Why Baby Led Weaning Works for Us

By Christie

 

It is time for the six month check-up.  We are excited to find out the new ‘measurements’ for our boys and see how much weight they have gained.  However, what we felt when we left the doctor’s office was as totally different feeling; one that left me questioning my own knowledge and experience.

“The boys have not gained enough weight.”

“They have dropped to under the 5th percentile.”

“You may not be producing enough milk for the both of them anymore.”

“You should start introducing baby cereal.”

As a new mom I can see how the outside influence of professionals can make you change your ways in a heartbeat, no matter what you believe is the ‘right’ thing to do.  Because for an instant, I did just that.  In our training, we learned that the child will show us physical and psychological signs for weaning.  The child will begin to drool, has cut his/her first tooth, and should be able to sit up with minimal support.  The child will show an interest in people eating around him/her and start reaching for food.  This was part of my mental checklist and because the boys were a month premature and were not sitting well on their own, had no teeth, etc. I had the right mind to hold off.  But here I was, rushing out to Whole Foods to purchase Organic Baby Rice Cereal!

Then, I had to check in with myself (as well as vent and get reassurance from those around me).

Were my boys happy and thriving?

(R sitting with support in nursing pillow, looking at one of his favourite books.)

(First time P ventured off the movement mat.)

YES!

Were they sleeping well and through the night?  

YES!

Did they show signs of distress or lack of food?  

NO! (Big sigh of relief.)

I was introduced to Baby Led Weaning after my training, once I started my Parent-Infant classes.  At snack time, one parent pulled out a whole apple, took a bite, and then handed it to her 9 month old to eat.  I was in awe!  I researched it and read the book Baby Led Weaning, which I thought was very interesting and sounded very much on page with the Montessori philosophy.

Some key components include:

• Feed babies food in their natural form (cooked or steamed if needed)
• Teach babies to feed themselves and eat as much (or as little) as they need.
• No need for purees or spoon feeding, babies will learn to break down the food in their mouth.
• Baby may gag a bit in the beginning, but remember that the baby’s gag reflex is not as far back as an adult’s.
• Hold off on grains until baby’s system is producing more amylase, which is a type of ptyalin that helps to break down starches.

So this is what we did.

The boys began with avocado, banana, steamed cauliflower, broccoli, apple, carrots, and pear.  Yes, at first I was a bit nervous and so were those around me, especially when the boys gagged on the food!  It took us a while to get into a groove and perfect the set-up (at their weaning table with the proper dishware etc.) but now they have all meals at their table (along with complementary milk feeds).

Overall, it is a very lovely experience for all of us.  The boys are now enjoying many different types of organic food and I find it easier to prepare food for them as I do not have to do much else than what I already do for my husband and I.  Some of their favourites right now include Ezekiel bread with avocado, homemade pancakes, chicken drumsticks, salmon, cod, meatballs, yams, sweet potato, banana, raspberries and blueberries.  Unfortunately, the “broccoli loving babies” that I had in the beginning are no longer and this is when the “lovely experience” turns not so lovely as they very purposefully throw what they don’t want on the floor.  I am very thankful for our dog on these occasions as she gets invited in to assist with clean up!

Every meal is finished up with a drink of water from a real glass (ours are shot glasses from Ikea) and in the beginning I poured only a little to get them used to holding the glass with two hands and tilting it up to drink.  Now they have pretty good control and will hold out their glass for ‘more’, which I pour from a child-size pitcher.  At the end of a meal they definitely show signs of being done, by pulling off their bibs, pushing their dish away, or by pushing their chair away from the table.

Next steps?

It is time for us to introduce the use of cutlery, which opens up a few more doors in terms of choice of food.  I haven’t purposely held off, but with the boys approaching 11 months it is time!  I have also started to encourage them the wipe their own faces, hands, table, etc….basically to help me clean up their mess.  Not that they do this as of yet but the language and actions are there for the future. 🙂

So all in all this too has been a learning experience for me as an educator and mom.  We are quick to give our opinions about what we feel is ‘right’ by the books, but every child and situation is different and what works for one family may not work for another.  That is why Baby Led Weaning works for us, and it may (or may not) work for you!

