I have no plans of this turning into a baby blog, but that has definitely been my focus these days in our life, so naturally there are a few things I want to share with you all. I posted a couple weeks ago about what eco-friendly choices we are making for our baby boy. Today’s post is devoted to food...food that our little man is enjoying.
Prior to getting pregnant and during my pregnancy, I had every intention of making my own organic baby food. That changed during my pregnancy when some of the ‘real food’ blogs I follow, started talking about this book called Baby - Led Weaning. I quickly became interested in what I was reading and decided to read the book. The book is written by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. Tracey is a freelance writer and Gill came with a medical background - a public health nurse and midwife. I am here today to share a summary of the concept and tell you our feedback. As a reminder with everything I post, it is based on my personal research. Please consult your medical provider.
So simply put, displayed right on the cover of the book: ‘no purees, no stress, no fuss’.
Definition
Weaning is a gradual change that occurs over at least 6 months and your baby will use solids to complement milk. At 6 months, the baby is beginning to outgrow a milk only diet and needs to start developing skills so they are ready to rely on other foods as their main source of nourishment. This is not anything new or different. What makes this concept different is the idea that the puree stage is really not necessary. Baby led weaning consists of the baby sitting with the family and joining in to eat when ready. Food is offered in pieces they can handle. The baby will feed themselves and it is up to baby how much and how quickly they will widen their range of food and when to reduce milk. When you skip purees, the main difference is the baby learns to chew and then swallow whereas if you start with pureed food they learn to swallow first.
Background
In the 1960s, it was recognized that babies needed practice chewing and moving food around in their mouth, so they were given finger foods at 6 months of age. It was assumed they needed to get used to soft foods first, so started this earlier so they would be ready by 6 months to do finger foods. In the 1980s, the Academy of Pediatrics issued its recommendation for introduction of solids foods to be started by 4-6 months, although the babies should be able to sit up and grab things, taking them to their mouth which most do closer to 6 months. At this time, kids were already doing something other than milk, typically rice cereal as early as 3 months. In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) shared their recommendation to exclusively breastfeed and wait to start solids until 6 months. Evidence suggests not starting food until 6 months because solid foods are as not nutrient and calorie dense as breast milk, the babies digestive system can't get goodness out of food yet, the baby's appetite for milk goes down and they can get more infections and are at greater risk for developing allergies because the immune system is immature.
Spoon feeding?
“Not bad, but not necessary.” The consistency of food given via a spoon is often sucked down and not chewed. The baby doesn’t get a chance to experiment and chewing will often be delayed, in addition to them not learning to manage lumps well. Babies will learn to manage lumps better and more quickly if they are allowed to feed themselves because it starts off at the front of their mouth. Sucking food to the back of their throat also triggers the gag reflex. And finally, if spoonfed they are not in control of how much or how quickly they eat.
How Baby - Led Weaning works?
Baby should always be sitting upright and not eat when tired or distracted. Unlike purees, solid food has to be actively moved to the back of their throat and can’t be done until they learn to bite and chew, which can be done with only their gums [ think about your teethless grandparents :) ]. Food will likely fall out of their mouth for a while. Choking is minimized because they will only swallow when muscles of the tongue, cheek and jaw all are coordinated. Additionally, the risk of choking is decreased when the baby is in control and is self feeding. Your baby might cough however, which is their way of dealing with this. It is important to note, this is not a hands off feeding method. Parents / caregivers still need to be actively involved and sitting with baby, ensuring safety.
Here is an exert from the book describing the developmental changes that occur:
"Between six and nine months several abilities develop, one after the other. First, the baby manages to bite or gnaw off a small piece of food with his gums (or his teeth, if he has any). Soon after this he discovers how to keep the food in his mouth for a while and, because the size and shape of the inside of his mouth has changed and he now has more control of his tongue, he is able to move the food around and chew it. At this stage though, as long he is sitting upright, it will almost certainly fall out of his mouth rather than be swallowed. Unlike milk (from a breast or bottle), which is sucked directly to the back of the baby's mouth, solid food needs to be actively moved there. This is something that a baby is unable to do until after he discovered how to bite and chew. This means for a week or two at least, any food he gets into his mouth will eventually fall back out again. He will only begin to swallow it when the muscles of his tongue, cheek and jaw are sufficiently coordinated to work together to allow this. This may well be a natural safeguard to help minimize the changes of choking. But it only works as long as it's the baby who puts the food into his mouth - he needs to be in control."
