Why Baby Led Weaning is So Good for Babies and their Parents
What is Baby Led Weaning?
Baby Led Weaning is a method of introducing baby to solid foods in a way that honors a baby’s own hunger and fullness cues. Weaning in this case, does not mean to stop breastfeeding or bottle feeding, but to introduce complementary solid foods to your baby. It involves the introduction of solid foods after 6 months and when your baby shows all signs of readiness. With BLW, we trust and allow babies to feed themselves. We start with large, soft pieces of food that the baby can grasp in the palm of their hand. We eat these foods together as a family.
What are the benefits of Baby Led Weaning?
Babies learn to self-regulate their food intake. This has long-lasting effects. Learning to honor one’s own hunger and fullness cues as a baby can create a life-long optimal relationship with food. Many adults have lost the ability to recognize and honor their own hunger and fullness cues. That is the root cause of many nutrition related illnesses. Allowing your baby / toddlers / preschoolers to self feed and autoregulate their own bodies is a lifelong gift to your child.
Baby led weaning means family meals from the start. Your baby watches you eat and mimics your behavior. They watch your movements and your facial expressions to learn how to eat. They get used to eating the same foods from the rest of the family. This can help prevent “short order” cooking or making a separate meal for your kid as they get older.
It creates adventurous eating! Kids are less likely to be picky eaters as toddlers and on. It is a full sensory experience with multitudes of flavors and textures before the age of one. The more variety your baby is exposed to, the more likely they will eat adventurously! The data tells us this is a key to prevent picky eating later.
Infants and toddlers have pleasant eating experiences when they can feed themselves and there is no pressure to eat a certain amount of food. They actually eat more when they feed themselves. They have positive meal experiences that help form healthy relationships with food.
Baby Led Weaning is a great way to meet your baby’s nutrient needs. Baby’s do need some additional nutrients from solid foods after 6 months. Iron is one of those nutrients. It is an essential nutrient for infant brain development. Blood stores of iron drop around 6 months. There are a variety of iron rich foods that can be introduced with Baby Led Weaning that will keep those brains growing in an optimal way.
To learn more about Baby Led Weaning watch my course : Baby Led Weaning and Responsive Feeding. Learn more about the benefits, how to safely get started, how to meet baby’s nutrient needs from 6 months on. Also learn how normal developmental behaviors impact infant/toddler meal times and how you can work with these behaviors to improve meal time.
If you would like to schedule an in person infant feeding / baby led weaning consult, contact Georgina Lile, RD, LD, IBCLC at glile@nourishwell.online.
GEORGINA LILE IS AN IN-NETWORK PROVIDER FOR AETNA
Many Aetna plans cover up to 6 visits with a lactation consultant if you need support with breastfeeding or a prenatal breastfeeding class; with no out-of-pocket cost to you.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Aetna is covering virtual lactation care from an in-network provider like myself at no cost to you.
She also accepts some Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna and United Plans through Lactation Network. Coverage varies