Posts tagged: Baby Led Weaning

Last blog we talked about When to Introduce Your Baby Solid Foods. It is important that parents wait until their healthy babies are at least 6 months of age before starting solid foods to maximize the time that they exclusively breastfeed and to ensure that their digestive systems are mature enough to handle solid foods.

Today, I am going to write about HOW to introduce solids. Get ready for your camera, take a video and watch the funny faces that your baby makes. Here are some tips that make it easier for you to transition your baby to solids:

• Good Mood. Offer new foods when baby is alert, relaxed and happy. I like to offer food after breastfeeding (wait 30-60 minutes) or waking up from nap. This may increase the chance of your baby trying a new food.
• Give your baby 1 new food a day. Offer a variety of foods, can set your baby up to be a more adventurous eater. The ONLY exception is the highly allergenic foods. You can start serving them regularly to your baby around 6 months, but you have to wait 1-2 days before adding the next new allergenic food. This makes it easier to tell if baby is allergic to the food.
• Start with small amounts. Offer 1-3 tsp (5-15 mL) of food. Offer more food if baby is still showing signs of hunger.
• Follow baby’s cues. Have your baby sit in a high chair and make sure that you are at approximately eye level. Hold the spoon a few inches in front of your baby’s mouth and wait for baby’s mouth to open when you offer food. Feed as slowly or as quickly as baby wants. Stop feeding when baby shows signs of fullness. If you go with Baby Led Weaning approach, you just let your baby do the eating job.  NEVER FORCE BABY TO EAT. NEVER COMPARE YOUR BABY TO ANOTHER.
• Start by offering solid foods once a day. Baby will be ready to eat more than once a day soon. Gradually increase to 2-3 times per day and then again to 3-4 times per day.
• Try new foods and flavours. Some babies are cautious eaters and need time to trust that a new food is okay to eat. Babies may need to be offered a food many times (approximately 15 times!!!) before deciding to eat it.
• Let your baby touch and explore new foods. Please expect a mess. Messy hands and face help baby get used to new foods. Let’s them have fun.
• Baby’s appetite will change from day-to-day. Some days a baby will eat a lot, other days not as much. From 6-12 months, baby will slowly start to drink less breast milk and eat more solid food.

“Be cognizant of your baby’s hunger and satiety cues and do not force your baby to eat or over-feed”.

SIGNS OF HUNGER 

• Lean forward or reaches for food
• Sucks or smacks lips
• Open mouth when food is offered
• Chew on hands
• Follows foods with their eyes
• Gets excited when they see food
• Reaches out to grab for food

SIGNS OF FULLNESS  

• Turns head away from food
• Closes mouth when food is offered
• Covers mouth with hands
• Fusses or cries
• Spits food out
• Pushes food or spoon away
• Throws food, plate or bowl
• Tries to leave the highchair

FEEDING TOOLS 

There are so many products out there for feeding your baby. It can get overwhelming to know what exactly you need for starting solids. Here are the TOP 6 must have tools to get you started:

1. High Chair or Booster Seat

• I think getting an actual high chair is a must, it is nice to have a dedicated seat for baby, having that big high chair tray makes a great food-catcher. This IKEA Antilop high chair with tray is totally affordable.

• A booster seat can strap to your own chairs. This seat is foldable for easy storage. I took it with me to grandparents visits and to restaurants.

2. Bibs

• You certainly can use the “drooler/cloth” bibs. However, they need to be washed in the laundry after a one-time use.

• I recommend you get a separate set of larger, waterproof, easy-to-clean feeding bibs. I like the ones that have a big pocket in the front (to catch solid food).

• If your baby is an active explorer, your may prefer Kushies Long Sleeved Waterproof Bib. This will allow your baby to enjoy his mealtimes to the full, without you having to worry that he is ruining his clothes.

3. Spoons

• Make sure the spoons contain any plastic, the plastic itself is BPA-free. BPA is a harmful chemical contained in plastic, and it can leach into food when the plastic itself is heated.
• Munchkin 6-Pack Soft Tip Infant Spoon: A small plastic-coated options is much easier on tender gums. Have several on hand during feedings (one for you and one for baby) to foster baby’s sense of independence and avoid power struggles.

• Once your baby’s ready to try self-feeding, you may want to get OXO tot Fork & Spoon Set. This set makes it easy for young eaters to get their food from bowl to mouth.

4. Dishes

• When you’re first introducing solids, you will just need a handful of small, plastic bowl (BPA-free, of course).

• Calibowl. A deep bowl makes it easier for your baby scoops up their food and the super suction cup on the bottom keeps it from being tossed to the floor. It includes fitted lids, which makes food storage a snap.

• Once your baby’s ready to try self-feeding, you may want to pick up a divided plate like this one from OXO tot Divided Plate. I like the removable, raised outer ring keeps food on the plate and helps guide it into utensils.

5. Straw Cup or Open Cup with/without handles

• Aiden wasn’t a big fan of bottle, so I was very anxious to start introduce straw cup around 6 months. He would bite on the straw very often but he would sip from it time to time. Using a straw cup does not have the same concerns as a sippy cup. It can actually help with oral motor skills development and will not cause for dental caries because baby’s teeth are not bathed in the liquid. Here are three straw cups that I use:
  • Playtex Sipsters Stage 1 Straw Cup,
  • Munchkin Click Lock Weighted Flexi Straw Trainer Cup
  • Playtex Sipsters Stage 3 Insulated Spill Proof Straw Cup
    

• Offer water in an OPEN CUP as soon as when your baby starts eating solids. They learn quickly how to drink from an open cup.

