A Quick Guide To Baby Led Weaning
As your baby approaches six months old you may be thinking about how you are going to be introducing solid foods to your little one. The thought of giving your precious little baby solid foods may seem scary, but hopefully, it will seem a lot less daunting once you’ve checked out some baby led weaning tips. No one is a perfect parent, you just learn things like this along the way.
With all the mess and the risk of choking you may want to skip the solids altogether. Fortunately, baby-led weaning is an exciting alternative to conventional puree feeding. In this article we will be taking a quick look at everything you need to get on your baby-led weaning journey. You can also visit Customer Review for more great information about how to take care of your family and your health.
What Is Baby Led Weaning?
Although it has become incredibly popular to use the baby led weaning method to introduce solids to your infant, it is not at all a new concept. Baby led weaning is the practice of serving your baby a selection of finger foods at a set place at your dining table. It is also important that you do not feed your baby any pureed foods and you should not make a separate meal for your infant. Commonly when you hear the term weaning you assume that it refers to the end of breastfeeding. However, in this case, it refers to the introduction of solids to your baby. Most healthcare experts recommend that milk, be it breast milk or formula, should be a baby’s primary source of nutrition until they are a year old.
What Are The Benefits Of Baby Led Weaning?
? It encourages your baby to feed themselves and explore the world around them.
Your baby will look at the food, touch it, smell it and taste the food at their own pace.
In this exploration, your baby will learn vital skills like how to chew their food as well
as improving their hand-eye coordination.
? When your baby feeds herself, she learns vital skills like how to follow her own
hunger cues. In baby led weaning, your baby decides when they are hungry and how
much they will eat. As they grow they will be more efficient at controlling their
appetites.
? Your baby will be a larger part of family meals. When you follow the baby led
weaning method for feeding your family, your whole family will be able to engage in
family meals. Not only is this great for the social skills of your baby but it will also help
you to bond as a family.
? Your baby is far less likely to become a picky eater as they grow. Eating a balanced
diet that contains a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables means that your baby will be
exposed to a wide variety of different textures and flavors from a very young age.
Although, it cannot guarantee that your little child will never be a fussy eater, the
exposure is likely to help them develop a more refined palate.
? You do not need any special equipment or foods for your baby. This is really great
news for all moms who are already drowning in all of the stuff that their baby needs.
All you need is appropriately sized foods and a safe place to sit and eat them.
Baby Led Weaning Meal Ideas
When you first begin your baby led weaning journey it can be quite difficult to decide what exactly you and your baby should be eating. However, with a little guidance, the options for joint meals for you and your baby are endless. Here are a few ideas of meals that you can safely feed your baby on the baby led weaning method:
? Bananas
? A slice of avocado
? Steamed carrots, broccoli and sweet potato
? Baked potato wedges
? Smashed egg on toast
? Spaghetti with meat sauce
A few notes to keep in mind when you introduce your baby to solids:
? Introduce food slowly and one at a time. If you notice any reactions stop giving them
that type of food immediately to avoid any additional reactions.
? Choose food that is soft and will not cause your baby to choke like raw vegetables
and nuts.
? Remember that “food under one is just for fun”. If your baby does not finish a meal do
not worry too much as their nutrition still comes from milk.
