Tell me about Baby Led Weaning

Re: Tell me about Baby Led Weaning

• blu-eyedwife member

  October 2013

  My first word of advice re: Baby Led Weaning is always to pick up a copy of the book.  It will let you know what to expect so that you know what's normal, and that can really help with any anxiety.  It also provides advice on how to prepare the foods you serve - like mushier food and smaller bites is actually the opposite of how you want to to start out (which might not be intuitive).
  
  I'm not sure what you mean though when you say your daughter can't handle "foods that take a lot of chewing."  What happens when she gets those foods?  I know it sounds silly, but sometimes my son (2 tomorrow) gets bored when he has to chew for too long and he'll spit the food out after a while.  Does your daughter do something similar?  Without knowing too much about your background, I'd gather she has some sort of delay, but I would imagine it wouldn't put her below a 6 month old with no teeth who can handle just about any food.  (And please correct me if I'm wrong - like I said, I don't really know your background).
  
  

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• SarahinMD member

  October 2013

  Yeah check out the book. The cookbook is an even better summary--it's what I gave our sitter to read when DD1 was starting it. I think I got both on amazon. Also I think I recall LLLI had a dedicated BLW discussion board on their site, at least they did 2 yrs ago.

   

  
  

  

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• JoJoGee member

  October 2013

  Thank you so much for your input! I will definitely look into those books.
  
  My daughter has Cerebral Palsy. Her muscle movements are uncoordinated and weak. So, when I say, she has a hard time with "foods that take a lot of chewing," that is what I am referring to. Her tongue movements are getting better, but sometimes, she just doesn't know what to do when she gets food in her mouth. She gags sometimes 30% if the time, when she gets food on the middle of the tongue (which sometimes leads to vomit) And, it is difficult for her to chew for an extended period of time because she's so weak.
  
  Hope that clears up a little. Thanks again for your help!
  

                         
  

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• blu-eyedwife member

  October 2013

  I don't know if it makes you feel better or not, but I'm willing to bet your daughter's fatigue is a fairly normal thing around toddlers in general!  And that's based solely on the fact my son seems to tire of chewing too!  She's starting out with less muscle tone/control/development, but I know all our kids will get there.
  
  I also don't think the not knowing what to do with the food in her mouth is any sort of impediment.  She will get there too.  And I know that's scary for a mom, because there's such a fear of choking, and I'm sure scarier for you than it was for me, because of aspiration risk (right?). 
  
  The gagging and vomiting sucks, but is normal.  What's interesting is, it seems to happen when children are introduced to solid foods, regardless of the age.  We started at 6 months with BLW, so I figure it was due to the placement of the gag reflex towards the front of the tongue.  But others who introduced table foods later found the same type of reaction.  Because really, they haven't been using their tongue for much more than decoration before that!  Now it's a matter of figuring out how to work it.  It seems intuitive for us, mechanically we don't even think about how the food moves in our mouth, but it is something that develops through the process.
  
  TL:DR? - It sounds like your daughter is developing right on track.  Maybe not where other almost 3 year olds are, but definitely meeting the expectations of one who is just beginning with table foods.
  

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