[blparent] Infant led feeding

[Kai Johnson]

Hi Tara,
We did this, from a book called Baby-Led Weaning by Gill Rapley. It worked
really well for us - the idea is mainly that you give them food that is
safe for them and they can chew on it, play with it, and soon eat it. From
a practical point, it let us get away from specialty cooking for the baby,
which really helped for the second child. The main benefit for the child is
that at 6 months, they have an excellent gag reflex, so they actually don't
get down much food, but they are fully capable of chewing with just gums.
The point at which they gag on food is actually farther forward on the
tongue at 6 months, so they learn to deal with gagging and spitting the
food back out, all without risk of harm and much less fright for them. If
you introduce foods at 10+ months, the gag point has moved back farther in
the throat, so if they are learning to work with solid foods for the first
time, the gagging will be more pronounced, require more effort to clear,
and is closer to actual choking. This isn't to say children who don't eat
solid foods at 6 months will end up choking and getting hurt, but it is
letting them learn an essential skill at a time when their bodies are ready
to learn it.

More philosophically, it's supposed to give them a healthier relationship
with food because it is not a choice between regular food and nursing, but
if you don't have food-related issues like nursing strikes or incredible
pickiness, I don't know that you'd see any difference in their behavior.

Anyway, I really liked it, and highly recommend it. The actual takeaway
from the book is an understanding of how it is safe to give them foods. The
key being that they are about finger-sized, firm foods that won't break off
in their mouths, so they can hold with their fists and still have something
to chew on.

Good luck!
Kai

On Mon, Jan 5, 2015 at 4:49 PM, Tara Briggs via blparent <
blparent at nfbnet.org> wrote:

> dear collective wisdom:
> Have any of you heard of or practiced infant led feeding? In the UK it is
> called infant led weaning. Basically, it is letting your child feed
> themselves starting from about six months of age. You use small pieces of
> what ever you're eating. There is a book on this on iBooks. It is called,
> infant led weaning. There is also a cookbook. I got the book on infant led
> weaning and I am curious if anyone has tried it and what it has been like.
> Thanks for any help.
> Tara Briggs
>
> Sent from my iPhone
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