When babyA was inside me getting nurtured, I did a complete plan of how I should work on, with the growth of babyA. I was mocked, teased a lot for being called an Internet mom but they all forget that this technique which I am practising was followed centuries back before the finding of the mixer, mashers, diapers, etc. I am happy for being called so as I wanted my baby to be given a space to explore and come up with a solution for this. One such practical plan was to do baby led weaning and I am very happy that I achieved this for sure with the support from my hubby and my parents.
With too much of mocking around I took a privilege of exclusive breastfeeding till 6+ months and then when I felt she was able to sit unassisted planned for solids. Her first baby led weaning meal was long slices of banana. Easy to chew for a toothless baby and full of healthy fats. I didn’t want to give her pureed food at all. And now in the 14 months mark we eat everything and anything the family eats with almighty’s grace. In this blog, I will be answering all the questions based on my findings in shaa Allah!!
What can be given as a first food when we plan for solids??
I chose banana as I felt it’s easy to chew and full of healthy fat. Apples and pears can be given either in a grated form or steamed form. I preferred grated as I felt it’s easy for her as well as me. We also had chicken, fish, scrambled eggs. Strawberries, grapes all to be sliced and given as these all have choking hazards. Raw banana fry, plantains, banana flowers, curd, dosas, idlis, chappathis, pancakes, paniyarams what not but everything cut into small pieces.
When you offer the food the babies won’t accept on day 1. They will play and enjoy with the food. It took 8 good days for alizeh to eat the food on her own, without anyone helping her. I usually give her space and time to explore with the food and once she skips I make sure I breastfeed her. Before you introduce the solid it is suggested to nurse them 30 minutes to 45 minutes before giving solids as the babies won’t try new food if they are hungry.
We have been cooking special for babies till they are 3! Should we cook special??
When they see babyA eat the family food which we eat I get judged easily by peer moms. Babies should be given special food till a certain age. And it’s an art to cook special food for the babies. You don’t have patience to up bring your child. You are making the baby starve by not cooking special food.
No I don’t make my baby starve by following the baby led weaning. I don’t stress myself for making her to eat. I have given her the freedom to explore and eat the way she likes. Usually babies know what to eat and how to eat and how much to eat. Till 1 year it’s advisable not to add salt and sugar. I followed the minus sugar concept but didn’t follow the minus salt concept as babyA knew the difference between the salt version and non-salt version of the food and also 40 mg of sodium intake can be given on a whole so made sure we used less salt in our diet. Everything was taken in moderation except the sugar. I didn’t stress myself to give pureed food as there wasn’t necessary in my case. Thanks to almighty.
She knows to chew the food which is main thing and with almighty’s grace we have succeeded the art of eating. Al hamdulilah
Is it messy always??
The answer is Yes in my case. Baby A in the age of 14 months I can expect only a messy eater. I cannot expect a disciplined one in this 14 months and expecting that is too much as she is a baby still. They are bound to be messy one. Only when we go out I feel embarrassed at times but we enjoy that too! What we do is keep a paper below her chair so it’s easy to clean up the mess. But luckily the hotel management has supported us to clean the mess on own but my hubby helps me in cleaning it up.
How to know if my baby is ready for solids?
Food before 1 is for Fun. This is the theory which I followed. Whatever she eats I supplement with the breastmilk after her solid intake. Now let us look into the answer for the question
- WAIT till the baby sists unassisted.
- Wait till baby reaches 6 months of age.
- Check if baby has lost the tonge-thrust reflex.
- Baby should have developed the longer grasp.
If the above stuffs have been achieved then your baby is ready for the solid introduction in shaa Allah
How to know if your baby has completed their meal?
As said earlier babies know how much to eat. Forcing them to complete the meal makes the kid to hate the food and create an aversion towards it. Allow them to eat how much ever they want to eat. Once they complete their meal they will get ready to play with the food. Just make sure a balanced meal is been offered for the baby.
Don’t ever compare your baby with the peer baby which in turn gives you as well as the baby pressure. Give adequate amount of water as per the suggestions from the WHO.
If you have any suggestions or any questions please do leave a comment here or mail us at salma.mehajabeen@gmail.com
If you like this post please do share.
Oh u hv writteh this post so well ….n i feel so mch connectted to it….I too never make some spcl food fr him except porridge ….