6. Snack Catcher

• No more spilled snacks on the floor or car seat. Perfect idea on-the-go: doctor’s appointment, shopping, grocery shopping, evening walk, etc.

A HEALTHY FEEDING RELATIONSHIP 

Babies learn by watching people. When families eat together, baby learns that mealtime is a time to come together, eat and share.

• As a PARENT it’s your job to choose WHAT foods to offer. As baby start to eat solid foods, your are responsible for WHEN and WHERE baby is fed.
• It’s BABY job to choose HOW MUCH food to eat.

Trust baby to know when he is hungry and full. Your are teaching baby to listen to his body (mindful eating).

Introducing solids to your baby is lots of fun. Try to be PATIENT and know that it may take a while for your baby to warm up to certain new foods — this is completely normal. You may have a baby that loves every food from the first bite! In this case, congratulations! you have a super good little eater.

Bon Appétit babies!

Happy Shopping Mommies!!

Next, we will be talking about The First Food. Stay tuned.

Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of questions asking what is the right age to start introducing baby to solid foods. Some experts or old guidelines say between 4 and 6 months, some parenting websites say 4 months, sometimes this recommendations even come from a doctor or other health professionals. Well, we were raised in the 80’s, some of us may start to eat solid foods at 4 months of age (our parents followed the old recommendations) or as early as 2 months after birth. I totally understand, as a first time mom, we are eager to start solid foods, friends and family love to give “advices” and “opinions”.  It makes us start thinking “Uh… 4 months…maybe it is the right time”! Today’s parents are sure to be confused with all this conflicting recommendations. I would not be surprised.

Here is what I often hear why parents feed baby solid foods prior to 6 months:

• My baby is too big
• My baby is too small and tiny
• My baby seems hungry (increased demand to breastfed)
• My baby wakes up multiple times a night
• My doctor said my baby should begin eating solid food
• My baby wanted the food I ate
• I wanted to feed my baby something (iron rich foods) in addition to breast milk or formula

My response to these common excuses is Breast Milk has more calories and significantly more nutrients than any type of solid foods that you can feed your baby.

TOO EARLY? or TOO LATE? 

If you start baby on solid foods too early (prior to 6 months of age), baby may:

• Drink less breast milk – solids tend to replace breast milk in baby’s diet. The more solids that baby eats, the less milk he takes from mom, which results in low milk production.
• Not be ready to chew and swallow safely – gag reflex hasn’t fully developed, may increase the risk of choking.

If you start baby on solid foods too late, baby may:

• Be slow to accept new foods and flavours
• Have a hard time learning to eat new textures
• Not get all the vitamins and minerals (e.g., iron) needed

WHAT IS CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS 

Here are the top organizations that recommend starting solids at 6 months when babies show signs of readiness.

• World Health Organization (WHO)
• Health Canada and Canadian Paediatric Society
• American Academy of Paediatrics
• American Academy of Family Physicians
• Australian National Health and Medical Research Council
• The AAP Section on Breastfeeding
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
• Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine

Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended until 6 months to make sure that your baby’s digestive tract is mature enough to digest solid foods, as well as protect your baby from gastrointestinal and respiratory infections (APP 2012, Nylor & Morrow, 2001).

Breast milk is the ONLY food or drink your baby will need for the first 6 months.

DEVELOPMENT SIGNS FOR READINESS

Watch for SIGNS that your baby is getting ready to start solids:

• Able to sit upright (with support pillow/towel is fine) and hold his/her head up well (without support)
• Open mouth when food comes or turn head away when full
• Good oral motor skill – pick up foods and put in his/her mouth (able to self-feed)
• has lost tongue extrusion reflex (baby stops pushing the food out of his/her mouth with his/her tongue). If your baby still have strong tongue extrusion reflex, you may want to wait a week or two and try again.
• Show interest and reach for your food at meals and snacks
• Chewing on non-food items, such as toys, tethers and fingers

GESTATIONAL AGE 

Another things to consider is your baby’s gestational age. If your baby was born prematurely, he or she may not be neurologically ready for solids until 6 months after his or her normal due date. Aiden was born 2 weeks early, so I decided to start solids about two weeks after his 6 months birthday, same as Audrey and Avery, they were born 4 weeks early, they start solids about 6.5 months.

What you can do If your baby is showing obvious signs of being ready for solids about 4-6 months?

It is normal to see a 4 to 5 month old baby is very eager to participate at mealtime, however it does not mean that he or she is ready to eat solids. In fact, it is just the normal developmental stage to explore everything with their mouth. There are a few things you can do to let your baby participate in mealtimes without starting solids:

• Let your baby sit with the family at mealtime in booster seat or high chair. It helps them to get used to sitting on booster seat or high chair until you are ready to serve the first ever foods in their life.
• Offer your baby spoons, cups, bowls and other baby-safe eating utensils to play with during mealtimes.
• The use of open cups (starting from 6 months) is now considered a gold standard. Offer baby a cup of water or expressed breast milk (about 1-3 oz). Your baby can entertain himself at mealtimes while learning to use a cup.

BOTTOM LINE

Most babies will become developmentally and physiologically ready to eat solid foods between 6 and 8 months of age. Watch for signs of being ready for solids, not by the calendar, as well as it is definitely not just mum, dad or mother-in-law forcing it on them.

Baby, Bon Appétit !! 

Aiden likes making a mess at mealtime.

I will be posting “How to Start Solid Foods” soon, stay tuned!!