What is BLW? Description Baby-led weaning is a great way to introduce your baby to solid foods. It is a natural extension to the benefits of allowing your baby to regulate their food intake, as they do when they breastfeed, as well as develop a healthy attitude to food. For this reason it is very popular for breastfed babies, but it can still be done if you are bottle feeding. It is commonly believed that babies need to start solids with purees in order to slowly ‘train’ their digestive systems to digest food. This is not true. As soon as a baby is ready to be introduced to solid foods, which is at around 6 months, they can go straight on to whole foods, no need for puree or mash, no need to prepare separate meals, and they can feed themselves rather than being spoon fed. But the fact that they eat whole foods is just part of it. With baby led weaning, you let your baby decide what and how much she eats from what you present her with. It is important you do not try to encourage her to eat more than she wishes, or something that she may not want to eat. When babies are allowed to explore food at their own pace, they develop a healthy attitude to eating. It doesn’t mean they will like everything you offer. They, just like you, have their own tastes. And don’t worry if you think she’s not eating enough vegetables, meat, fruit etc. As long as you offer your baby a wide range of foods, she will eat what she needs. The term baby-led weaning is new, devised by health visitor Gill Rapley in 2003, who after lots of research concluded that babies don’t need to start on purees, but the practice is as old as time itself. Afterall, how were babies weaned before we had the luxuries of blenders and cooked food? Many parents have unintentionally baby-led weaned, especially with subsequent children when they have figured out for themselves that it can be done. Won’t my baby choke? Your baby is no more likely to choke than if she is weaned on pureed foods. In fact, it may be the case that choking is less likely with baby-led weaning. This is because of the gag reflex. When something goes too far to the back of the throat, you gag; it is a safety reflex to prevent choking. In babies, the gag reflex is further forward on the tongue than when they get older. This allows more experimentation for the baby, so when she gags, she is nowhere near to choking. Gagging is not to be confused with choking. Gagging is the same motion used in your mouth when you are sick. Choking is being unable to breathe, and if this happens you will go bright red or blue and you will be silent. If your baby is coughing, spluttering or making any other noise, she is dealing with the food, so stay calm and let her deal with it herself. Giving back slaps to a baby who is only gagging may cause them to choke. Don’t try and put your finger in their mouth to dislodge the food either, as this could make it worse. It can be unsettling to see it at first and babies gag more when they first start solids as they learn not to put the food so far back in their mouth. But remember, babies gag on pureed food too. Despite the reassurance, some parents still find it worrying. It may help to do an infant resuscitation course so you feel confident that you will know what to do in an emergency. This alone can be very reassuring for many and is useful regardless. If you feel this could help, ask your health visitor for details of where you can do this. Why may a baby-led weaned baby be less likely to choke? When babies are weaned on purees they suck the food from the spoon like they do with their milk. It would be very hard to choke on a puree but when they are introduced to lumps and finger foods they do the same. They learn to swallow before they learn to chew. The gag reflex, as explained above, also moves back when they are older, so they don’t get that chance to experiment as safely with sticking food in their mouth. Sucking on lumps and bites of finger foods is more likely to make them choke if the food quickly moves to the back of the throat. With baby-led weaned babies they learn to chew before they learn to swallow. They often don’t swallow any food for weeks after starting. Swallowing is a conscious effort, so they will often begin by just exploring the food in their mouths, the gag reflex being there for if the food goes too far back. Always stay beside your baby when she is eating Ensure she is upright. Never let her eat lying down, crawling around or in a reclined chair. Never try to dislodge food from her mouth with your finger or another object. Never put food in your baby’s mouth, even if she gets frustrated. She must do it herself. When is my baby ready for weaning onto solids? When a baby is able to sit, supported if necessary, in an upright position without falling, can pick up easily graspable objects and bring it to their mouth, they are ready for baby-led weaning. This is usually at around 6 months, although it may be earlier or later. The great thing about baby-led weaning is that you can’t start them too early. If you sit a 3 month old in front of a plate of food, she will not have the skills to feed herself. What if I think my baby needs solid food before she has these skills? Signs such as watching you when you eat, feeding more frequently and waking in the night are unreliable signs that a baby is ready for solids. At around 4 months, babies go through major developmental changes - emotionally and physically. This can disrupt their sleeping patterns; they need more milk to accommodate this time of growth and will feed more often. Increasing their milk feeds will be enough, but it may take a few days for your milk supply to adjust to their demands if you are breastfeeding. For the first few days they may be unsatisfied after a feed, and this can be another reason to believe they are ready for weaning, but as long as you let them feed when they want your supply will adapt to their needs. It is particularly important to keep up with night feeds between 4 and 6 months of age. If you are breastfeeding and avoid night feeds whilst your baby’s milk feed needs are increasing, your levels of prolactin will be decreased, and may inhibit your supply during the day. Watching you eat is because they are becoming more alert and they are interested in what you are doing. Milk is far more calorific than food, so it makes no sense for babies to have a sudden need for solids. The time between when they are READY to start solids and the time they NEED solids is a very big gap, months rather than weeks. There is nothing more satisfying than sitting your baby at the family table, watching them feed themselves and enjoying the same foods as you. You can buy the book by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett here on Amazon. https://amazon.co.uk/dp/0091923808?tag=thenatmumfil-21&camp=1406&creative=6394&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=0091923808&adid=1MTMV19CJYXS864R4N6X&
Posted on: Thu, 29 Aug 2013 14:03:06 +0000
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