The Celebration of Weaning (Introducing Solid Foods)

By Carrie

Montessori lingo calls the introduction of solid foods “weaning” so I’ll refer to it as weaning.  Confusing as when I mention this to others they think I’m cutting A. off of breast milk.  Definitely not the case.   We’re just starting with foods other than breast milk.  I don’t know when the completion of weaning will take place, but I’ll share with you the start of weaning.

How did you decide when and what to first feed your child?  Or is this decision still ahead of you?  I took a long time to decide what to do.  I love the Montessori approach to first introducing foods!  The pre-weaning was such a success that I wanted to continue following the Montessori philosophy.  I was also attracted to “Baby Led Weaning” (BLW) which seems to be quite popular in Montessori circles.  Kylie has done a comparison that is often referred to as it well written.  After thoroughly reading my albums, “Understanding the Human Being“,  “Baby Led Weaning“, and whatever else I could find on the internet, I decided to do both approaches.

I had prepared A. for both approaches by offering her the pre-weaning juices seated at her weaning chair and table after her morning nap and by offering her the pre-weaning juices and fish pâté seated in her high chair during our family dinner time.  The Montessori approach is to have the weaning chair and table in the child’s room (or wherever your usual location for nursing your baby is) but I skipped this as I figured I’d already helped her make this psychological step by first starting the pre-weaning juices in the nursing chair and changing that to her future eating locations.

I prepared myself for “weaning day” by first really researching it and knowing that it was the right time for A.  Montessori says to look for the Sensitive Period for weaning, usually present around 5-6 months.  Signs to look for include:

• ability to sit with support
• ability to grasp things with the hands and coordinate by putting things into the mouth
• teeth beginning to emerge
• excessive saliva (due to digestive enzymes now being present to digest starch)
• a strong interest in the external world, specifically in food and watching other people eating

With the exception of teeth, A. showed all these signs.  Anybody eating around A. in the weeks prior could definitely attest to how interested in eating she was!  By observing her signs I knew when she was ready for it, which helped me fully embrace this new step.  It is an important psychological step away from Mom to embrace solid foods.

I also prepared in practical ways by obtaining small dishes, spoons, and forks.  The dishes are breakable and the flatware is stainless steel, just like what we use.  One of my Montessori trainers (instructors) gave me the tip to try to find clear dishes with sides so the child can stop the spoon at the edge and lift up the spoon instead of scraping the spoon up and off the side of a curved dish.  We went to World Market and this is what we came up with. 

The middle (bamboo pattern) flatware is my favourite as they are lightweight, the scoop of the spoon is shallow, and the tines of the fork pierce well

I already had a special place mat that I made for her during my training and we had many bibs given to us as gifts.  I went out and bought her beautiful flowers and placed them in a special vase.  We waited until Saturday when Daddy was home from work.  I prepared her rice cereal, fish pâté, and puréed apple.  The Montessori approach is to prepare cream of rice (or semolina) cooked in vegetable broth, or rice cereal with a bit of tomato and parmesan for flavour (Stephanie has done a great write-up of how to make the rice dish) but I was unable to find cream of rice or rice cereal so I opted to do the common approach of baby rice cereal mixed with breast milk.  The fish pâté and apple were foods she had already been introduced to so I knew she did not have any allergies.  I was excited that I was able to offer her a full meal for her first weaning meal, not simply bland rice cereal or one puréed food.

Not her first meal as I was so excited to offer it to her that I forgot to take a photo but this is from later in the week. The ramekins are the serving dishes and the small square dishes (stacked up) are the eating dishes. Bib goes on, hands are washed with the cloth and food is offered. First course is rice cereal mixed with breast milk, second course is fish (salmon here but sole was her first meal), and third course is fruit or vegetable purée (here is it peach but apple was for her first meal). We wrap up the meal with some water.

Weaning – a true celebration day!

