An Ode To Baby Led Weaning

Of all the parenting decisions we've made in the last 12 months, our decision to do BLW is one of the best. Both Ty and I agree that the 'baby led weaning' approach to feeding first foods has been a great choice for our family. Baby Led Weaning is an approach developed in the UK, but essentially is the way babies have been fed for centuries. Note: the term "wean" in the UK refers to the introduction of solid food, not the transition off of the breast. The general idea is that you offer solid finger foods in lieu of purees. I could bore you with the laundry list of amazing benefits that you and your child will experience if you choose BLW, but I'll just cut to the chase and share the most important tidbit - it's easy. Everett eats whatever we're having for dinner. Sometimes we modify it, but mostly he just gets a smaller serving of our meal. Everett gets to experience dinner with us, he witnesses exchanges in conversation, nonverbal communication and the closeness that sharing a meal can bring. We also love that we can bring Everett out to eat with us and not worry about packing separate food for him. We order specific things off of the menu for him, or he shares with us. We've never had an issue finding something appropriate for him to eat at a restaurant. Everett LOVES to eat. Anything and everything. Seriously. In his first week of BLW he ate avocados, cucumbers, chicken, waffles, salmon and spaghetti and he hasn't stopped since. Everett will try any food we offer, and the majority of the time he will clear his plate. I was such a fussy eater - for the first 18 years of my life I only ate white, orange and brown foods. I swear. Ask my mom! It's so important to us that Everett enjoys food and has an adventurous spirit when it comes to trying new things. So far so good.
If you're interested in learning more about BLW check out this site: http://www.babyledweaning.com/