HUGE fan.
I'm pretty sure BLW also stands for Best L-idea W-ever. (The L and W are silent.)
Peanut was a puree eater. And not just any puree - it had to be Rafferty's Garden. She wouldn't touch my homemade slop with a ten foot, plastic handled, easy grip baby spoon. I bought baby-food recipe books. I searched online forums. I even tried to copy the ingredients in the bought stuff. No dice. It was Rafferty's or nothing. I felt like a total failure and, in hindsight, I bred a fussy eater. Even worse, feeding Peanut was costing more than feeding me! (In her defence, that stuff is pretty delicious.)
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| I'll chew screws, but not your delicious pie. No siree. |
I didn't make the same mistake with Bug, she was fed actual solid food from the very beginning. She started by swiping normal vegies off my plate and by six months was in her high chair, munching on the same food as the rest of the family.
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| Did you know you can pop a whole cob of corn? The things I learn on twitter... |
But won't she choke?!
Surprisingly, no. She never did. Instead of struggling with a spoon of purée thrust into her mouth, which would encourage her to suck the food straight back into her throat, she had control over the rate and amount of food she ate. There were a couple of incidences of mild gagging, but she was never worried by it - she was just learning how to control the food in her mouth.
A child's hand to mouth coordination and mouthing / swallowing control develop at around six months of age, at around the same time as 'solid' food is normally introduced. Kids this age are naturally curious and learn by mimicking others, and love to be included in family activities, so baby led weaning made developmental sense to me. As Bug became more competent chewing and swallowing, she naturally ate more food and dropped her milk consumption. In the meantime she was still getting the sustenance she needed from the milk. Perfect!
The biggest advantage of baby led weaning was being able to continue to eat as a family. First time around, I used to feed Peanut her dinner first, then eat after she was in bed. I starved half to death Every Single Night. The other option was trying to feed the baby while eating my own dinner, and that just frustrated both of us. Babies suck at taking turns. But baby led weaning meant Bug sat at the table with the family and her own plate, and I could just leave her to it. Bliss.
Now, if you're going to give this a try, expect mess! As a baby gets more practice she will become neater but the first few months are interesting. Ahem. I was very thankful for a tile floor, two dogs to lick it, and a big plastic bib. Also, make sure to sit the baby up to eat. This will let food that they are struggling with to fall forward from their mouth, lessening the risk of choking.
And now, with Bug at eighteen months, I can happily say that in the great puree vs baby led weaning battle, I'm BLW all the way. The kid's an eating machine. Dominates sushi. Loves a curry. Veggies are eaten by the plateful.
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| Bug would eat this in an instant... ...and then lick the chopping board. |
Yeah!!! BLW all the way, baby! :) I'm only sad that I found out about it so late. Baby Y was about 7-8 months at the time and had already been in the puree scene for a good month or two, but he's so darn curious and touchy-feely with everything (literally grabbing food off our plates, lol) that switching to BLW was just a natural process. It just makes so much sense!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, sometimes they'll literally "bite off more than they can chew" and gag a little, but seriously it's more scary for you as the parent, than it is for them. They just carry on like nothing happened, and get on with it. :)
Mamas, do yourself and your babies a favor, and at least try baby-led weaning!
I knew you'd love it!
DeleteIt's funny to find someone so alike who lives on the other side of the world :)
Isn't it? So amazing :)
DeleteLike you my eldest was fed 'slurry' - pureed gloop - and now at 7 he's still fussy and likes casseroles blended so he can't see the bits of food. He doesn't really enjoy food much ( well, chocolate and ice cream are exceptions) and would willingly skip meals altogether. I did blw with my daughter and by contrast she loves food and Is much more adventurous. I totally trust her to eat what she needs and never feel I have to encourage her at meal times. BLW is definitely the best approach!
ReplyDeleteHello, by the way! I found your blog from 'down to earth' and it's a daily favourite now!
Hello! Thanks for commenting today, I love hearing everyone else's stories and opinions.
DeleteI'm still chuckling at the term "slurry", it's so right! I reckon Peanut would love blended casserole. She hates her food mixed in when she can see the individual bits.
