Baby Led Weaning Fun
Griffin hasn't been a huge fan of the purees and the solid food that we have attempted lately. It took about a month for him to eat cereal and forget veggies...he just spits them out! I heard of a new way to introduce solids to babies, it's called "Baby Led Weaning". The term comes from the UK, because "weaning" is the term used over there when babies start on solids. I guess it roughly translates to Baby Led Solids. The whole concept behind it is to give babies large hunks of food to suck and gum instead of spooning in puree's. The food is put on the high chair tray and the baby has to pick it up and eat it for themselves. Obviously this is done under the supervision of an adult! It scared me at first, mainly because I was afraid that Griffin would choke and I didn't really understand the whole concept and benefits. After talking with my coworkers who have babies around Griffin's age, I got the confidence to try it with him. The food hunks have to be large enough for the baby to hold and large enough that they cannot swallow it whole. The trigger for gag reflex in babies is very close to the front of the mouth (unlike adults), so they will gag before they choke. Once I learned more about it, we decided to dive right in!
There are three main benefits to having the baby learn to feed themselves:
1) They try all kinds of foods! Variety is key! Babies that are fed this way tend to become less picky eaters and mealtimes are easier. The baby gets whatever the rest of the family is eating that night (minus the salt).
2) Improved hand eye coordination. The baby has to learn to pick the food up and feed themselves much earlier, and they are motivated to do it!
3) Babies learn to eat until they are full and to eat slower. This has been shown to decrease childhood obesity later on.
I bought a cookbook that teaches you how to adjust your own meals so that baby can enjoy them too along with some tips on making soupy food edible for a baby. So how did it go? The first couple days he didn't get much in his mouth, but after about 2 weeks he is a pro! His favorite so far? Pizza!
Toast with smashed banana or smashed avocado, apple hunks and a grilled cheese sample from Costco today has been a huge hit! Also, after talking with his pediatrician at his 6 month appointment, he gave us the go ahead to start him on foods that you would normally wait until a year to start. Things like eggs and dairy. The new theory on food allergies in kids to to expose them earlier, because they are more likely NOT to have an allergy to a food if exposed before 1 year. The immune system is still immature and exposing them earlier gives his body a chance to accept it before it creates an response against a particular food. Food for thought!! :) So far so good! It's been really fun to watch him explore new tastes and textures, and less stressful trying to shove food in his mouth when he really didn't want to eat any of it!
There are three main benefits to having the baby learn to feed themselves:
1) They try all kinds of foods! Variety is key! Babies that are fed this way tend to become less picky eaters and mealtimes are easier. The baby gets whatever the rest of the family is eating that night (minus the salt).
2) Improved hand eye coordination. The baby has to learn to pick the food up and feed themselves much earlier, and they are motivated to do it!
3) Babies learn to eat until they are full and to eat slower. This has been shown to decrease childhood obesity later on.
I bought a cookbook that teaches you how to adjust your own meals so that baby can enjoy them too along with some tips on making soupy food edible for a baby. So how did it go? The first couple days he didn't get much in his mouth, but after about 2 weeks he is a pro! His favorite so far? Pizza!
Toast with smashed banana or smashed avocado, apple hunks and a grilled cheese sample from Costco today has been a huge hit! Also, after talking with his pediatrician at his 6 month appointment, he gave us the go ahead to start him on foods that you would normally wait until a year to start. Things like eggs and dairy. The new theory on food allergies in kids to to expose them earlier, because they are more likely NOT to have an allergy to a food if exposed before 1 year. The immune system is still immature and exposing them earlier gives his body a chance to accept it before it creates an response against a particular food. Food for thought!! :) So far so good! It's been really fun to watch him explore new tastes and textures, and less stressful trying to shove food in his mouth when he really didn't want to eat any of it!
 |
| Banana smashed toast |
 |
| Guess who else loves Baby Led Weaning? Half of it ends up on the floor :) |
 |
| Crackers are yummy! |
 |
| Working on holding his food.
|
He looks more like Sean everyday!
ReplyDelete