> 
> Help her drink out of a regular cup. She's watched you do that her entire life so she'd probably love a try. Sippee cups are actually bad for babies as they promote an immature suck, so definitely stay away from them. Regarding the food on the floor. They did a study and there was no growth on anything until it had been on the floor at least 30 seconds. So the five second rule is actually the 29 second rule. That said, I am an RN. My guiding motto is, "A bored immune system is a dangerous immune system." If your kids live in a super-sterile environment, when will their immune systems learn how to operate properly? I wouldn't let my kids eat something they dropped in the chicken coop, but I do let them share food with the dogs. Not really sure the difference there. Probably just the ick factor.


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## SundayCrepes (Feb 15, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Ophelia*
> 
> Thanks! Don't have any baby-friendly cups at the moment so would have to go get a safe one. I'm concerned about food on the floor due to cross contamination of things that i know she already reacts to. I have a DH and 5yo who also eat at that table and spill crumbs on the floor ALL the time and don't clean them up even though I repeatedly ask (I don't expect the 5yo to remember but I do have him help clean sometimes).


Now I understand what you mean by cross contamination.


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## mommy2xman+1 (Nov 14, 2006)

How did the GAPS diet work for you? I have a daughter with severe food sensitivities/allergies and severe cradle cap. I'm so lost on where to start her with food. She's almost a year old and wanting to eat solids, but she seems to react to so much... I'd love to hear how your GAPS experiment worked.

I have three older children, so I would like to incorporate some baby-led weaning because one of the reason's she wants to eat is social. She hasn't had very much until two months ago. Her first experience with sweet potato chunks was nearly 3 weeks of green diarrhea. Naturally, I'm leary of just about everything...


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