A Natural Introduction to Food: Baby Led Weaning

So I have been meaning to write this post for so long but the last year has just been crazy busy and I procrastinated. Better late than never though, right?

Sophia eating some casserole with the family (8 mo)

If you aren't familiar, Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is a way of introducing food to your child from the start of weaning (aka adding complimentary foods, not taking away the breast/formula) by allowing them to self feed and explore their food.

Unlike traditional weaning where baby is spoon fed purées, with BLW you offer baby a variety of foods in manageable shapes/sizes (think your finger size) for baby to feed themselves. BLW starts from 6 months on and takes advantage of your baby's natural desire to explore food and learn from it. To begin with baby won't eat a lot (more than what you think though) and it mostly looks like they are playing with food (but they are actually learning from it). They quickly advance their skills and, depending on the child, will begin to eat more efficiently within a few months. For us it was around the second month of BLW (8 month old).

You might be concerned that baby is not ingesting enough solid food. However, since breast milk or formula should be baby's PRIMARY nutrition for their first year this is not a valid concern. In fact, studies show that BLW babies learn to eat solid foods faster than spoon fed babies.

Sophia eating her favorite breakfast - eggs and sausage (16 mo)

BLW is messy to begin with but I would say Sophia became a pro around 14 months. Now, at almost 20 months old, she hardly ever makes a mess regardless of the kind of food she is eating. This is in stark contrast to my friend's son (also 20 months old), who was spoon fed, and creates a mountain of mess after every meal.

It's not to say spoon feeding is bad, but just that it is unnecessary. Purées were first recommended before doctors understood that breast milk and formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and falsely believed babies needed supplementation from solids at 4 months old (before a baby has the drive or skill set to eat solid food - thus the need to purée the food).

Overall, our experience with BLW has been awesome! The most exciting part was watching her skills develop. I remember when she first developed the pincer grip when picking up a piece of cereal. I was so proud!

Sophia at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner 2012 (18 mo)

If you want to read more about BLW and try it, I highly recommend 'Baby-Led Weaning' by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. It fully explains the skills that develop and also safeguards against choking. Also, it's important to understand gagging and how it is normal and healthy (and very different from choking). They describe how you should respond when your child gags in order to encourage and not scare them. They also talk about the many other benefits of BLW such as: developing healthy eating habits, trusting baby's instincts for nutrition, family meals, no mealtime battles, easier meal prep, and baby learning and developing from food.

Hope you enjoy BLW as much as we have!

Being an AP Mommy

Only recently did I read a book about attachment parenting. I read the Sears' 'The Attachment Parenting Book'. And as I read it I realized I've been an attachment parent since birth! It really did come naturally to me, the way the Sears describe it in the book.

In their book, the Sears describe AP as a means of opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your child and letting your knowledge of your child be your guide to making decisions that are best for you and your child. They list several tools to help you and your child attach from birth. They call them the Baby B's: Birth Bonding, Breastfeeding, Baby Wearing, Bed Sharing, Belief in Baby's Cry, Balance and Boundaries, Beware of Baby Trainers.

Toddler Nursing (14 months old)

The biggest lesson I took away from this book was that I am the expert for my child. AP doesn't mean you need to do all the Baby B's all the time. You know what works best for you and your child. As an AP Mommy I trust my instincts and let those guide me as opposed to bending to what others tell me is best for my child. One case in point would be breastfeeding. Sophia and I have been breastfeeding for nearly 20 months now. Around 18 months she started having a sleep regression that caused her to wake 5+ times a night (like a newborn). I was at my wits end. I wanted to end night nursing because I needed sleep and people were convincing me that was the problem. It was difficult in my sleep deprived state not to believe them. My own mother (a bf advocate) was telling me to wean Sophia cold turkey to solve the problem. I contemplated what she was advising. However, it felt completely unnatural to me and was not how I saw our nursing relationship ending (especially when I was hoping to nurse until 24 months). I struggled through hoping against hope that it was a phase she would quickly out grow. I would say it took a few weeks of terrible sleep before I started to feel like we were getting back to normal. I am so pleased I stuck through the phase and listened to my instincts.

You can be an attachment parent and not use all of the tools. You can be an attachment parent and use CIO, bottle feed, say no, etc. AP is about knowing your child and making the best decisions for them based on that knowledge. It's about following your instincts. It's about creating a harmony between you and your child as you raise them. I believe balance and boundaries are the key as they grow older.

AP can be for any parent.... Single parents, working parents, married parents, stay at home parents... Whatever your situation, it is a very flexible parenting style.

Natural Birth Reading List

People often ask me what reading they can do to prep for a natural birth. I can't tell you what joy that question brings me. Not just because the suggestions I have are awesome (which they are) but because whoever is asking me this question has already shown the most important first step in prepping for a natural delivery... Research! Women who do their research on birth are far more likely to accomplish their goal. There are many reasons for this: avoiding unnecessary intervention, getting into a natural birth mindset, but most of all commitment to a natural birth (it really does take a strong will more than anything else).

So I had to post my reading list in the order I recommend you read them (in case you don't have time to read them all):

- 'Ina May's Guide to Childbirth' by Ina May Gaskin (Actually all of her books are AMAZING and worth the reading time!)

- 'Active Birth' by Janet Balaskas
- 'The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth' Henci Goer

- 'Your Best Birth' by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein

- 'Birthing From Within' by Pam England and Rob Horowitz

I read many more but these were the ones I found to be the most useful and true to my experience. I hope they will help whoever else may stumble upon this page!!

Best quote I ever had for childbirth and breastfeeding came from my birth/bf educator. She said to me "Don't say you will TRY to have a natural childbirth or you will TRY to breastfeed. Say you WILL have a natural childbirth and you WILL breastfeed." She was completely accurate. It is all mind over matter. Say it, think it, believe it, and you WILL DO IT!!! 

Oh, and during childbirth it is important to surround yourself with people (doula, midwife, husband, mother, friend, ob, etc) who believe in you. If you have read my previous post about my childbirth experience you know my own mother was that support for me. It is so important because you will doubt yourself during birth (even if you don't mean it) so you need someone who will look you in the eyes and remind you of how strong you are and tell you that you are doing great. 

Love to all you looking for a natural childbirth! You are STRONG!!!!