adventures in baby-led weaning

nom nom nom

This week is our second week of baby-led weaning (BLW) and I think Nate is doing well. I have had people ask me what I have been giving Nate at meal times and how much he has been eating, so I thought I would post every once in a while what he has had for the day with some photos. 

For anyone who doesn't know what BLW  is, a good summary can be found here.  In short, BLW is where you skip the mushy spoon-fed phase of weaning and go straight to "normal" food that the baby feeds themselves. A key difference between BLW and traditional weaning is that you let the baby decide how much he will eat, rather than force feeding a set amount. 

Currently Nate is on 2 meals a day, breakfast and lunch. Today for breakfast Nate had porridge fingers and papaya. I don't think he actually consumed any of it. Mostly he just grabbed pieces and flung them around on his tray, trying to launch them towards the dogs or towards me. He simply wasn't in the mood this morning. I did try and load a spoon for him with some papaya just to get him to try it. He brought the spoon to his mouth, but then tipped it upside down before it reached its target. Papaya went all over his lap, it was actually quite humorous.

Breakfast - before

Breakfast - after

His lunchtime meal was roast chicken, Red Leicester cheese, and cucumber. It was his first time having meat and he did really well! I would estimate about 10% of the meal was consumed. This sounds low, but honestly it was really good for him (especially compared to breakfast). He absolutely loved the cucumber - I think it soothed his gums (which by the way, sprouted their second tooth yesterday - ouch!). 

Lunch - before

Lunch - after

Overall, I think BLW is the right way forward for us, but it takes a lot of patience and persistence. Yesterday I met up with some mommy friends and they were all following traditional weaning. Their babies were eating loads, I'm talking full containers of mashed up vegetables and fruit and meats! This makes it so difficult to compare Nate's progress with others his age. I just hope he continues to explore the different tastes and textures and that little by little he will start to consume more of what I put in front of him.