Why I chose baby led weaning

It may surprise you to hear that I was very sceptical and dismissive of baby led weaning before I started solids with my daughter (or it may not! I know healthcare professionals can have a bad rep when it comes to supporting baby led weaning).

I think a combination of my training as a dietitian, feeding guidelines at the time (ten years ago now) and the limited amount of research made me not give baby led weaning a second thought. When I think back to that time it surprises me, I didn't think I was so closed off like that. But maybe it was more of a reflection of how I was feeling at the time. Pretty overwhelmed, having little to no headspace for anything, and craving sleep and some alone time.

So what made me do a 180 and change my mind?

Well again it was a combination of things. I was struggling and feeling miserable about feeding my daughter.

And then I saw a baby attempting to eat a ham sandwich in a local cafe. And while a ham sandwich isn't an appropriate food to offer a baby, and this baby was not managing to eat any of it. What was clear was that this baby was really engaged in the eating process and enjoying themselves immensely. And what really hit home was the calm atmosphere. The baby's parent was being attentive but able to enjoy their own meal at the same time.

I knew then and there that's what I wanted to experience with my daughter

So I started (as I normally do when I want to find out about more something) to read everything I could find on baby led weaning. It really helped me get through those nighttime feeds, having something to focus on (well more like obsess about!)

And it wasn't long before I started changing my approach and we got started with baby led weaning. And a highlight moment was going out for a meal, without a second thought/worry about what my daughter was going to eat. I knew she'd be able to share some of my meal, although her eating half of it wasn't quite what I was expecting!

And so, a couple of years later when it came to starting solids with my son, instead of dreading what was to come, I was excited and even a little impatient (ok a lot impatient).

And now I offer workshops on starting solids with a baby led approach and have been doing so for the last five years.

I want parents to feel that excitement, and that bit of impatience when it comes to feeding their baby.