Baby-Led Weaning (Update)

I posted recently about trying baby-led weaning with Agent A, who turned 7 months yesterday. (See Food, Yummy Food for the initial post.) This is an update about how it’s going one month later.

First, I must admit something I simply could not get on board with: handing him a large chunk of food (stick-shaped for grabbing onto) and watching him go at it. I know some folks may say that’s kind of the whole point of BLW and I might as well turn in my membership now, but I tried this a couple of times and it scared the bejesus out of me. A doesn’t have teeth, but his gums are strong, and he can chomp off a huge chunk of carrot or banana or whatever. Seeing him with a mouthful of a big lump of food was not something this Momma could watch.

French toast and bananas . . . yummy.

Other aspects, however, I embraced readily . . . we will not be purchasing jarred baby food nor making our own. (Although I did break down and buy a container of those puffs . . . softer than Cheerios and fun pincer grasp practice.) We simply offer him appropriate pieces/servings of whatever we are eating. We will be skipping purees and only spoon-feeding foods meant to be eaten with a spoon (e.g., applesauce, yogurt). We do not go out of our way to prepare anything “special” for him or attempt to “feed” him . . . we just take whatever we have and cut it up or mush it, set it in front of him,  and let him put it in his own mouth. (Well, sometimes I help to hold it a little if he’s getting too ambitious.)

Some foods we have tried so far: bananas, carrots, peas, green beans, applesauce, the aforementioned puffies, turkey meatloaf, spaghetti, bread, French toast, and rice.

This pizza rocks

But by far his favorite seems to be pizza. (We live in Naples, the birthplace of pizza, after all, and A is one-quarter Italian.)

I do not try to spread out foods over a couple of days, and sometimes (gasp!) even offer two new foods at the same time. Ooh . . . I just gave my baby two different fruits without waiting out the “mandatory” three-day allergy watch. Someone call CPS, quick. 

Of course it’s mostly for play right now, as A gets at least 90% of his calories from breast milk, and this will be true for many months to come. Remember: Food before one, just for fun!