Baby Led Weaning, means letting your child feed on themselves from the very start of weaning. (as early as 6 months old) instead of mashing or blending food feeding your child like how we used to , the old school method. We often seen this among western country child. But it has been introduced among asians lately and i found it quite amazing. The term was originally coined by Gill Rapley , a former health visitor and midwife.
Forget all your purees and feeding spoon, let them feed on their own by holding the food themselves. Amazing isnt it?
Again, before starting baby led weaning, ensure that your baby :
Forget all your purees and feeding spoon, let them feed on their own by holding the food themselves. Amazing isnt it?
Again, before starting baby led weaning, ensure that your baby :
- Able to sit up right without support
- Fine motor skills are developed. (the ability to grasp object between thumb and finger), usually starts at 6 months old.
- Shows interest in food, trying to grab the food that adults are having
- Has lost tongue thrust reflex (automatically pushing solids put of mouth with tongue)
Pros:
- Time saving preparation. Busy mother like me is difficult to spend time on steaming food, blending it and storing it in a food jar. BLW is super time saving, I will just need to cut food into small pieces and steam it and then hand it over to the little ones.
- Baby feed themselves and at the same time you can have your own meal :)
- Developed good eating habits among babies. (reduced the chances of becoming a picky eater in future)
- Baby learns to safely handle foods
- Gets hand, eye and fine motor practicing skills while eating (instead of just playing toys most of the time)
Cons:
- Messiness (not so convenient when you are dining outside), but as baby grows, their messiness level will reduced :). I always gave food before shower.
Wishing all mothers a happy baby led weaning!
PS: Please do consult your paedritrician if your baby is ready for baby led weaning.
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