Monday, January 16, 2012

"You Let Your Baby Put What In Her Mouth?!"

Adventures in Modified Baby Led Weaning

Pinch! Pinch! Pinch! So Claire's pinch reflex is getting pretty damn good. In fact it is so good that her new favorite game now is to pull herself off my breast, give my nipple the hairy eyeball, and pinch it between her index finger and thumb. OUCH! I bare the battle scars to prove it. So given that her pinch reflex clearly works I thought it was time to try her out with some finger foods, and I went one step further....modified baby led weaning (BLW).

What the f*** is BLW you may ask? Well let me tell you! BLW is when you let your child feed themselves, completely. As in here yah go kiddo, PLUNK! Food goes on the tray and you just hope and pray that some gets in their mouth. No purees here folks! Get the camera ready because it makes for some GREAT photos. Yet I am also a very A-type mommy, I am just not OK guessing with quantities of what goes in my babies system. That and well, to be honest, I am selfish. The kid just plain sleeps better with a nice full tummy! Hell, I know I do. That and I don't enjoy watching Claire's gag reflex kick in. Some BLW advocates will tell you it is part of the process yadda yadda yadda. But it just freaks the shit out of me.

Enter MODIFIED BLW

I always start every meal with a few spoonfuls of pureed food that I have made myself. After a couple successful bites I let Claire take the spoon, her aim is really quite impressive! Once I know some solids have gotten into her the fun starts. I give her large chunks of soft food that she can experiment with...and more often then not she gets it to her mouth! I was surprised!

Claire is also going through what appears to be a very strong independent phase, where she wants to do everything her self. This helps me make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs. It is also useful for when a baby is teething, they can be reluctant to eat so why not put the power in their hands for a bit and let them go at their own pace?

So far we have experimented with:

avocado
bannana
yams
rice puffs
salmon

For the record salmon is a great one to try as it naturally flakes off into tiny soft bite sized pieces in their mouth! Perfect!

What do you think about BLW? Would you try it in either form? Do you let your kids play with their food?

6 comments:

  1. Woohoo for independent eating! For me I loved it's many learning aspects and the facts that my little one was totally in charge and part of the dinner in all senses and so was I. Not spoon feeding her meant I could seat facing the table as did the babe which was important to me. I know what you mean about the chocking thing they do have a natural reflex so they 'should' be fine. I also find that even now my little one never gets scared or anything when she chokes now - she is calm and just deals with it - it's never been a problem!

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  2. I didn't do spoon feeding at all. Nutrition was obtained through breastmilk, food was for fun and experimenting. I've heard of people making smoothies out of meat & vegetables to ensure their 8 month old child is getting "enough nutrients" - crazy.

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  3. I had never heard of this but I think it's fabulous! Reefs still on the boob milk only but I'm so glad you posted this! I think he'll totally dig it. He does enjoy massacring a frozen banana with his gums when his teething is out of control :) you're such an epically awesome mama!

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  4. why thanks chica! :D Its messsssssy though to warn you! LOL I am about to sew a vinyl drop cloth for the floor

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  5. As an update we have moved more into full time BLW! It just really seems to resonate with Claire. So far we have done halved blueberries, steamed yams, avocado, kamut puffs, rice puffs, salmon, red pepper sticks, steamed carrot sticks, and wait for it.....NORI! As in sheets of seaweed! For cereal. She LOVES it! I will for sure do another post on BLW

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  6. My daughter loved eating independently as a baby. Now that she is a toddler, she can eat alone without much mess. I love how independent she has become.

    Nice post :)
    Kelly - http://www.babypics.com/pics

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