For all the mamas doing Baby Led Weaning: did your pediatrician give you the green light on this? Did they give you resources and talk to you about it? Or did you just pursue it on your own?
Need to vent for a minute here and give a little back story to see if we're not alone in this one:
At Violet's 4 month check up our pediatrician gave us the green light for starting foods when she turned 6 months. She gave me a purée feeding chart but also mentioned we could do "this newer thing moms are doing called baby led feeding" if we wanted. I assumed she meant baby led weaning and just couldn't remember what it was called.
Fast forward to V's 6 month check up yesterday. After waiting an hour the nurse practitioner, whom I've never met, walks into our room to do V's check up. Long story short she goes on and on about how baby can choke etc etc and pretty much says everything contradictory to what my BLW book as told me to do!! (For example she tells me I need to be giving her pieces of food no bigger than a pea, BLW book says it needs to be big enough for the child to hold at this age -sticks and triangle shapes- because they don't have a pincer grasp yet so eating can become a frustrating and negative experience)
The nurse practioner couldn't even recommend resources for me on BLW and was going to just give me the "finger foods chart" that they recommend for 11 months and up to my 7 month old daughter? it was obvious she has never even studied what BLW is, the concept of it, the studies etc.
SO I was beyond angry and asked for my daughter's actual doctor to give me a call. She calls me this morning and I explain what happened yesterday and how we decided to go the BLW route like she suggested we could if we chose to do so. I told her I read the BLW book and have been following that since I was given no resources from their office.
The Dr then tells me "as far as baby led 'feeding' we want you to give her mashed bananas and avocados mixed with milk or water and you can give her yogurt. Don't follow the book." WHAT?? Are you serious ???
basically she is telling me to just follow their feeding chart and do the 8-10 month section (mashed foods) for my 7 month old ? We are obviously looking for a new pediatrician for more reasons than just this.
Even if a doctor didn't agree with BLW you think they would actually educate themself on the subject so they knew what is consisted of.
Sorry for the rant and I applaud anyone who actually read this whole thing.
eta: how is your LO liking BLW? What are some favorites and dislikes ? Any go-to recipes that have been a hit with the family and baby?
Re: BLW mamas
ETA: Damien loves to eat everything! I mean everything. If he just ate purées but I'm eating cereal he wants some. I don't think we've had a food he hasn't gotten to try except BBQ Pork Chops
@trishee13 @midge519 thank you for the thoughts and advice ladies! I really do love our BMB!
i was totally against BLF or whatever it's called, basically didn't want to give him anything that is not purified. But I figured if stuff is soft enough for him to break down and its not too dry, then why not let him try. I never leave him unattended and am always ready in case he does choke, which hasn't happened so far. I haven't been to a doctor appointment in months and months, so there is no one monitoring it. I think it's up to you what and how you want to feed your baby. You know her best.
@chein1 reading this in my BLW cookbook made me SO much more confident !!
I think you'd be surprised how well your babe would do ... I know I sure was !! But DH and I definitely stress utilizing all the safety precautions the book offers (& explain them whenever we are at someone else's house). I make sure to watch her like a hawk lol
letting their peds have so much say in what baby is doing, check their fricken weight, head and length and make suggestions but don't tell me where my child should be sleeping, how she should be sleeping, for how long or what she needs to be eating. Urg so annoying. you do you mommy sounds like your on the right track.