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Sarah Jean Melito Blog

layla eats- baby led weaning

Baby

9 Mar

Our journey with solids didn’t quite go the way I had planned. I think as moms, we sometimes put a vision in our mind for how we expect things to go with our kiddos. I was expecting to exclusively breastfeed Layla for 6 months and then start baby led weaning. Let me explain why. I’ll also be answering some FAQ at the end.

Check out one of our dogs under the high chair. If you have dogs, I bet their new favorite place will be around the highchair to eat anything baby will throw on the floor.

So, what is it? Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is a method of introducing solid foods to infants. The idea behind BLW is that infants can feed themselves around 6 months of age, and should be allowed to do so. BLW skips pureed food and starts with finger foods the rest of the family are eating. Baby eats with the family, as an active family member! BLW has been around since the beginning of time. Only recently, thanks to Gill Rapley, did BLW get it’s name. Infants were fed this way before the invention of commercial baby food and the blender.

But around 4.5 months, Layla started showing that she was interested in food. I was so hesitant to start feeding her real food then, because all the research I did said the guidelines were to start at 6 months. I just have to say this, mama. This is YOUR baby. If you’ve been following me for awhile, then you know I’m a firm believer in doing things however they work for you. You have to do whatever makes you comfortable. And so I did. I started making my own purees with a Beaba Babycook. I purchased this book (linked at the end) and it was fun making Layla’s food homemade. I also gave her organic oatmeal. And after a few weeks, I made her food chunkier and she was learning to chew.

I believe this was our first week of BLW, and she’s eating string cheese and blueberries. She is OBSESSED with berries!

I’m no expert, and I’m simply just sharing what we did. It’s important to note that it’s not recommended to do purees and blw. Something about confusing the baby to swallow before chewing with the purees can cause a bigger risk of choking with blw. Also, the baby should be sitting up independently + 6 months old. Baby needs to have lost the extrusion reflex (commonly known as the tongue-thrust reflex). This is the reflex that involuntarily pushes food and foreign objects out of an infant’s mouth to prevent choking. It will typically disappear between 4-6 months of age.

I joined this Facebook group to learn all the things blw. It is literally my saving grace. When Layla turned 5.5 months old, we decided to just start blw and ditch purées. Whenever I would cook things for Layla, I typed the food in the search bar of the group to see exactly how others cut it. Gosh, it was scary at first. You’re giving your baby chunks of food and your family thinks your crazy and trust me people will judge you, but honestly? Now that we’ve been doing it for 3 months, I’m SO happy we did it. Everyone is so surprised at what a great eater Layla is. She has tried easily over 100 foods, including squid, star fruit, shrimp, okra, plantains, and spinach! She’s 9 months old. She choked once on a carrot. It was terrifying, and I waited forever to give her another carrot after that. You guys always ask how we feel about her gagging and choking. Gagging is totally normal as they are figuring things out and trying different textures. I would recommend taking a CPR course or check out the lifevac which is a device that helps dislodge food if the child is choking.

Our girl loves to eat! As soon as she sits in the highchair she starts whining for food. She knows it’s coming, haha.

Now that we have been doing BLW for over 3 months, I feel so much more comfortable and things are going smoothly. It is amazing to sit down as a family and be able to give your baby the same food you are eating and not worry about spoon feeding. We just had Lay’s 9 month checkup and the doctor was shocked she feeds herself and eats what we eat! At first, we cut up her food finger length so she could grab it. As time went on, we were able to make the pieces smaller and smaller cause she can pick them up easier now.

We did get these cute suction plates but honestly, we throw her food right on the highchair tray now. If she has too much food in front of her, she will start eating really fast. So, we give her a little bit at a time.

Okay, now I’m going to answer some of your FAQ that you guys have asked about our BLW journey.

What was the first food she tried? – the first time we did blw was on Thanksgiving, so Lay had thanksgiving meal with us! Honestly, I don’t think there’s a ‘wrong’ food to start with (obviously not grapes or hotdogs and things of that nature). Some good ones to start off with would be sweet potatos, banana, avocado, stewed meats, spinach or strawberries.

Do you guys trust anyone else to feed her? – we didn’t at first, but now that she has the hang of things, we’re cool with it.

