More of our BLW Story

I know I have been mentioning how much we love our baby-led weaning (BLW) story with our Ava but I just realized that I haven't completely shared some of the things we did that made our  journey successful. So I thought of making this post with high hopes of inspiring other families to at least consider the baby-led approach in feeding their babies.

Let me first give you a quick introduction about BLW, just in case the term is pretty new to you. Baby-led weaning is an alternative approach in introducing solids to babies at six months, we also call it baby-led feeding here in our country. Compared to the traditional way of solid feeding, BLW does not recommend spoon-feeding, mashing or puréeing food. Instead, it allows babies to pick up their food and eat independently. It also encourages a healthier eating habit, so no boxed or jarred baby food, just wholesome and all natural foods cut into chunks big enough for babies to grasp and gnaw.

Here are the things that will happen in BLW:

• The baby sits with the rest of the family at mealtimes, and joins when she is ready.

• She is encouraged to explore food as soon as she is interested, by picking it up with her hands - it doesn't matter whether or not she manages to eat any at first.

• Food is offered in pieces that are the size and shape that the baby can handle easily, rather than as purées or mashed food.

• She feeds herself from the start, rather than being spoon-fed by someone else.

• It's up to the baby how much she eats, and how quickly she widens the range of food she enjoys.

• The baby continues to have milk feedings (breast milk or formula) whenever she wants then and she decides when she is ready to begin reducing them.

- Excerpt from the BLW book by Gill Rapley.

If you are interested in reading more, the best way to start is read the Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods - and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. Everything you need to know about BLW is in that book.

I thought of sharing our story based on the commonly asked questions I've read in the BLW group or from the questions that I've received from other mamas. I will also share some ideas and principles that we have practiced that made BLW easier and more fun for our family. :)

How did we learn about BLW?

I learned about BLW in one of the breastfeeding meet-ups we attended when Ava was just three months old. Solid food introduction was asked and I distinctly remember one mama sharing how her son eats fruits and vegetables, cut into chunks, independently. Hearing her story amazed me so much that I decided to do some further researches and discussed the things I've learned with Mr. T. He also liked the whole idea and the principles of BLW so we agreed on trying it with Ava. I also learned about a Facebook local support group for those practicing the baby-led approach in feeding their babies - Baby-Led Weaning Philippines. At that time, it was a group of just less than 500 members, and I was amazed at all the stories, photos and videos of babies eating on their own. Now the group has reached more than 8,000 members and it's so nice to see that a lot of mamas (and papas too!) are practicing the same approach and a whole lot more are interested in trying it with their babies.

Tips: It is very important that you understand the whole concept and principles of BLW. That way you will gain confidence in letting and trusting your baby to eat independently. You can also attend some first-aid classes about Infant and Child Safety seminar in case you are worried about choking. There are also a lot of materials online that you can watch and read as well. If you are worried about the thought of a higher choking risk in BLW compared to the traditional feeding, then you should know that it's quite the contrary. In traditional feeding, when you feed your baby mashed or puréed food, the consistency is not much different from their milk, the food can easily slide (or sometimes forced) at the back of their mouth. It does not allow them to chew first before swallowing. In BLW, babies learn to gnaw/bite, chew and swallow at their own pace. In between six and eight months, the gag reflex in babies are particularly sensitive. This reflex in babies prevents food from moving too far at the back of the mouth when they aren't ready to swallow. That's why it is important that you learn the difference between gagging and choking. Basically, if your baby bites a huge chunk and started making a lot of noise and if her face is turning red, that's gagging. Just allow her to manage the food and wait for her to spit it out. But if she's not making any noise (completely) and starts to turn blue, then your baby is choking. Give first-aid immediately and then call for help.

When and how did we start with BLW?

We started exactly on Ava's sixth month. She was already showing signs of readiness prior that's why we decided to go for it. Mr. T and I agreed to get the Ikea Antilop high chair not only because it is the highly-recommended chair for BLW but also because it's simple and it's very easy to clean with a reasonable price too. We got ours from Möbler in San Juan, but I recently checked, their showroom in San Juan is already closed. You can check out their Makati showroom instead. We also discussed this with our pedia. We asked her about BLW and apparently she didn't know it yet but she did not discourage us from doing it. She gave us a go signal with just a warning about choking and told us that we should feed Ava with just natural food. That's why we love her. :)

Ava's first food was avocado sliced into wedges big enough for her to grasp. Placed them on her tray and we just anxiously waited for her to pick it up. After a little staring at the avocado, she eventually picked it up and actually ate them. Probably because Mr. T and I were such foodies, it really didn't take a lot for Ava to get the hang of eating.

Tips: Six months is the recommended age for babies to start solids. This is when they are able to sit up on their own and it is also the time when their guts are ready and mature enough to handle solids. This article by Dr. Sears called 6 Reasons to Delay Introducing Solid Food is a good read and it explains these things further. There is really no need to rush solid food introduction. If you think your baby is not yet ready based on these factors, then there's nothing wrong with delaying solids even later.

BLW also does not require a lot when it comes to utensils. You won't need food storage containers since you are not mashing nor puréeing food that needs to be frozen. A spoon or fork is not yet necessary at this age since your baby won't be able to manage holding one yet. A plate can also be introduced later on since you can use the high chair's tray and put food on it directly. There are a lot of types of baby chairs in the market - high chairs, booster seats, portable seats, etc. It is best to get one (or two, depending on your need) based on your family's eating lifestyle. Like for us, we got a high-chair stationed at the dining area for our main meals and a booster seat inside our room for quick meals and snacks.

What are the best first foods to give?

