Community› The Bump Message Boards› Babies: 3 - 6 Months
Babies: 3 - 6 Months
New Discussion

BLW Newbie Question

bma-ambbma-amb member
in Babies: 3 - 6 Months
I'm just starting to learn about this and my main concern / question is what about choking?? Is a 6 month old really ready to eat food that's not mashed up? Am I missing something? Seems like lots of moms are using this method with success, so there is obviously something great about it.... fill me in. Big Smile
Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
Report Reply to Post

Re: BLW Newbie Question

  • vanfoxvanfox member

    Choking isn't really a worry because young babies have a gag reflex much further up in their mouths than older children and adults do. Now, they might gag a lot, but this is normal. The important thing to remember is gagging isn't choking and it's an important process for learning how to judge how much food a person needs and about textures.

    If you start spoon feeding at 4 months, they recommend starting finger foods at 6 months along with the purees, so there's really never been any question that 6 month olds can handle their own food.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • vanfoxvanfox member
    You don't necessarily start with mushier foods, just something they can chew through, which could still lead to gagging. Like, you can offer a steamed carrot or stalk of broccoli, but you don't want it to be so soft that it squishes in their hand. The BLW book actually suggests things like roast chicken legs pretty early -- the trick is food that's finger-shaped and at least 2 inches long so a baby without fine motor control can still pick it up and gnaw on it.
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • bma-ambbma-amb member
    What is the benefit to starting solids this way vs. the pureed way? I'm really intrigued by all this...
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • vanfoxvanfox member

    The theory is this puts babies more in charge of their own food intake, so they'll be able to join in family meals earlier and that they won't develop the distrust of new foods that many toddlers have because they've always been in charge of their food choices. Also, baby purees were developed to compensate for the nutrition that early formulas didn't have -- before that, babies pretty much started solids by taking interest in their family's meals and grabbing bits from their parents' plates. Smooth purees haven't existed for very long and babies learned to eat food normally anyway before that. Personally, I just think it seems really cool and way less stressful than trying to get a spoon down my LO's throat. I know I'd be pants at making purees and I don't particularly trust the pre-fab stuff. It's a way more laid back approach to food.

     This is my favorite blog about it and is what ultimately convinced me I wanted DS to get solids this way:

     https://baby-led-solids.blogspot.com/p/search-by-week.html (Start at the bottom and work your way up)

    It's so cool to actually see a baby get better with handling food from week to week.

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • bma-ambbma-amb member
    imagevanfox:

    The theory is this puts babies more in charge of their own food intake, so they'll be able to join in family meals earlier and that they won't develop the distrust of new foods that many toddlers have because they've always been in charge of their food choices. Also, baby purees were developed to compensate for the nutrition that early formulas didn't have -- before that, babies pretty much started solids by taking interest in their family's meals and grabbing bits from their parents' plates. Smooth purees haven't existed for very long and babies learned to eat food normally anyway before that. Personally, I just think it seems really cool and way less stressful than trying to get a spoon down my LO's throat. I know I'd be pants at making purees and I don't particularly trust the pre-fab stuff. It's a way more laid back approach to food.

     This is my favorite blog about it and is what ultimately convinced me I wanted DS to get solids this way:

     https://baby-led-solids.blogspot.com/p/search-by-week.html (Start at the bottom and work your way up)

    It's so cool to actually see a baby get better with handling food from week to week.

     Thanks for this!

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • RunningGal900RunningGal900 member
    The way I figure, babies had to learn to eat food long before Gerber and blenders existed! For me, it just makes sense. Offering him foods to explore and experiment with seems like it will be more enjoyable for him and less work for me (no sitting there spoonfeeding!). I read the BLW cookbook and as she explains it, eating purees doesn't teach babies how to eat since their food normally won't be pureed. I'm looking forward to watching him explore different foods and eating with our family.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • vanfoxvanfox member
    imagebma-amb:

     Thanks for this!

    No problem! I just finished the book so I'm all excited to talk about BLW. :)

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"