Solids

Ashlyn began eating solids back in June. During that time while she and I were trying to work out the dance of learning to eat solids, we tried a few different approaches. Through several of the mommy websites I follow, I kept coming across the phrase, "Baby Led Weaning." I was curious and decided to look further into it.

Baby Led Weaning (BLW) basically means that sometime when a baby is about 6-months-old, can sit up unassisted, has lost the tongue thrust reflex and can grasp and hold onto foods, they can begin feeding themselves. At this time, babies can begin to explore soft and small pieces of food rather than going directly to pureed baby food. The idea is that babies should learn about foods in their most natural state – the proper textures, colors, and feel of eating foods - not only so they can learn to identify the foods, learn to explore different tastes of food, and how to properly feed themselves, but also because BLW allows them to learn when they feel “full” and control the amount they consume. For those worried about choking doing BLW - a baby is programmed to masticate and swallow at about 6-months-old so as long as you are properly supervising and giving baby age-appropriate, soft food to explore, then baby will be safe eating the BLW way. 

BLW is supposed to be beneficial because:

• Allows baby to eat with the rest of the family because they feed themsleves and no one has to spoon-feed baby
• Baby may become a more adventurous eater because they control intake and think of it as a fun activity
• You don’t have to puree things (or buy jars of baby food) so the baby can eat whatever you’re having for dinner (tailored to work for them of course, perhaps without a lot of spices/herbs and steamed/cooked a bit longer so it’s softer
• Your baby won’t have issues with gagging or chewing later on when you segue from purees to more solid foods because they learn to chew food thoroughly from day one instead of just swallowing blended foods
• Hand-eye coordination can be honed/improved due to learning how to use a pincher grip and get things into their own mouth
• Baby learns to eat an appropriate amount of food and how to feel full rather than being force fed until you think they should be full 

I liked the idea of BLW and decided I was going to try it. I needed a little assistance getting started and the website that kept coming up again and again as a good guide was Wholesome Baby Food. I cannot recommend this website enough! Even if you don't do BLW, it has great information about what age to introduce new foods, what to avoid, and even has recipes to make your own baby food. Lots of really good eating information.

With any kind of introduction of solids, the food isn't meant to replace milk and baby's primary food source should continue to be breastmilk/formula for many more months. You always want to do a normal nursing/bottle feed before you add solid food to a meal so that the bulk of the calories comes from nutrient-rich milk. You are simply introducing and allowing your baby to explore new food and get acquainted with the tastes (and for her body to adjust to the new foods as well), not completely replacing milk.

My pediatrician said that starting at about 6-months, I should work to get Ash to eat about 2 oz. of food, about 2-3 times a day from about 6 - 8 months old and then slowly increase that amount for the next few months. Eventually as she starts getting more teeth, she'll be able to add more and more new foods until she's able to pretty much eat her meals with the rest of the family. The more solid foods she eats, the less she'll be relying on breastmilk as her main source of nutrition. Around her first brithday, she'll most likely be ready to wean from the breast completely.

So, I started BLW with something really easy - bananas! No cooking/steaming/cutting/mashing required! Ashlyn loved them right from the start. She loved smashing them in her hand and exploring them with her mouth. Of course she made a huge mess, but this is why we have bath time shortly after dinner! Every once in a while, she'd take a huge bite of banana and I'd freak out that she was going to choke, but each time, she spit the big chunk right up like she knew exactly what she was doing.

Ashlyn's first experience with a banana:
  



"Umm, what is this?"

 

"I'll just take a little taste."



"Easy to hold. Tastes sweet. Feels mushy. Makes mess.

 

"Bah ba ba bah da da dah."



"Hmmm...."

 

"I like it!"



"Banana-rama!"



After bananas, we started doing more soft foods like steamed carrots, pears, and other soft vegetables and fruits. She made a huge mess each and every time – all over the highchair, her clothes, in her hair, on the floor (which Rudy loves). I do have to say that I didn't feel very confident that she was ingesting much food with  BLW. I know it's probably different with every baby, but I know in the beginning with the various foods I tried with BLW, she wasn't actually ingesting much because I found the evidence all over her high chair. I worried about that a lot. Not because she needed the food necessarily, but in my mind, I think I was hoping that her ingesting more food would help her sleep better (apparently that's a myth), but in my mind, I'd try anything!

