About a year ago now I was busy perusing the aisles of Babies R Us creating our baby registry (the idea of which I was fully morally opposed to at the beginning but ended up being a really good thing to have). I was overwhelmed by the amount of offensively primary colored baby holding apparatuses there were for purchase. Seriously. So much ugly, so little money.
I did my best to find items that wouldn’t jump up attack you with the fact that we have a child when you walk into our home. That led me to purchase this rocker seat and this crib bedding. I absolutely love them both.
It also led me to register for a wooden high chair. I figured if the thing is going to sit in our kitchen and/or our dining room for the long foreseeable future, I should probably like the way it looks (and I do so like the way it looks). I’m so thankful for my Dad and Step-Mom who gave it to us as a gift at my baby shower.
I decided this week that it was time for us to put it together. By ‘us’ I clearly meant DanO, who obliged.
{O My New Rug Debut!}
{Ta Da!}
We have been reading up on the concept of baby led solids (aka baby led weaning), where rather than spooning a predetermined amount of pureed food into a baby’s mouth, you let him or her eat their own food at a rate and of a quantity that suits them.
{He looks so little and so big at the same time.}
Self-feeding means having the baby be a part of your meal, giving them food that the family is eating (baby-appropriate food, of course; OBaby will not be having Cabernet Sauvignon just because Mommy is). It means giving the baby the freedom to eat some or none or all of the food you offer, and not worrying about how many calories they are or aren’t getting from solids. It means trusting that nursing and my milk supply is what’s actually feeding him.
I’m excited to try this laid-back approach of introducing solids. It feels much more my style, much more natural and tailored to the individual baby than the “you’re 6 months old today, you now need one serving of rice cereal and one jar of pureed veggies a day,” theory.
Surely there will be messy, sticky updates from the trenches in the weeks to come.
I love that high chair! Way nicer than those ugly bright plastic ones! I can’t believe how big Obaby is! He looks so cute in the chair! And it looks like he already knows what that chair means and is waiting for food:) I can’t wait to see some pics of him eating:)
I can’t believe how big he looks either. I absolutely bawled while taking these pictures. MAKE TIME STOP. GOING TOO FAST.
He is so adorable…. Obaby that is. The things you cute baby boy is doing to my hormones… My husband had to remind me last night that both our girlies are (I’ll quote him here) “in High School…for goodness sakes? Do you want children in the same generation as your grandchildren??” I know… harsh huh? But your little boy and those huge eyes get me every time!
If I were you I’d hold out for the grandkids. As Nana says around here, “All of the excitement, none of the exhaustion.”
Then again, he totally makes me want to pop out 5 more, so I probably wouldn’t actually hold out for grandkids at all.
I spy…..a shiny new rug!!
Oh wait…that’s not what the post was about, was it? Well, I still love it. : )
Thanks, friend. Come roll around on it with OBaby anytime!
I have the same high chair, in another color. We love it so far, I hope you do too!
I hope so, too! Thus far, it looks pretty! :)
Wow. I have never thought about those feeding ideas. Seems very logical. I know I panic about how much Miles is eating (or not eating) everyday. But I shouldnt. He is still get over 30 oz of breastmilk a day.(I exclusively pump) That is plenty of nutrients and calories.
I can only imagine the mess you will have. But I’m sure you will also have a happier more independent baby. Good for you.
Thanks, Ryley! What you’re doing is so impressive. I hope we are as dedicated to this method of solids as you are to EPing.
ok, so i am soooo jealous of that highchair! but, since i am trying to be frugal, i had to re-use the one we had bought for my daughter in 04. it is a hideous, plastic kitchen decoration that i so would love to break just so i could replace it. but, i refuse to be wasteful. so, i am entirely interested in this baby led weaning idea. have you read any books on it? i am nursing my first baby (he’s my 3rd child) and i think this suits us better than force feeding him jars of food. let me know if there is any place to read up on this. thanks
Hey Stephanie! Miriam responded below with more info, a book, and some websites. I haven’t read the book yet but intend on getting it through inter-library loan sometime soon. I’ll let you know how it (BLW) goes!
We did this “baby-led solids” thing – except I never thought it was an actual “thing.” I just figured meal-time shouldn’t be a battle, it should be fun! So we offered her a big variety of stuff (slowly, at first) in varying temperatures, colors and textures, and I (still, and she’s 16 months) let her play in it, throw it, use her fingers, put it on her face… Now, of course, I don’t ENCOURAGE things like throwing, but when they are 9 months old and throw everything to see what happens, how can you get mad at them for throwing food? (Hey, mom, look! Cool! Potatoes thud when I throw them down but peas roll!) Fast-forward to today (16 months) and she’s a pretty good eater who likes all sorts of food, sits up to the table (or sits on my lap) to eat with us. and is growing like a weed. Food is not a battle, it’s a fun family sharing time, and it’s worked great for us!
