- Motherhood Melbourne
Everything you need to know about baby led weaning
Baby led weaning is one of those phrases that appears out of nowhere the moment you start to consider starting solids. Of course, as soon as it pops up you instantly start trawling the internet to find out what it's all about. Skip the endless scrolls because Boss Mama – Renae from grubeze has kindly broken it down for you in this post. Renae gives you the lowdown on what this practice is, the benefits and great examples of foods. She also shares how baby led weaning inspired her business grubeze – the revolutionary full body onesie that offers waterproof coverage to protect your little grubber's clothing during messy meal times. FRIGGEN GENIUS!
HOOD MAMA SPECIAL – $20 off a grubeze full body feeding suit. Join the hood to grab the code. Valid until 31st December 2017.
Written by Renae Carolan – Boss Mama of grubeze
What is baby led weaning (BLW)
There’s a lot of buzz around BLW and the practice is gaining increasing popularity among new mamas. So, what exactly is BLW? Basically, it’s jumping straight into offering appropriate soft solid foods and skipping the spoon-feeding puree and mashes phase. BLW is suitable from six months of age.
As a single mama, I freely admit my decision to introduce my bub to BLW was not one made of conscious parenting more so it was out of pure necessity. Hell, I didn’t even know I was doing BLW or what it even was until another mama pointed it out.
It all started with a simple teething rusk. I figured if she could pick that up and put it in her own mouth and gnaw away on it then she could probably manage some steamed veges, soft fruits and meat too. I’m all for multi-tasking and I found the time it took to prepare purees and sit and spoon feed my little grubber for each meal could be spent more efficiently cleaning the kitchen or knocking off some other domestic chore nearby while she fed herself. Winning!
I’m not against purees and mashes by any stretch, they definitely have their place when transitioning to more solid foods from breast milk or formula but they’re a one trick pony when it comes to offering a variety of textures to your bub. BLW allows your bub to discover a wide range of foods, flavours and textures and encourages them to self-feed.
Benefits of BLW
There are many benefits associated with BLW and you’ll be doing your bub a huge favour by introducing foods using this method. BLW provides an early foundation for establishing good eating habits and aids their development in the following ways:
– Fine tunes motor skills – Manual dexterity (pincer grip) – Hand eye coordination (bringing food to the mouth) – Chewing and swallowing – Less likely to reject lumpy foods or be a fussy eater down the track – Bub is in control of what they eat and how much allowing the maturation process to occur more naturally – Exploration and play making food and eating fun Signs your bub is ready for BLW – Sits upright and unassisted – Shows interest in what you’re eating – Gestures their interest in trying what you’re eating – Holds mouth open and mimics eating behaviour – Tongue poke reflex is gone (being able to transfer food from the front of the tongue to the back and swallowing)
Great BLW foods
Babies are drawn to bright foods so steamed vegetables and soft fruits are the perfect finger foods to start your BLW journey. Always supervise your bub when BLW and try to offer as many nutrient rich foods as possible. Other foods perfect for BLW include but are not limited to:
– Soft meats cut into small pieces or minced – Fish (low mercury) – Tofu – Pasta – Soft bread and toast – Cheese and yoghurt – Soft boiled egg roughly mashe
BLW is messy
There’s no getting around the fact BLW is messy business. Eating is a skill that needs to be learned and exploration of food – how it feels, tastes and the texture – is an integral part of the learning experience. You can expect the BLW process to be slow and most definitely messy. There will be food all over the high chair, on the floor, and the worst – all over their clothing!
My little grubber and I both loved BLW but I absolutely hated the mess that came with it. Traditional bibs and smocks didn’t stand a chance against a bub with a bowl of Bolognese mince and I found myself cursing the constant clothing changes and loads of soaking laundry – after all BLW was supposed to save me some time, right?
I searched high and low for a full body bib that would 100 per cent protect my little grubber’s clothing during messy meal times and they just didn’t exist. When I couldn’t find it that’s when I knew I was on to something and I thought, ‘I’ll just make it myself’ and so grubeze was born. Nicknamed the baby hazmat, grubeze unique waterproof full body coverage design offers complete protection against liquid spills and stains. The anxiety and stress associated with the mess of BLW is reduced and while you’ll still have a dirty floor and high chair to take care of you can confidently encourage independent eating knowing at the end of the meal there’s not going to be ruined clothing or need for a change.
Mamas who have used grubeze reported more often than not their bub wore the same outfit all day and any clothing changes weren’t related to feeding. Also, grubeze became a feeding association for non-verbal bubs, handing it to mum to let them know they were hungry. How awesome is that?
ABOUT GRUBEZE
The revolutionary boilersuit, onesie, design offers full body, waterproof coverage to protect little grubber's clothing during messy meal times. Encourage baby led weaning and self-feeding without the mess and stress. No more wet and grubby sleeves, legs, laps and bums and no more stained clothes.
Biz owner: Renae Carolan – Boss Mama
Fav café: I don’t have one because I don’t drink coffee
Coffee order: see above. LOL!
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