All things change, transform and evolve to adapt to the new customs of society. Something that also affects the upbringing of children, education or the way of assigning roles at home. Until not many years ago, everything was pre-established according to tradition. The mother raised the children, filled them with love and pampering, which in many cases turned into spoiled children with little respect for women in general.
For parents, raising children was limited to authority, to the person who imposed the rules, whom the children feared as a superior being, the one who brought the money to the house and little else. Even, As far as food is concerned, there were unwritten rules, awarded by tradition from mothers to daughters. Breastfeeding lasted a few months and was replaced by purees and porridge, period. Fortunately, things have changed a lot lately.
What is Baby-led weaning?
Much remains to be done, no doubt, but today families are organized in a more equitable way, at least more than before. It has also changed a lot the way of feed the babies. On the one hand the Breastfeeding is even better valued than ever. Experts recommend it until at least the first year of life, and it is highly recommended to continue until at least two years of life.
Moreover, complementary feeding already has alternatives and those purees where everything is mixed, the food loses its texture and melts into an indescribable flavor, have given way to more modern options. And that's where we come to Baby-led weaning, which stands for BLW for short. This term can be defined as baby-led weaning.
Although it is not exactly a method to eliminate breastfeeding, but a way to introduce food in a more respectful way for the baby. in the BLW whole foods are introduced, without crushing or transforming so that the baby can discover it in a much more natural way. In this way, it is the baby himself who decides what and how much food to take. Something fundamental since in the crushed foods babies receive more food than they really need or at least, it is more difficult to determine if they have eaten enough or in excess.
The keys of the BLW
There are certain fundamental keys in Baby led weaning and that is that all babies, as well as all families, are not completely prepared for it. On the one hand, the baby must meet certain milestones, for example, must remain seated and upright completely and naturally. You must also have a normal swallow, because otherwise there may be a risk of choking.
As for the way of offering food, it is also very important how to do it. Taking into account that the food is going to be given in its natural format, it must first be cooked and served in a way that is not very dangerous. For example, vegetables like carrots, green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, or squash are good choices to start with. Because when boiled they are sweet, they are digestive and crumble so that it is very difficult for there to be a risk of choking.
Let the baby analyze the food, his first instinct will be to touch it with his hands, crush it, bring it to his face to see how it smells. He may try a little, most likely without success, but a curiosity will be created in him. The need to try again that thing so different from milk. So that the baby has more desire to take food sit with him at the table, let him see what the grown-ups eat, maybe even wants to take food from your plate. If it is not dangerous, let him do it, this is an essential part of BLW because in its definition it is allowed that it is the baby who initiates adult feeding.
Little by little the baby will try more foods, take more and enjoy the variety of foods. Meanwhile, she enjoys the process and remembers that milk is the main food during the first year. So you should not be afraid about the amount of food your child takes as long as the amount of milk he drinks is adequate.