Weaning

On a previous post It started of with Breastfeeding I mentioned how I breast-fed E till she was seven months old. Government guidelines advise that your baby should be on breast milk till they are six months old. They say that weaning should also commence when they are six months old. As far as I’m concerned the Government advice isn’t suited to every baby. Like I have mentioned before, not all woman can breast feed. There are some hungry babies who are advised by midwives to try with some baby rice to help satisfy the hunger at a young age.

We are told that once a baby can sit with his head up and doing a chewing motion it is safe to give a child some puree foods. They advice is no later than six months as a baby will start to feel hungry. Recommended foods to start with include baby porridge and steamed pears. This doesn’t sound massively appealing.

E was five and a half months when we started the weaning process. When I say we, what I actually mean is she started the weaning process. I remember it well, I was  having my breakfast one morning with her sat on the sofa next to me, I was eating toast. E leaned over and took a piece of my toast and started eating it. Well more like gumming it! She certainly enjoyed it, so from that moment on the most obvious route to take was Baby led weaning.

Baby Led Weaning

First of all, for those who are unfamiliar with the term Baby Led Weaning, it isn’t to do with a baby choosing when they have had enough of breast-feeding. It means forgetting purées and weaning spoons and simply letting your baby feed himself. BLW involves offering babies a range of foods and allowing them to explore and select their foods.  Some babies will only play with their food first, exploring the textures with their hands. Six months old babies are perfectly capable of and very interested in feeding themselves. They want to copy you, they want to explore new tastes and textures and they can do it pretty sufficiently.

Like most mum’s I was a little apprehensive about baby led weaning. Wondering if she would be ok and wouldn’t she choke. But based on how E was with the toast that morning, I thought I would give it a go. One of the first foods We gave E was a banana. I figured as it was soft she would be ok. E was able to sit up so I put her in her bumbo and gave her the banana. She enjoyed it very much, it was messy as I expected it to be, however E seemed to have a lot of fun.

What I did learn about giving her a banana is that bananas stain, that sleep suit was nicely stained black afterwards.

Some people worry that the child wont be getting enough nutrition – what if she smeared it all over her tray/face and didn’t eat enough? What if they started losing weight.

Here are a few things I love about baby led weaning.

• No stressing over intake. She eats great, she doesn’t – that’s fine, too.
• Letting the baby control the portion and size
• No pureeing, minimal work
• Eating together as a family, not one person having to sit and feed puree to the baby.

E really did enjoy eating toast and she was really good with her hands and manipulating food.

Once E started to really enjoy her toast and bananas we moved onto other foods, well we just took the plunge and when we sat down for our evening meal we just gave her what we had. To start with I only offered food in a morning and for an evening meal. She was still having milk and I wanted to introduce food slowly.

What I couldn’t believe was how willing she was to try everything, she really enjoyed roast dinners. I wont lie, baby led weaning is messy. Once some shepherds pie did hit the wall. However it was working for us and the mess didn’t bother me as she was happy and exploring different foods.

I was pleased that baby led weaning was working for us, it made it so easy when we went out places. I didn’t have to worry about taking some puree food with us. We would simply give her something of what we had. Obviously I was cautious about certain foods. I kept some foods chopped up so easier to eat, such as chicken and apples. One food E has never taken to is mince. I have been told that a lot of children don’t like mince at a young age. However when I was pregnant in my last trimester mince made me feel sick, so I do wonder if there is some sort of connection.

I was very conscious about giving E a healthy balanced diet, I didn’t cook with salt and limited sugary foods. What E did enjoy was ice lollies. I purchased some of the Annabel karmel ice lolly moulds, these are fantastic. I just put some fruit in a blender, poured it in the moulds and froze it. Nice and healthy and very enjoyable.

E’s favourite flavour was mango and I must admit they did taste nice. Due to seasonal fruits I thought I would try blackberry lollies, these also tasted yummy, but the mess was immense. She ended up looking like something out of a horror film, but she loved it.

Another thing I actually love about baby led weaning is the fun, E was having so much fun here and the mess was amusing for me too. Looking back and even now E really enjoys food that is messy. The first time I gave her bread and soup was fantastic! E had been given a spoon right from the off and she was really good at feeding herself some foods. She managed porridge and yoghurt really well. E was one when we fist gave her soup and she did really well with it, she was however an orange baby afterwards.

Once E turned one she started walking and I noticed how her appetite increased, as she was being more active. This was great as she would try more foods and we didn’t have to worry about her not eating enough. Sometimes after a busy day she was to tired be bothered.

E’s diet was really good, she ate a variety of foods and what was great was we didn’t have any problems that some people encounter with puree feeding, she was used to lumps and would try anything we gave her. From a young age she had started to develop favourites, mostly fruit. She loved and still does love Melon. What is also great is that its cold, so was great for chewing on when teething.

If you are reaching the weaning stage and considering baby led weaning then I totally recommend it. Here are a few tips.

Offer your baby the chance to participate whenever anyone else in the family is eating, as soon as your baby starts watching you when eating let them be a part of the family meal, even if they are not eating yet. They learn from copying you.

Always make sure your baby is supported in an upright position. Only commence weaning once they can hold their head up.

When you first start with baby led weaning  offer baby fist sized food, cut carrots length ways so its like they have something to hold onto when feeding themselves. Always offer them what you are eating so they can decide if they want it or not.

Offer a variety of foods, there are no needs to limit your baby’s experience with food.

Don’t hurry your baby, allow them to eat at their own pace and dont put anything in their mouths to help them.

Don’t expect your baby to eat every food on the first occasions. They like to discover textures first. However, do try rejected food again as they are more likely to try it eventually.

Never leave your baby alone with food and don’t offer obvious dangerous foods such as nuts.

And most importantly do be prepared for the mess. We put a plastic tablecloth on the floor under E’s high chair which made cleaning up so much easier.

I really enjoyed Baby led weaning with E. She learnt to enjoy her food and her diet was so varied until she reached the age two.  I will go into that another day.