We started off the purée route but after a lot of spitting out and more times washing the food processor I decided to research baby led weaning. I know everyone swears by different things for their baby but I’ve found making everything home made to be the easiest way and also I know there’s no hidden sugars or salt. So this post may not be to everyone’s taste but I thought I’d write it up anyway!
Why go for BLW approach?
Basically purée food is a lot of faff. I found myself batch cooking a few times a week for a baby that would then refuse the spoon. Ella’s kitchen is so pricy and the Aldi version had a really weird smell so I avoided them too. NHS guidelines say your baby can start eating what your having from 6 months once their gut has developed. Depending on what stage they are at with their teeth dictates what food consistency needs to be. All the blogs I used when researching spoke about how it was really good for improving hand eye coordination in babies. And this is a useful skill, how will she be able to lunge for my cup of tea if her hand eye coordination is off?!?
Starting soft
Eva’s first bottom teeth started to come in just as we were entering the purée stage of her food journey. I initially gave her soft finger foods such as steamed carrots and little chunks of bread. The scary bit starting off was worrying about choking. I made sure everything was cut length ways and things weren’t too wide. Grapes is a common one and there’s helpful diagrams on the nhs site to follow. What I didn’t know was the difference between gagging and choking. If a baby is making noise and moving it’s just a gag, if they go silent and still it could be choking. A baby gagging is actually a good thing because it shows their natural reflex is in perfect working order and it helps them to navigate this food eating business. Here’s a great diagram to remember if your baby is choking.
And there was lots of gagging at the start as Eva understood that her food wasn’t going to be taken away so she didn’t need to shove fistfuls in at a time. New textures and flavours meant that it was quite exciting to sit with her as she discovered them.
Getting adventurous
As soon as we mastered the basic vegetables it was time to move on to more complex meals. We decided to make our lives easier and incorporate a lot of fresh fruit into her meals. This meant when I was home alone with her during the day I didn’t have to spend ages in the kitchen to prepare. Dinner time has mainly been a slight variation on what we are having so that we can eat as a family. So for example if we are having chilli con carne, she will have a little bit of un seasoned mince, sweet corn, rice and tomatoes with some cheese. I definitely believe that Eva has tried a wider variety of foods through the BLW process. She’s had all kinds of fish, eggs and baked goods that wouldn’t have been possible to introduce through the purée process. (Bleugh, pureed fish) So my hope is that as she gets bigger she will have a good appetite for those kinds of foods.
The pros
For me the best thing about choosing baby led weaning was the ease of it all compared with purees. When you are adding three meals a day in with five bottles a day that is 8 meal times in 12 hour period. Then incorporate the fact that boob or bottle should be offered before food means you’ve got such a short window of time to do it all. Baby led weaning means you can come together as a family to eat at the same time. It’s a lovely social interaction which I think promotes a good precedent for when baby is older. No parent has to wait to eat in order to scoop purée into a mouth. Again it’s all about what suits your situation and set up.
I’ve really noticed her hand eye coordination has vastly improved and she really enjoys meal times and getting messy with the foods. The flavours are more explicit with baby led weaning and so she has firm favourites such as strawberries and broccoli that I don’t think we would have known had it all been mixed together.
I’ve found it’s much easier to pack a lunch box of stuff if you are going out for the day. I usually pack a Tupperware of strawberries, grapes, pears and carrots which we can give to her during a trip. Or if you are out for lunch you can bring your bowl and pop some of yours for her. Purée is more tricky as it has to be heated and then spoon fed to baby. Also on special occasions like Easter we were able to sit down with our family and Eva was involved and interacting so its so great as a method of entertainment!
The cons
The mess. Food does go Absolutely everywhere! So if you have a carpet or lack of time it can be a pain. Essentials to BLW is a bib that catches the food and a plate which sticks to the table. As Eva went through a nice phase of just chucking it on the floor immediately as soon as she was served.
Some people have said that BLW is a lazy way to wean but honestly picking up 20 scattered bits of sweet corn is not lazy. It’s bloody nightmare but not lazy!
The only other con for me has been that it’s taken a long time for her to actually eat anything. She started off by just ignoring the food placed before her. Then we had the phase of just playing with it. Then when she would put it in her mouth but it would slide out 20 second layer. And finally now she is getting the hang of eating it. Some family members have commented that we should supplement with purees but I keep repeating FOOD UNDER ONE IS JUST FOR FUN. She’s eating much more now and by the time she’s 1 she will be eating it all I’m sure.
Top tips
- Invest in a high chair, we went for the classic £15 one from ikea
- Also a bowl that doesn’t move and a bib which catches will save you time cleaning
- Batch make if you can, meals such as salmon egg muffins, apple and pear cakes or little pies can br made a few days in advance
- Don’t drop any bottles yet, babies main source of food is milk until they are one
- Try not to worry if they ignore the food in the beginning, once they get the hang of things they’ll be eating away!
- Pure BLW would say that any form of spoon feeding is out. However we have given Eva spoonfuls of yoghurt because she loves it and couldn’t master the spoon yet.
- Find what works for you and your baby, mix and match methods if you want to
Ultimately when it comes to babies and anything everyone will have an opinion. I’m such a believer in going with your gut feeling rather than what’s the “in” thing to be doing. BLW has worked well for us and we continue to use it as our main method of the food journey. If you have any questions or want some easy recipes just DM me!
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