On Friday Jan. 27 from 11am-12pm we had a Baby Cafe at Sweetheart Diapers & More and the topic of discussion was “Baby-Led Weaning”. We had our best turn-out yet, with 15 moms (including myself) and 12 babies in attendance. Thanks to everyone who made it out and contributed to a great discussion! And for those of you who couldn’t be here, I’ve tried my best to summarize it for you in this post and to provide you with some info:
First of all, the name “Baby-led weaning” can be misleading. You might read this title and think I’m referring to ending the breastfeeding relationship, but in fact it has to do with introducing solid foods. It’s really a form of baby-led eating. I’ve also heard it being referred to as “baby-led solids”, but that makes me think of baby poop (maybe because we’re a diaper store and I talk about pee and poop a lot with people, so it’s kind of on the brain a lot…?) Anyway, I just want to clarify that we’re not talking about weaning the baby off of breastfeeding. In fact, the moms at Baby Cafe talked about the importance of continuing to breastfeed to ensure that baby is receiving proper nutrition. What they do is breastfeed the baby before each meal, so that the baby is getting nutrients from the breastmilk, and then it doesn’t really matter what the baby chooses to eat or not. Apparently, until babies are about 12 months old, breastmilk should still be the main source of nutrition, and solid foods are more just an experiment for the baby as they learn how to chew and swallow and experience new tastes and textures.
The basic idea behind baby-led eating is that instead of pureeing food and spoon-feeding your child, you allow the child to feed themselves right from the start. And since a 6-month old can’t feed themselves with a spoon, it means that what you’re giving them for the most part will NOT be puree or mush. You don’t need to make separate “baby food” for the baby. The idea is that you can give the baby the same foods that the family is eating, you just need to alter some of it so that it’s appropriate for baby (to avoid any choking risks).
Baby-led eating gives the child full control over their own eating, and will supposedly lead to better eating habits when they’re older. You are letting them decide when they’re done, rather than forcing food on them. Let the baby try lots of different foods, and leave it up to them to decide if they like it or not. It’s also easier to eat as a family because you don’t have to spend your time spoon-feeding the baby, instead you can eat your own food. In order to avoid choking, give the baby soft foods in the beginning that can easily be “gummed”, such as overly-steamed veggies, small banana chunks, or squished peas. Apples can be served in the form of apple sauce, but instead of spoon-feeding the baby, let them use sticks of toast to dip in the apple sauce! Hummus is a great dip for baby too.
As far as nutrition goes, as long as you’re breastfeeding you can treat food more as an experiment for baby until about the age of 12 months. The moms talked about how they breastfeed the baby first before the meal, and then the solid food is given afterwards. That way the baby is getting all the nutrients it needs from the breastmilk, and it doesn’t really matter whether the solid foods they’re eating include the four food groups or not. Some things to be careful with are too much fibre (like maybe stay away from chili)…
As far as we’re aware, there is only one book on the market that is on this subject. It is called “Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater” by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. Several moms who came out today had a copy of this book, and the general consensus was that it is very repetitive and you basically only need to read the first chapter, and that all the information you need is on the website www.babyledweaning.com. If you really want a book, don’t spend full price on it. Get one from the library or share the book with a couple of friends. I like to do my reading away from the computer screen (while breastfeeding in bed or on the couch) so I have a borrowed copy of the book which I’m going to peruse.
I’m excited to try this form of eating with my son in a couple of months when he’s ready to start eating solids. If I hadn’t learned about this from talking with other moms, I would have started out with spoon-feeding baby cereals. And then how would I simultaneously get his big sister ready for school and get myself ready for work? I like this idea of just putting the food on his tray and letting him figure it out for himself! I never would have thought to let a 6-month old feed themself solid foods, but why not? They probably did it back in the day before blenders were invented.
All the moms who came out to Baby Cafe talked about how easy it is. But messy!! Be prepared to give up control and allow the baby to experiment with their food! I copied this “recipe” from www.babyledweaning.com and I like what this parent put in the directions:
Mashed Banana on Toast
OK, so not really a recipe as such, but she loves this – it is rather messy though, so only for fays when you are feeling really strong!
Ingredients
2 slices of toast
1 mashed banana
Directions
Spread mashed banana over toasted bread , slice into soldiers, hand to baby – stand back …
Haha!
The website www.babyledweaning.com has lots of information, read it over if you want to give some of this a try! There are some meal ideas on there too.
And please share your comments if you’ve had experience with baby-led weaning with your own child, because those of us who are new to this could use some tips and suggestions!
Stay tuned for our next event in the Baby Cafe series, Feb. 7, 2012 at 3pm, topic: Sleeping. Any questions or advice you have regarding how to get your baby to sleep will be covered. If you have read any good books on the topic please consider sharing them with the group. If you can’t make it to the meeting in person you will be able to read about it on this blog and add your comments.
