Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Baby Led Weaning

Maybe I like to do things different or maybe I just like to try the new "in" thing. But, I am intrigued by this new approach to feeding called Baby Led Weaning. As with every thing else, I have been avidly researching the concept of it.
BLW is a method of gradually weaning a baby from a milk diet onto solid foods and allows them to control their own food intake by self-feeding from the start of the weaning process. It allows babies to explore tastes,textures,color and smell with very little food ingested. The baby can set their own pace for the meal by choosing which foods to concentrate on. Rather than spooning a pureed food into the baby's mouth, they are presented with a variety of foods in which to choose from. This could also make for a child that will willingly try new things.
Breastfeeding actually prepares baby for this, the baby has already been exposed to many different flavors via mother's milk and the jaw action used is similar to chewing.

Basic principles:
  • At the start of the process the baby is allowed to reject food, and it may be offered again at a later date.
  • The child is allowed to decide how much it wants to eat. No "fill-ups" are to be offered at the end of the meal with a spoon.
  • The meals should not be hurried.
  • Sips of water are offered with meals.
  • Initially, soft fruits and vegetables are given. Harder foods are lightly cooked to make them soft enough to chew on even with bare gums.
  • Foods with clear danger, such as peanuts, are not offered.
  • Non-finger-foods, such as oatmeal and yoghurt, may be offered with a spoon so baby can learn to self-feed with a spoon.

So, I'm trying to decide between this or the traditional approach and puree my own foods. This is sounding more interesting to me though.hehe.
Thoughts?

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