Baby-Led Weaning

I attempted to introduce solid foods to Owen at 4.5 months and have been trying ever since. I've tried different foods, different times of the day, different chairs, different temperatures, different spoons. He just isn't interested in being spoon fed his meals.

A few weeks ago I realized that I DREAD his eating time. I am frustrated by the whole ordeal - peeling/steaming/pureeing foods, choosing which ones I am going to feed him, warming the breastmilk to mix in, getting everything set up, the ridiculous faces and noises I have to make just to "trick" him into opening his mouth. He opens twice and then just looks away, trying his best to ignore me. Then I'm left with the mess, ugh! the mess! It is his favorite part of a meal and I wouldn't deny him his playtime. I think it is important for him to explore these new things - the bowl, the spoon - but cleaning it up would be a lot more satisfying if I knew he had actually ingested something that I made for him.

I don't want meal time, or anytime with Owen, to be frustrating for me - or for him. I am sure he can sense that feeding him exhausts me. I'm thankful that he still loves his milk and gets plenty of calories from nursing 7-9 times a day. I love that we still have our special bond but I know that I need to continue to present him with opportunites to explore other foods.

I needed a different strategy so I've been reading Baby-Led Weaning. The idea behind this theory is that babies don't necessarily have to begin their food experiences with purees and spoons. Basically, it expands on the notion that babies have been snatching food off of their parent's plates for decades. Babies can be offered healthy, appropriate finger foods to explore in a relaxed atmosphere.  The baby is in charge of how much of what goes in and then explores the food with their mouth - learning new tastes, textures and techniques.

Owen likes being part of meals with us. At brunch the other day we offered him toast and yogurt and even though I fed him the yogurt from a spoon, he was very open to it.  This afternoon while Jeremy and I ate lunch, Owen sat in his high chair and enjoyed some toast smeared with pureed chickpeas and avocado, some steamed broccoli ("trees") and some yogurt. He was very interested in the broccoli and polished off all of his yogurt. Jeremy and I spent our meal watching O explore his food. The two cautions the book explains about BLW is that it might take a while before food is actually ingested (babies move the food around in their mouth a lot and then push most of it out, gradually they learn to swallow the smaller bites) and the mess.  Our boy had broccoli bits from head to toe - coated in yogurt and mushed up bread -  but I didn't even mind cleaning it up. I wasn't frustrated with him, I was proud. I watched him learn something while I ate my own food. Not to mention, I never imagined anything involving broccoli could be adorable - but that's exactly what it was.

As far as what he's ingesting. Friday evening I found rye seeds in Owen's pooh diaper. And as soon as I ruled out bugs - I laughed at my four little discoveries. He ATE something! And I HAVE PROOF!

All in all I think this new technique is a SUCCESS! I'm going to continue to let him explore his meals and try to think of fun things for him (and I) to eat. I'm letting go of expectations and frustration and trying to be thankful that I have a growing boy - who apparently likes steamed broccoli. Go figure!