When starting with the complementary feeding of our baby, we may have doubts about the method to follow: is it better to opt for crushed or make Baby-led weaning (BLW)? Each family will choose according to their criteria, circumstances and needs, although the positive effects that BLW has on the development of babies are numerous.
If you opt for the BLW as a feeding method, it is recommended Let yourself be guided by experts and consult with qualified professionals Any questions you have. Therefore, we wanted to speak Ismael San Mauro, doctor of biomedical sciences and nutritionist, and Iria Quintáns, dietitian and disseminator of the method, about the most frequent consultations that parents make when starting the BLW with their babies.
Benefits provided by the BLW
This method allows the baby have better control over food intake, without from outside the adult exerting pressure so that the child finishes the plate. This fact has three advantages, mainly:
- Obesity Prevention, a benefit that the pediatricians of the AEPap also highlight.
- Happier and less irritable baby at mealtime
- Parents with less anxiety at mealtime
But also, due to the characteristics of the method, BLW helps the baby develop his motor skills, because he learns for himself and practices how to take food with his hands.
In Babies and more Effects of "Baby-led weaning" feeding on the development of babies And finally, it has been shown that the BLW encourages the acceptance of all kinds of food in the child, textures and flavors, since it recognizes them individually, something that does not happen when we offer it all mixed in a mash.
Tips to get started in the method
- The first advice we always give to parents is that trust your baby, accompany you on the road and provide security. The child knows what he needs, and will know how to manage this new situation, just as he has done and will do with other stages of his development that he faces.
In Babies and more Let them eat alone and choose foodSecond, we advise properly inform professionals who have experience in this method and in infant feeding. In addition, each family is unique, and sometimes the general advice that we can find on the Internet or in the books may not work, and personalized advice adapted to specific circumstances may be needed..
And last, and not least, is to make sure that the baby is really ready to start with the BLW.
How to know if the baby is ready to start
- If you have completed six months: in the case of babies premature babies we must pay attention to their corrected age, not chronologically.
The AEPap also advises paying special attention to children with some difficulty in their development, chronic disease or risk of malnutrition.
If it stays upright or sitting without support.
If it shows interest when you see adults eat and wants to do the same.
He puts the objects in his mouth.
To this, pediatricians also add other signs to know if the baby is prepared to start the BLW, such as checking if he can crush the food with his tongue and make lateral movements with the jaws, and know if he is able to turn his head to Say you don't want anymore.
Precautions to be taken before starting
Mainly two: never leave the child eating alone and know what foods are dangerous by increasing the risk of choking, follow the method followed.
"In this sense, we will avoid raw apples, nuts that are not well ground or creamy, and sphere-shaped foods such as sausages, among others."
In Babies and more, what to do if my child chokes? Food prohibited before the baby's first year of life
By choking risk, avoid all small, hard foods that do not fall apart in the mouth, such as nuts, apples or raw carrots. Nor should round-shaped foods, such as grapes or sausages, be given.
Because of its heavy metal content, the consumption of large blue fish, such as bluefin tuna, large mackerel or emperor, as well as certain fagots such as shrimp and shrimp heads, or the crustacean bodies for its high cadmium content.
Meats that come from animals that have been hunted with lead ammunition.
Vegetables with high nitrate content, such as spinach, the chard wave borage.
The honey, due to the risk of Clostridium botulinum poisoning.
On the other hand, some types of algae they may contain an excess of iodine and / or arsenic that could be harmful to the baby.
The whole milk nor should it be offered before the first year of life, but of course, we do not mean breast milk or formula, as it is its main food.
In addition, it is convenient dispense with salt, sugar or sweeteners for the preparation of ducks.
In Babies and more of all but this: prohibited foods in the diet of babies under one year oldThe best foods to start with the BLW
In general, the best foods to start with the method are those that allow a form of cooking that helps conserve all its nutrients, while maintaining an adequate consistency that facilitates the grip and its management in the mouth.
For example, steaming It improves the bioavailability of some nutrients such as vitamin A, and minimizes the loss of others such as vitamin C. Thus, we can offer vegetables such as green beans, sprigs of cauliflower or broccoli, and others cut into strips such as zucchini, carrots, squash, potato, eggplant ...
The baked tubers such as potatoes or sweet potatoes it is also a good option to facilitate the grip without the food being undone in the hand.
In Babies and more13 recipes to start making Baby Led Weaning with which your baby will suck your fingersOther foods recommended by the AEPap to start are meat or fish stewed, cooked or grilled cut into strips, elongated tacos of cheese, bread or toast, rice cakes, cooked rice balls, macaroni, chopped cooked egg ...
How to proceed with the introduction of food
We must start with the simplest and recommended foods, and gradually introduce new ones as we see the interest shown by the baby. In addition, it is important to remember that breastfeeding or formula, should remain one of its main foods.
In the event that the baby has APLV or any other allergy is suspected, the introduction of food will not be different from that of other babies without allergy, unless we must be more attentive to any reaction, and offer smaller amounts that we will increase slowly.
In Babies and more My baby starts eating solids: how to know if you are at risk of allergiesMain doubts of the parents when starting the method
Some of the most frequent doubts that parents usually ask our team of professionals are, for example, how to know that the baby is ready to start, or what foods they should offer first and in what way. They also often doubt whether the baby will be eating enough to meet their needs..
BLW School: a space to learn about this feeding method
Ismael and Iria are two of the professionals that make up the BLW School, a project that was born a few months ago to inform and support all parents who want to start this complementary feeding method.
But they are not the only experts working in this School: psychologists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, allergists ... and so on up to a total of 11 professionals focused on clinical and nutritional advice of the families.
"For years, the different professionals that make up the BLW School had been working individually, offering parents advice from our private consultations or in hospitals. But in 2017, a group of health colleagues decided to join and consitutir society. And so it was like, in the second half of this year, the Baby Led Weaning School was born ", explains Dr. San Mauro.
The BLW School offers three services mainly:
Information through post, reports, articles… about infant feeding, BLW, health and baby rearing.
Personalized and individualized online consultations with professionals
Face-to-face consultations in Seville and Barcelona, as well as other events and specific training courses on topics of interest.
Photos | iStock
Acknowledgments Ismael San Mauro, Iria Quintáns - BLW School
