The BLW baby who has to lead the weaning (non-staple food method)

The first time I heard about BLW from a nanny who came to apply, I mistakenly thought it was cutting food into block shapes or something @@. Only later did I know that these three English letters represent Baby-led weaning "baby-led weaning", an emerging method of eating non-staple food. The emphasis is on "baby-led" feeding, not passive feeding. Internet search still did not know why, I found a relevant book on Audible to listen to-----

"Born to eat" https://www.amazon.com/Born-Eat-Whole-Healthy-Baby's/dp/1510719997 is the experience and advice of two nutritionists practicing BLW. They believe that for thousands of years, human beings have fed their babies with whole food, and puree is only the product of nearly 100 years; therefore, they strongly advocate BLW, allowing babies to decide what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat. The BLW method of how much to eat. In addition to baby food, they also speak out against Americans' eating disorders (fast food, excessive sugar and calories, microwave food, not paying attention to vegetables and fruits, etc.), and persuade parents to buy natural ingredients for home cooking Food, and get the baby to eat at the same time, the whole family takes care of the healthy diet.

After I listened to it, I didn't think this book was very suitable for Taiwan - they didn't know that the Chinese used rice soup (called dark in Taiwanese) to feed their babies for thousands of years! In addition, the BLW ingredients mentioned in it are not easy to obtain in Taiwan: oyster pear, whole cheese, steak, etc. My experience is: BLW is a convenient way of feeding that can be tried, but it is not a belief, and it is not necessary to completely reject the food puree thousands of miles away. Among the desirable focuses are increasing "baby dominance" and "reducing force-feeding". The implementation of BLW has the following key points:

1. You have to wait until your baby can sit up straight and reach for your food before he's ready for BLW.

2. To correctly distinguish gaging (gagging reflex) & chocking (chocking): When the baby starts to grab food and swallow it, he often appears gaging (gagging reflex), which is like vomiting. This is not choking, but a kind of body reflex. It will automatically spit out large pieces of food. In a real choking situation, the baby is unable to make sounds or movements, and must perform " Baby Foreign Body Choking First Aid ". It is recommended that parents, caregivers, etc. all learn first and be prepared.

3. The focus of BLW is to experience food and learn to eat. There is not much food actually eaten, and of course it cannot ensure adequate nutrition. It is necessary to keep supplementing breast milk/formula. In fact, both paediatricians and WHO recommend that the main source of nutrition for babies before the age of one is breast milk/formula, and that all non-staple foods should not be replaced.

It may be that when I was a child, I was often chased by my mother to feed and forced to finish it! When I saw BLW related videos on the Internet - mothers don't have to chase children with spoons, children don't have to be forced to eat them all, babies eat food whole, greasy hands and mouths full, I think it's super free and awesome ! During the Women's and Children's Show, mothers and friends of the same age were looking at the non-staple food ice cubes, and I looked directly at the silicone dinner plates, and I couldn't wait for them to start eating by themselves. After four months of Doudoukai, they are often carried to the table to accompany us to eat, and observe whether they have any interest in adult food? The answer is no.... Until 5M4d tasted the first apple in life, they didn't seem to know that what we adults were eating was food! ? The previous nanny was more old-fashioned and kept persuading me to wait six months before starting non-staple food. We also endured the milk-weary period and used various tricks such as sleeping and feeding to force milk. However, after biting the apple, Doudoukaikai couldn’t go back. If I had something to do, I would cut the apples and guava into thick semi-circles and poke a hole in the middle with a stainless steel straw to let them hold and suck. Once I fry a thin dice steak, I want to say that I should just let the children suck it directly, make the dice steak into a beef patty!

5M20d started feeding them pureed food, and they encountered a bottleneck in less than a month! At this time, Doudoukaikai can already sit upright on the high chair. The faster-growing Doudou is often uncomfortable when fed with puree, and his hands keep grabbing the spoon, screaming and waving, and refuses to cooperate with feeding; He stopped protesting when I grabbed his hand and put the spoon in his mouth. In an instant, the "dominant" weaning of the BLW baby flashed through my mind again - Doudou may want to eat by himself or not be fed!

