baby-led weaning

practicing with her sippy cup

hi my name is jaclyn and i'm a food addict. yeah, that's true. i do not have a healthy relationship with food. i'm working on it though.  i guess you could say i'm a stress eater.  most days i eat reasonably healthy, but when i'm anxious or stressed i eat more and i eat more junk. i also eat when i'm bored. yeah, that's dumb.  jonathon doesn't really "use" food like i do, but he doesn't have the best relationship with food either as his tastes are mostly for unhealthy things.

we've talked a lot about this and we hope for more for promise.  we are both making an effort to have a healthier attitude and lifestyle concerning food and are trying to set a good example for her.  i've done a lot of research about babies and solid foods. i've read about developing healthy habits, teaching children to make good choices (because lets face it, i only get to chose for her for a very little while), developing tastes for healthy foods, and statistics out the wazoo.

i heard about baby-led weaning on the babywise google group i belong to. it has nothing to do with babywise at all, but several of the moms there were using it and it sounded interesting to me so i bought the book.

"sweet potatoes are my favorite!"

the premise is that babies don't need anything other than breast milk for the first 6 months (this was my plan anyway, so no changes there).  then, you let them feed themselves rather than spoon feeding which allows them to choose for themselves what and how much to eat. Its supposed to be more natural.  i think if i listened to my body to tell me what i need (rather than my tastebuds and hormones) i would have a much healthier diet.  so, babies instinctively know what they need and are able to develop healthy patterns and tastes based on those instincts.  it also gives them good learning opportunities to be able to explore texture, color, taste, etc.

not too sure about this avocado

okay, so whether or not these things are true, i love baby-led weaning. here's why:

• there's no fight. i don't force her to eat any certain amount or anything she doesn't want.  
• its easy - i cook healthy foods and offer promise whatever we are eating (within reason).  if i cook chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes - i offer promise chicken, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.  
• and my FAVORITE thing - she eats meals with us. i love family dinner!  i love that i don't have to feed her early and put her to bed (at least not every night) or spoon feed her while my food gets cold. and i love that she is an active participant  in these family events.

tastes like chicken!

what i don't like - ITS A MESS! and it takes a long time. i usually cut it off around 30 minutes if she's not done.  we are, of course, on a schedule. haha. 

so far its going really well. promise really enjoys eating.  she tries everything i give her, but she definitely has preferences.  among her favorites are sweet potatoes, asparagus, humus, and PEARS! that girl loves pears!  the only thing she seems not to like is broccoli - which is a shame because its the only veggie jonathon does like.  but i keep offering it to her, we'll see what happens.

how am i supposed to eat this thing? 

she also really likes oatmeal, but i am not willing to deal with the mess of letting her eat oatmeal by hand. gross! so i usually dip the spoon and hand it to her. its still messy, but not as bad.  (if i'm in a hurry i either spoon feed her or just to fruit for breakfast). for lunch i usually have some roasted veggies on hand to go with fruit  or cut up salad veggies (i usually eat salad for lunch) and sometimes humus on toast or an egg, then for dinner she has what we're having.  

in the end, i know the best thing we can do for her is set a good example - and that is definitely our goal! wish us luck!