It is always best to begin with vegetables and fruits. Not only are they healthy, but they are also easy to prepare and are readily available in the market. We offered a wide variety of fruits and vegetables to Ava during her first few months - avocado, sayote, squash, carrots, mango, sweet potato, potato, melon, watermelon, banana, eggplant, okra, ampalaya, grapes, apple, orange, pears, dragon fruit, bell pepper, raddish are some of her first foods.

Tips: For a family with a history of food allergies, it is advised to follow the three-day wait rule. You should give one type of food to your baby for three consecutive days so when your baby gets an allergic reaction, ruling out the cause will be easier. We only tried this for about two weeks and since it seemed like we were okay with the allergy issues, we went on with offering different types of food without the need to wait for days.

You should also remember that milk is still the main source of nutrients for babies below one year old. Offer milk first before solids. This way, your baby won't get easily frustrated during solid food meals.

When did you introduce meat and other types of food aside from fruits and vegetables?

At about eight months, we started introducing white chicken meat to Ava. A few weeks later, we gave her pork and then beef. When she turned a year older, we pretty much offered her anything - cakes, ice creams, chocolates and the likes. But of course, all of these we gave in moderation.

Tips: Babies are different in more ways than one. The best thing to do to find out if your baby is ready for other types of food is to observe. Check if baby's managing food well already, chewing and swallowing has improves. You can also check baby's poop, if it looked like digested food, then it's also a good sign that your baby's gut is ready for meat and other types of food.

How do you prepare/cook food?

During the first few months, I steamed all hard vegetables and fruits that I offered to Ava. I made sure that my tongue and the roof of my mouth can easily crush the food. When she started eating meat, I also introduced food cooked in different ways to Ava. Fried, roasted and baked with herbs. But still without salt or other types of seasoning. When she turned one, I went back to cooking with seasonings, but definitely a lot smaller in quantity. For example, just a teaspoon of salt for a whole pot of nilaga or sinigang. We just serve fish sauce at the table for the adults.

Tips: I used to cut/slice/steam Ava's fruits or veggies the night before and leave it for her next day's consumption. But I only did this when Yaya was not yet confident enough to let Ava eat on her own.

How often does my baby need to eat?

In our experience, we started with once a day eating which is dinner time. Only because I was the only one who does BLW with my baby and I still needed to build up Yaya and even Mr. T (for the times he was the one taking care of Ava). On weekends, we do two or three times. We didn't set out a specific schedule. And then we progressed when Ava turned seven months when Yaya was confident enough to do BLW. That's when she started eating snacks and lunch even when we're away.

We only had one rule, Ava eats every time we eat, or when Yaya eats during work days.

Tips: There's no definite schedule in BLW. Find one that fits perfectly in your lifestyle instead of trying to work your way around everything just so you can keep up with feeding the baby. It should be a fun and enjoyable thing for your family.

When did you introduce spoon and how to teach using one?

I got a set of baby spoon and fork for Ava when she was probably around 10 (?) months. I actually tried training her to use it by holding her hand with the spoon and led it to her mouth. But I found it too frustrating so what we did is just place the spoon and fork on her tray, beside her plate every time we ate. She didn't show interest in them till she turned a year old. She just grabbed the spoon one day, scooped some rice and stuffed it in her mouth. A couple of weeks later, she's already mastered it.

Tips: Babies learn a lot by just observing that's why it's important that you eat together as a family. That way, they can observe the proper ways of eating and eventually try them out on their own.

What to do if there's no support from the family?

It is very important to have everyone in your family (including Yaya) on board, especially if they take care of your baby when you're away. The most important person would be your husband. And that's what I did exactly. I was convincing myself the same time I was convincing Mr. T. Confusing? Lol. I involved Mr. T while I was still doing research about BLW. So we learned and progressed together until we both agreed that it's the way to do it. And that's all I needed.

Tips: We also had our share of side comments from both our families. Because they are so new to the idea, the initial reactions were typical - choking and managing food. These comments can affect your decision to continue with BLW because aside from your own worries, you have voices left and right telling you this and that. This is where your husband will come in. He will be your pusher. Lol. That's why it's important that he not only supports you but also understands everything in BLW. So when comments are coming in, he can also pitch in and explain things further to your family.

When you find yourself in an argument with your parents or your in-laws or other members of your family about BLW, you can take this approach. You have to understand also where they are coming from, imagine how they raised their kids years before when all these knowledge and technology weren't present yet. Best thing to do is to show them the studies, photos and videos of success BLW stories. I would advise showing them ones from our country so they'll know that it's not just a foreign thing but it's for babies in all cultures.

For me, if they don't agree, then we'll just agree to disagree. Of course there's absolutely nothing wrong with traditional weaning if that works for you. But, I also know that BLW is a better approach that's why we chose it. If my baby can start feeding herself at six months, and we don't need to go through the whole process of mashing, puréeing and spoon-feeding and then start to wean her from all of those afterwards, then what's the purpose of doing it in the first place?

These are the things that made our story a success, and that I am most proud of. I attribute a lot of Ava's milestones with BLW because it has influenced our parenting in general, we allowed her to lead the way. We just provided her with opportunities where she can practice and improve.

Before BLW, I thought feeding a baby or a toddler is always a dreadful phase in parenting. But I was wrong. It can be the total opposite. Ava just turned 20 months old, 100% baby-led fed from six months, and she's a happy little foodie already. We enjoy dining out in different places without worrying if they have baby food for her. There was never an argument between Mr. T and I on who will eat first so the other can feed Ava. Most especially at home, we enjoy our every meal together without the need to run after a toddler who does not want to eat.