What to feed them, when to feed them and how to feed them must be one of the most talked about subjects at mother and baby groups the world over.
I have had very different experiences of weaning my three and thought I would share them with you!
When my eldest was born, the advice was to begin weaning at around 16 weeks and start off with a bit of baby rice mixed with their usual milk. Not knowing any different I dutifully did as advised and soon found myself plunged into pureeing organic vegetables into suitable purees that could be frozen and used when necessary.
His mealtimes consisted of me (or his dad) spooning the food into his mouth whilst trying to distract him from the job in hand. We quickly progressed onto the spoon grabbing game and realised that if he had a spoon of his own we might manage to get a bit more food in. As most parents do, we had all the usual worries about whether he was getting enough food , the right nutrients and was his diet leaving enough room for him to get the milk he also needed.
With the second child we were undoubtedly more relaxed. We were used to the mess, he loved his food and we were less focussed on the distinct 'stages' of weaning and let him guide us as to what he was going to eat and how/when. Consequently, he was definitely feeding himself sooner and I don't remember the same anxiety about whether he had eaten enough. As long as he was healthy and growing I knew he was OK.
By the time number three came along I thought I knew what I was doing, until I read a magazine article about Baby Led Weaning. The concept made perfect sense to me and I was intrigued enough to buy a book and explore further.
In a nutshell, the concept of baby led weaning is that you provide a variety of foods (almost anything goes!) and your baby explores them and eats them how and when he/she is ready.
We decided to give it a go and I have to say that I wish we had discovered the idea sooner. Forget purees, ice cube trays and weaning spoons. All you need is a decent high chair, a clean surface for them to eat from and a sense of humour at the clearing up stage! (Essentials for us were the Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair and Table Top and a good supply of Cheeky Wipes).
We found it absolutely fascinating to watch our child explore the foods presented with her eyes, her nose, her hands and her mouth. We were confident that she was getting all the goodness she needed from her milk and so never worried about how much she was actually eating. Our mealtimes were family based, stress free and messy!
The bigger picture is that all three of our children have healthy appetites and enjoy a variety of foods but if I could go back I would definitely do baby led weaning again. In retrospect it just seems like a more baby friendly, relaxed and easier way to get them enjoying food!
The book I read is called: Baby-led weaning by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett and is well worth looking at if you are interested in using baby led weaning for your family.
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