Mashed potatoes up his nose. Cinnamon coating his ear. Sticky peach juice coving the floor beneath his highchair. Pieces of chewed up pasta smushed into his pants. This is the picture of the beginnings of baby led weaning (BLW).
While at times it may be messy (and by "messy" I mean messy, and by "at times" I mean always), it is so much fun watching your baby explore and learn about food.
Mr. Peach and I decided to introduce solid foods to Baby Peach after reading the Baby Led Weaning book. It just made sense to us. Plus there was that whole added bonus of not having to buy or make "baby food".
If you aren't familiar with the BLW approach here it is in a nutshell: when your baby is six months old start feeding them solid food. Skip the jars of baby food and purees. Whatever you're having for supper, baby is having it too. Just give them sticks of food that they can pick up on their own to feed themselves.
Baby Peach has been feeding himself one meal a day for the past month and he has been loving it. And we've been loving watching him. He loves food. All food. Except for tomatoes. And he especially loves anything green.
So far we've only been feeding him solids at supper time. But he's getting to the point where if you have food in front of you he's going to try and grab it. Might be time to add another meal...
Here's a list of the foods he has eaten so far:
carrots - steamed and roasted
broccoli - steamed
zucchini - steamed, roasted, sautéed
tomatoes
celery
peaches
pineapple
blueberries
banana
lemons
tangerines
bread - mostly rolls
pizza crust
apples - raw, and sautéed in coconut oil and sprinkled with cinnamon and nutmeg
sweet potatoes - roasted and mashed
white potatoes - mashed
sausage
steak
hamburger
bell peppers - red, green, yellow
pickles
cucumbers
green beans
corn
black beans
pasta - plain and with tomato sauce
hummus
avocado
rice
Another plus to BLW is that it makes you examine your own diet. Since you don't want to be feeding your baby processed foods, and since baby is eating what you eat, it helps ensure you're eating a whole foods diet too!
It has been so fun to not only watch him discover solid food, but also reach developmental milestones. When he started feeding himself half of the time food would miss his mouth completely and the food that did make it into his mouth he would push back out. Now he can grab something with his hand and not smush it, bring it to his mouth and actually get it into his mouth and eat it. Now he's working on his pincer grip which will allow him to eat smaller foods like peas and rice.
Have you tried BLW with your little one? I'd love to hear your stories and find out your favorite baby friendly recipes!
Blessings and happy eating,
The Crunchy Peach
Another plus to BLW is that it makes you examine your own diet. Since you don't want to be feeding your baby processed foods, and since baby is eating what you eat, it helps ensure you're eating a whole foods diet too!
It has been so fun to not only watch him discover solid food, but also reach developmental milestones. When he started feeding himself half of the time food would miss his mouth completely and the food that did make it into his mouth he would push back out. Now he can grab something with his hand and not smush it, bring it to his mouth and actually get it into his mouth and eat it. Now he's working on his pincer grip which will allow him to eat smaller foods like peas and rice.
Have you tried BLW with your little one? I'd love to hear your stories and find out your favorite baby friendly recipes!
Blessings and happy eating,
The Crunchy Peach
