Keeping Your BLWer Happy and Healthy (And Yourself Sane)

Nobody said BLW wouldn't be messy, but it is fun!

One of the choices we made about bringing up our babies was to go down the route of baby led weaning. After doing our research, it just seemed like the most natural progression. We were really lucky in that the transition was smooth and fairly effortless, with no hitches or "emergency" style moments.


Both our kids loved the change to solid foods and they got to try a wide variety of foodstuffs - we were always amazed just how much they could manage to chew on with those hard little gums! Having said all of this, we did learn a few things along the way which might help others intending to do BLW with their own babies.

1. Try not to give your baby bread. We didn't learn about this until just before no. 2 popped out, but we had long suspected that boy Earthly was having problems digesting wheat and/or gluten. It is also addictive! Much like adults, we found our babies would far rather have bread/toast than any of the healthier options on their plate. 

2. If your babies are impatient, make life easier for yourself and get into the habit of preparing snacks or meals for them while they're asleep. I know it's easier said than done, but the number of times we've ended up shoving something in front of them that was less than perfect just to get a bit of peace for 5 mins whilst we tried to get something decent together, are too numerous to mention! If you also have some easy, healthy snacks in such as dried fruit that they can chew/suck on whilst they wait (rather than gulp down!), that will save your sanity somewhat. 

3. I know other BLWers who have also given purees alongside solids simply to keep up the nutrient levels, and I must say this is something I worried about a bit with BLW, because after the initial excitement of trying lots of new things, both our babies went through a really fussy stage where they refused lots of veg and would only eat very select fruit. We didn't go down the route of purees, but instead made pasta sauces, smoothies, yoghurts, home-made spreads, pestos and bean patés etc - all of which they LOVED. 

4. When they get to the toddler stage, start making their meals more fun! We agonised for ages with our 18 month old because he'd become so fussy and would pretty much only eat brown or beige food! Then one day we went out for lunch where he had a mezze platter (baby sized!) to himself. He adored it, because he had lots of little pots and trays of things to play with, bits that he could dip and dunk and mix altogether. It really is important at this stage that they are allowed to have fun when eating as this promotes a positive association with food. If they don't eat much of what's there, that really doesn't matter - as long as they're not still screaming for food afterwards of course! 

5. If your babies are anything like ours, there will come a time when their confidence with eating solids lets them get ahead of themselves, and they will start swallowing larger lumps rather than bothering to chew them properly. The worst culprits (we found) are things like grapes and sultanas - they slide down pretty easily in chunks, and the flesh is also harder to 'chew' with little gums. However, we also found boy Earthly was notorious for eating oats in the same way - and undigested oats are not nice in a nappy! It is just a stage that should pass, though you are likely to get a few sore tummies for a while. You could omit the most culpable foods, or simply chop or mince them up first.

Our kids absolutely thrived on BLW and of course it had enormous benefits for us as well - it meant we could all eat together without one of us having to stand and feed the baby whilst our own food went cold - unless of course they were getting something ultra messy (we had some boundaries!!).

Goodbye Baby, Hello Person

So that's it. My baby is already growing up. Not yet 6 months and she has discovered the wayward delectations of crispy apple, slurpily juicy watermelon, and pleasingly baby-mouth-sized grapes. Despite doing baby led weaning with our first, my heart was literally in my mouth earlier this evening as I watched her contentedly suck all the lovely goodness out of half-grapes, one after the other.


And despite my joy, my pride, at her accomplishments, her progression, part of me feels just a little teary. That's my baby... it still feels like she was only born a few weeks ago and suddenly she is eating solids! And with such quiet confidence too. One day a few weeks ago she was starting to grab at objects, and for the last week she has been practising bringing foodstuffs to her mouth for exploration, and in the last few days she has decided that actually this stuff is darned tasty and yes please I'l add that to my daily ration of motherly milk. All without the slightest hint of surprise or melodrama. 


I don't actually remember what the transition was like with baby Earthly no. 1. Maybe because he was our first everything seemed to take longer, or maybe it just did. In retrospect it feels like we gave him little sticks of things for months before he actually started realising this stuff was food, and therefore edible. But maybe not. The way he eats now you'd think he was born on solids.


Oh baby how I shall miss thee! Despite everything - the wriggles, the pinching and nipping and pummelling and kicking, the lack of bed space and being stuck for hours at a time virtually completely immobile and helpless, not to mention the endless fatigue - I am already missing in anticipation the closeness and comfortable regularity of full-on breastfeeding. And there's that thought, that really tugs on my heartstrings, that now, she is no longer just made of me... she is taking on foreign substances. She is slowly becoming independent, and her own person.


Eek!

Buried in Books Monday

Well it's that time again! Littlest Earthly is 5 months old and rapidly going through the associated changes. So to my trusty bookshelf I turn and pick off the following (with the slightest of sighs):


First up: The No-Cry Sleep Solution. After being the most miraculous of baby sleepers from day one, a couple of months ago baby Earthly no. 2 turned into the sleeper from hell. At the time I blamed a growth spurt and teething; now I'm just cross (and sleep deprived). Pantley's suggestions did nothing for our first, but then (as we know now) he was exceptional. We had higher hopes for no. 2 and I feel disappointed that I've been forced to leaf through this again. Having said all that, I'm still not convinced this is the solution for us. While Pantley's tenets are great in theory, and obviously for all of the test cases she talks of, they just don't seem to work that well on our kids. From the start we've been able to put littlest Earthly down at night, straight into her hammock whilst sleepy but not sleeping. Now she will have none of it. Every night is torture, and for no apparent reason. She just refuses, point blank, and the only way she will go is if we (painfully, finally) have her fully asleep first before depositing her to beddy-byes. She has a routine (and always has), she's well fed (believe me!) during the day, she has a comfy and cosy bed, an early bedtime (when she goes), she naps (though erratically - like her brother she won't go down at any kind of routine time for a nap) and she is used to self-comforting and falling asleep in different ways. I've tried a 'lovey' but to no avail. She's too young to be weaned off night feeds altogether, but I could certainly do with the frequency being diminished!


For now I'm happy to keep trying with the Pantley techniques, as they make sense and baby's current clinginess may pass naturally enough to make things easier. Fingers crossed...



Baby Earthly no. 2 is (as I write) sitting in her brother's high chair and happily grabbing at anything within reach to shove greedily into her mouth. So, it's almost time for solids then... Step in Baby-led Weaning. This book was super helpful in weaning boy Earthly and contains all you need to know and more about the philosophy behind BLW and why it makes sense, how you know when your baby is 'ready', how BLW works, getting started, what to offer them and when... plus so much more. In essence, like many natural parenting books, it's about observing your baby, following their lead, and adapting to what they want when they show the sign. It worked wonders with our first and we hope the the transition will be just as smooth with no. 2: watch this space!

The 3rd book this week is more for baby no. 1's benefit for the moment, as he has just got over a nasty chest and ear infection. Knowing that the doctor would only offer antibiotics for this, I turned instead to my herbal remedy chest and my homeopathic emergency kit. Being naturally more confident with herbal remedies, I find myself at a bit of a loss when it comes to homeopathy, despite many of the underlying remedies being very similar - i.e. calendula for burns, cuts and grazes; urtica for bites, stings and allergic reactions etc. However, Homeopathy for Children is one of the best I have found as an easy reference guide - and useful not only for children, though it specialises in typical childhood complaints and illnesses. With a full background on homeopathy and how it works alongside case studies and an in-depth look at treatments for everything from first-aid to childhood diseases, this is a fantastic introduction to homeopathy for the whole family. Teamed with my Helios Remedy Kit, I refer to this book time and time again.