Baby-led Weaning with #Chubbycheekschu

When Adriel turned about 6 months old, it was time for him to be introduced to food. I chose baby led weaning for many reasons and we started when he turned 6 months old (corrected age). He was born about 3 weeks early. 

The beauty of baby led weaning enables a child to learn to chew before swallowing as opposed to traditional weaning of purees which teaches a child to swallow. It promotes exploration and encourages a child to eat till they are full. Sure it looks scary, fancy a 6 month old child biting chunks of food! SOLID FOOD! A child is encouraged to eat what the parents eat. Parents model eating habits for the baby. As such, it is also a good opportunity for parents to eat healthily. 

Gagging and choking are the scariest part of BLW. Adriel gagged a fair bit in the initial stages. It's been 2 weeks but he's not exactly eating yet. He nibbles, sucks and plays around with the texture of the food but does not consume much (yet!). 

With BLW, I aim to have him learn to be independent. I do not want him to be fed while watching programmes on an electronic gadget (sorry to parents who do!) or having to force feed him. As it is, feeding him milk showed the hubby and I how he hates to be forced. He even refused milk for a good period after we force fed him post op. The last thing I want is for him to be forced fed. 

This excited mama got a lot of stuff for our BLW journey! 

We started with breakfast on a Sunday morning. Steamed Japanese pumpkin, sweet potato and broccoli. 

Food for this introductory stage is generally cut into finger sized pieces, easy to grab and should be soft enough to be mashed when held between fingers. 

Our food vs his.

Food allergies can occur at any point of time. Even to something you have eaten for years. With that, I did not stick to the 1 food item 3 day rule. Of course, I observe and watch out for signs of sensitivity and allergy to food. 

This was our very first meal! He gagged. Gosh, were we frightened. Adriel did work it out though, he spat out the large chunk he took.. along with some milk XD But it was all good. 

Pretty messy affair!

That night, he figured out that he could get food! He got some cucumber (washed in hot water) while we had dinner at Putien.

I try to cook as healthily as possible. No processed food. No additional salt. No additional sugar. This lil' fella is a good supervisor! 

He likes bell peppers. This was stir fried pasta.

He had baby teethers!

The gagging for this was scary!

We had BLW lunch (I prepped from home) when we met my sis.

I had fun digging out all my lunchboxes to play!

As the days passed, he showed more interest in food. And had fun even though he didn't actually consume much. Here he is with wholemeal bread.

Pumpkin!

His favourite broccoli! 

And it shows! He would usually refused his meds and force feeding him meds was one of the most dreaded tasks of all. He snatched my syringe and attempted to feed himself meds! I am so proud of my lil' boy. 

Not everything tickles his fancy. Avocado were not really his thing.

He did enjoy beef a lot. LIKE A LOT. I grilled it till it was well done and he sucked on the juices. It was the longest I've seen him feed on a food item! 

Bananas, he likes them! 

  

Baked potatoes at Lenas!

Grillled veg! 

He just likes his beef.

Got this knife from Amazon to help texture some of his food so that it is easier for him to grip them!

Eating at Miam Miam, impressing his yeye and ah ma! 

He is on task most of the time.. but at times, he gets distracted! Like grabbing my chair..

We had fun at Swensens! 

He liked mashed potatoes! I dabbed some on his fingers and he licked them.

We made quite a mess! Of course, I clean up! 

NOMSSSS.

He really liked his steamed chicken! 

I cannot wait till he actually starts eating XD though the exploratory stage can take a while. I'm just glad to be eating healthier cos of him. 

Here are some of his meals so far.

A couple of things to note when it comes to BLW.

Babies under the age of 1 SHOULD NOT be given honey due to the possibility of botulism.  There should be minimal salt & sugar. Otherwise, the concept is that they pretty much eat what we eat! 

Will update again!