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It’s good for not making special food right?? More baby time more family time😍🤗
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This is an awesome write-up, many new moms will benefit from it. Weaning is always a topic of concern especially with FTM and the details you have shared are perfectly on-point. Thanks for writing this!
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That’s so great of you to compliment 😍
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I have never thought how BLW could be so significant for children. Very well written and informative!
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Thanks
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Lovely write up about Baby Led Weaning. We too followed this route and at 18 months I have to thank this way of weaning for making life easier for us in the feeding department. I see a lot of misconceptions and fear mongering on the internet about Baby Led Weaning. But now research too highlights that neither does Baby Led Weaning cause more choking than Traditional Weaning and neither is it proved anywhere that Baby Led weaning causes kids to be mal-nourished. So rest assured you are not starving your child. All toddlers go through phases of disliking certain foods, in-fact a hands free approach on behalf of parents paired with consistency in offering foods helps them overcome picky eating. I feel dis-hearted as a mom that the internet debate revolves around traditional v/s baby led, when the focus clearly needs to be on offering balanced and nutritious diet to little ones and fostering positive environment around food.Thank you for touching these topics. continue with your great work mama.
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Thanks and it is really great to see we have like minded people in our journey!!
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wonderful to know more and more natural mamas. We too followed BLW and irrespective of the mess it was very helpful
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🌸😍
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So glad BLW worked for you. I’ve opted for the combination approach and I hope it suits us
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It will suit you for sure
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Quite an informative post. We too started off with bananas and followed a 3 day rule. Food time mess is a normal scene at my place, everyday.
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Glad to hear
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You penned it down very nicely,even I’m following all this things…
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Happy to know a fellow mom who likes to practise it
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We didn’t follow baby-led weaning but we followed certain principles in order to transition our baby to family food by 9 months and self feed by 1 year. Though I know a lot of moms who swear by BLW too.
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I have always started with the independent eating for my kids and BLW has really helped them to touch, explore and feed themselves.
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Exactly it helps them to explore
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I ignored a lot of what you have mentioned in your post with my first baby, but have been following the baby led weaning technique to the T with my second one. And guess what ? It works! A very well described post.
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Thanks
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Very detailed and clearly explained. Quite useful information for new moms. Messy is good with kids while exploring food.
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True
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I believe this is one of the biggest challenge for any new mom, your post here mentions very aptly what need to be done to plan nutrition for the baby dear.
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Thank you for the appreciation
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I also started with Banana and as soon as she turned 8 months old, we started giving her food that we used to eat. It helped us a lot.
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Glad we are able to see many like minded moms
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My son also eats normal ghar ka khana. I never did any special cooking for him. Now he is 3 and eats veggies without a fuss. He has not started yet junk food or sugary drinks. We focused on making him eat with us and in regular interval. Now he eats by his own and this is such a peace to see him eating well.
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Yeah a mom will be happy if our kid eats healthy stuff
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Very well written post and yes patience is what is required and I feel you are exhibiting a lot of it!
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Thanks
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The best tip is not comparing your kids with others. This is a helpful post for new moms and expecting moms.
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That is one cute baby! I love reading about motherhood, although I’m not a mom. I hope to be insha’Allah and this gives me a bit of a ‘preview’. Love the posts. Keep it up 🙂
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Thank you
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In shaa allah allah will fulfil your wish
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Nice post.Me too started with banana.I have further used to given oats,semolina and mashed potatoes.
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This post is very detailed and great for new mums. This is the first time I have heard of this weaning process.
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Glad to know that I’m helpful
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Love this post, will be sharing it with my friends who are new mums. This will be so helpful to them. (www.beautywithzainy.com and http://www.spicyfusionkitchen.com)
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Jazak allah khair sister
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Some good tips! I did puree food like sweet potatoes, carrots etc at the start and that method worked for us, although I guess we did do a bit of baby led too as she would pretty much help herself to whatever we were having at times.
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Glad to know
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This is useful post for many…Here in India we start with rice and lentil light porridge
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Even I’m Indian and I started my baby led weaning only in India. I have just stated why this is advantageous sister compared to the traditional method.
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Such amazing tips! I agree, it’s important not to compare them with other kids because they’re all different.
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Honestly, I’ve never heard of led-weaning before and I actually did my research after reading your post. It’s amazing how much effort mothers put behind their child’s life from deciding what they should eat to how they should eat. It does sound like a very friendly way to get babies introduced to the solid food. Thanks for adding something more to my list of learning new things lol.
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