BLW v. Rice Cereal

sammyk0688

I've been seeing a lot about Baby-Led Weaning and I think it's great, but I'm not quite sure if I want to do it.  Any moms out there who have done BLW instead of rice cereal??  Or who have switched from one to the other?  Just looking for some real life experience with the whole idea.  Thanks!

meganjoey0728

We decided to do baby lead weaning rather then the traditional purees. Our son is really independent and has been attempting to eat our food since 4 months. They recommend waiting until 6 months to start, but LO was showing all the signs of being ready (sitting up, taking things to his mouth, chewing on things). So far he has tried broccoli, avocado, banana, and carrots. The best thing is that we all eat dinner together so he is part of the family. He decides when he is done and there is no pressure on the amount he eats. Food is just for fun at this point, they don't need any for a couple of more months. It is really messy! We bought The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook ,  which has a nice introduction to the process too. My sister in law also does BLW and my niece who is about to be one is great at it. I would suggest you read online and there is a facebook group too. Let me know if you have any questions!

JenJH923

I am just starting to read the BLW book, but I have heard great things from moms that I know.  My pediatrician is very skeptical and I can't seem to get her on board with me, but I am just doing it either way.

sunnyday016

We did a mix of BLW & rice cereal/purees with DD starting at 6m and it went well. This time we'll skip cereal altogether and go right to purees & BLW. Cereal really doesn't have much nutritional value so I don't see the point. I'll start at 6m, nothing before that.

b.heather

We did BLW and purees with DD and will just do BLW with DS this time. We've already been giving him breads, which he loves and just sucks on until they are mush.

Part of the BLW philosophy is that you let babies self-feed rather than spoon-feeding them, so that they are in control. This helps foster a healthy relationship towards food and independence. It also teaches them to chew what they put into their mouth, rather than teaching them to just "suck" stuff back (like rice cereal, purees, etc), which decreases the risk of choking.