Contents:
- Medical Video: Weaning a Baby From Breastfeeding - First With Kids - Vermont Children's Hospital
- Weaning with a spoon
- Weaning by eating alone
- Spoon-led weaning suitable for you, if ...
- Baby-led weaning suitable for you ...
Medical Video: Weaning a Baby From Breastfeeding - First With Kids - Vermont Children's Hospital
The transition from breast milk to solid food can overwhelm you and your baby. When you want to introduce your child to his first solid meal, you can wean the baby in two ways: spoon-led or baby-led.
Weaning with a spoon
The method also known as the name spoon-led weaning this is still the most popular method for weaning babies to date. You will feed your child with baby-only solid food (mashed puree). Then, gradually you can start introducing your child to foods that are more chewy, shaped like chunks, until your child gets used to the solid food (foods that are rather difficult to chew can be cut into small pieces first). You can also give snack for your child "dirty", to train your child to eat independently.
Weaning by eating alone
At the age of 6 months, your child is ready to try more dense foods. Weaning by letting the baby eat alone, otherwise known as the method baby-led weaning (BLW), is when you let your child take and taste the food you have served before him. When your child learns to eat independently, this becomes a pleasant experience for you and your child.
Spoon-led weaning suitable for you, if ...
- You like order. Cleanliness will be more awake when you feed your little one with your own hands, even though it's not entirely so. Feeding a child with a spoon also gives you a scheduled time span, for example: when to change from porridge to baby biscuits or solid porridge.
- You would prefer to start in a safe way. Most parents begin weaning this way.
- You decide to wean when the baby is less than 6 months old. Infants less than six months old do not have the ability (or motivation) to eat independently. But remember, there are some foods that you must avoid before the age of six months.
Baby-led weaning suitable for you ...
- Uncertain with "chaos". Your child will begin to explore and play with his new food, and certainly will fall apart.
- Your child refuses to be fed.
- It doesn't matter to let your little one play and have fun with his first solid meal.
- Relax. Allowing your child to eat independently with the food he chooses himself means the learning process of the child will be longer than that spoon-feeding, where you can determine when to replace your baby's food. Baby-led weaning give full power to your child about his diet and when he will be ready to change to other foods.
- Do not object to the way "out of the box" in raising children. The opposite of the conventional way of feeding your little one, baby-led weaning it is still considered an unusual way to wean babies by some parents.
