Bob is nearly 7 months old now. It’s gone from the constant worry as to whether she’s putting enough weight and trying to get to grips with sleepless nights where I’d stay up writing blog posts and staring at the baby to now baby proofing the house before her incessant knee rocking graduates into full on crawling. We’re also dealing with the messy, exciting times of weaning our baby onto solids. We actually started trying to wean her at 5 months old but failed, day after day to get her to eat anything more than apple sauce. Baby led weaning was kind of an accident, but I’m so glad we stumbled into it as it’s been our saviour!
Baby led weaning is the opposite of what we were used to with Princess. We went the more traditional route of blending fruits and vegetables into a smooth puree and spoon feeding our first born. But so much is different with baby Bob, we cloth diaper her and so far, aren’t planning on using childcare providers either. With baby led weaning, you don’t puree, you simply give the baby things they’re able to hold themselves and gum chew into submission. So, for some items, you might have to steam or bake to a softness they can manage, for instance carrots or potatoes. For other things, such as bananas or avocados, it’s about making them into a shape the baby can hold and feed themselves.
I was at my wits end. Bob would spit out everything we tried to feed her, but was obviously keen to taste things. She’d get very excited about the food coming towards her and then spit everything out in disgust, no matter how many days in a row we tried to introduce the new flavour to her. Then, one day, I gave her a chunk of bread to hold on to whilst I was getting breakfast ready and she readily began to devour it. I remember the panic setting in as I stuck a finger into her mouth and started scooping bits of soggy bread out, scared she would choke on it as I was of the belief babies could only manage smooth purees, even though at this point she was six months old.
Thank goodness for the internet. I was searching for new flavour combinations to puree when I came across a website about baby led weaning. They explained that babies are able to eat soft solids from six months and although it is a messy experience, many babies much prefer it. So, the very next day we gave it a go. I cut some caribbean spiced bun into soldiers and let baby Bob loose on it. I think at first she was a bit wary of me after her experience with the bread the day before, but once she realised I meant to put the bun on her tray she went at them with full abandon.
We’ve not looked back since, she’s tried so many different foods this month. Her favourites seem to be strawberries, avocados, bananas, African sweet bread, agege bread, caribbean spiced bun and pasta spirals. She’s a proper West Indian baby, she also loves cho cho (christophene), plantains, sweet potatoes and hard dough bread. It’s a messy weaning journey but baby led weaning is working for us. We can all sit around the table together and eat. I’m not spooning food into a child who instantly spits the contents out. Instead, I’m smiling at one exploring and enjoying her food!
Did you go the baby led weaning route or the traditional puree route? What foods did your little ones enjoy?
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