I've always thought a dog would be necessary in a home with small children. Friends with kids groan about how messy their floors are. Harry would be entirely happy if we had a 12 month old.
ReplyDeleteVITAL! I was (selfishly) very annoyed when Archie got the pancreatitis, he used to be my cleaning machine, but then he wasn't allowed to help. Pan is more than taking up the slack now, though!
DeleteMaking up for the messes?
DeleteWell.... No. Not at all, actually. More concentrating the messes into small brown piles, with a one hour delay.
DeleteI fed all my three with home made baby veg mash...mostly just what we were eating but mashed a little...meat was scraped and added ...I did use custard in a jar, and the fruit gels...I guess with my first child I was scared of the choking so the solid food scared me and I was hesitant to try new foods with him, so yes he is the fussiest of the lot..I breastfed him till I was pregnant again, that was 19 months...and he gave up of his own accord.....my second child was easier and loved veg of all description , still does, she learnt to eat salad with balsamic vinegar sitting on her Dad's lap...I breast fed her till around 22 months and by some stupid advice given to me, ( still do not know why I took it) I cold turkeyed her off the breast as she was being fussy...I so regret it..it set me up for months of problems... :( with my third, this time around I let her wean and eat what she wanted...she is a fabulous eater, I dont remember actually feeding her solids..she managed a spoon by herself and well right from the beginning...I breast fed little m till she was four months off her third birthday....if only you knew all this stuff with your first child..my advice to any new mother would be, breastfeed, breastfeed, breastfeed, I am a huge advocate of breast is best....breastfeed for as long as you are able...and let the child progress with its own needs as far as feeding itself and what it wants...eating with the family is also really important, it makes them feel a part of the family and they learn so much more...
ReplyDeleteSuz, thank you SO MUCH. This was so so timely, you've no idea.
DeleteI always said I would feed Bug until she was 18 months old, then wean her. Well, that cut off date passed last Thursday, yet here we are, still going strong... and I felt a bit weird, and a bit guilty. But I'm so glad to hear you fed for as long as you both wanted, your encouragement is gold!
xox
Oh my goodness....DONT YOU EVER LET ANYONE MAKE YOU FEEL WEIRD about breast feeding......despite what husbands think, thats what those wonderful boosies were made for...you feed that little munchkin for as long as she wants it, it made my life so much easier, I cant stress enough...bonding, immunity, sickness, sleeping, it helped with it all......in the end it was just that beautiful, sleepy, hair twirling night nurse that we ended up with...by that age you can reason a little and explain that the milk will be gone soon...so yeah, you do what your heart says and what your little one is okay with.....husbands get their boosies back eventually... :)
Deletesorry, I didnt mean to use capitals , it reads like Im shouting at you... :)
DeleteI'm going to jump in here too - you should have used capitals, it was an important statement :)
DeleteI have twins - now 7yo, and was so pleased I was able to breatfeed them and thought I'd do it till they were about 12months. Well, I think I'm lazy (and boy do I wish I'd heard of BLW then, it would have suited me to a T!) and the idea of weaning the boys was just too much work!!! I wasn't getting much sleep (there were months when I fed each boy to sleep every 45min through the night) and I was doing cloth nappies and all the rest, so weaning was just the end of my to-do list. I managed to ignore all the "that's just weird" comments and looks and I breastfed the boys till they were 28 months old. I think it was one of the best things I ever did as a baby-mum. Keep up the good work! :)
I agree with Tracey! Capitals totally required!
DeleteThanks for your support. Mr A is totally fine with whatever I do. He's wonderful about it, actually, has been nothing but supportive with whatever choices I make. I wish everyone could be so lucky!
I've noticed the immunity Bug is still getting from my milk, Peanut will be stricken with a cold and Bug will only get a mild runny nose. Hooray for boobies!
I reckon we'll keep on for at least another few months, taking it a day at a time. I'm not a Time cover yet! ;)
I don't feel so, um, lazy now...who knew that us not being bothered to puree or buy food was a proper approach? BLW ey? Well we did that but didn't know it - I just used to serve up a plate for both kids, then mash lightly with a fork...sometimes I tried helping them out but they got awfully impatient with my inability to understand where their tongues were.
