My 4-month old and BLW

Today our baby is 4 months and almost 2 weeks old, and we had a doctor's visit.
She is 8,100 kg and 67,4 cm tall! :) A big baby, I know. But she is not overly fat, just strong and heavy.

She can roll from her back to her belly. She chews everything that she can get, she is drooling a lot! And smiles and laughs a lot too.


The funny thing was, our doctor told us that in a couple of weeks our baby should start eating solids! 
(I was wondering if she will.. As I have heard, many family doctors do.. I wonder why? I wrote already previously, that everywhere nowadays is suggested, that babies should not start eating earlier than 6 months, also World Health Organisation says that.. I wonder about those doctors, don't they update their knowledge?)

Doctor suggested that we start with a spoonful of cauliflower puree, or squash. And in a couple of weeks start giving porridge! I was so surprised about this.. I thought they suggest porridge a lot later.. So I even asked (with no intention of doing it), what porridge then, and she said - rice (!), then millet and buckwheat. Ok, buckwheat and millet I would even understand.. But plain white rice, seriously? As you know, white rice is just pure carbs, they do not have much of any other value (It's ok to eat it, but as the first food for a baby? Don't think so. I thought the time, when they wanted babies nice and fat, is gone.) And there's more - I asked if it should be boiled in milk or water (I was sure she's going to say water, as cows milk as a possible allergen could be avoided still for some time), but no.. She said - milk, of course! Really.. I hadn't heard anyone still suggesting milk-boiled porridge in this early age.

Last week I finished reading a book - Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley. (Bērna vadīta ēšana (LV), Näputoit (EE))

Baby-led weaning (or eating, self-feeding) is actually nothing new. People have done it in all times, either really just it, or mixed together with spoon-feeding, sometimes having to hide it from their doctor and sometimes not.

What is BLW?
It's pretty simple. You don't mash or blend a puree for your child and then try to feed her with a spoon. Counting, how much has she eaten and how much should.
Baby simply sits at the the table with the rest of the family, for example, in a high-chair (BLW requires that baby would be able to sit on her own, which happens around 6-9 months) and eats, whatever family is eating and whatever baby is able to get into her mouth and eat. Nobody is monitoring, how many grams baby actually gets into her tummy, simply providing healthy and well-balanced food, that is suitable for a baby to eat. (And around 6 months baby can eat pretty much everything.) Nobody pushes baby to eat more than she wishes. No stress, no pushing, but fun.

There are some tips, of course. For example, offering food in such peaces, that are easy to grab (at first baby eats with her own hands, but around 1 year already learns to eat with a spoon and fork, not being forced to do so, but simply following, what everyone else is doing), food should be healthy, of course - even though babies can eat everything (I was a bit surprised about this, but the book said that really, it's true. You don't have to give pure pumpkin. Stew, meat, vegetables, salad, everything is ok), but they shouldn't eat salt and sugar. (And foods that contain much of it.) It would require a little adjustments of family's menu at first. But it's not so bad - add the salt only to your own food, and if baby can't exactly eat, what you're eating, then there should be some of the ingredients that can.

You don't have to worry, that baby wouldn't be eating enough. First couple of months are just for exploration and getting to know the food - taste, smell, colour, texture - and baby might not get actually much from it. But as the skills progress, as well as the wish to eat, usually around 9-10 months, baby should be eating quite well.
There is no need to worry, as breastfeeding (or bottle feeding) should be continued as before, it still provides everything that's necessary. (Breastmilk is far more rich in calories, vitamins, minerals and everything good that baby needs, than any pureed pumpkin. Or porridge.)

I like this method, because it makes sense. I heard about BLW a long time ago, and didn't become any fan at first, because I don't like playing with food, wasting food. (And BLW can seem to be that, as at first baby does use her hands, and most of the food will end up everywhere else than in the mouth.) But if you think a bit.. It's logical. It takes a bit to learn. (And the mess with a spoon-fed baby is not any smaller, I have seen it..)
It makes sense, because we do everything (or should be doing) "accordingly to the child" and "when he's ready" - we don't put them to sit or stand, or jump (here, we don't, in some a bit more Western countries, like USA, I know they do), until they are able to do it themselves. We follow the child's own timetable. Why wouldn't it be the same with eating? Why all the children should start eating at the same time, if everything else they start doing on their own time?

I'm not entirely against spoon-feeding. It also depends on a child.. I hear, some are quite happy to be fed, some again are not. As long as you respect the child, don't push to eat more than she or he wants to, it's ok, I guess..
It's just not necessary. Baby can eat as well on her own. And it's a learning process. Baby wants to learn, to touch and try, on her own. To test everything and repeat, what we are doing. But on her own! When given peaces, they learn about food, what is what, how does it taste. With puree, they pretty much have no control and no knowledge of what they are given.

I could write long and a lot about this. But I guess, if someone is interested, the internet is full. There are some concerns people have, like choking, but there are also answers to those concerns - if baby is sitting up straight, and is let to explore peaces of food on his own, then he will not choke. Exactly the opposite - will learn to control the peaces in his mouth, move them around and swallow, for example.

So after reading more about this, I'm determined to try this BLW. We'll see, how it goes, and there probably will be a lot of funny stories and pictures :) of our adventure to come, but first we have to wait until she sits. Which still could be months.
So as for our doctor's suggestion.. No thanks, we will wait still a bit. :)

P.S. She has gotten a peace of bread twice already! To lick, mostly. :) She liked it, but more as any other thing she can get into her mouth. (I took it away once it seemed she is really going to eat it.. It's a bit early.) But for some reason I think she will be a good eater.. ;)

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