How to: BLW in restaurants etc.?

We generally didn't do restaurants at that age. It's best done at home. On rare occasions we did go out we'd either bring a bit of food from home or give small amounts from our plates. The mess is just kind of going to happen. I tip the waitresses generously, even if my toddler doesn't make much of a mess.

When we go to restaurants I control the spoon or only give three bites on the plate at a time depending on what we are eating.

I clean up afterwards and also give small amounts of what ever I am eating. We also only go out to eat right after nap time.

When she was littler she shared our food and we brought wipes etc to clear up the floor after

There are plenty of things that aren’t that messy. But to start you only do one meal a day. We don’t do 3 meals until 10 months so it would be easy to take them to a restaurant at a time they didn’t need to eat solids for at least a few months.

Yeah as others have said, you don’t have to rush to do it out and about and also just give them smaller handheld items - pancake strips, fritters - and be prepared to clean the floor after. As you usually start with breakfast while doing allergens etc lunch is an add ‘bonus’ and usually we gave food at that point outside for him to be familiar with being in the high chair etc rather than for quantity x

We used to bring finger foods with us so it wasn’t too messy. And then we’d give them things from our plate. It was much easier then by also easy to overthink it. Sometimes, I would bring a spare blanket and put that under the high chair at the restaurant to catch all the droppings. But most of the time, wait staff are happy to help with clearing it up if it becomes messy. I just apologise and ask for the dustpan and brush but they always do it instead. If anything, they loved seeing daughter trying foods and always interacted with her.

I’ve never shied away from taking her to places because I believe that exposure from a young age is helpful for their growth.

We did 3 meals a day from 7.5 months because we started with 2 meals a day at 6 months under medical guidance due to weight loss

We started eating at restaurants when my daughter was a bit older, maybe 9 months? But friends and family who did BLW shared from their plate, ordered what they could from the menu (side veggies etc) or even brought their own food. My auntie did a packed lunch for my cousin when we went out with them and he had a little bit of her chicken on top.

I tend to give my daughter a main meal at home before we go out, and the take little finger foods with us like some melty puffs/sticks, veggie straws, biscottis, so that she can still eat too x

Both of mine just made a big mess in lots of places. I always clean up the worst of it, but most places are totally fine with it and just bring a brush and pan after. Honestly never had any issues with this. Family friendly places are obviously ideal. I wouldn’t go to a really really posh place

As someone who used to be a waitress, I was always grateful when parents would wipe up the majority of the mess and pick up the food that had fallen on the floor. This was a regular occurrence at any age from weaning to preteen 😅
But as a mum I would recommend giving bits off your plate, that's what we are doing at home, no point doing a whole plate for a small human who's just sucking on food and having small bites 😅