We are trying something a little different with Lou. It's called Baby Led Weaning. I took a little online class about it, and the teacher said it really should be called Baby Led Feeding because it is all about baby feeding themselves and not being fed.
The idea is that they learn to tune into their hunger cues, and do more intuitive eating because they are the ones responsible for whatever goes in their mouth. The thought is that if we are the ones spooning food in their mouth they might learn to override their "I'm full" cues thereby leading to other problems down the road. It's also about variety and getting nutrient rich foods into them so that they don't become picky eaters.
I'm not sure I agree with everything 100%, but I like the general idea of it. We've been doing it for a couple weeks now and so far Lou hasn't swallowed much of anything. But that's "normal" for the process. It's all about exploring textures and tastes at the beginning.
The idea is that they learn to tune into their hunger cues, and do more intuitive eating because they are the ones responsible for whatever goes in their mouth. The thought is that if we are the ones spooning food in their mouth they might learn to override their "I'm full" cues thereby leading to other problems down the road. It's also about variety and getting nutrient rich foods into them so that they don't become picky eaters.
I'm not sure I agree with everything 100%, but I like the general idea of it. We've been doing it for a couple weeks now and so far Lou hasn't swallowed much of anything. But that's "normal" for the process. It's all about exploring textures and tastes at the beginning.
The first "meal" we tried for Lou was avocado. It was super slippery and she couldn't hang onto it so we sprinkled some chia seeds on it to help her grip it a little better. But that didn't really help either so I held it for a bit and she did make several attempts to taste it.
"Man, these are slippery little suckers."
"These little black dots aren't helping much."
"Seriously Mom?"
"Get it out! Get it out!"
"Yeah I'm not buying this."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"Rude."
"Pick me up!"
She makes a funny face any time any food gets in her mouth. She's tried avocado, sweet potatoes, carrots, banana, strawberry, refried beans, kiwi, steak (they really push iron intake), broccoli, watermelon, bread, hummus, tuna, applesauce, hardboiled egg, asparagus, and ricotta cheese. So far the only thing she has actually seemed to like was the strawberry.
Foods for this age are supposed to be cut into two finger widths so they can grab it with their fist and get it to their mouth. Everything has to be "smooshable" so it doesn't become a choking hazard, but other than that they can have pretty much anything as long as it doesn't have added sugars or salt. They say that baby's kidneys can't handle salt until they are about a year old. I had never heard that before. The WHO recommends no sugar until age two, but most of the dieticians say at least until one.
"Oooh this looks fun!"
"Hey! Why'd you take away the pretty purple toy?"
"Is this how you get it in?"
"Blech."
"Get me out!"
She has a very short tolerance for dinner time and pretty much every meal only lasts a few minutes and then ends with fussing/crying until she's set free of the high chair prison. Hopefully she'll get better at navigating the food world soon. :)
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