ReplyDeleteWith my second the child health nurse actually said my kids started talking so early because it is all tied in with that co-ordination of the mouth and tongue to eat....suggested that if I was ever worried with their verbal abilities just to give them slightly more tricky food!
Interesting about what the nurse said! Bug is an excellent talker, she is very clear for her age, I hadn't put the two together. Cool!
DeleteLazy? Nah, just smart ;)
Strangely, while my first was all for repetitious puree, he's ended up being the varied eater, while my second only ate 'grown-up' food like beef strogonoff off my plate (HUGE mess!) now she's the fussiest kid ever. So the pattern isn't always true!
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I'd say exception proves the rule, but that may actually be the stupidest saying ever, so I will refrain...
DeleteI didnt realize that letting your kids east solid food right away instead of puree was part of BLW (by the way, I love your acronym ;) ). This is interesting. Our little Bird wanted to eat at 6 months, she was eager, but her gag reflex was so strong I couldnt even give her applesauce because it was too textured. All she seemed to be able to eat was totally strained peas, greenbeans, etc, at first. But then she moved on to other things. So, according to BLW, does that mean she wasnt ready to eat at all yet? Hmm.. interesting. Ill have to give that some thought for baby number two, which we're trying to get making right now haha. ;)
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your comment on my blog, and Im realized now I have not been following you yet. Silly me! Im correcting that right now. Also, can i say that I love that Aussies actually say "down under"? Its like we Canadians saying "The great white north" haha.. its good to have affectionate titles for your native land. :)
Interesting about the gag reflex, did it ever die down? I know you're not supposed to start babies on any kind of solids until the extrusion reflex has passed, but I haven't had any gag reflex issues, luckily! Sounds difficult!
DeleteObviously I would really recommend looking into BLW for your next baby. (Have fun trying! lol) A search for Gill Rapley is a pretty good starting point.
Thanks for coming past and deciding to follow! I appreciate it :)
My firstborn got all homemade organic baby purees, but with baby #2 I was too busy with a toddler to keep cleaning the food processor so I just pre-chewed and handed it over. My son, now 12 months old, still receives pre-chewed food if I am too lazy to grab a knife :) Just yesterday morning I bit a dozen blueberries in half for him. And then in the car I skinned a pear with my teeth and bit off chunks to hand him in his carseat. My husband was grossed out at first until he saw how terribly convenient the whole arrangement was. Especially when I handed over the remainder of the pear to my preschool daughter who finished it off, handing back a couple of seeds and the stem...
ReplyDeleteHooray for convenience!
DeleteI feed the toddler's leftovers to the baby. Then the only ones who aren't happy are the chooks, who missed out again...
I remember friends of ours doing a double take when we fed our 9 month old Green Curry Chicken, they couldn't believe it, but she ate it, and don't get me started on olives, she has loved them from about the same time. And she was our first! I don't know whether it was innocence or nerves of steel that we thought to try her on it in the first place. She never ever ate avocado though, and even at 10 will only eat it on a salad roll when it's used like butter.
ReplyDeleteEither way how a toddler eats is as individual as them, I raised my boys the same, but got 3 completely different results. In fact much to my frustration the middle child is so fussy it drives me insane. He won't eat say chicken and rice if it's mixed on the plate, but he will eat it if the rice is on one side and the chicken on the other. GRRRR. I wouldn't indulge him if he wasn't such a skinny kid!
I think nerves had a great deal to do with how I fed Peanut. I didn't want to get it wrong! Of course, I did, many times over, and seeing her survive and thrive regardless gave me confidence when it came to raising Bug.
