Is Baby-Led Weaning a Good Idea?

I'm a pretty easy going parent. My husband is the crazy one to tell you the truth. Oh that toy dropped on the floor? Here you go, yeah that's alright put it in your mouth. Whatever!

My husband, however, is the one at the restaurant placing a burp rag over the bar holding Em in because of the "germs".  Sometimes when he does this I feel like the worst mother EVER but most time I'm just like, sure whatever. Replace it 6 times while she continuous throws it on the floor.

Honestly though, he's pretty easy going to. Maybe it's because we are young parents. Not too young but most people these days have kids later. Say 28-35 range because most want to get their ducks in a row before children. Well, to each there own, no? I knew from the time I was a kid I didn't want to be an "old" mom. 28-35 is not OLD but by that time I would have been like "I'm over it" : )

So maybe being so young is the reason I'm pretty open minded about EVERYTHING. Breastfeed? Great. Formula feed? Great. Co-sleep? Sure, why not? Crib sleep? Right there with you sister!

And if you want to do "baby-led" weaning? Go right ahead. But this is one thing that I think is so ridiculous.  I mean you'd think with how easy going on I'd have jumped right on the bandwagon... but no. Not even a little bit.

The CONCEPT was a nice idea. It was a way to stop getting pushy parents to get the baby to eat "just one more bite" but lets think about that for a minute... do we honestly believe the pushy parent is going to try this anyway??

No, I'd say it would be the more laid back parents who want to do this. And there isn't anything genuinely wrong with it except I sort of think there is.

The rant here is usually something along the lines of "The cavemen didn't have blenders! It's not a natural way to feed your child" Oh my. This argument ALWAYS kills me. Well the cavemen didn't have toothpaste either. Or indoor plumbing. Or sunscreen. STOP USING THAT RIGHT AWAY, IT'S NOT NATURAL!

Really?

I'd imagine that the cavemen would pick a banana and mash the thing up so that the little one could take a few bites. And I've read that they chewed up their meat and then fed it to the baby. Sort of like birds. So if you don't want to use a blender, well you could always do what they did.

Not for you? Eh, I didn't think so.

I love spoon feeding. I love getting up in the morning and deciding what Miss Em will eat. Some chicken? Carrots? Apples? YUM! I steam or bake or boil everything and mash or blend away. I dump the conents of it in one of her little bowls and she gobbles the whole thing right up. Opening her tiny little mouth for more. If I'm not quick enough she bangs her hands on her try. When I look up, she drops her jaw and waits.

Cutest. Thing. EVER.

Sometimes, my little Em, however begins to play before the whole thing is gone. I try a couple of time putting it in front of her to see if she wants more and she just got distracted by... whatever. She gets distracted quite a bit. Sometimes she will lean to get it and other times she glances at it and keeps playing. That's how I know she's done.

And I think it's a perfect little system.

BUT Miss Em is not exactly the norm, I don't think. She's a wonderful baby, pretty much as easy going as they come. What about those who do not EVER open their mouths for food? They want/like milk and don't want/need any yucky solids that feel unnatural in their mouth.

That's a bit more complicated I would say. You don't want to force feed them but at the same time giving them a hunk of banana and watching them squish it between their fingers is counterproductive. to me.

There is this saying going around "Foods before 1 just for fun." I think this was said too much that people actually believe it's the truth. There are many babies who can live off ONLY formula or breastmilk for a year and for that year they are JUST fine.

It's not really about the first year. It's about the upcoming ones. Every baby should be started on solids between 6-8 months. I FIRMLY believe this. Not for the nutrients. FOR THE EXPERIENCE. Afterward it isn't going to be quite as easy to get them to accept it.

Though I'm sure whatever time I decided to introduce Em to food she would have loved it.  That is sort of thing that depends on the baby.

You SHOULD let the baby lead you. That's the truth. I knew when Em was ready for solids. I was CERTAIN of it. Some babies will want the spoon feeding. Others will refuse it and will start with no problems on finger foods. But don't force either.

Focus on the baby, what he or she needs, and go from there. Don't decide at 2 months you are going to start solids at 4 with a spoon OR give cut up fruit at 8 months. The most important thing is to go with the baby.

When did you start solids? How did you do it?