i first stumbled upon Baby Led Weaning in an issue of Parents magazine that started appearing in my mailbox each month and that i’m almost positive i did not pay for. after speaking about the philosophy with various doulas and attending an informational class held by Cheer Up Buttercups i knew this was the weaning method for us, foodies that we are. i could not imagine why M should be made to eat pureed chicken and vegetables when she could just eat the real thing. immediately i downloaded the book and drove to the store to return our unused baby food maker. having the book is definitely helpful but you can gather quite a bit of information and tips from the website, for free.
if you’re not familiar with BLW, here is a little excerpt straight from the website:
“Baby Led Weaning, quite simply, means letting your child feed themselves from the very start of weaning. The distinct advantage of weaning at around six months is that by then, our children are developmentally capable of feeding themselves proper food, in other words – no more mush!
You just hand them the food in a suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they don’t they won’t.
That’s the essence of Baby Led Weaning. No purees, no ice cube trays, no food processor, no potato masher, no baby rice, no weird fruit and veg combos… just you and your child, eating food that you enjoy with you and your family.
The key difference between BLW and traditional weaning, when you think about it, is in the order that children learn to eat. With a puree, they learn to swallow first and then chew, which works fine until they meet a lump. With BLW, the babies learn to chew first and swallowing might come some time later.
It’s ‘baby-led’ in the sense that you let them do what they need to do while they’re learning, and as the parent you resist the urge to get wound up in knots about how much they’re eating, whether they like the food you thought they’d like and whether it’s smushed into the nearest curtain.”
Baby Led Weaning has been an incredible and incredibly rewarding experience for us. we are amazed every day at how well our 9 month old can feed herself with a spoon, chew, and eat almost the same exact things we eat. it is messy - messy in a way that some days i just look at my filthy daughter and her high chair and wonder where and how to start cleaning up - but it’s worth the mess in order to see the joy and pride on her face. this blog post is not meant to be educational or to provide tips on BLW - i would prefer to let the experts handle that here and in the book. my intention is simply to introduce you to something amazing that you may not have known about and to provide an explanation for the baby food recipes i post. there will be many BLW recipes and easy, healthy meal suggestions to come.
i suppose i could give you one tip though: eat naked.*
*sans clothing. diapers are still a requirement.