So, when one combines a true desire to learn new things with an equally dominant desire to not do work with cheapness and "natural-ness" and an obsession with the StumbleUpon button on the Internet (whew, still with me?), one gets some wild and crazy parenting ideas.
In my stumbling (are you a stumbler? it's so fun!), I came across an article detailing a mainly-European parenting phenomenon called Baby-Led Weaning. The more I read, the more I knew I was hooked. Baby-Led Weaning basically means that babies learn to eat solid food by eating it themselves, not by it being spooned into their mouths.
There are all kinds of reasons why parents do this: "they" say it helps babies begin a healthy relationship with food, is a natural progression from breast-feeding, and other fluffy granola-mom type things. I like the idea because I am a mom who enjoys the "process." I've always been a "Let Them Figure it Out" kind of girl. Also, I like that it keeps pace with baby's natural development. The more I read, the more I felt like it really fit with my personality as a mother.
Anyway, I broached the subject delicately with Ben. He's not a "process" parent. He's a "goal" parent. I'm making up these terms as I type. He wants results, I want, well, apparently, I want a mess.
So, I won't try to re-hash the hows and whys. You can find them here and here. I will, however, tell you about my experience feeding T-Bear her first food!
She got bananas. Mostly because I have them, and they don't require cooking. In BLW (that's the lingo in my new world) style, I just cut them up like french fries (apparently the Brits call them "chips") and put them on her tray. She picked up a piece, mashed it around, stuck it in her mouth, and threw some on the floor. Mom & Dad were mostly successful in resisting the temptation to put it in her mouth for her.
In the BLW world, that's what "we" call a successful first meal!
PS. In case any one is concerned for the safety of Baby T, I am taking a class tomorrow on CPR and choking. And, this is a great time to remind everyone who noticed that she only "ate" about 1/200 of the banana, she is getting all she needs from yours truly.
Here she is getting ready for her first bite:
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1 comment:
I think this is brilliant.
Like Ben with process, Steve can't be in the same room with the kids and I when we are creating art or baking. The presence of so much visual chaos gives him a nervous tick.
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