DeleteWhen it comes to fussy eating, I'm a heartless wench. Peanut either eats her lovingly prepared, nutritionally balanced, delicious family meal or goes hungry. I live by Rosemary Stanton's view that no healthy child ever starved in a house where there was food readily available! And so far, Peanut still has a layer of warmth on her ribs... but I do separate out her food if it's feasible. I'm not a complete tyrant. Mostly. ;)
Both of mine have had puree, Mini had homemade, but Boyo had Heinz mostly. Of course, the fact that Mini started solids just before she was 5months, because I couldn't handle the constant hunger and complete lack of sleep any more meant proper food wasn't so easy as she couldn't sit by herself, or fed herself at all. She had to have puree or I had to keep breastfeeding every 30 minutes and get 2 hours of sleep a day. She did get highly flavoured goop though, I put cinamon and nutmeg and all sorts of spices in a lot of what I cooked for her. If she didn't like something, I just added spice til she'd eat it. Apart from a recent insistence that she does not like foods she loved 3 months ago, neither of them are overly fussy, and Boyo actually sometimes had to be bribed with vegies to eat meat. Both of them would choose fruit over chocolate, and they get excited about yoghurt. If I had another I'd still go for puree if I had to start solids early again, but I like the idea of waiting till they have enough coordination to shovel real food in by themselves. (Never going to end up with a third so its all hypothetical though.)
ReplyDeleteI remember you starting Mini on food, did it make a difference to her sleeping?
DeletePeanut is a vege eater, and dislikes meat. Bug is a meat eater, and tolerates vegies.
I remember you giving me advice about spices and kids, and I followed it! They love their cinnamon. Thanks :)
Did it ever.. after a few weeks of her only sleeping in ten minute snatches and being constantly grizzly, the day we gave her rice cereal goop she started being happy again and slept for about 8 hours. My guilt at not waiting til 6 months died at that point. :)
DeleteSpeaking of bibs Mrs A, we've got a lovely pink one that was kindly donated by your family during the recent Block Cold-Climate-Camping expedition ;)
ReplyDeleteHang on, you sure it's ours? Stu didn't leave one there?
DeleteYou can keep it. Hopefully you might consider needing it one day soon! *elbow poke*
Love baby-led weaning. Apart from being easy, which appeals to my inner Lazy Mum, the watching them figure out solids and make a mess is fantastic fun. I was almost sad when J started getting really good at eating because it meant I wouldn't see him turn his entire face orange when he ate pumpkin anymore.
ReplyDeleteI found it created a lot of anxiety in other people, though. Every time things weren't going well in some other area (like, ahem, sleeping) I would get lots of well-meaning advice to stop baby-led weaning and go out to get some farex RIGHT NOW. I just smiled and ignored it and they seem to have calmed down now. Or just realised I wasn't going to take their advice and given up. Either way works for me.
Yeah, you say the orange face days are over, but yesterday Bug said "Mum! s'getti! Faaaaaaace!!" And smeared her spag from chin to hair. And a bit further. Kid looked like an ommpa loompa. I didn't want to get cross, because she was talking so well! Normally she's quite neat.
DeletePeople are always full of such good advice. Some, in hindsight, stellar (STELLA!!!) but if you took it all, you'd be running around like a headless chook. Much easier to make up your own mind.
With my oldest I stressed and VERY gradually introduced foods in fear that she'd have an allergy, with my youngest, I realized she was six months old and had only received breast milk, so I started her on some cereal. Then when she was over 9 months old I realized I had still not introduced anything else, as she was a quick, ten minute nurser every four hours and then she was just happy as can be! So, at nine months we went to table food, and she had no problems!
ReplyDeleteI have 7 children and with the first 6 done the normal progression from puree'd mush to normal foods.. with the littlest princess I tried to introduce her to mush and she looked at me as if to say MUM I WANT REAL FOOD... swiped something off my plate one day and we never looked back - she was sitting with us eating whatever we were eating when she was 5 months old.
ReplyDeleteWe did BLW with our first, who's now 14 months. Our family was freaked right out by it, (pretty sure they thought I was going to choke my child to death with all this "inappropriate" food) but now they can't get over what a good eater he is.
ReplyDeleteI knew I wanted to do BLW, but even if I hadn't, he decided for us - he was a food stealer big time.
BLW made life better for us (we actually get to EAT our dinners) and for him. He loves being able to participate in meals like everyone else. The time watching us is so important - he'll eat anything he sees his dad eat, no problem. I love that he is getting to experience and enjoy REAL food from such an early age. He happily eats everything from lobster and mushroom risotto to spicy thai food, lamb, fish, fruit and veggies, you name it.
It was messy, but worth it! Being able to go to a fancy restaurant with a one year old and have him eat with utensils from a plate is a luxury most parents don't have!