Baby-Led Weaning?

annabenanna

My sister who is a semi-crunchy mama, and I were talking the other night and I asked her to go over my registry, so I can add/edit etc based on her suggestions.  

She came across these spoons I registered for (numnums) and said "those work, but only for babyfood.... and you registered for the Beaba cookset..how long do you plan on feeding him baby food?  you might want to reconsider in case you wanna look into baby-led weaning"  That made me look into BLW a little bit more and am actually liking the idea.

Any of you ladies planning on doing this?  

For those that have done it, is it truly easy to implement?  Do you have to clean up crazy messes every meal time?  

SpaceBurger

...................off to Google real quick brb

amye102485

The only reason I didn't do it with my daughter was because she had such a bad gag reflex that if she stuck anything not smooth in her mouth, she would gag immediately. I think it's a good idea and I will try it with this baby. I know a lot of people who have had great success with it.

annabenanna

lol @SpaceBurger.

Okay, as per Wiki:

"Baby-led weaning (often also referred to as BLW) is a method of adding complementary foods to a baby's diet of breastmilk or formula. A method of food progression, BLW facilitates the development of age appropriate oral motor control while maintaining eating as a positive, interactive experience. Baby-led weaning allows babies to control their solid food consumption by "self-feeding" from the very beginning of their experiences with food. The term weaning should not be taken to imply giving up formula or breastmilk, but simply the introduction of foods other than formula or breastmilk."

TurtleMomma

I did it with DS and loved it. It made life way easier because we could both eat at the same time (instead of me feeding him then feeding myself) and no extra effort (prepping, blending, packaging, etc). It also encouraged me to eat better. 

The most important thing I tell moms considering it is to be familiar with the difference between choking and gagging. DS only truly choked twice, and a quick back whack solved it. He gagged a lot, but he was fine. Freaked other people out, but I felt comfortable. 

westcoastfoodie

Following this thread! I'm curious what the benefits of baby led weaning are. I did a little googling, but I'll have to to more research. Interested to hear other's input!

SpaceBurger

haha okay, went and informed myself. Since I haven't been around many babies besides my nephews, I thought this was actually just how babies started to eat food haha. So yea, I guess then I'm totally going to do it. The only part that sucks is all. the. food. chopping. It takes forever. I might register for a mandoline. 

annabenanna

@amye102485, I'm excited to try it with this bebe.  Hopefully he cooperates.  I just want a non-picky baby, and a child who will eat what's on the dinner table.  With DH's kids now, we literally sometimes have to cook something completely different than what we are eating, because they won't touch "regular adult food".  

My sister's two year old on the other hand.... he can eat everything.  Like everything even crazy things like curries and Korean dishes, and loves time at the dinner table with the grown ups.  

amye102485

@annabenanna See, my daughter is SUPER picky and it drives me crazy. Now I don't know if it's just because she's 5 or if it had anything to do with BLW, but I want this next one to be more open to trying new things.

annabenanna

@TurtleMomma, did you find that it helped with DS enjoying meal times?  Do you feel that BLW helps in having kids actually enjoy eating and trying out new foods, etc?  I see kids/toddlers who have to be chased around during meal times or given bribes "5 more bites and you can go play outside".... and this is primarily why I would want to try BLW... is if it can help with all that.  

annabenanna

amye102485 said:

@annabenanna See, my daughter is SUPER picky and it drives me crazy. Now I don't know if it's just because she's 5 or if it had anything to do with BLW, but I want this next one to be more open to trying new things.

I feel like we do everything we can, and sometimes the kids are who they are.  You know?  I hope she grows out of her pickiness @amye102485!  

msBlackandGold

I've done it with both my daughters. I wouldn't have had it any other way! It did drive my mom and MIL nuts because since I EBF they didn't get to feed the baby, then when the baby started solids, the baby got to decide what and how much. Mom and MIL both wanted to feed my children as opposed to letting them feed themselves....ah well. 

It was great for the kids, too, I think. Once they started eating, they sat and were a part of dinner. Like a PP said, I didn't have to feed the baby, then feed myself. We all sat down at the same time and LO got whatever we were eating. I just watched closely. There was a lot of gagging in the beginning, but again, it's about knowing the difference between gagging and choking. 

