Saturday, August 27, 2011

baby-led weaning, one month in

Mara @ Barfing Rainbows asked a question about baby-led weaning and food allergies, and it occurred to me that others might be curious about that and other aspects of BLW as well.  Clara is 7 months old now (cry!), and we've been doing BLW for a month, following two months of purees.  (See my original post on BLW for how we got started and the book I recommend.)


I guess we're not doing strict BLW because we do spoon-feed Clara yogurt every day (YoBaby plain with a puree mixed in)....but otherwise Clara is feeding herself her solids - everything from sweet potato wedges marinated in maple syrup/olive oil/red pepper flakes(!)/garlic to banana pancakes (Bisquick + organic eggs and milk + wheat germ + cinnamon + banana slices). 


BLW definitely makes a ridiculous mess, and there's lots of wasted food (though our pets wouldn't call it wasted, ha ha). Still, Clara enjoys it immensely and is honing various skills this way - hand/eye coordination, pincer grip, biting off, chewing, etc.  And it's cool to be able to eat with her instead of having to feed her before or after we eat.

To answer Mara's question, the BLW people say that unless there is a history of food allergies in the family, you don't have to follow the "four day wait" rule. We give Clara stuff with numerous new ingredients all the time and haven't had any problems.


You're supposed to give the baby an open cup of water in case they get thirsty. Clara can't hold bottles very well, much less an open cup, so we guide it to her mouth when she reaches for it.  We've tried a couple of kinds of sippys for water, too, but she's able to drink better from the open cup at this point. (It doesn't matter how your baby gets water, just that it's available if she needs it.)

She has never choked using this method.

We have no regrets about going this route and would recommend it if you're interested, and especially if your baby is more interested in YOUR food than her own spoon-fed purees, like Clara was :-)


7 comments:

Samantha said...

Love, love, love! We're more on the spoon fed side but T does feed himself chunks of avocado, banana, and steamed fruits and veggies. The dogs agree that it is the best way for him to eat as they taste everything he drops!

As for T's bday- unfortunately with his birthday being on 12/28 the Saturday before is Christmas Eve and the Saturday after is New Year's Eve so I think this year (and probably until he's older) we will be having a party at our house... I'm already researching themed stuff though- YAY!!!!

Cindy/Mom said...

Love the pics, as usual. Can't wait for next weekend to get to experience it all first hand! I can't believe how much her hair has grown!
Note to Samantha - I agree with your comments about the 12/28 birthday's. That is when Scott,daddy of the beautiful Clara, decided to burst forth into this world!! But we said we would always make sure that it never got lost in the Christmas/New Years festivities.

Lesley said...

thanks! i can't wait to try this! purees have been a major FAIL around here!

Littlest True Blue said...

Yummy! I'm totally not a neat freak and love letting my baby get messy with exploring her food! Let a kid be a kid! That's what baths are for! Love the pic with her and the pancake! We let A pick at foods, and she loves hunks of baguette to gnaw on! And I am so hating on you just a little bit that Clara has been such a dream sleeper! You have motivated me even more though to get rid of the night feeds! Wish me luck!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for answering my question! This looks so much easier than making those purees. I made a crap ton of zucchini this weekend and apparently Henry hates zucchini. I'm going to order the book now!

Great pictures of Clara! Such a cutie!

Stefanie Blakely said...

OMG, LOVE the 3rd picture. She is SO cute.

Lindsay said...

Made these for Parker this morning, they were a big hit...I think. I thought they were super yummy. I think I'm going to start work on more stuff like this and see if she eats any better.