Baby Led Weaning

I checked out the book Baby Led Weaning from the library a couple of months ago, thinking it would give me advice about weaning my baby from nursing. Instead, the book was about a way to start babies on solids without using the jars, pouches, and boxes of baby food. Ever. Just wait for the baby to grab your food off of your plate and let them eat what they grab. This idea has been around forever, but it was revolutionary to me when I read it.

The benefits of baby led weaning is that babies begin eating the same variety of tastes, textures, and colors that the family eats, when the baby is ready. Mealtimes become sensory experiences. Meanwhile, babies learn to chew the food down with their gums and discover how to move the food around their mouths without choking on it. This sounds terrifying, but at 6 months or so, their gag reflex is nearer to the front of their tongue, so they gag food way before it reaches the back of their throat. For the busy parent, it frees up the time and stress of preparing purees and spoonfeeding them. The book addresses concerns about allergies as well.

When we first started solids, between 5 and 6 months, I was determined that it would be all homemade and as close to what we eat as possible. In practice, life happened. I tried to create menus out of limited ingredients, set aside vegetables to boil down and puree, and wasted food and time after discovering that things like potatoes do not freeze well. I ended up feeding him a lot of yogurt, avocado, and bananas because they were easy and didn't require cooking. Realizing that he needed variety that I didn't have the energy to provide for every meal, I started buying jars and pouches of bland yet expensive baby food. The ideas in this book I accidentally stumbled upon seemed very appealing to me.

In reality, it is very difficult to be absolute in anything in the realm of feeding. It is expensive and a hassle to provide him only bought baby food--but it is convenient and there is a reassurance that the baby won't choke. It is time-intensive to offer him only homemade food--but it is inexpensive and allows control over the ingredients and texture. As for baby led weaning, it sounds ideal, but is hard as a new parent to trust that the baby will eat what he needs when you see pieces of pasta on the floor, grated cheese crammed into the nooks of the high chair, and mashed potatoes in the diaper. Did he eat anything? Probably...How much? Not sure...Babies won't starve themselves, right? I hope not...Plus, child care centers much prefer methods that are fast and clean. Baby led weaning is neither.

The book is informative and the authors are passionate about the topic. Reading the book made me feel braver about offering him things like apple and peach slices before he even had teeth, and it was amazing to see how he was able to manipulate the slices and scrape away food with his gums. I can't give up the morning fortified grain cereal or the lunch yogurt, and I am mindful about what I pack in his school lunch, but it has definitely been fun sharing our seasonal food-based family dinners together.