I am sure it is different with every baby, but another challenge with BLW I found is that Ashlyn would lose interest in the foods I'd give her pretty quickly. She'd mess with them, put them in her mouth, but then she'd be over it. I’d find little traces of food in her diaper which allowed me to easily identify what she’d ingested but it wasn’t very much. I know she wasn't getting 2-3 oz. of food, that's for sure! She just couldn't seem to focus long enough to stick with eating herself. Things were either too slippery and she couldn't hang on to them long enough to get them to her mouth. Or she'd be too busy rubbing it all over the place. Or she'd just kind of look at it. There wasn't a whole lot of eating going on.

I was also worried that BLW wasn’t the best option for us because she’d be going to daycare. She eats her first solid meal of the day at breakfast as soon as she’s dropped off at daycare in the morning. I felt a little guilty at her showing up for breakfast and me being like, "oh, can you give her this banana and let her go to town?" I mean, I suspect that my daycare provider would have done it if I'd asked her to, but that felt weird to me. Ashlyn's not their only child in daycare and I don't feel right about asking them to let her make a horrendous mess every time she eats and watch her like a hawk because she might eat too big a piece. Plus having to make sure she’s actually eating something. I already felt bad enough because apparently, daycare has to feed Ashlyn her bottles in a corner, away from all the other children because she’s easily distracted. (I can confirm this because she’s the same way when I breastfeed her – if she hears Brian’s voice or Rudy’s nails on the hardwood floor, she’s unlatched and searching around for the source…). To get her to eat is a challenge at the breast, nevermind in her high chair!

For us, personally, I decided that adding baby cereals and pureed baby food was okay. I found that Ashlyn actually seemed to enjoy eating after that. She loved holding the spoon and opening her mouth for the food. And she definitely lets us know when she’s done eating. She’ll clamp down her mouth, turn her head away from the spoon, and usually yell in protest. So I don’t worry about her overeating. And I am aware of exactly how much she's eating throughout the day, including at daycare. I measure out the cereal or food in the morning and, when I pick her up from daycare, I can see whatever is left in her container. I know exactly how much she's taking in versus just trying to guess. That makes me feel a lot better and her focus is much better too with the baby food.

I still do some BLW at home, allowing her to play with some soft foods and explore. But I also give her rice cereal, oatmeal, and baby food that I either puree or mash myself or buy ready-made in jars. This has worked out well for us. Wholesome Baby Foods has great charts that tells you what your baby should be eating at which age. I've been following the guides making sure I introduce Ashlyn to as many things as I can that are age-appropriate. And now that she’s getting her front teeth, she’ll be able to start eating more of a variety of foods.

If she decides that she doesn't like something, that's fine, but I read that normally someone has to try something at least five times before they really decide whether or not they like it. You're supposed to keep offering up the offending food several more times giving baby an opportunity to acquire a taste for the new food before giving up entirely. It's also recommended that, in the beginning, when you introduce new foods, you should give baby one new food at a time, and wait a a minimal of 2 to 3 days before starting another. After each new food, watch for any allergic reactions such as diarrhea, rash, or vomiting. If any of these occur, stop using the new food and consult with your child’s doctor.

Introducing solids has been a fun experience and I love watching Ashlyn's reaction when I give her a new food for the first time. She loves making faces and I can tell right away what she immediately likes and which tastes she’s still trying to figure out. When I put her in her high chair, she anticipates the food. She’ll see me getting everything ready and she starts grunting and babbling like, “gimme the grub, mom!”

We’re even exploring with the sippy cup. She’s not really into drinking from the sippy cup that much. She’s more interested in chewing the lid because the rubber nozzle feels good on her gums. But she’s learning to hold the cup and is slowly figuring out how it works. She’s also taking sips of water here and there. I let her drink from a cup on occasion and I caught her the other day trying to drink out of the glass of water I was holding in my hand. I think she’s catching on.

I want Ashlyn to learn healthy eating habits and develop an adventurous palate early. Parents are extremely influential in a child's eating habits and I want to be a good influence on her. I don't feel like I am a picky eater. I like most everything and am always up to try anything. Even the things I don't love (peas), I still eat. I know as a child, this probably wasn't the case, but tastes definitely change as you grow older. I don't think I'm going to be one of those moms who make my child only eat organic and never processed food or anything like that. Of course, I will try to keep it healthy, but indulgences every once in a while are okay. 

Having a healthy relationship with food is important and starts early, especially for a female. I don't want Ash to ever feel ashamed of eating or liking food, but also learn when enough is enough and not to use food to fulfill an emotional void. Food is not an enemy - it is an important fuel that your body needs to grow and survive. And if this baby becomes as active as a toddler/child/teenager/adult as she is as a baby, then she's going to need a LOT of food to keep her body properly fueled! I better start stocking the cabinets and fridge now.

Happy eating!