Therefore, I increase the frequency of letting them grab their own food. Apples, guava, winter melon, sweet persimmon, carrots, cauliflower, etc., as long as the texture is slightly harder, I try to let them eat by themselves, and then make up the food puree after eating. Doudou with two teeth often bites off the food. At first, I would be very nervous and reach in to dig out the food pieces. Not only did Doudou get startled, he also bit my hand! ! After slowly observing, in fact, he can swallow small pieces of food; if it is too big to swallow, he will vomit and spit it out directly. Later, I found out that this is called the gag reflex , which is a reflex action that prevents food from entering the trachea and protects the baby from choking. However, the act of vomiting is too scary for dads and grandmas. They will read me a few words and say that it is very dangerous. What should I do if my child chokes? At first, I was skeptical, but after observing the gag reflex of Doudoukaikai many times, I felt that I could relax and quietly observe them eating. This is the same as sleeping on the stomach three months ago. There are many advantages and only one disadvantage, so adults should keep an eye on them all the time and never leave!

At 7M9d, the greedy mother couldn't help but add more, and put 8 kinds of ingredients including broccoli, carrots, asparagus, green beans, bananas, bamboo shoots, avocados, chicken breasts, etc., all of which could not fit on the plate. When Doudou came to the table, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't wait to grab it and eat it (I don't know whether he liked it or just grabbed it casually), biting, gnawing, and sucking one after another, and the whole meal instantly became a game - the baby grabs different ingredients, borrows This trains the sense of touch, taste, mouth-eye coordination, etc. There are a lot of things, and the baby eats and plays with a lot of energy. After eating (losing) the whole plate today, Doudou no longer shouts like before that the food (play) is not enough. When it is opened, it is very tired to fall asleep, and there is no need to supplement the food puree. After taking a bath and supplementing the milk, I fell asleep immediately.

Another benefit of BLW that I admire most is that twin families can finally eat together! From the time of birth until now, feeding the baby has been a major task. Otherwise, the caregiver has to feed the baby first and then cook and eat. Otherwise, it is hard to relax and relax. Have a meal. When feeding the puree, two people have to serve the twins with two spoons, otherwise the elder brother/brother will scream and get angry because he didn't eat. If BLW is performed, the adults will cook their food while they are cooking, put the baby in the painting clothes, bring the dining chair closer to the large dining table, put the food into their sucker plate, and the whole family can start eating together! Mom watched while eating, paying attention to whether they choked, and occasionally needed to help them grab food, but it wouldn't interrupt the adults' meal. The platter that the baby is sure to eat is so messed up that it can even get on its head! Turns into avocado head, tomato head, banana head. As long as we relax about the mess and watch the baby carefully, BLW becomes a super fun grab-and-go – watching them grab an ingredient with curiosity, gobble it up, open it and savor it carefully; wrinkle when it tastes a new taste I raised my brows, and my expression relaxed when I ate the familiar taste. Mom, I really love watching this drama! After the baby has eaten, his hands, mouths, and heads are full of food. After taking the baby to bathe and breastfeed, he will clean up the unbearable dining chair and floor.

On the Internet, BLW ingredients are suggested to be broccoli, carrots, avocados, bananas, sweet potatoes, potatoes, etc., but later I found that as long as the length is long enough for the baby to grasp, it can be, if there are no roots, broccoli, cauliflower, corn Bamboo shoots, green beans, asparagus, green vegetables and other leafy vegetables are good. Avocado is the number one ingredient in BLW abroad, but Taiwanese avocados are softer, and babies will turn into avocado sauce when they pinch them. I try to buy organic ingredients or ingredients directly delivered by small farmers. After steaming them in an electric pot, the flavor is strong, and I think they are delicious. I hope the babies will remember the original flavor of these foods.