I have been reading about BLW even before we planned for a baby. The whole concept was so new and interesting
that I kept reading more and more on it out of curiosity. And of course the reading only increased post pregnancy.
We started with liquids and purees for Ved when he turned 5 months old due to dehydration.
I fed him purées on my laps for a month until he turned 6 months old and started sitting pretty well with support.
Post then, we switched to BLW completely and there was no looking back. It sure is not a super smooth process,
it is super messy, it takes time for the kids to figure it out! You need to be patient and not interfere and allow your
baby to explore! I thought it was the most amazing process in fact, so different from what we all have grown up to
see.
So here is how we started with BLW:
- giving him some pieces of soft fruits or steamed veggies in his hand and directing it to his mouth if he did not
- I also started offering him khichdi pre-filled in his spoon. In BLW they generally mention leaving the spoon in
their hands but I kept holding onto the spoon (he directed it to his mouth though) and once he got the hang of it I
slowly started giving him pre-filled spoons by farther away. He now eats and gives the spoon back to me. Also,
we don’t blend or mash his khichdi, it’s just like ours without any salt and minimal spices.
- I never feed him myself, if he doesn’t eat. I try offering him something else that he might like but I never distract
him or entertain him to eat. We try to offer him the spoon a couple more times and stop if he doesn’t want to.
I want to allow him to decide how much he wants to eat.
Instead of running behind him with food and him associating mealtime to be forceful finishing food or watching
screen/parents singing or dancing while eating I am glad we chose BLW.
Benefits of BLW:
Allows kids to explore new tastes and textures with their bare hands.
Lesser chances of kids becoming fussy eaters
No distractions like screens/singing/dancing needed to eat food. But to focus and be aware about how and what to eat.
Helps motor skills
Trusting kids with their appetite.
Having meals together as a family
He already has likes, dislikes and favorites too! He hates Apple, loves pancakes, corn, beetroot, French beans and
likes almost everything else I’d say! This itself speaks for itself how less a picky eater he is considering he has
tried 80+ foods in 3 months.
I know many people who freak out about gagging or babies swallowing pieces of food. Gagging is a very natural
reflex which in fact helps them to not choke. Many think that babies cannot chew unless they have teeth. Babies
can chew anything and everything with their gums. Give them your finger to bite and you’ll know the strength.
I’ll encourage every parent to stop comprehending and go ahead to experience this beautiful journey of enabling
your child with self-feeding!
