BLW-How do i start?

Which foods can I offer my baby?
You can share most healthy family foods with your baby. For example, fruit,
vegetables, meat, cheese, well-cooked eggs, bread (or toast), rice, pasta, and most
fish are suitable. Choose foods that are easy to cut into sticks or large strips when
your baby is starting.
Offering your baby a variety of  foods will give her the chance to discover
different tastes and textures and ensure she gets all the nutrients she needs.

Foods to avoid
*  Added salt and sugar (read labels carefully - many foods, such as baked
  beans, pies, sauces and gravy, contain a lot of  salt)
*  ‘Fast foods’ and ready meals
*  Honey, shellfish, shark, marlin and under-cooked eggs

Tips
*  Don’t expect your baby to eat much at first. Many babies eat only small
  amounts for the first few months of  baby-led weaning. It may help to think of  
  mealtimes as playtimes in the beginning.
*  Expect some mess! Spread a clean mat under your baby’s chair to protect
  the floor - and so you can hand dropped pieces back to her.
*  Keep it enjoyable. That way your baby will be keen to try new foods and
 look forward to mealtimes.


Keep your baby safe
 *  Make sure your baby is sitting upright to eat
 *  Don’t give your baby whole nuts
 *  Cut small fruits such as olives and cherries in half; remove any stones
 *  Don’t let anyone except your baby put food into her mouth
 *  Explain how baby-led weaning works to anyone caring for your baby 
 *  NEVER leave your baby alone with food

What is BLW?

What is baby-led weaning?
Baby-led weaning is a way of  introducing solid foods that allows babies to feed
themselves - there’s no spoon feeding and no purées. The baby sits with the
family at mealtimes and joins in when she is ready, feeding herself  first with her
fingers and later with cutlery.
Baby-led weaning:
*  allows babies to explore taste, texture, colour and smell
*  encourages independence and confidence
*  helps to develop their hand-eye coordination and chewing skills
*  makes picky eating and mealtime battles less likely
All healthy babies can begin to feed themselves from about six months.
They just need to be given the opportunity.


Why baby-led weaning makes sense
Baby-led weaning is based on the way babies develop in their first year.
Babies’ immune and digestive systems aren’t ready for other foods until they
are about six months old - breastmilk (or formula) is all healthy babies need
until then. At six months, a baby is able to sit upright, pick up pieces of  food,
take them to her mouth and chew them - in other words, she can feed herself.
In the past, when babies were started on solid foods at three or four months,
they had to be given purées because they were too young to feed themselves.
If  you’ve waited until your baby is six months to introduce solid foods you’ve
skipped the purée stage, so there’s no need to start that way.
Won’t she choke?
For a long time parents have been encouraged to introduce finger foods at
around six months to help their baby develop chewing skills - the difference
with baby-led weaning is that you don’t spoon feed as well. So, provided
simple safety rules are observed, choking is no more likely than with any
other method of  introducing solids. In fact, allowing babies to control
what goes into their mouths may actually help them learn to eat safely


How do we get started?
*  Sit your baby upright, facing the table, either on your lap or in a
  highchair. Make sure she is steady and can use her hands and arms freely.
*  Offer your baby food, rather than give it to her - put it in front of  her,
  or let her take it from your hand, so that the decision is hers.
*  Start with foods that are easy to pick up - thick sticks or long strips (about 5cm) are
  best at first. Introduce new shapes and textures gradually so that your baby
  can work out how to handle them.
*  Include your baby in your mealtimes whenever you can. As far as
  possible - as long as it’s suitable - offer your baby the same food as you
  are eating, so that she can copy you.
*  Choose times when your baby is not tired or hungry, so she can
  concentrate. Mealtimes at this stage are for play and learning - she will still
  be getting all her nourishment from her milk feeds. For example half hour or and hour after milk feed
*  Carry on offering breast or formula feeds as before - this is still your
 baby’s main source of  nutrition until she is a year old. When your baby
 needs less she will reduce feeds herself.
*  Offer your baby water with her meals so she can drink if  she needs to.
*  Don’t hurry your baby or distract her while she is handling food -
 allow her to concentrate and take her time.
*  Don’t put food into your baby’s mouth for her or try to persuade  
 her to eat more than she wants.

Baby-led Weaning the way

I am a new mother, learning every step along the way. From breastfeeding to eventually introducing solid. Naturally I'll also be wondering how am i suppose to introduce solid to my little Sonia. At first i thought yea sure the majority mass is giving puree then porridge etc..... I have to learn those too! Until i came across Baby-led Weaning (BLW for short)! And i was attracted to it straighaway! I started to read up more and more.And I am totally convinced this IS the way! It is the natural way of introducing solid to her and i love that its baby-led! I told my hubby about it and bhoy was i glad he agreed to it and was as excited as i am. So when Sonia reached 5.5mo, she was already sitting unassisted and very much wanting to grab our food I gave it a go! For i know she wont be able to eat much... I was just planning to let her play with food! I started with lightly steam carrot and fresh cucumber. She was doing so well on the first day! And already eating chunks of the food! There's no turning back since! I've started to introduce more and more types of food since.
I experienced myself that babies are really smart and just amazing! Their capabilities have no limit. They just need to be given a chance to prove how awesome they are!

This blog serves as a food log for Sonia and to amaze myself on her progress. It also serves as some info for mommies who are inspired to do BLW too. Some infos are taken from Baby-led Weaning book by Gill Rapley and from the internet serving as a one stop basic info.

Do share with me your journey or recipes!! :D