First Thoughts on Baby Led Weaning

When I maiden of all heard close “Baby Led Weaning” (BLW), I idea it sounded crazy, together with hence if you lot are inwards that boat correct now, you lot are non the alone one!

Having my half dozen calendar month onetime choice upwards together with swallow her ain food? Without teeth? Without whatever fine motor skills? She’ll choke! She’ll starve! She’ll definitely won’t acquire plenty nutrients!

Those were my maiden of all thoughts.

My thoughts direct maintain since shifted drastically.

Baby led weaning uncomplicated agency letting your children feed themselves nutrient from the really start of weaning. I started weaning Eleanor past times giving her pureed food. She loved eating – no question. But pureeing salubrious foods is time-consuming! So I started reading to a greater extent than close babe led weaning together with decided to give it a try. The basics of babe led weaning are:

• Giving your babe salubrious whole foods (i.e. no to a greater extent than purees)


• Your babe feeds him or herself


• No “topping off” amongst purees because they create upwards one's heed how much to eat


• Meals are non hurried – babies swallow at their ain pace


• Start amongst large foods that the babe tin give the axe grasps (i.e. cutting into chicken finger shapes) together with like shooting fish in a barrel deed to smaller foods every bit babe develops amend fine motor skills


• Non-finger foods tin give the axe last offered past times spoon (like yogurt or oatmeal) together with babe tin give the axe self-feed if they want

And that’s all. Easy. Waaaay less operate for me!

Not gonna lie… I double checked how to practise choking manoeuvres on babies earlier I started (better security than sorry!), merely all of my fears close a half dozen calendar month onetime non beingness able to handgrip venture nutrient were obliterated after a twosome of meals. I was surprised how easily Ellie handled feeding herself. And she loved it. Once nosotros started the babe led weaning, she didn’t desire to last fed anymore.

To last honest, I’m not fully doing the babe led weaning, I practise assist her out amongst foods sometime, together with I direct maintain a difficult fourth dimension letting her “take her time” for meals, because I ordinarily direct maintain plans during the day! But nosotros are giving her venture chunks of food, together with she is loving it.

Some of the reasons I chose to practise babe led weaning are:

• She is learning to chew earlier she learns to swallow, which is a natural way to acquire to eat. She won’t last afraid to chew or start novel foods later


• Independence! In my chore (helping others to feed together with swallow foods every bit a Speech-Language Pathologist) I would never recommend that mortal last fed nutrient if they are capable of feeding themselves. Same goes for my daughter.


• She eats the same foods nosotros eat, which agency no extra preparation, together with agency that nosotros won’t last introducing novel foods all of the precipitous when she would start solids inwards the traditional weaning methods


• She is deciding how much to eat. She’s learning at an early historic stream to demand heed to her trunk together with non to overeat


• I actually believe that she volition last a less picky eater. Sometimes when nosotros would offering her foods on the spoon (e.g. apple) she would reject them after 1 bite. When she holds the apple tree herself, she takes a seize amongst teeth (and nonetheless makes the face!), merely fifty-fifty if she doesn’t similar it, she tries it again. Because she is inwards control. Plus, this allows us to endeavor all types of textures, flavours together with spices early on

Some of the foods nosotros give her regularly include:

toast amongst jam, avocado, or cheese

cooked veggies similar sweetness potato, carrots, greenish beans, together with broccoli

fruits similar apple, banana, papaya, together with pineapple

seasoned potatoes

pasta amongst sauces

hamburger patties together with meatloaf

soft, seasoned chicken pieces

avocado

tomato

cucumber

My master thinking that nosotros should human face to give her venture nutrient until she has teeth together with fine motor skills was backwards; nosotros should give her venture nutrient to assist prepare her chewing, swallowing together with pincer grasp. As good every bit her independence :)

Other things to note:

• There is a LOT of data out at that spot if you lot desire to start babe led weaning. I advise starting with this website, or this pamphlet, both of which I works life helpful :)


• The same rules for nutrient apply every bit the traditional approaches. Avoid moo-cow milk together with beloved until babe is one, together with avoid foods if you lot direct maintain concerns close allergies


• Be certain to supervise your babe together with review the choking manoeuvres for infants. There is ever a direct a opportunity of choking whenever you lot innovate venture foods

{xoxo}