Here is the 2nd installment of Tuesday's Unwrapped. Ella has come back to finish telling us about her Baby Led Weaning experience. Click here for the first installment.
Hi, I’m Ella. I write over at Baby Love. I am a proud Mama to one sweet girl, Eliza, who is 18 months old. Jess asked me to write about our experience with baby led weaning, and I am so honored – thanks Jess!
On the very day our baby girl turned 6 months old, we handed her a chunk of banana and let her have at it. And in that moment, as we watched her try to figure out how to pick up that banana and bring it to her mouth without it shooting out of her chubby little hands, it was like a light bulb went off. ‘This feels so natural’, we said to each other, looking in awe at our girl digging into that fruit with gusto. It just felt right, and Eliza loved it.
We were excited. She was excited. She was exploring her food, feeling it, playing with it, tasting it, and just having fun. And that is the point of BLW; first foods are not meant to serve a nutritional purpose (remember this little rhyme: “food before one is just for fun!”), they are meant to help our babes learn about food, to let them experience it and get accustomed to its presence and its feel – not just in their mouths, but in between their fingers, on their foreheads, etc… To learn what different foods look like, to feel their unique textures, and of course, eventually, to taste all the wonderful, varied flavors this
beautiful earth offers us. This is, after all, the important process that culminates in their eventual weaning from breastmilk or formula to table food for their nutritional needs.
BLW turned out to be a great fit for our family. We enjoyed the little perks that come with BLW like eating with Eliza, as a family, instead of one of us having to spoon-feed her during dinner, the hilarious perk of watching her figure out corn on the cob, and the expression of pure, unabashed glee when she got her first taste of a sweet cherry tomato exploding in her mouth (which, I might add, was freshly-picked from our garden by her own cherry-tomato-stealing little hand). Eliza took to BLW like a fish to water – she was
just as excited about touching and tasting the food, and bringing it to her mouth on her own, as we were about watching her do it.
It’s been a pleasure watching Eliza learn to love good food, and her journey continues to this day. I’m happy to report that she is now mastering the art of using a spoon and fork, and she loves most of the food we offer her. Sure, she still has her picky toddler moments – I don’t think you can escape that no matter how you introduce solids – but for the most part, she is an independent, healthy, interested and adventurous little eater (Edamame is a recent fav!). In order to combat food struggles, we go by the mantra that it is our job as parents to offer her varied, healthy meals, and it is Eliza’s job – not ours – to decide if she is going to eat and how much she is going to eat. This also avoids the potential Mama/Daddy-as-short-order-cook trap.
If you have questions about BLW and want to learn more about the specifics of it, I highly suggest reading this book. This website is also a great resource. Of course, Jess is also a great resource as she and Gabby have experienced (and are currently continuing to experience) the joys of BLW! And feel free to stop by my little corner of the internet, Baby Love, or email me at empberry at gmail dot com.
Thanks for having me, Jess!
Hi, I’m Ella. I write over at Baby Love. I am a proud Mama to one sweet girl, Eliza, who is 18 months old. Jess asked me to write about our experience with baby led weaning, and I am so honored – thanks Jess!
On the very day our baby girl turned 6 months old, we handed her a chunk of banana and let her have at it. And in that moment, as we watched her try to figure out how to pick up that banana and bring it to her mouth without it shooting out of her chubby little hands, it was like a light bulb went off. ‘This feels so natural’, we said to each other, looking in awe at our girl digging into that fruit with gusto. It just felt right, and Eliza loved it.
We were excited. She was excited. She was exploring her food, feeling it, playing with it, tasting it, and just having fun. And that is the point of BLW; first foods are not meant to serve a nutritional purpose (remember this little rhyme: “food before one is just for fun!”), they are meant to help our babes learn about food, to let them experience it and get accustomed to its presence and its feel – not just in their mouths, but in between their fingers, on their foreheads, etc… To learn what different foods look like, to feel their unique textures, and of course, eventually, to taste all the wonderful, varied flavors this
beautiful earth offers us. This is, after all, the important process that culminates in their eventual weaning from breastmilk or formula to table food for their nutritional needs.
BLW turned out to be a great fit for our family. We enjoyed the little perks that come with BLW like eating with Eliza, as a family, instead of one of us having to spoon-feed her during dinner, the hilarious perk of watching her figure out corn on the cob, and the expression of pure, unabashed glee when she got her first taste of a sweet cherry tomato exploding in her mouth (which, I might add, was freshly-picked from our garden by her own cherry-tomato-stealing little hand). Eliza took to BLW like a fish to water – she was
just as excited about touching and tasting the food, and bringing it to her mouth on her own, as we were about watching her do it.
It’s been a pleasure watching Eliza learn to love good food, and her journey continues to this day. I’m happy to report that she is now mastering the art of using a spoon and fork, and she loves most of the food we offer her. Sure, she still has her picky toddler moments – I don’t think you can escape that no matter how you introduce solids – but for the most part, she is an independent, healthy, interested and adventurous little eater (Edamame is a recent fav!). In order to combat food struggles, we go by the mantra that it is our job as parents to offer her varied, healthy meals, and it is Eliza’s job – not ours – to decide if she is going to eat and how much she is going to eat. This also avoids the potential Mama/Daddy-as-short-order-cook trap.
If you have questions about BLW and want to learn more about the specifics of it, I highly suggest reading this book. This website is also a great resource. Of course, Jess is also a great resource as she and Gabby have experienced (and are currently continuing to experience) the joys of BLW! And feel free to stop by my little corner of the internet, Baby Love, or email me at empberry at gmail dot com.
Thanks for having me, Jess!
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2 comments:
Wonderful post! Ella put into words exactly what the BLW experience is like.
Great post... it reminded me of the first time Ray ate corn on the cob. I have the picture burned into my mind.
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