I felt better with this option because I was never "forcing' my kids to eat. If they didn't like the banana, then they didn't eat it. I was OK with that. Both my girls LOVED (and still do) green beans. So sometimes they'd have green beans for breakfast. 

The size of the mess depends on the meal you prepare. Green beans are a "clean" food. Spaghetti is not a "clean" food. LOL. But you also only give them very little. So it's not like pictures online of kids with noodles everywhere. If you are only giving them 5-10 noodles at a time, then they are only able to make that big of a mess. 

nlane0723

We didn't do baby led weaning. Well, we didn't do it on purpose if we did. I used pouches. Harper literally liked nothing I cooked her. NOTHING. I cried. She cried. We just gave her a pouch and she went to town.

She isn't picky at all. Has been eating kimchi, seaweed, poke, duck, steak tartare, and most veggies since she was one.

ball4768

@annabenanna We did traditional baby food and some BLW techniques. DD was a much better eater when she was younger, and only got picky as she got older (she's 5 now). Also, my friends with 2 or more children often have one "good" eater and one picky eater, so I think it can also depend on your child's personality and disposition. At the end of the day, you do whatever it takes to get your child to eat. We always swore that we would never use dessert as a reward for good eating habits, and guess what? We totally do it, because it is effective with DD. 

TurtleMomma

@annabenanna

The idea is that they explore food (taste, texture, etc) on their own terms. DS loved to play with his food (and it was adorable), some days he ate a fair amount, other days not so much, didn't bother me either way. The general idea is that under a year, babes' primary source of nutrition will still be breastmilk/formula so that actual amount of food they eat is basically irrelevant. DS is almost 3 and he is a fairly selective eater. Honestly, I more attribute that to being a toddler than anything else. 

The main goal with BLW is teaching the kid healthy eating habits: eat when you're hungry (don't if you're not), learning satiety cues and self sufficiency/self feeding skills. That's why I went that way. I do not regret it in the least 

blaf322

Thanks for starting this! I haven't looked into it too much but am very interested in it. One thing that worries me is the choking risk. I mean, if they're choking/gagging a lot, is that not a sign that they're not ready for the food? Thoughts on this from other mamas?

ingoscj

We did baby food at first. I introduced soft foods when she seemed able to pick it up and get it toward her mouth. She loves feeding herself! I just tried to go with whatever she seemed able to tolerate. Plus it is a million times easier with her feeding herself rather than me sitting there with a spoon. Plus she seems to eat more if we are eating the same thing. 

annabenanna

Thank you so much ladies!  

@msBlackandGold, I cannot imagine having to clean spaghetti off everything. LOL.  Have to now start thinking of "clean" foods. Hahaha.

@nlane0723 , I'd LOVE for my kid to eat poke someday.  #mommygoals

@ball4768, yes I think in the end it all boils down to personality.  We do what we can!  And I think you're right about having a "picky eater and non-picky eater".  It's like that with my stepkids.  One of them will try stuff, and sometimes eat it... (the 6 year old) and the older one (8 year old), you can't even convince to try anything new.  At dinner the other night, she cried because the restaurant put cheese on her pasta when she ordered it plain. LOL.  
@TurtleMomma , healthy eating habits.  I like that.  thanks for all the input!

TurtleMomma

Not necessarily @bnsmith85

Babes are learning how to feed themselves so it's normal for there to be a learning curve as to how far into their mouth they need to stick things, and/or how much they can put in their mouth at one time. Gagging is a natural defense mechanism to keep them from overloading. Even if you start with purees, they still have to learn that skill when you give them "real" food. BLW has a list of readiness signs for starting solid foods (I don't have time in the moment to find the link, but easily Google-able). 

blaf322

Thanks for the info @TurtleMomma! I actually already like the idea even more knowing they address readiness signs. And no need to provide links. Happy to google  

babyblues3

We just followed the babies cues. We started with smooth foods and moved into more solid food. Both DDs basically ate what we did after the first month of introducing solids. Also, making baby food is super easy. I also put the food into pouches for on the go. 