That is so good to hear! There’s so much to navigate, I’m glad you found a way that works for you and your family. I hope it works for us too!
Adorable.
And the high chair is alright too. :-)
(Teyla is sitting here on my lap, touching the screen with OBaby’s face on it. “Bay-bee! My bay-bee!” I’m a little afraid.)
O boy, Kelly. Brace yerself. Babiesh + Teyla = cuteness the likes of which the world has never seen.
I’m convinced that the laid back approach is the way to go! We tried more “strict” ways with Fynn, and it backfired. He’s the most picky child in the world. He will not eat anything but yogurt and carbs. And raisins. And cake.
But we were laid back w/ Paige and she’s a great eater. Although each child is different, and it’s the whole nature vs. nurture thing…
You’ll do great :)
O gosh yes, the nature vs. nurture thing. Who knows how what we do actually impacts big things like food preferences or sleeping. We just keep doing what works for us! Hopefully this will fit our life (but if it doesn’t, no shame in throwing it out, amen?).
1. Your new rug is gorgeous.
2. I must have that high chair.
3. I think baby led weaning is one of the best things I’ve ever heard of. I actually haven’t heard of doing this for a baby, but it makes sense. I always had the plan to let my children serve their own food (when they get big enough, of course) and let them eat what they want from what they serve. (And NOT make them eat everything off their plate.) They’ll learn portion sizes that fit their own tummy, and they won’t develop subconscious “eating disorders” that will have to be broken consciously as an adult. (I was forced to eat everything off of my plate when I was a child, and carried my “save the best for last” attitude into my adulthood, and would eat in sections and even eat every single bite because what I *really* wanted to eat was always the last thing on my plate, even if I was full. I’ve had to consciously work on that so I don’t overeat, and I have been working on it since I learned why I ate the way I did.)
Wow. Anyway. I said all that to say I think what you’re doing is great!
1. THANKS WE LOVE IT!
2. It’s Graco, and well, more expensive than your standard high chair, but we borrowed a lot of the ‘bigger’ items so I think it was the most expensive item on our registry.
3. I’d NEVER thought about it before, but I TOTALLY do the best for last thing too. Holy moly. Also, yes, babies, toddlers, and kiddos having control over their food is great for independence and confidence. I used to teach preschool and we were very intentional about the kiddos serving their own food, family style. MESSY but cool to give them responsibility like that.
Hi there! I stumbled across your blog a few weeks ago and have been an avid reader ever since. I’m expecting my first baby in April and have heard some great things about baby-led weaning, although I’ve never come across anyone who is actually practicing it, so I’m excited to see how you and OBaby do with it.
Thanks! I’m glad you’re here! I’m excited to see how we do with it, too. Updates soon!
Oh thank you for this post! I get so sick and tired of “by the book” people! I have always agreed with this theroy and it is how I have raised all of my girls. Reese being the only one that is still a baby, she eats what we are eating.. it is so nice to not have to get a seperate meal prepared for her.
Thanks, Jen. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with ‘by the book’ if that’s what fits your family and makes sense to you as a parent. Clearly most of us were raised by the book and we seem to be doing ok :). I just struggle with the arbitrary-ness of it all (serving quantities, ages etc.), so we’ll try this! I really hope OBaby likes it. Good to hear it worked for you!
I just love that high chair and he does look SO big! Hard to believe my little man will be there in just a few months – they grow SO fast. I love your approach to solids – that’s kind of what we did with V and I plan to do the same with A.
Thanks! We love it too! I can’t believe we’re here already. SOLIDS! AAAAH!
My favorite is the one sock on, one sock off picture. When will I get to meet those toes? Love from afar.
Awe! Nice catch. He can be found this way most days. Hopefully soon!
I absolutely loved this post! And your high-chair looks fab, and well suited to BLW as hopefully not too many little nooks and crannies to harbour the food!
I am a complete fan of baby-led weaning. Like you, when I read about the theory behind it, it just made so much more sense than any other weaning theories. Kind of one of those ‘duh, but OF COURSE!’ moments.
