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Carpet Monkeys
26-11-2009, 03:53 PM
Just had a parent come round this pm with lo, possibly for me to mind for as from late February. She mentioned that she is very keen on baby led weaning - can anyone shed some light on what exactly this is? She touched on it briefly saying that it's not giving them pureed food but going straight to finger food.

Can anyone recommend a book for me to read or a website to visit to understand more?

Thanks

mama2three
26-11-2009, 04:09 PM
www.baby-led.com and www.babyledweaning.blogware.com

I think its a wonderful way to introduce foods - it is built round the premise that breast is best , and anything other than milk in the first year is a 'bonus'. milk meets all the nutritional requirements and other foods are given as the child expresses an interest in them - so may chew on mums pork chop at dinner for example ( strange example but the first that came to mind!!!) It allows the baby to explore food and texture etc as apposed to feeding to meet the food needs of the child. not sure im making sense now but the websites have lots more info. theres also a forum for new-to-babyled mums where you can ask questions if youre stuck!

Nat78
26-11-2009, 04:10 PM
We are going through this with my eight month old daughter at the moment. Basically its like she said. Don't puree foods, give them as they are. We have given all sorts of foods (apples, carrots, cheese, bread, peppers, bananas, cereals, garlic bread, peas, burgers, broccolli, sausage, etc) and she just gets it cut into strips big enough so she can hold it easily and let her feed herself. Just literally put in onto the high chair tray.
Not sure of any books or sites but I went on a healthy eating course and this was touched on. Basically a baby will choke just as easily on pureed food as it would on solid foods. Their gag reflex is that good it is very hard for them to choke, even on carrots (not pre boiled). The theory behind it is that it enables the child to decide when they have eaten enough rather than carrying on taking food from a spoon even when full. Also a lot of babies struggle coming onto more solid foods so BLW eliminates this.
Like I said my daughter has eaten exactly what we have since starting weaning and has loved it. Much easier as no blending foods, time to feed them, etc. Just constant supervision as you would with any child while eating.

I would recommend it. have experienced blending with son and BLW with daughter. Would choose BLW every time!!

tammerisk
26-11-2009, 04:16 PM
well my son did this without me knowing this was what it is.
he ate baby rice for the first 2 weeks of weening at 5 months and then refuse to eat anything pureed so i just gave him everything we had just chopped up and he loved it never had a problem with chocking or anything he just gummed it to death first and the ate it he never got his firsat tooht till he was 10 months and the not again till a month later he is nearly two now and han't got all his teeth!!!!
and he will eat anything!!!!

Blackhorse
26-11-2009, 04:40 PM
I did this too with my dd...well sort of..

what I did is that I gave her most food in the way that she could eat it herself but I also gave her some pureed food (but not to a pulp..still bits in it) as I didnt want to be restricting her diet to only things she could eat herself....

I also gave her the freedom to begin with to ''play'' with the food she was offered...so she could use her hands etc to feel and touch it..she didnt do this for long and is now eating very well and doesnt play with her food..but I think it gave her the possibility to find out exactly what she was eating and to explore it her own way

mamasheshe
26-11-2009, 05:21 PM
i did baby led weaning with both my two basically you just let them get on with feeding themselves finger food (supervised so not choking hazard ) it's great but messy !! things like broccoli carrot sticks peas are great the organix "crisps" good also good luck

Carpet Monkeys
26-11-2009, 07:23 PM
Thanks for the great advice, and links. I'll also email the mother the links so she can see I've been reading up on it!

aly
26-11-2009, 08:59 PM
I did this too...fab...wish i knew about it with my other 2 :panic:

nannymcflea
26-11-2009, 09:39 PM
Did this with my youngest, she started out with brocolli florets at about 9-10 months, not interested before that, breastfed and happy, still reached 2 stone before her first birthday!:)