Here is an exert from the book describing the developmental changes that occur:
"Between six and nine months several abilities develop, one after the other. First, the baby manages to bite or gnaw off a small piece of food with his gums (or his teeth, if he has any). Soon after this he discovers how to keep the food in his mouth for a while and, because the size and shape of the inside of his mouth has changed and he now has more control of his tongue, he is able to move the food around and chew it. At this stage though, as long he is sitting upright, it will almost certainly fall out of his mouth rather than be swallowed. Unlike milk (from a breast or bottle), which is sucked directly to the back of the baby's mouth, solid food needs to be actively moved there. This is something that a baby is unable to do until after he discovered how to bite and chew. This means for a week or two at least, any food he gets into his mouth will eventually fall back out again. He will only begin to swallow it when the muscles of his tongue, cheek and jaw are sufficiently coordinated to work together to allow this. This may well be a natural safeguard to help minimize the changes of choking. But it only works as long as it's the baby who puts the food into his mouth - he needs to be in control."
It is important to think of milk feedings and solid foods separately. Feeding solids when hungry will only likely frustrate the baby until they are really good at eating. When ready to sit the baby in the highchair for solids (ideally when the family is eating), food is laid out in pieces that the baby can grab, typically ‘french fry’ shape with a couple inches extending past their hands. Parents should not put food into the baby’s mouth, but can hand them these french fry pieces, although you will likely find most grab straight from their tray. Once they are older, and develop additional skills (pincer grip), they have developed chewing skills and have had practice with different textures and can likely manage other foods safely. Cut small fruits such as grapes and cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. No need to give bland foods or separate foods - eat what mom and dad are eating. Allow them to eat as much or as little as they want. Offer high fat foods because babies burn up energy easily - they need more fat and protein than adults. No need to restrict anything unless there are known allergies. Rejecting food is because the baby doesn't need or want it at that time. Doesn't mean they won't eat it if offered again. Offer a variety of food, typically offering 3-4 different things at a time. Be prepared for a mess!
Things to avoid (not specific to this concept)
- eggs until 6-8 months
- honey until 1 year
- peanut butter until 2 years
- whole nuts until 3 years
- pitted fruits
- bony fish and gristle should be removed from meat
- prepackaged meals and condiments
- bran products
Things to limit
- no more than 1 gram of salt per day until 1 year of age
- added sugar
- no more than 2 servings per week of tuna
- whole grains due to fiber (no need to switch to refined grains, just offer other things with it)
- juice (give 10:1 ratio as a dilution guidance and again avoid added sugars in pre-packaged juices)
Additional benefits and things to note in breastfed babies
Breastfed babies are in control of eating from the very beginning. They also use their mouth muscles differently and get used to different tastes because each time they feed the milk tastes different based on what mom ate. They also control their portion sizes with each 'meal'. When weaning, breast feeding babies will likely not change number of feeds but will do it for shorter time. If doing formula and breast, will likely be able to cut out formula.
Breastfed babies are in control of eating from the very beginning. They also use their mouth muscles differently and get used to different tastes because each time they feed the milk tastes different based on what mom ate. They also control their portion sizes with each 'meal'. When weaning, breast feeding babies will likely not change number of feeds but will do it for shorter time. If doing formula and breast, will likely be able to cut out formula.
Additional miscellaneous things to note
Food chewed is easier for the stomach to deal with than pureed because saliva helps kick start the digestive process. Rice cereal isn’t easy for babies under 6 months to digest and is also low in nutrients - most pediatricians don't recommend this anymore. At first eating will be about play and learning. Don’t stress about nutrients, because that is still coming from milk. The more they get an opportunity to eat and practice, the quicker they will become good at it.
Our journey
Our little man is 7 months old tomorrow - CRAZY! We took the WHO and book’s advice and waited until 6 months to start eating (and confirmed he was able to do some of the other recommended skills first). He started sitting in the highchair a couple weeks before, while we ate. We then started slowing letting him try different foods. For a couple weeks, we just tried to do it once a day, at least 5 times a week. We are now getting 1-3 ‘meals’ 6-7 days a week. He has tried quite a bit and is really enjoying it.
Here is a list of what all we have tried:
- Banana
- Pear
- Apple
- Strawberry
- Avocado
- Bell pepper
- Zucchini
- Asparagus
- Broccoli
- Tomato
- Cucumber
- Sweet potato
- Green bean
- Pasta
- Tortilla
- Munster cheese
- Toast
- Potato
- Waffle
- Spinach and mushroom quesadilla
- Eggs
- Salmon
- Chicken
His favorites are roasted sweet potato, roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, roasted green beans, eggs, whole wheat pasta, strawberries, bananas and apples. I am happy with that!!
Next week, I plan to try roasted cauliflower to see if that works as well as broccoli and maybe a meatball??
The only thing we (mom and dad) haven't liked is a tortilla, because it gets stuck on the roof of his mouth.
Next week, I plan to try roasted cauliflower to see if that works as well as broccoli and maybe a meatball??
The only thing we (mom and dad) haven't liked is a tortilla, because it gets stuck on the roof of his mouth.
