Baby-led weaning

This is a post I've been wanting to do for a while. I've been collecting pictures specifically for this. Landon is between 6 and 7 months old in all these pictures.

Since I'm on a roll, I figured I get it done now. So, why is it that we have to come up with names for things that used to just be the natural course of life? Baby-led weaning? C'mon. You need a name for it? Apparently, since in this culture we rely on pureed baby food. What are we, birds? Okay, anyway. I'm not here to harp in the existing norms (okay maybe a little) but more to share what I've done, why I've done it, and how much I love it! SO much better than spoon feeding which I hate.

Basic premise:

1. Babies know how to get food from it's source from the first hour of their life. Why do we interrupt that with 6 months to a year of spoon feeding them?

2. I can't think of anything in nature that comes in a semi-liquid state; there are solids and there are liquids. It follows that pureed foods would seem unnatural to a baby. Landon doesn't even like applesauce even though he loves apples.

3. Babies know what and how much food their bodies need. They are drawn to the colors and smells of things that contain the nutrients they are in need of. When the parent chooses the jar of food to feed, the baby loses the opportunity to get the exact right things for his/her body. Also, most of us have a tendency to want to finish off the jar of baby food even if the baby is full. The baby will often lose the sense for being done eating when the body says it's full.

4. During the first year, baby can get everything he/she needs from breastmilk and solid foods are more for exploring and experimenting with taste, texture, smell, and color. No need to try to coerce baby to finish a meal.

Myths:

1. Babies will choke if food is too hard, thick, big, etc. Pureed food fed babies learn to swallow and later to chew. Baby-led weaning fed babies learn to chew and then to swallow. My own personal hypothesis is that this will actually reduce choking instances because a baby who learns to chew first will never forget to chew first.

2. Gagging=choking=danger. Gagging is how babies move things around in their mouths. Their gag reflex is much further forward in their mouths than that of an adult so the food is not as close to their airway when they gag as it would be if we gagged on a piece of food.

3. Babies don't like food with lots of flavor so start with rice cereal and then add flavors a little at a time. WHAT?! Thankfully, this ridiculous notion is being renounced by the same magazines that used to publish such rubbish. I'm pretty sure that a good portion of the finicky eaters we see today stem from being fed pureed, bland food. Bring on the peppers and the onions!

Personal experience:

With Alaina, I was lazy and I hated making and spoon feeding pureed food. I waited until she was about 9 months old before I really fed her many solids. By then, according to Western school of thought, babies are old enough to safely chew and swallow food. I diced up fruits and veggies real small and steamed them for her until I saw that I didn't need to dice them quite so small.

With Landon, I'd read up on the baby-led weaning philosophy and it just made so much sense to me. It was the right thing for us--why would I do it any other way? I tried pureed baby food a couple of times only because I had some in the house leftover from Alaina and I didn't have any fresh fruits or veggies that day. He hated it. He didn't want me to feed him and he would only take one bite before he zipped those lips and turned his head away. So when Landon was 6 months old, aside from two or three attempts at pureed food, I started giving him fresh fruits and veggies--big chunks of them. Usually about the size of his fist or bigger. And I didn't even steam anything. He LOVED it!

I could see that he wasn't really swallowing anything and that he was just mouthing things, experimenting with taste, texture and color. That quickly transitioned to chewing but still not swallowing. There was a little gagging but NO choking. Not even when he put this huge fist-sized chunk of chicken in his mouth:

I've never had to intervene to help him with his food. I gave him anything we were eating that didn't have chemicals, salt, or processed sugar. My favorite is a butternut squash and chicken dish that's seasoned with sage, olive oil, and a very small amount of salt. The whole family can eat it and we all love it! I tested whether or not Landon was showing a preference for things or just randomly grabbing whatever was there by putting 4 pieces of squash and one piece of chicken on his tray with the chicken in the middle (he'd been seeming to like the chicken better). He dove straight for the chicken, validating the idea that babies have a preference and their bodies tell them what they need.

Another thing I love is that when I make stir fry, I can give him a pile of everything we're eating (before I put the sauce on) and let him try all sorts of veggies and meat.

I'd like to say it's less messy, but that's just not true. It's a different kind of mess and one that I personally prefer. The pureed food drool and slime covering baby is not my favorite. This oatmeal and raisin meal wasn't the easiest to clean either, but I tried giving it to him in a bowl with a spoon but he threw the spoon on the floor and dumped the bowl upside-down first thing. Usually, though, I can just dust him off from chunks of peas, carrots, apple slices, or broccoli and he's good to go. I make Brice clean him up if it's bananas though. Ew.

Not only is this way SO much easier to me (I eat my food, he eats his, easier prep, lower cost), but it also seems like the natural order of things and I like that. I think it's a LOT more fun too! I love watching him try to coordinate his movements (good for motor development!) and I love watching him try new things. He seems to enjoy it as well! Oh, another cool thing: when he was just over 7 months old we went out to dinner to Red Lobster. I ordered him a side of asparagus without any seasonings and he was content and happy the whole time we were there. Yes, my baby likes asparagus! How cool is that!? I highly encourage all of you with babies to give it a shot. Still not sure? Feel free to ask questions!