First things first: I hope you had a wonderful Christmas. We couldn’t have felt more blessed this holiday season. Thoughtful giving, sweet times with family, warm gatherings with friends, and plenty of good food. Lucy also turned six months old on Christmas Day, which means that our world is getting ready to change (yet again!).
Lucy and I have been exclusively breastfeeding for the past six months, but for several weeks now, we’ve noticed she’s been eager to join us at the table. After much thought and reading, we’ve decided to try Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) which counters the myth that babies need to be spoon-fed and instead encourages self-feeding from the start. If you think about it, babies and children crawl, walk, and talk when they are ready. As long as parents provide children with the opportunity to meet these milestones…they will. Why should feeding be different? Healthy babies are able to feed from the breast from the minute they are born (and what a marvelous experience to witness!). We’ve trusted Lucy’s innate wisdom to guide our feedings over the last six months….and we’re going to trust that she will begin to eat solids when she’s ready.
BLW is all about exploration. For at least the first year, babies need to receive most (if not all) of their nutrition from breastmilk. So food is about texture, about taste, about learning the mechanics of chewing and swallowing. Instead of feeding Lucy with spoons and prepackaged baby food, we’re going to let her feed herself. We’ll provide her with the opportunity to eat, and she’ll dictate the rest.
Over the next several months, I’m going to let you follow us on our BLW journey. And today, I’ll share our first foray into the world of solid foods.
How did we know we were ready? It’s pretty simple: Lucy met all the signs of solid food readiness.
-she sits without support
-she reaches out to grab things and takes them to her mouth quickly
-she makes chewing and gnawing movements
-she tries to put our food into her mouth whenever she gets the opportunity
Because we waited to introduce food for six months, Lucy’s system is more mature and we don’t have to worry as much about weird food allergies. After talking to several friends, we decided to try carrots and avocados first. The carrots were roasted in avocado oil until soft. We cut them into pieces that Lucy could easily hold with her hands. She fell in love with her new high chair (thank you Mimi and Poppi) and was eager to take her carrots to her mouth.
BUT….she grimaced as soon as the carrot met her tongue. She attempted to chew and swallow a few times, but I think she mostly preferred the way the carrot felt on her sore gums (she’s getting her two top teeth). And because we’re doing BLW, that’s just fine. She didn’t seem excited about the avocado, and so we didn’t force it. We let her play with her food and then we were done. She happily nursed both before and after our first attempt at feeding…and she seemed perfectly content for the rest of the day.
I’ll share more next week! Thank you for joining me in this journey!
I’m excited to read more about this! We have a while before Seraphina will be ready for solids (she’s a day shy of 7 weeks), but it makes sense for me. My mom was always a “she will let me know when she is ready” kind of parent. She never “potty trained” me and, around age 2, I told her that I didn’t want to wear diapers anymore. And she said that I never did after that 🙂 Quick and easy! Babies know themselves better than we realize.
A question, if you don’t mind: the recommendations about “allergy” foods is kind of all over the place, with newer evidence suggesting that introducing them earlier rather than later may prevent some allergies from forming. Are you planning on introducing these foods earlier, or more around the standard advice of a year old? Just curious! 🙂
Hi Jennifer! Great question…and to be honest, I’m not sure yet! I’m going to talk to Lucy’s pediatrician more next week. Lucy has been a very healthy baby, so I think we’re in a better situation to try some of those “allergy” foods earlier, but I still need to do more research. Thankfully, we still have plenty of other foods to try in the meantime 🙂
Moving on to real food is so fun– it’s so great to see what they love, and I remember especially in the first months (before toddlerhood, haha), Lila was REALLY willing to taste everything!
there’s nothing more exciting than watching a child explore…what a wonderful journey it will be, and thank you for continuing to share it with us!!! Merry Christmas to you and yours <3
That sounds such a good method! My mum says that when I was a baby, all that I would want to eat was chorizo and definitely not baby food hahaha 😉
I’m happy to read that you enjoyed your holiday! x
Thank you for sharing this with us! I kind of grimace when I eat some foods too. 🙂 So cute I love the expression on her face. I just love the newness of adventures like this!
even though I am no where near having a baby, I love reading about it. thanks for sharing Lucys experience.
You know my feelings on BLW! I really do think it helps with the palate, since tonight my little guy had calamari, chicken, edamame, cod, noodles, gnocchi and broccoli for dinner!
I’ve read a lot about BLW since a lot of my blog friends have used it with their kids and it is definitely the route I’m going to go when I have kids!! I’m excited to hear about your journey through it with Lucy!
We have the exact same high chair! Oxo Sprout, right? It sounds like Lucy did fab for her first time with solids – she’ll like it more and more every time. =)
It’s so exciting when your child starts eating foods. You learn so much more about their personality and what they like and don’t like. My son has always been a more adventurous eater than my daughter who gets turned off by the texture of many foods.
Happy holidays! BLW sounds like the way to go. I’m excited to hear how it goes!
Great! I saw the question on fb some time ago 🙂 I am so excited for you guys.
Wonderful post as usual!
Loved the photo of her reaction to the carrots – I hated carrots until age 22, so there you go…
HOpe you are having a wonderful time! (I know you are)
She is so cute!! I’ve never heard of BLW, but I’m definitely interested in learning more and seeing how your adventure goes 🙂
I am totally FOR exclusive breastfeeding the first 6 months, and to keep breastfeeding after, while introducing some foods gradually (in small quantities). You’re doing an awesome job!
Keep on trying things, and retrying the ones she doesn’t seem to like. Sometimes kids change their minds. 🙂
I gave pretty much everything possible to my kids (except for allergenic foods of course), and to this day, they are very good eaters. You will be rewarded for your efforts, most likely. 🙂
What a cutie! I’m always amazed by how much you need to know when you have a child.
aawwww so cute and so exciting!! I’m so interested to read more about BLW!
She’s growing up so quickly! Hope you’re having a fantastic holiday season!
Love how you are introducing Lucy to real food choices and allowing her to show you the way 🙂 these are the same intuitive nutrition principles I encourage at all ages and stages of life — and what better place to start than at the very beginning when we are most in touch with ourselves. I thought Lucy was gnawing on a raw carrot there at first and I thought, wow, you really are a courageous, pioneer woman :o). How fun to be reliving these moments through your lens. Beautiful baby girl.
How time flies, Monet. Lucy is growing up so fast. Wishing you a Happy New Year!
Unbelievable how Lucy is growing…and so adorable! Does she favor daddy?
Hope you all are enjoying a wonderful holiday season and that you have a very Sweet New Year!
These are so fun to read, especially with photos of that sweet little girl! 🙂 I still don’t like raw carrots, so Lucy has got a head start on me! 🙂
This is the same sort of approach we took over 30 years ago with our girls. Real food helps kids develop a better palate earlier in life – and helps you make sure they are getting better food as well. Squished up store bought baby food is awful stuff!
Wishing you and your family all blessings in the New Year Monet!
Wow, so exciting that Lucy is eating real food. Well, at least gumming it! 😉 BLW sounds like a wonderful idea, and I’ll be interested to follow Lucy’s adventures. Happy New Year!
So glad to hear you had a wonderful Christmas. Yay, so exciting that Lucy is starting to eat real food. We did BLW with our lil guy as well and it worked out great 🙂 Can’t wait to follow along on Lucy’s food adventures 🙂 Happy New Year and hope you and your family have a wonderful 2014 Monet 🙂