The Soggy Mama: "You're not giving her baby food?"

So, Joel and I decided we wanted to give Baby Led Weaning a try when Peeka turned 6 months old. She has been extremely interested in food since 4 months of age and would constantly try and swipe whatever it was we were eating. So naturally we thought she would enjoy eating solids with her grubby little hands instead of us feeding her mushy purees. Plus, we knew exactly what we were feeding her.

The basis of Baby Led Weaning is that you ditch the bowls, spoons and purees and trade them for soft, unprocessed food that baby can feed herself. In theory baby can eat whatever you are eating. We went on the steamed veggies path for the first few weeks. We figured Peeka is going to have a sweet tooth like her dad and grandpa so we should get her comfortable with vegetables before fruit. Also, I am too lazy to puree Peeka's food and feed it to her which works well because she demands to feed herself. There are tons of great resources online and on youtube of how you can start Baby Led Weaning and what foods to avoid for a few months. Six Month Old baby Eating Steak happens to be one of my favorite YouTube videos. Just listen to the dad get into it.

Of course, our families think we are new age Hippies for cloth diapering and breastfeeding Peeka over the age of 3 months. So, when we tried to explain Baby Led Weaning to them they kept asking "So, you're not feeding her baby food? Doesn't she need to eat?" Naturally, I told them she is still getting all of her nutrients from breast milk. The next question is always "How long are you going to breastfeed? It's been 6 months." Of course, I have to remind them that I will breastfeed as long as Henly wants to. The subject usually gets changed after that.

The turning point with our families is always when we let them feed her food. It's quite amusing watching a baby try a bite of carrot for the first time and laugh at all the silly faces they make. We started with steamed carrots, then steamed broccoli, next was cauliflower and now we are onto steamed sweet potato; which she hates.

I was oblivious to Baby Led Weaning until Peeka was about 3.5 months old. I am still learning about it everyday. It's not for everyone though. Some parents and babies aren't comfortable with solid foods until close to a year old. Some parents feel uncomfortable with watching a baby's gag reflex. For our family it was something we felt was best for Peeka because she showed a huge interest in food; she would creeply watch us eat while drooling up a storm. Peeka is also very independent and wants to try new things on her own. Baby Led Weaning was a no brainer. We of course do try and give her things like unsweetened apple sauce and veggies mashed with breast milk but she rather eat solid mushy foods.

Enjoy the hilarious pictures of Peeka's Baby Led Weaning Journey: