Chew on This- Baby Led Weaning

Delicate glyphs are sculpted into a cave wall, nearby an ancient rock escarpment. The air is clear and crisp. Hand-woven baskets litter the small camp and the energizing scent of embers drifts across the plains. It must be near the supper hour; hunters bring back small mammals for the tribe and appear weary with the day’s toils. The sounds of the village Baby Bullet cuts through the air like a blaring automobile radio down a quiet suburban side street; a puree of chicken and peas will soon be available for hungry youngsters throughout the settlement.

Just kidding. But I do suppose this is how my pre-pregnancy subconscious pieced together baby’s meal routine since the dawn of the Homo sapien. Haven’t there always been jars of Gerber foods and little pouches of fruit mash at the ready for a hungry little? It didn’t occur to me to investigate further until I was in the latter half of my pregnancy. I had seen a term thrown around- Baby Led Weaning (BLW)- and wasn’t quite sure what it meant. As with other topics I’ve discussed, friends presently display an interest in my personal experience with the subject and desire a mini guide to accompany them along their own parenting journey.

So, what is it? Let’s discuss the timeline of what a baby ingests. From the moment he closes his mouth around a nutritive substance that isn’t breastmilk or formula, the weaning process has been initiated. He won’t be ready to quit his milk or formula habit anytime soon, though! Current research shows that giving breastmilk for at least 6 months, and ideally longer, decreases the chances of sickness and disease, boosts immunity, and augments brain development (and this still holds true even if you have to- or want to- supplement with formula… woot!). To use the term “weaning” is a bit misleading, but we can peer deeper into the term and, thus, fully understand it. Apparently the term “Baby Led Weaning” originated in Britain, where their definition of weaning does not mean discontinuing the use of milk or formula, which is the way we tend to think of it here in America.

What are some of the benefits of allowing the little one to eat like she would have in a not-so-distant past, before there were jars of bananas and pouches of broccoli?

• You can provide bites of the same foods you’ve already prepared for yourself to eat. Just cooked a side of sautéed veggies? Great, toss a few onto baby’s tray. Snacking on some cheese cubes between meals? Let him try it out as well. No blenders, trays, or frozen food blocks to tend to.
• Because he’ll be allowed to try out new textures and “exotic” (i.e. normal) flavors, there’s a decreased chance of pickiness as he ages. Real talk: pretty regularly we can get our toddlers to eat nutrient dense smoked oysters, liver, spinach, and sardines…. Muhahahah! Learning about new textures is also part of a huge milestone for any baby.
• The wee one is allowed to eat as much (or as little) as she desires, based on hunger levels. If breastfeeding, it aligns perfectly with the idea that she can stop nursing when she’s full. This practice has been shown to decrease chances of overeating as a child.

Some parents are understandably (!) concerned about the perceived choking hazards of skipping purees and heading straight for the soft carrots. During my initial research, I came across some helpful websites. My curious and evidence-based-decision-making fiancé and I were intrigued upon reading the following quotes:

1) “Your baby will, however, likely gag a few times at his initial attempts, either because he puts too much food into his mouth at once or because he pushes it too far back. This is actually a good thing, since the gag reflex is a safety mechanism that prevents choking: Baby learns to move food from the back of the throat to the front, keeping it from getting lodged in his throat. At the same time, he learns what not to do next time.” (http://www.whattoexpect.com/first-year/feeding-baby/baby-led-weaning-101.aspx). ***This entire page is extremely helpful, if you have a minute to read!

2) “With a puree, they learn to swallow first and then chew, which works fine until they meet a lump. With BLW, the babies learn to chew first and swallowing might come sometime later.” (http://www.babyledweaning.com/some-tips-to-get-you-started/)

And,

3) “Gagging, as opposed to choking, is actually a safety response to food traveling too far back into the mouth. So when we see our babies gagging, they are actually handling the problem and it’s best just to keep calm (or at least look calm) and wait until it passes.” (http://www.babyledweaning.com/features/gagging/the-gagging-thing-v-the-choking-thing/)

There are also video resources out there for you to see the difference between gagging (natural, noisy) and choking (silent, blocked airway).

By following some simple safety guidelines, you’ll be on the way to letting your little potato eat cubes of potatoes, without worry. Offer soft fruits, veggies, meats, grains, and dairy, and avoid potentially unsafe foods like nuts, whole grapes, apples (with skin), and cherries. Never leave babe alone, keep her sitting upright, and watch for the symptoms of allergic reactions (which, by the way, can also occur with purees):

• Hives / welts
• Flushed skin or rash
• Face, tongue, or lip swelling
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Coughing / wheezing
• Difficulty breathing
• Loss of consciousness

Our Little Lady showed signs of an egg allergy, but we didn’t notice until the 3^rd time she ate them. Try to introduce new foods one at a time so that, if there are any reactions, you can relate it directly back to the last food ingested (on the day she had her second egg reaction, she ate French toast- so we didn’t know if it was the egg or the bread!). As mentioned before, this also applies to purees.

 

So then… how did we do it? When they were ready*, we would try one instance of solid foods a day, typically between the mealtimes of milk. If we put a buffer between meals, they tended to be hungrier and more interested in trying the foods we placed in front of them. Their first foods were avocado, banana, sweet potatoes, and carrots at 6 months. Seven to nine month twins found themselves with the additional bites of soft cheese, berries, mango, pear, melon, egg yolks, liver, steamed or sautéed veggies, and tastes of what mommy and daddy made for dinner. At one year we felt comfortable introducing honey and peanut butter. And really, that was that! As expected, we calmly (as least on the outside) observed them gagging a few times, but they worked it out on their own and nothing major occurred. They quickly learned the concept of chewing before swallowing, which (as we now understand) is natural and vital for safe and proper food consumption. And as a final aside, we also used fruit and veggie pouches for on-the-go meals; 100% BLW is probably not realistic, and was never our goal anyway.

If you’ve been considering BLW or don’t like the thought of dealing with purees, hopefully you feel more comfortable with giving this age-old and quite instinctive method a try! I am no child-rearing professional, by ANY stretch of the term, but I would be more than happy to provide you with further information on our experiences and will attempt to answer any lingering questions floating about your headspace. You can find me squishing avocado chunks and giggling maniacally at my highchair, which sits comfortably amidst grassland shrubbery and once plentiful wildflowers. Wait, were those the sounds of a fast-approaching mastodon?! Peace.

*They could sit upright, lost their tongue-thrust reflex, and gained a pincer grip. This was at 6 months; it’s not recommended that solids are introduced before then anyway due to undeveloped digestive systems.

Have you tried BLW? Comment below!