My darling daughter is now 9 months old, I’ve never put a spoon of anything in her mouth, and she is a fab eater (and thrower. Oh yes, mashed potato goes ‘splat’). We eat all our meals as a family, they’re fun, relaxed times, I get to eat a hot meal, and EJ gets to try out loads of different tastes and textures.
Some of your readers asked for some helpful resources… from my experience, Gill Rapley’s book on baby-led weaning was useful, if slightly long-winded and repetitive. One of the most helpful sources of information for me was Rebecca Mercer’s eguide on infant self-feeding. And I actually presented a demonstration video for her to use in the guide! You can find that one on http://www.babyled-weaning.com, and Gill Rapley’s book should be available from Amazon. Hope that helps some of you!
Have fun with your BLW adventures, I can’t wait to read more about how you get on.
Thanks so much Miriam!! I went to the natural baby store in my area, but they were sold out of the BLW book. I’m planning on ordering it online somewhere if I can find it (apparently the publisher is sold out).
I have mostly just read online to get information, specifically the Guidlines PDF by the author of the book, Rapley http://www.rapleyweaning.com/assets/blw_guidelines.pdf
I’m glad you came here and offered this information. It’s also great to hear from someone that this has worked for! It makes me even more excited to keep trying things and exploring food with OBaby.
I LOVE that high chair. We were using an UGLY plastic one (eh, it was free, can’t complain too much) until Hannah decided she was too much of a big girl to use it anymore. I think the last time she used it was shortly have her 1st bday (she’s 15mo now). Our kitchen isn’t big enough to have 3 chairs at the table and still ahve room to walk and stuff … so usually I eat sitting at the couch. Hannah eats off my plate … however much she wants of just about anything she wants. She’s our first we’re doing baby-led weaning with.
I LOVE it! She’s still nursing quite often … and I do get a LOT of not-so-great comments from family … but I could care less. She’s happy, I’m happy … that’s what matters.
Our oldest daughter (now 6) we did things the way others said we should. Man, things probably would have been SO MUCH easier if we had just known better at the time!
Hmm, I hadn’t thought about the comments from others. We shall see! I have been pretty fortunate as far as the input on my parenting choices (which may look odd to some – openly nursing, baby wearing, cloth diapers), so hopefully this won’t get a lot of unsolicited input.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience! And we have PLENTY of plastic things around that were borrowed. No complaints when it’s free!
hello there! i just love, love, LOVE your blog. haven’t had a chance to lurk upon the good ol’ archives yet, but that is one cute baby you’ve got! snappy writing too! ;D
we have that exact highchair here in the bilbrey household (my best friend mandy of harpers happenings has it too!) and i’m unreasonably in love with it. it’s got such a classic look which is nice for photos, and i like that it can convert into a tall chair as well… i hope you have good luck with it!
i really like the baby led weaning concept (i tend to follow natural/attachment parenting concepts myself) but my little poppy just hasn’t been interested! she adores food and has taken well to almost everything we’ve given her, but it’s clear she wants to be fed by me instead of taking over herself. when i put food on her tray, she pretty much just pushes it around with her index fingers, wipes some into her hair and looks at me with a confused expression. but when i spoon-feed her the same food she grins, opens her mouth super wide, and even makes “mmm mmm mmm!” sounds as she’s slurping it down! she actually holds on the the sides of her high chair like she’s on a ride… silly baby! the only thing she’ll feed herself is puffs or cheerios. other than that, she’s made it clear that the food administering is mama’s job! so i’ve flexed the baby-led concept to fit her style – i offer food based on her queues and stop as soon as she seems done. some days she eats 3-4 full meals, and other days just a few spoonfuls, and i really like the lack of stress in feeding her this way…
i hope you have fun in your baby feeding adventures! i’ll be waiting for future posts on what comes next.
cheers!
Dude. That chair will be GORGEOUS for “look at OBaby eating!!” shots. Fantastic and brilliant choice, my dear.
i really don’t want to have to worry about mixing breastmilk with cereal for joshua. he definitely wants to eat real food though, but i’m nervous about BLW. how do you keep them from choking?
oh, and i wish we would’ve bought things along the line of not wanting to look like babies r us puked all over our living room, but with the pastel colored swing, primary colored jumperoo and animal print high chair, i think it’s safe to say we will not be winning any home decorating awards any time soon :)
We did babyled weaning with Luke, and for a toddler, he is extremely well-rounded with foods. Of course, there are some things he gets picky about, but for the most part, he eats really well for his age. It gets really fun when you can introduce egg yolks and things that are less messy but still fun and easy for them to eat.