Baby Led Weaning: When It Works (And When It Doesn't...)

From the moment I feel pregnant with baby W I was determined to introduce solids to him via baby led weaning. "Baby led weaning" sounds kind of official and complicated, but essentially it's just offering a range of safe finger foods from around six months and letting them feed themselves. No puree!

There wasn't really any firm reason I wanted to do this and I think there's absolutely nothing wrong with puree. I did feel however that H somehow became a terrible eater, so I might as well try something different! Also it is easier in a way as baby can eat a version of what you eat. Plus it's, like, so the rage right now.

Our BLW journey was complicated by a few things. Firstly, I had really hoped to breastfeed and that didn't work out long term (again!). This meant that I really wanted him to start solids prior to six months, as based on my own research and doctor's advice I don't feel formula gives babies a range of tastes and nutrients the same way breast milk does.

So, we started him on a few spoon-fed foods at four months, none of which he really took to until five months. By five months, W was over 65cm long and about 8kg. Big. Not only did he take to food at this age, he couldn't get enough. It is still pretty much the only thing over which he will cry - not getting it fast enough.

This meant that when I tried to shift to finger foods at 5.5/6 months, he was INCREDIBLY frustrated. He just wasn't getting the volume of food he needed and it certainly wasn't coming at a satisfactory speed. Cue screaming in frustration from a child who has basically never screamed about anything, which was of course very frustrating and distressing for me.

My solution for the last couple of months has been to offer some finger food along with a puree, and this has worked well. He loves the independence of feeding himself and gets great enjoyment out of holding a spoon (I now struggle to feed him without letting him hold one!) and has become really good at chewing and swallowing given his age.

Over the weekend, I noticed that W (now 7.5 months) was really into his finger food and actually managing to get quite a bit in. So today I tested him with some pasta, meatballs and fruit, and he managed to get enough in to be satisfied for a whole meal. H and I enjoyed watching him make a big mess and he kept looking over and laughing. The floor afterwards was interesting, but overall it was lots of fun and great to not be spoon feeding him.

Baby Sees Food...

Baby Grabs Food...

 

 

Baby Eats Food! Success.

Anyway, I guess the message is that if you have a really large, voracious baby or a really small baby who needs quite a set amount of nutrients, a degree of BLW is still possible. And overall it is an easy and fun way to introduce solids that (research suggests) could have long term benefits for your child's eating habits. (Still, nothing beats a fruit and veg sachet when you're in a bind!)

Z x