Is this that method where parents give their child only whole foods and purees are not allowed?
Accordingly to Wikipedia:
" Baby-led weaning (often also referred to as BLW) is an approach to adding complementary foods to a baby's diet of breast milk or formula. BLW facilitates oral motor development and strongly focuses on the family meal, while maintaining eating as a positive, interactive experience.
Baby-led weaning allows babies to control their solid food consumption by "self-feeding" from the start of their experience with food. The term weaning does not imply giving up breast milk or formula, but simply indicates the introduction of foods other than breast milk or formula. "
That being said, BLW doesn't mean you can't give purees to your baby. It means the baby is leading the process.
As soon as we reached the 6 months mark, we started our journey with solid food. And here are some of the important things we should all know about starting solids: 1- Make sure you talk to your doctor. You need your doctor approval before starting solids. Solids introduction is an important milestone and it needs to be done carefully and with all the signs of readiness.
2- Babies must be ready before introducing them to solid food. Here are some of the signs you should look for: Sitting: Baby is able to sit with none or minimal support. Head Control: Baby is able to hold head upright and steady while seated for duration of meal. Reach & Grab: Baby is able to pick up objects while seated and easily bring them to the mouth. Interest: Baby intently watches you eat, mouths for food, or leans forward for it - I personally started this when Tino was about 4.5 months. (Having him close by when we were eating so he could watch us) 3- Introduction of allergenic foods - " In 2019, the Canadian Pediatric Society (CPS) released updated recommendations on the specific timing of early introduction of allergenic foods for high-risk infants. The new guidance is to actively offer non-choking forms of foods containing common allergens (e.g. peanuts, egg) around 6 months of age, but not before 4 months, as this can be effective in preventing food allergy in some high-risk infants." - https://foodallergycanada.ca
Very important to talk to your doctor about allergies and concern you may have. 4- MORE patience LESS expectations When you start solids, they are going to make a mess, the poop is not going to smell like it used to, all the things you now have mastered to go out of the house with a baby is now outdated. It is another learning curve, there are development leaps to be accomplished, teething will start soon if it haven't already. Be patient with yourself and your baby. Don't create high expectations, there are days the baby is curious and wants to try everything you put in front of them, and there are other days that they will only play with the food. Sometimes you feel good and ready for all the mess, another days if a spoon is dropped on the floor it will stay there. Don't be hard on yourself or on your baby, remember you are both learning.
This is how we usually finish our meals here. So remember:
More patience, less expectations!
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