Here are some of the 'key points' of Baby Led Weaning, adapted from the brilliant book Baby Led Weaning:
How do you get started?
- Sit the baby upright, facing the table, either on your lap or in a highchair. Make sure the baby is steady, and can use her hands and arms freely (in accordance with the World Health Organisation's guidelines, weaning should not begin until the baby is around 6 months old - by this stage, most babies can sit upright very well with gentle support).
- Offer your baby food, rather than giving it to her - put food in front of her (on a tray or the table) or let her take it from your hand, so that the decision to take (or leave) food is always hers.
- Start with foods that are easy to pick up - thick 'sticks' or long strips are best at first (think green beans, thick batons of carrot, homemade potato wedges, toast soldiers, broccoli florettes, a strip of steak etc). Introduce new shapes and textures somewhat gradually, so that the baby can work out how to handle them (for example, a soft piece of banana or feta cheese requires a very different grasp to a lamb cutlet or a piece of rice cake).
- Include your baby in your mealtimes whenever you can. As far as possible - as long as it's suitable (and most things are) - you should offer your baby the same food as you are eating, so that she can copy you. Foods can be slightly adapted for ease - for example, a soup or lentil dhal can be spread onto toast fingers. Furthermore, someone should always sit and eat with the baby - food is a social occasion, and babies love to watch other people eat while they eat themselves. Sometimes, this means I have two dinners (one with Tabitha, and one later with The Daddy if he has a long day), so I just eat two small portions.
- Choose times when your baby is not tired or hungry, so she can concentrate. Mealtimes at this stage are for playing and learning - she will still be getting all of her nourishment from her breastmilk feeds. I find that if I offer Tabitha a 'food meal' directly after a breastfeed, she will spend more time 'eating', and her concentration and interest is better.
- Continue offering breastmilk (or artificial baby milk) feeds exactly as before - this is still the main source of nutrition until the baby is roughly one year old. When your baby begins requiring less milk, she will naturally take less herself.
- Offer your baby water with her meals so that she can practice drinking while she learns to eat.
- Don't hurry your baby or distract her while she is handling food - allow her to concentrate and take her time. This is an important safety consideration, and will also help prevent her from becoming frustrated - learning to handle slippery, sticky and soft foods requires loads of concentration!
- Never put food into the baby's mouth - this is a major choking hazard - the baby needs to feel, observe and control her food herself, and an unexpected piece of food in her mouth is dangerous.
- Don't try to persuade baby to eat more than she wants. Your job is just to offer her a range of interesting, nutritious foods - whether she eats them or not isn't important, as she is getting her nutrition from her milk. The baby led weaning 'mantra' is 'Food is for fun until they're one'. Sometimes Tabitha just wants to peer at her food, and perhaps squeeze it between her fingers. That's fine. She's still learning!
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8 comments:
Great summary. A quick question: do you use a sippy cup for the water?
Tabitha likes to drink out of a regular cup, which I am keen to encourage, so we often offer her a plastic cup with a little water in - but it can be messy, so when we're out and about I do use a sippy cup.
This is the one we use - http://www.thermos.com/product_details.aspx?ProdID=992&CatCode=foog&q=
It's good because it's insulated so the water stays cool on a hot day.
oooh that thermos looks cool!
Hi there. Love your blog, but just wanted to mention something about a term you have used I notice you refer to formula as 'artificial baby milk' and I think this comes across as quite inconsiderate for mothers who cannot breastfeed, for whatever reason (and I know plenty of mothers who would have loved to, but simply weren't that lucky).
I realise that the phrase 'artificial breast milk' is technically correct, but the term (particularly in writing) is quite aggressive. I don't wish to offend but the phrase really is unnecessarily inflammatory, particularly with regard to such a sensitive topic for so many mothers (most of whom are using formula out of necessity, not choice).
Thanks for reading :)
Hi there – thanks so much for reading and commenting!
You might not like the blog anymore – eek! I am completely aware of the connotations of the semantics around ABM / formula, and my choice of using the correct term (ABM) is completely conscious.
It is important to realize that (according to all reputable international health and medical associations) less than 5 per cent of women are not physiologically able to breastfeed. The number is often quoted as 1 – 3 per cent. The rates we see in most developed countries are frighteningly below that – in some areas, more than 50 per cent of women do not breastfeed their babies. Obviously, there is more to the story than ‘not being able to’.
In NO WAY do I believe that the women are to blame – like you, I find it incredibly sad that women who want to feed their babies believe that they cannot. Many factors come into play – a lack of education by medical professionals (most GPs receive no training on breastfeeding whatsoever), baby-unfriendly hospital practices (like separating babies from mothers, enforcing or suggesting feeding schedules, or poor instruction on latch techniques). Furthermore, ABM companies themselves are dreadful proponents of propaganda which undermines natural breastfeeding (companies such as Nestle repeatedly and deliberately break the WHO Code, resulting in the actual deaths of thousands of babies in the drive for bigger profits).
The World Health Organization does not consider ABM to be ‘the next best option’, either – they recommend breastfeeding, then expressed breastmilk from the mother, then expressed milk from another lactating woman, THEN ABM. It truly should be seen as a last resort.
For women who cannot breastfeed their babies – and there ARE some, at least 1 – 3 percent – ABM is a wonderful, wonderful thing. We are very fortunate to have a reasonable product available to care for these babies. We are lucky that ABM, these days, is really a very good product. But that’s what it is – a fairly well designed product, to be used as a last resort for women who cannot feed their babies. It is not correct that so many women are using ABM out of necessity – most women, with the correct support and education, CAN breastfeed their babies. It is vital that we as a society do NOT notmalise the use of artificial foods to feed babies – it is this practice, this tip-toing around the topic, that normalizes this emergency food. This actually contributes to undermining women who want to breastfeed – women who desperately want to, but after weeks of sleepless nights, their well-meaning but uneducated GP or partner or mother suggests trying an artificial milk. I have nothing but compassion for women who turn to ABM in the belief that they cannot feed – but it is because of this compassion, that I continue to use the phrase ABM.
Every single study shows how much poorer ABM is for a baby. Every mother wants what is best for her baby. So let’s not pretend ABM is a good substitute, and lets instead work on actually helping women to breastfeed – like 95 per cent or more can.
This is a great article on the language with breastfeeding http://www.bobrow.net/kimberly/birth/BFLanguage.html
Sorry for the ramble - to be honest, I didn't even write a quarter of my thoughts on the topic! I realise it is controversial, but I stand strong on using the correct terminology. If something happens to me one day, and I cannot breastfeed a baby in the future - I would try my best to source donor milk. Failing that, or if I needed to supplement, I would be THRILLED that ABM is available to feed my baby! But I would continue to acknowledge that it is a second-rate substitute, and continue to call it ABM.
There is NO NEED for women to feel guilty for feeding their baby ABM if they cannot breastfeed - whether they physically cannot, or whether their culture and support network has intentionally or inadvertently sabotaged them. We all do the best we can.
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