Baby knows best…
Now that I am a grandma and get to enjoy child rearing at 'arm's length', that is, getting all the cuddles without the midnight feedings, I have come across many wonderful ideas that would have made life so much more fun when my little ones were babies. Okay Doctor Spock where were you when I needed you?
One of those wonderful ideas is 'baby-led weaning'. Baby-led what, you may ask? I know, I know, it sounded strange to me too but it makes so much sense when you consider it and chances are my daughter would not have turned out to be such a picky eater. Anyway, in a nutshell, baby-led weaning is 'letting children feed themselves from the very start of weaning.' By the way, weaning in this context does not mean the end of breastfeeding but rather the beginning of eating solids. Solids that you and I eat, not that mushy stuff that we pureed and spoon fed our little ones. According to experts, "you just hand them the food in a suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they don’t they won’t." This lets babies experience the texture of food and let them develop their taste buds. In other words, you allow babies to have fun with food… quite a change from the customary admonition 'Don't play with your food'! And in case you worry that your baby doesn't get enough nutrition, keep in mind that you still provide all the essentials in breast milk. Once your baby is eating well, he or she will let you know in not uncertain terms that the weaning aka breastfeeding is complete. Just one more thing, make sure you are eating a balanced diet so that you and your baby are well nourished. In case you need a refresher on healthy eating for babies and the whole family, check out these books from the Toronto Public Library's collection.
You may also want to check out the Baby-Lead Weaning Cookbook for more ideas.
One thought on “Baby knows best…”
Hi Marietta! Great post, and still so relevant! I’m a librarian at the Annette Street branch, and we’re hosting a registered dietician who’s going to speak about this topic on September 15th, 2017 (11-11:30am) immediately following our Baby Time (10:30-11am). Everyone is welcome! Click the link below for more information.
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT307113&R=EVT307113