Let the mess commence!

We have finally started feeding Adam solids (he is 6 1/2 months).  All these many times I have dined out with other people's kids I have been watching, asking questions and making mental notes in my head.  My goal has been "how can I help Adam not be a picky eater?" mixed with a little "how can I bypass the mush/puree phase?"

I was fully prepared to make my own baby purees.  When we set up our baby shipment for Doha we had all the necessary food stuff... spoons, little 2 oz plastic containers, mesh feeders and the like.  But the more I have been around babies that eat purees or pouch foods the more I was really turned off to the idea.  There's nothing wrong with this method of feeding, and clearly most moms go this route, but I felt it just wasn't right for me or my kiddo.  I have also spent time around toddlers and older kids that barely eat what is served them or need to be coaxed to eat or fight eating all together.  Furthermore, I've been really disappointed by the foods offered on kids' menus like grilled cheese, burgers, fries, quesadillas, etc. and have thought about how I can help create a more adventurous eater that will want to eat something besides processed stuff when eating out.  Don't get me wrong; I am not trying to deny the kiddo fun things to eat or treats, but I would love a kid that prefers eating beyond the kids' menu.  I also don't want to make two separate dinners for the next two years - I would like to be able to cook nutritious, flavorful (even spicy) meals for the whole family.

All these thoughts, plus some instruction from our pediatrician to delay solids a bit, led me to baby-led solids (aka baby led weaning/BLW in Europe).  The gist is that you bypass purees and parent-led spoon feeding in favor of age-appropriate table food - larger sticks of real food that the baby then gums/eats themselves (no teeth required).

One of the first articles I read was at Momtastic's WholesomeBabyFood site.  I then read what seems to be the bible on the subject, Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley.  I also sought out YouTube videos to see what the experience looked like (here's one of the best ones I watched).  Based on my research I thought this might be the best approach to try since Adam was already trying to swipe our table food and there seem to be many success stories of babies eating a wild variety of foods and being less picky as they grow older.  There are also other benefits, such as reduced risk of obesity, but this is not playing a factor as to why we chose this method.  I got Kev on board to at least try it to see what happens and with the go-ahead from the doc we were off and running!

We first started with sweet potatoes.  The first batch was cut a little too thin and cooked a little too long, so while we think some tasting actually occurred, this was mainly just a sensory experience for Adam to mush the new toy around (check out his "what on Earth?" expression to the right) and take some of it to his mouth.  The next two nights I went with bigger wedges and they were much easier for him to grasp and take to his mouth.  I also learned to cook once for multiple nights, as babies do not like waiting for mom to figure out how long sweet potatoes take to cook properly.  Mr. Pico is definitely enjoying the experiment as Adam is getting pretty good at flinging things on the floor (baby-led solids are initially known to be a bit messier than purees). 

After three days of sweet potatoes (advised for the introduction of any new foods to signal any food allergies) we moved on to bananas.  These become immensely slippery once eating/playing commences and after two attempts of offering them just peeled and broken into large chunks (one banana broken into thirds), I took the advice from the YouTube video and sliced them with the peel on so that there was a less slippery handle.  Success!  Adam shared half a banana with me this morning and ate nearly 2/3 of it. 

Which brings me to what your probably thinking... is he actually eating anything?  For the sweet potato I think he was taking just a bit in - probably less than a teaspoon at each feed.  For the bananas I can tell he is taking much more in.  We have already seen some sweet potato make it all the way through, if ya know what I mean, so at least something is making it down his throat.  One of the main differences between baby-led solids and purees is that with purees you know that you have fed your child one 2 oz jar, etc.  With baby-led solids, they may not take the same in as they are eating at their pace/desire.  My research advises that most feeding the first year is just experimentation anyways, and that the main nutrition source still comes from breastmilk/formula, so I am not overly concerned with how much he swallows though I am pleased to see that after five days he is getting the idea.

While I am not sure how this experiment will go in the long run, I am pleased with the results so far!  Stay tuned!

Post script...
Since posting this I have been reminded that it is entirely possible for kids to be fed purées and still turn out to be adventurous eaters of wholesome food. I've seen it in action in my nephew Jacob who downs V8 and grapefruit and Greek yogurt like a champ. I agree with my sis-in-law that exposure and parenting play a big role. I'm also sure that many kids who started on baby-led solids can survive many months solely on mac-n-cheese. Who knows what will work for us, but this is where we're starting! ;)