When did you start water? – so we started giving Layla water at meal times the same time we started BLW. We don’t do juice. A few times a week I will put a splash of ningxia red in her water, which is young living’s natural wolfberry supplement and is incredible for immune support.

What do you do if you want to cook something seasoned or spicy? – we really don’t cook spicy things around here much. In regards to the seasonings though, we pretty much do whatever except salt. If we want any salt, we’ll just add it after she gets her serving.

Does she eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner? – now she does! We started off with very little oatmeal in the morning and then dinner. Then we incorporated breakfast and ditched the oatmeal around 6.5 months. Around lunchtime we would give her a small snack, but since a few weeks ago she eats lunch with us now too.

Do you breastfeed Layla at any point throughout the day still? If so, how long do feedings last and how often? – YES YES YES. Breastmilk and formula are the most important source of nutrition until age 1. I make sure to feed her breastmilk first and then about 30 min later offer solids. I breastfeed Layla every time she wakes up. So, when she wakes up for the day and when she wakes up for naps. Then, I also feed her right before bed and whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night. She nurses for about 5-10 minutes now.

I really hope this was helpful for you guys! If you find that you have any other questions, shoot me a message on IG or comment here.

xo,

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Comments

  1. Teri says

    March 10, 2019 at 11:37 pm

    What’s a sample schedule you do as far as feeding goes throughout the day?

    • TheBelmontRanch says

      March 26, 2019 at 1:29 pm

      Hey Teri! We do a nursing session in the morning, followed up by breakfast 30 min later. Then she’ll nap and when she wakes up we do a nursing session and same thing 30 min later she has lunch. Then another nap followed up by nursing session and dinner. Then I nurse her right before bed. Sometimes she will get a snack or two. I hope that helps!

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slow down with sarah jean
A few things that make my heart happy these days: A few things that make my heart happy these days: 

Growing my very own sunflowers from seed 
Trying new recipes like this dill & fennel cheddar sourdough loaf 🤤🥖🌻 
Homeschooling my loves 

If 20 year old me could see me now, almost 30 and realizing.. these are the days ☀️
Gardening has brought such a peace to my life that Gardening has brought such a peace to my life that I never knew I needed. Growing up, I spent hours in my grandmother’s garden, eating carrots right from the ground and being fascinated with each bite. I started 4 years ago planting in one big raised bed, and every year I learn more. It’s such a challenge to garden, but there’s something about it that still fascinates me to this day.  It truly brings your family together to make an effort to connect with your food and nature. 

Thankful for Ant who helps without ever complaining to make this the beautiful garden I envisioned. I love watching our children eat a whole pound of strawberries or wipe out an entire trellis of snap peas without either making it into the house first. Planting seeds and weeding with the girls, teaching them every step of the way. Gardening has taught me to slow down a little more. 

Hoping to have a little farm stand to sell our veggies, eggs, kombucha, sourdough and more homemade goods sometime in the summer. ☀️🌻
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#homesteadher #surburbanhomestead #backyardhomestead #backyardhomesteading #wethehomesteaders #homemakers #happyhomesteading #homesteadlife #homesteader #wannabehomesteader #gardeningideas #gardenideas #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening
fun snow day followed by all things cozy. homemade fun snow day followed by all things cozy. homemade hot cocoa, sourdough bagels, learning how to knit & soup with sourdough bread for dinner. what a day ✨❄️ anyone here knit or crochet and have some tips for me?! I’ve just been watching YouTube videos!
I’ll never forget the days I begged and pleaded I’ll never forget the days I begged and pleaded with God for the things I have now 🙏🏼 thank you lord for these blessings ❤️❤️💙
one month ago I had the homebirth of my dreams ✨ one month ago I had the homebirth of my dreams ✨ after c-sections with layla & gabby, I fought hard for the birth that I wanted and deserved. 48 hours of back labor which was the worst pain I’ve ever had in my entire life, but it was worth every second to have the experience of giving birth peacefully in my bedroom. Anthony, my midwives, my sis and my doula were absolutely amazing. Dalton John was 9.10 pounds and two weeks overdue, he sure made me work for his arrival! It’s been a beautiful month with him by our side 💙 more pics to come!
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