Maryland Babies
Any tips/tricks on baby-led weaning?
I going to start solids with Faith since she will six months old next week (where did the time go??). I've been reading a little about baby led weaning and just wondering if anyone had any advice for me.
For instance, what foods did you start with? Did you puree any foods at all?
I started food with the other two at four months and did the usual cereal, pureed veggies then fruit so this is all new to me.
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Re: Any tips/tricks on baby-led weaning?
I really should have written down what I did. I looked at some websites and I used this one mostly
https://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/babyledweaning.htm
The Baltimore County library also has a few books on BLW - one is a cook book and the other is a theory book.
You'll find a lot of information under the "Solid Food" link, including charts on what to offer when.
We tried purees ( I made my own), but once DD could grab stuff and put it in her mouth, she didn't like being fed. However, she would feed herself the same stuff, i.e. she didn't want pureed sweet potatoes, but would feed them to herself.
We started with avocados and sweet potatoes. We did some banana, but that can cause constipation if you give too much, which we learned the hard way. We also did peaches (I bought a ton from the farmer's market and then canned them in fruit juice - without extra sugar added). Peaches are good for constipation. We tried rice cereal with a little breastmilk added and DD HATED it. I tried it myself (plain without bm) and can't blame her. It was bland and gross.
Usually, we would feed her AFTER nursing, since up until 1 year of age, it's recommended that they get most, if not all, of their calories and nutrition from breastmilk/formula. When you first start, food is more for experimentation than nutrition.
FWIW, you would be surprised at the foods that babies without teeth can eat, so don't worry if she has no teeth.
I think the biggest thing to remember for BLW is at first you need to give large pieces of food like sweet potato sticks. This is so that they can grab a hold of the food and still have some sticking out of their hand to bite.
We started with avocado as well and then sweet potato, carrot and then broccoli. If Faith has trouble grabbing the slippery things like avocado you can dust them with baby cereal so the pieces aren't so slippery.
Good luck
We did BLW w/ DS. I skipped cereal w/ both of my kids though. First food was avocado. Soft and full of good fat.
W/ DS I just cut soft food into rod shaped pieces so he could grab onto them an self feed.
Technically BLW means no purees and no spoon feeding of the baby. That way their natural gag reflex is never messed with- there was a European site that I can't find now that explained it all really well.
As MLB mentioned we always nursed before offering food in the beginning. Since in the beginning it's really just about exploring textures/flavors, etc.
Oh here is the euro website-
https://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html
I would probably.
FWIW - I looked at the Rapley website a few times and then just kind of winged it. I gave the least processed foods I could and just gave DD big pieces - a little bit bigger than fist sized, spread a few things out on the tray and sat next to her/across from her and just chatted it up, at a few bites myself, encouraged her, etc.
I did a little bit of cereal and purees - for maybe a month b/c I just didn't want to rush things too much. And then started w/ breads and crackers. BLW was so much easier for me - way less stressful, less messy too, rewards their independence and initiative, etc.
Also, take an infant CPR/choking course if you haven't!
We tried BLW with ESG and she had no interest AT ALL.
I honestly wouldn't stress about this, or even be scared of a baby choking if you follow the guidelines and never spoon feed or help the baby, which yes, goes against everything ingrained in us by modern society, but it works.
https://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html#choke
Won't he choke?
Many parents worry about babies choking. However, there is good reason to believe that babies are at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouth than if they are spoon fed. This is because babies are not capable of intentionally moving food to the back of their throats until after they have developed the ability to chew. And they do not develop the ability to chew until after they have developed the ability to reach out and grab things. The ability to pick up very small things develops later still. Thus, a very young baby cannot easily put himself at risk because he cannot get small pieces of food into his mouth. Spoon feeding, by contrast, encourages the baby to suck the food straight to the back of his mouth, potentially making choking more likely.
It appears that a baby's general development keeps pace with the development of his ability to manage food in his mouth, and to digest it. A baby who is struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not quite ready to eat it. It is important to resist the temptation to 'help' the baby in these circumstances since his own developmental abilities are what ensure that the transition to solid foods takes place at the right pace for him, while keeping the risk of choking to a minimum.
Tipping a baby backwards or lying him down to feed him solid foods is dangerous. A baby who is handling food should always be supported in an upright position. This ensures that food that he is not yet able to swallow, or does not wish to swallow, will fall forward out of his mouth.
Adopting a baby-led approach doesn't mean abandoning all the common sense rules of safety. While it is very unlikely that a young baby would succeed in picking up a peanut, for example, accidents can and will happen on rare occasions ? however the baby is fed. The normal rules of safety while eating and playing should there be adhered to when the transition to solid foods is baby-led.
This is hands down the best BLW blog:
https://baby-led-solids.blogspot.com/
Sit on your hands, don't search and rescue and let LO have fun! Don't worry about intake- none of that matters.
J's first foods were toast, avocado and sweet potato sticks.
Francesca Pearl is here! Josephine Hope is almost 3!