I came across baby led weaning on the internet a while ago and though that the approach would suit baby Zak to a tee, as he is a very independent minded baby. Basically, you forget all your purees and ice cube trays - provided you've waited until bubs is 6 months old and can pick things up, you cook a bit of whatever you're having for tea without sugar or salt, cut it into fist sized pieces, put it on baby's high chair tray and let them have at it.
I was undecided on whether to just take the traditional route until I saw this brilliant video of parents trying BLW for the first time (note for the easily offended: Dad has a bit of a potty mouth). Seeing that baby scoffing chunks of broccoli persuaded me that BLW was the way to go. And so far, it has been. Zak is three days in and already he's been chomping carrot, banana, digestives (naughty Granny), cucumber and broccoli. Today we're having a go at parsnip. We weren't expecting him to eat much at first and although alot of food has ended up on the floor he's been going at his food pieces with great gusto.
Unfortunately there's not alot of info out there on BLW - when I asked the local health visiting team they'd heard of it, but not much else. There is a book available, which I didn't buy, although at the start I felt like I needed some hand holding and wished that I had the book to refer to. There's a good website: http://babyledweaning.com/ and the Youtube videos of course, and that's about it.
Despite the Dept of Health guidelines there's still alot of pressure on parents to wean babies at four months and it can be tough to wait til six months when everyone around you is shovelling purees into their bubs mouths while your baby has to make do with plain old milk. But after just three days Zak has already caught up with his peers in terms of what he can eat and I'm so glad we waited. It's only a matter of weeks before he's going to be nomming entire roast dinners.
1 comment:
I promise you won't regret doing BLW! Book is interesting but mostly about why you should BLW, not how. But that is because there isn't much to say about how.... Just follow your mummy instincts.
Tips: start with bits big enough for two hands then progress to batons once baby gets better at holding things. End up with bite size bits once baby gets good at the pincer grip. Slippery food (avocado, melon etc) needs to have the skin and/or jagged edges so that baby can grip it. Runny or mushy food can be thickened with rice flakes, Ready Brek, bread crumbs, polenta or whatever to make it easier to pick up. We mixed rice with rice flour & a little water to make rice balls for the same reason. Have fun!
Post a Comment