Our feedback
With this being our first child, we don’t know anything different but we do think this has gone well. He now starts making noises when he gets put in his highchair and we can’t get the food on the tray fast enough. Also, if he sees someone else eating and he isn't, he starts making noises letting us know - "not fair mom!" He is also now actively making the chomping / chewing gesturers when eating. Regarding the mess, yes it can be messy but we try to 'save' the food before it lands on the floor and if it just lands in his lap put it back on the tray. Certain foods are messier than others - the softer ones, but lets be honest, I don't see many spoon feed babies that don't make a mess either!
From the very beginning he has picked up the food and went straight into his mouth, despite what the picture above might look like - hehe! Food definitely fell out of his mouth for a while and still does some. We weren’t really sure if he was even getting anything until his diapers showed us...:)! He also makes funny faces like he hates it, but always goes immediately back for another bite. Just learning about all the different tastes and textures I imagine.
For the veggies, our favorite way to eat them is roasted, but this also helps him I think because of the texture.
From the very beginning he has picked up the food and went straight into his mouth, despite what the picture above might look like - hehe! Food definitely fell out of his mouth for a while and still does some. We weren’t really sure if he was even getting anything until his diapers showed us...:)! He also makes funny faces like he hates it, but always goes immediately back for another bite. Just learning about all the different tastes and textures I imagine.
For the veggies, our favorite way to eat them is roasted, but this also helps him I think because of the texture.
I do think possibly my CPR training might make me feel more comfortable with this, but what the book talked about made perfect sense to me about them being in control and learning to chew before swallowing / sucking down the baby food. Choking is just as much a risk, and some might say more so, with pureed foods.
I do always check his mouth for anything he might be trying to keep for later :), before we get out of the highchair. And there are times, where we feel he has shoveled what we consider to be too much into his mouth. It will likely fall out, and normally does, but I have fished some out a couple times. You want to balance this with not pushing food down his throat on accident, so I really try to use caution when doing this and do it rarely.
Both this book and our pediatrician said waiting in between introduction of new foods is not necessary anymore. I am not 100% convinced of this. If he has an allergy, I don’t know how I will know. I am hanging out in between the extremes of not caring at all and only introducing one new food per week, per the old recommendations. I try to only introduce one new food a meal. I don’t really know if this will help if he has an allergy or not, but it makes me feel a little better. When he has a ‘mixed meal’, such as the veggie burger or quesadilla I talked about above, that is a bit different and he is obviously getting many ingredients, so is a bit of a crap shoot.
I do always check his mouth for anything he might be trying to keep for later :), before we get out of the highchair. And there are times, where we feel he has shoveled what we consider to be too much into his mouth. It will likely fall out, and normally does, but I have fished some out a couple times. You want to balance this with not pushing food down his throat on accident, so I really try to use caution when doing this and do it rarely.
Both this book and our pediatrician said waiting in between introduction of new foods is not necessary anymore. I am not 100% convinced of this. If he has an allergy, I don’t know how I will know. I am hanging out in between the extremes of not caring at all and only introducing one new food per week, per the old recommendations. I try to only introduce one new food a meal. I don’t really know if this will help if he has an allergy or not, but it makes me feel a little better. When he has a ‘mixed meal’, such as the veggie burger or quesadilla I talked about above, that is a bit different and he is obviously getting many ingredients, so is a bit of a crap shoot.
I tried a couple times to put hummus and guacamole on my finger and put it in his mouth, even though the book said not to do this. Funny thing is, he won’t take it. He just sort of looks at me like I’m crazy. If I hand him something with those dips on them or set them on his tray, he picks them right up. Proof in the pudding ?!?!
Lessons learned
We started with avocado and banana in french fry shapes, which we thought made sense as first choices for a baby, but when they feed themselves, those foods are simply too soft and slimy. We do still eat these because I love the health benefits, but just need to get them firm. With banana, we found if we just give him a fourth or half of a banana, he will pick up the whole thing and work on it and it doesn't slip through his fingers (see picture above).
Last lesson learned for us...I don’t do what the book says and put multiple pieces of food on the tray and offer 3-4 different foods at each meal. I have found that he gets distracted and wants to move to the next thing quicker if there are multiple pieces on the tray. If I give him one at a time, he will work on eating that piece for a while and if he drops it, just pick it back up. If it ends up on the floor or in his belly, then I will put a new piece on his tray. I also usually have 1-2 foods at each meal, but will probably gradually work up to 3-4 as there are more things he is eating.
Overall a success in my opinion. There were lots of testimonials in the book that talk about moms that did pureed baby food with some of their kids and this method with others and would never go back to the purees. I know I don’t have any intention of doing baby food with our future children. This just makes sense to me and is so easy!!!
Has anyone else heard of this or after reading this blog consider trying it?
For additional information, here are some sites:
~Ashley
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