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Baby Led Weaning
Hello everyone. I was wondering if anyone had tried Baby Led Weaning? I've been doing it from the end of the sixth month, Tink is fully self feeding and will eat anything we put in front of her, usually some version of what we are eating.
Baby Led Weaning means no spoons, no mush and no fuss. It is giving babies handable pieces of food and allowing them to choose what they eat.
Baby Led Weaning means no spoons, no mush and no fuss. It is giving babies handable pieces of food and allowing them to choose what they eat.
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Normally I could post pages of it, but I have a headache and can hardly see the screen. I think bed is really in order!
If you are breast feeding then allow your child to lead demand, which may increase at four months as there is a growth spurt. If you are formula feeding then increase the quantity of milk with your baby's demand and think about changing up to the next stage formula.
Before a child is a year old food is not essential, it is merely experience and the vitamins and minerals gained are just a bonus.
Years ago we were told that breast milk was bad for a baby and to formula feed. In those days formula wasn't as good as it is now and couldn't sustain a baby for six months so puree weaning became popular. Unfortunately we have forgotten how we used to do it, it has become normal to give purees and the support has gone for weaning the natural way.
We started off just giving her vegetable sticks - carrot, swede, parsnip, cauliflower, broccoli etc - and some fruit oranges, pears and bananas (with help). We added other things in as she got better at it, meat from our plate until she got the idea. She started eating meat around seven months. Eventually we gave her food more and more like we would prepare for her older cousins until she was eating the same as them.
We will now give anything that we are eating to Tink, I have some cute pictures of her eating Spag Bol at the Wetherspoons last night! We don't do anything different to prepare her food ( we don't use salt, so that's not a problem) other than a couple of minutes in the fridge to cool down before we give it to her.
Babies won't eat what they can't, if it is too big, they will push it forward until it is small enough, if they can't digest it they either can't pick it up or will spit it out. Don't worry about putting anything in front of your child, they know what to do instinctively. Gagging is worrying, but only to us, it is normal and probably won't phase them (just realise there is a difference between gagging and choking, it is highly unlikely your child will choke on solid foods, there is a bigger chance with puree).
I'm sorry I took so long to reply, I've only just got back online but if you have any other questions, I'm happy to help.:\)
You see, babies have two safety mechanisms to stop themselves from choking. Firstly they have the tongue thrust reflex which pushes anything too big to the front of their mouth. Secondly if they don't manage that, their gag reflex isa triggered in their mouth, not the throat as with an adult.
When you put a spoon in their mouth they can't push it out as well and you bypass the gag reflex, meaning a baby is MORE likely to choke with purees than if they self feed!
Bedhead, how is the weaning going?
I can't remember if I posted this before, but the idea that breastmilk lacks iron, is another myth. I know of women who have had their babies tested on a regular basis as a study into BLW and found no iron (or anything else) deficiency.
A thought that came to me the other day, BLW is a misleading name as if you wait till six months, there's no "weaning" involved, they just start doing it. It's like saying they wean onto walking, no they might take it bit at a time, but they just do it because their body is READY!
when my dd was 4 month old, she started to grap my food and put it in her mouth. I decided to put food suitable for her age in front of her and let her get on with that. She is now just under 6 months and is starting to swallow some food. Yesterday's hit was some vegetarian sushi. (basically some sticky rice filled with carrot sticks) DD loved it, but we did get some weird looks from other people.
We usually feed her whenever we are eating by putting some stuff in front of her and let her get on with it. She also started to demand her cup (filled with water) whenever we are having a cuppa. I guess she wants to feel a part of the family.
As for hungry babies: my daughter had a growth spurt at around 17 weeks, wanting to feed every hour for a week and on the last day was on the boob for constantly without any pause (crying whenever I tried to take her of). I somehow got through it (ignoring anyone nagging about introducing formula or solids) and my lo was fine after that. She gained more weight in that week than in the 2 weeks before that.
I found the advice about when weaning is allowed to start very confusing, as 16 and 17 weeks are quoted, but sometimes you hear that you mustn't start weaning before 20 weeks at all. Adopting a baby led approach and givimg her food to play with at mealtimes (without expecting anything to go in at first) made me far more relaxed. I find it ever so funny watching her pull faces when she tries something new than putting more in her mouth
However, as with many parenting methods, I think this is about choice. Mothers who choose not to follow this plan, are not making bad decisions. I'm sure every mum does what she feels is right for her baby.
You are clearly very knowledgable about this subject and I'm sure, will be a fantastic point of contact for mothers wishing to embark on the BLW journey, but I just wanted to point out that it isn't wrong to give puree and use spoons. This way of weaning is sucessful for many families, as is BLW. I just want to point out that what works for one, isn't necessarily right for another. And although informative, your post is swaying lightly to 'putting down' those who choose the puree weaning path. I'm glad this method has worked so well for you and undoubtedly many others, but it really is all about choice.
I would also like to see, for my own satisfaction & curiosity, some proof via medical research articles that food is not nutritionally benefical to babies under a year old.
Possibly the same time at which you would go to self feeding with the traditional method? I actually gave my daughter an empty spoon to play with from 4 months and now (6 months)give it to her sometimes dipped into sauce etc. and she puts it in her mouth and licks it. Not sure when the official guidlines recommend introducing a spoon, but I assume it is a lot about copying parents and wanting to belong. So if you do always sit down for a meal and eat with cutlery, chances are that your lo will start feeding herself using that method as well.