I don't really have picky eaters but they also know that if they don't eat the kitchen is closed and I don't give them anything else. 

waterfall213

My daughter would not eat purées so we did BLW. She loved it and it was easy for me because she could eat while I ate. She didn't really eat much at first but she she loved sucking on the food and gumming it. It did get messy at times, but I dealt with it.

freckledlemonade

I don't think giving finger foods eliminates the need for spoons personally.  The cook set, yes, but spoons you'll probably want eventually, baby food or not.  We never really fed our first baby food per se, and never did any cereal, but we still gave her spoons fairly early on.  We did always have some of those pouches on hand for on the go, and dd figured out how to eat from those quickly (and loved them!). 

I don't know what the numnums spoons are, but something like these that are easy to grip for baby would be good. 
https://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Piece-Fork-Spoon-Set/dp/B006SFUCSG/ref=sr_1_7_s_it?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1469563952&sr=1-7&keywords=munchkin+spoons

von1976

We are planning to do BLW! First, it means we don't have to buy baby spoons (salad forks and teaspoons from our regular set will work just fine) and baby feeding gear. Second, it means I don't have to cook baby food (or buy it, but I wouldn't get the store bought stuff--yuck). We just plan to sit with baby at the table and when baby starts reaching for food from our plates and sticking it in the pie hole, we'll offer it. We have friends that have done it, and it's honestly no more messy than feeding a baby. When they are very little not much goes into their mouths and a lot goes down the front because they push it out with their tongues. When they're ready to feed themselves, more goes in, but it's no more messy than a baby that's been spoon fed from an early age.

Kaytee1087

I am quite happy for this thread because I didn't know what this was called, but apparently this was what I was planning to do lol. I've heard good things about this method and it makes lots of sense to me!

kmvisioli

DS1 didn't ever like puréed foods, so we pretty much went straight to giving him things off our plates. He eats like a champ now, at 16months old. I keep a supply of steamed or canned (no salt added) vegetables, and a variety of fresh and canned (in 100% fruit juice) fruits. Other favorites are scrambled eggs, meatballs, chicken, cheese, pb sandwiches, yogurt... Mostly he uses his fingers, but he thinks it's really fun to try using a fork or spoon now. I do use re-usable pouches for things like yogurt and applesauce (I have a squooshi brand set that I've been happy with). I think it just depends on the kid, really. Making your own baby food is easy and fun- I just used a magic bullet to get steamed foods to the consistency I wanted.

ashleyp625

We are planning to do this. I may have to send purees to daycare- I'm not sure if they'll want to deal with the mess- but we will definitely do it as much as possible at home. 

queen_frostine

Check with your daycares. My friend's would not take homemade food because it wasn't in sealed containers or something. She had a lot of trouble getting them to agree to accept an avocado as food for her child.

I plan to do BLW, but also introduce a variety of textures. I'm lucky my mom is taking the baby and she'll basically do whatever I want.

ignoscemihi

Our doctor advised against BLW.  She said it overrides the gag reflex before baby is ready.  We mostly just threw whatever we were eating in a blender and gave that to our son.  We gave him utensils fairly early and let him feed himself that way.  He started eating non-pureed table foods around 8 months. 

He's two now and he is "picky" in that he definitely has things he won't eat (for some reason, he will not eat eggs in any form even though he used to love them), but he does eat a broad range of foods (paneer tikka masala is his favorite).  I think that comes mostly from our making an effort to feed him a wide variety of foods.  Now those foods are just normal to him.  And we never make him eat what he doesn't want.  We always ask him to try a bite, but if he doesn't like it, we don't force him to eat it.

ByeBabyBunting

DS also hated purees so we did BLW at about 7 months. He ate everything we did and was not picky at all until he got to be about 5, but he's still better than some kids I know. My daycare had never heard of it (6 years ago now!) so I sent them links, and while they weren't super comfortable at first, they ended up going along. 

owlcup

I did BLW with all three and will again this time. With my first daughter, I started with purees because I thought I "had too" but the mess and gross of pureed foods stopped me quickly. Plus the prep and all that, yeah no. I started purees with her around 7 months, we switched to BLW around 7.5 months. My other two started around 8 months. I plan on the same with this baby. It seriously makes things so much more simple not having to prepare or feed the baby separately. Just give them a bit off your plate and everyone is happy! 

And I agree with a PP. Know the difference between gagging and choking. Luckily, we never had a real choking incident, but we had a lot of gagging which freaked a lot of people out. Myself included the first few times it happened with each kid.