Adventures in Baby Led Weaning
To keep up with my off the wall image, I decided to try something that I have been interested in for quite some time - Baby Led Weaning. I first heard about this method when I was working in public health. The speaker mentioned that her daughter was giving her child large pieces of food instead of baby food. That definitely sparked my interest so I did a little research, learned what it was, and stored it in the back of my mind until the time came when I might need to use it.
When it came time to think about starting foods with Feagan, I did a little more research, read the book {not completely necessary since there is so much info online} and decided that this might be for us. It seemed like it would be healthy, fun, and convenient - I am all about convenience. Basically, BLW is allowing your child to feed themselves. You give them spears of food that they can hold and gnaw on. There isn't much food consumption at first, but then they get the hang of it and start swallowing a little at a time.
Faegan's first avocado
The first food we started out with was avocado. We give her a slice with a little skin on it so it isn't as slippery. The process allows them to learn how to chew and then swallow, versus swallowing then learning to chew. That's right, I don't mash it, we just give her a piece of food that she can grasp and she does the rest.
I read some horror stories and was a little concerned at first about choking and/or gagging, but we haven't had any problems so far. We have had a little gagging with sweet potatoes, but it is part of the process and they learn how to get things out if they need to.
One of my main concerns with starting food was that I didn't know exactly what to give her. I like things spelled out nice and neat and on a schedule. I found a great source that gives examples of when to start certain foods. It has helped me out because I tend to second guess what I am doing and like to have lots of research to back it up!
This was our one and only dinner without a bib.
As of right now we have eaten avocados {loves}, bananas {loves}, sweet potatoes {loves}, green beans {hates}, cucumber {hates}, grapes {loves}, and pears {likes it ok}. I cut the sweet potatoes into fries, toss them in olive oil and sprinkled with cinnamon. Everything else is raw and cut into chunks that stick out an inch or two past her grip. The grapes were in quarters and we held them since they were so small.
We will do some things the "normal" way with a spoon like yogurt and cereal, but we haven't started those yet. I have some apples that I am thinking about making some applesauce with. My sweet Mema gave us a baby bullet and I hate not to use it some!
The only downside to BLW is the mess. As you can see from the pictures, food goes everywhere. When we first started it wasn't messy and I was very impressed that my child was the lone neat eater, but alas, since we have broadened our food horizon and actually figured out how to eat it, it has become quite the messy event. It doesn't bother me though. Faegan thinks it's the grandest thing that she gets to eat meals with us and we just take a bath after dinner.
I'm all done!
Hopefully we will continue to have a positive experience with BLW. We have all enjoyed Faegan exploring new tastes and textures. BLW may not be for everyone, but it works for us. One thing I have learned about parenting is that you can't do what everyone else thinks you should do, you have to do what works for you!
Here's to happy eating!