Weaning Day had arrived!  She was a week shy of 6 months.  After she woke up from her morning nap I dressed her in a pretty dress and approached her first meal as a real celebration!  In honesty, I wasn’t expecting much other than a few tastes of each food.  Instead she completely surprised me and took an hour enjoying it all!  She enjoyed the experience of sitting at her special weaning table and chair and eating food from the spoon.  She enjoyed grabbing the spoon with each bite.  She enjoyed dipping her fingers into each dish of food.  She enjoyed being distracted with the second spoon, covering it in food too.  (For future meals I ditched the second spoon as she was only distracted by it and was self-feeding by grabbing the one spoon for each bite.)  She enjoyed each of the foods I prepared for her.  She enjoyed being introduced to the little glass and drinking water from it.  I couldn’t believe how much she had enjoyed it all and how long it took!  She was so focused on each new part of the whole experience.  I made sure to approach each spoonful as something I was offering and not feeding her.  I started the first few spoonfuls with the tiny pre-weaning spoon and then introduced her to the weaning spoon.  She didn’t eat a lot that day but a decent amount, definitely much more than I was expecting.  Afterwards I offered her breast milk as usual.

Feeding herself mashed banana (with assistance)

We have continued in this manner since then and she has only approached food with more gusto.  She will often feed herself mashed fish using her hands, making a real mess.  For cereals and mashed/puréed fruit or vegetable she will grab the spoon and bring it to her mouth demonstrating keen interest in almost all foods.  She is gaining a greater ability to use the glass independently everyday but really struggled with it at first as her wrists could not make the rotation necessary to tip the glass.  I tipped it for her for the first few weeks.  I often use small pyrex dishes instead of the ramekins as serving dishes as whatever she doesn’t eat one day can easily have a lid put on and saved until tomorrow.  As she is eating more, I will sometimes also use the ramekins as eating dishes.

During weaning we should always remember to offer food that the child can take by himself, such as little pieces of bread, banana, or vegetable.  Of course, the child can also be given a fork and shown how to use it.  Do not intervene if he uses his hands to help.  The child watches carefully how we do things and, if we eat well, as soon as he is able to manage it, the child will be willing to copy us. ~Dr. Montanaro, “Understanding the Human Being”

So along with her “meal” after her morning nap (which has turned into lunch time) I decided to do some BLW at dinner.  We started with steamed bean and roasted carrot (again she had been introduced to these through pre-weaning juices) and introduced her to steamed broccoli.  These were all vegetables that we had grown in our garden.  The BLW book indicated that babies mostly play with the food for the first few months so I didn’t approach this with such excitement, more in a casual way.  Before we started with food, she was sitting at the table with us in her Tripp Trapp high chair playing with toys.  So instead we gave her food to play with.  Well, it didn’t take long for her to catch onto really eating the food.  She absolutely loved feeling the textures of each food and eating.  She especially loved the salmon and chicken.

   

It hasn’t been easy when she gags on the foods.  I’m poised on the edge of my seat ready to whip her out of her chair and whack her on the back, thankful for my first aid training.  I decided not to use the straps as I figured I wouldn’t want to be fussing with the straps in a state of emergency.  Of course I’ve never had to do that.  I try to be calm and encourage her to keep coughing.  So far she’s always been able to cough it up, no matter how big or small the piece is.  It seems to me the first time she has a food she tends to gag on it a little more.  She has also gagged less and less as she learns to eat.  I decided to use plates and dishes for her at dinner time, along with a fork as this seemed more Montessori to me: treating the baby the same as us.  There have been a couple of broken plates but no broken glasses so far, although I’m sure there will be in the future.  The wrist and hand development that occurs while taking a slice of peach out of a dish or figuring out how to hold the chicken drumstick is amazing!  She finishes each meal with some water, giving her the opportunity to develop this skill twice a day.  She is now able to pick up the glass and drink from it but is definitely still learning as she will miss her mouth sometimes and sometimes tip too much and cough on the water.  I continue to be amazed at her progress in such as short period of time.

I’m really happy with how things are going.  It’s been about a month and despite the huge amount of work it has been planning and preparing for all these new meals, A.’s enjoyment of it all makes it completely worthwhile.  There have also been huge changes to sleep (through the night) and poo (in the potty).  When and how to cut back on breast milk was my other dilemma.  A. has done this herself by increasing sleep through the night and taking longer naps.  Each of the meals usually takes at least half an hour, so more time is spent eating in general.  It has all unfolded pretty naturally.  Now, if only it could all be done with a little less mess!

BLW vs. Montessori Mess