I received an email today titled "Your baby at 12 months, welcome to toddlerhood" and 1/2 of it was about transitioning your baby from spoon fed purees to table food. I had to laugh at all the posts on this article where moms were so frustrated about their children hating "adult foods" and just spitting them out/playing with them. Well, if they had be introduced to them from the get go you wouldn't be having this problem...ok, well not as bad anyways. I mean all kids play with their food to an extent :). So after all this I pulled up some websites and decided this was a good topic for today!
Baby led weaning is how we've fed Lillian. She did get some stuff via spoon, but that was applesauce, sweet potaotes, yogurt etc. BLW is simply cutting up whatever you're eating at meal times in small chunks for baby to grab. BLW allowed Lillian to feed herself and really learn how to eat. This did include a few gagging inccidents but being breastfed she figured it all out.
In case your wondering why that makes a difference, breastfed babies have a better idea of what's going in their mouth & how much because they do that when nursing. Unlike being bottle fed where nipples often automatically let formula release and it's much easier to get out of the artificial nipples. Breastfed babies have also already experienced different flavors of foods from moms milk and they've begun learning to chew through breastfeeding too, so it is ideal for them!
BLW is gradual. You offer nursing first and afterwords offer baby nurtional foods to let him or her explore. Now, BLW is not completely hands off, as in set the soft cooked or diced food down & let baby fend for itself. Sometimes you may need to guide baby's hands or show him/her how to pick foods up. It's all about watching babies cues and determining their rediness. You're teaching baby how to eat, not spoon feeding him :). We would hand Lillian large hunks of peeled apple, carrots, celery, avocado, pears, bananas, etc and just let her knaw on them. She thought that was the coolest thing on the earth. Well, until I laid a big scoop of sweet potatoes on her tray & let her go to town! :)
Since following this approach we've saved money & time. No expensive, nasty tasting purees; just a bite of whatever mom & dad are eating. No rice cereal, just a few bites of moms oatmeal. No need to have 'special' meals set aside or lugged around if we're out. AND, the #1 reason I love it...I actually get to eat my meals instead of having to spoon feed my child! At almost 12mths old Lillian feeds herself and has just started using a spoon to get her yogurt/applesauce out of the bowl I'm holding. It's wonderful.
Here are a few links with more, in depth information.
1) guidelines for implementing BLW:
http://www.borstvoeding.com/voedselintroductie/blw/engels.html (this is a Sweedish website but LOVE this article)
2) BLW - The fuss free way to introduce solids
http://www.rapleyweaning.com/
3) BLW - the mush stops here
http://www.babyledweaning.com/
4) BLW PDF Pamphlet:
http://baby-led.rhgdsrv.co.uk/pdf/blwleaflet.pdf
5) is BLW the best way to introduce solid foods?
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/babyledweaning.htm
Happy eating!
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