Zoe Williams on Baby Led Weaning

I came across this article on baby led weaning by British columnist, Zoe WIlliams. What are your thought? I'm sleeping on it and will post my comments tomorrow. I think I preferred Zoe pre-baby.

Oyster

This is the moment M first tried fish – a raw oyster – at just under 6 months. I know exactly how old he was because it was my birthday lunch at a local seafood restaurant/shack perched on the Ionian sea La Maruzella.

I absolutely love oysters and eat them at every opportunity, especially during pregnancy as they are so rich in iron. They contain much more iron than any other food, for example a 3 oz serving of oysters contains 13.2 mg of iron compared to a 3 oz portion of beef liver (the next highest iron rich food) contains 7.5 mg.

With hindsight it was perhaps a little early to be introducing such a risky food to such a young stomach. But he was already a few weeks into his eating career at that point and was immensely attracted to the pearly shells. He only had a little bit but I certainly didn’t mention it to the paediatrician at his next check up!

When do you introduce solid food to a baby? Nowadays the advice given by the medical profession worldwide is to wait until at least 6 months. In the past mothers were encouraged to start at just a few weeks and some of the advice given today is still a hangover from that time. M’s doctor was horrified that we had already started at his 5.5 month check up and urged me to only give him pureed pair for the next five days until his half year birthday!

Baby led weaning is a recent approach to introducing solids which we have been very influenced by, without following religiously. It basically eliminates the need for special baby food and means trusting the baby to know when and what to eat.

When did you introduce solids to your baby? Write your experiences in a comment below.

Ice cream

M really looks like he's going to enjoy that cornetto, you should have seen the mess 5 minutes later! He was about 15 mo in this photo and I know many parents who would disapprove of giving such a young child something so sweet. We don't eat a lot of sweet food in our family but have the philosophy that a little of what you like does you good. I want M to be able to self regulate with unhealthy foods and so far so good, although I know it's a little early to tell. I'll keep you posted!

I'm interested to hear how other families deal with sweets and other unhealthy food... please leave your story in the form of a comment.

Lobster

This is a picture of M at 14 mo trying to get into a delicious jerk lobster in a fantastic seafood shack in Portland, Jamaica. It was one of those meals I will never forget. M loves any food that is fiddley to eat, like shellfish or artichokes or pomegranate for example. It keeps him occupied far longer than a puree would!

What's your little one's favourite food? Post a comment...

Pineapple

Our Jamaican friend Brian told us stories of how he and his friends used to steal fruit on the way home from school and hide it from his brothers and sisters in the bush. Imagine your average Western kid going to so much trouble over a bunch of bananas! It's a shame how many kids have got so used to sweets and candy that they are no longer interested in nature's own bounty and many parents have to bribe their kids to eat something so good. Although maybe if we had access to the delicious, fresh, tropical fruit like in Jamaica it would be easier to convince them. Jamaican pineapple was out of this world.

Sippy cup

Due to longterm breastfeeding there was never any need to give M a bottle, by the time he started drinking other fluids he was able to use a sippy cup. At 21 months he still doesn't drink that much from this type of cup, a bit of cow's milk in the evening before bed and sometimes water. It's useful for when we are out in the car. Mostly he will drink out from our glass but although he can manage this himself if we are indoors we usually help him as he always has this strange compulsion to throw it all over the floor!

When and how did you introduce drinks to your little one? Leave a comment.

Mummy helping

I absolutely love baby led weaning and the idea that babies' motor skills develop with their appetite and palate. We've never prepared specific baby food but we did pre-chew some foods when he was very little and I still help M eat sometimes at 21 months. Especially when we are eating out either at a restaurant or at someone's house. Those first few months of self feeding were extremely messy and I would be unhappy about letting that happen in public!