2007-02-04T03:42:00.000-08:00

Baby Lead Weaning is a NO SPOON, NO PUREE approach to weaning.

As the name suggests, your baby takes the lead in feeding themselves. "Real" food is offered to them and they control how much they eat.

My experience is of baby lead weaning my son who, until 24 weeks, had been exclusively breastfed. As such he is used to regulating the amount of food he takes. As with milk, there are days when he seems not overly bothered with food, and days when I am scrambling round the kitchen like a mad woman trying to find more food for my poor starved man!

The chip shaped bits of food as recommended by Gill Rapley are essential in the beginning, as babies do not seem to understand that the thing they are holding in their palm is also food. It doesn't take long however until they work out how to eat from their palm, and then I found it easier to give more foods.

I think this approach is a lot better than going the puree route for a number of reasons:

1. I feel more confident knowing that George can control food in his mouth

2. life really is too short to puree!

3. It is lovely to be able to sit and eat with your baby, not sit and shovel food into them, then eat your meal

4. It makes going out so easy, George has had food that we have bought in restaurants and cafe's a number of times. Had we gone the puree route he would have had to have had either cold food or a jar. (Restaurants will not re-heat home cooked food)

5. Fingers crossed we have, to date, had no refusal of food.

I can honestly say that deciding to go the baby lead weaning route has been one of the best parenting decisions I have made. I hope that has helped.

Love

Mel x

What is Baby Led Weaning?