Fear Of Moving From Purees To Texture and “Chunks”
Many parents become gripped and paralyzed with fear when it comes time to move baby from purees to chunky texture and table foods. Myself included!
The fear of letting baby begin to feed herself chunks and lumps of foods is about the fear of choking. It is this fear of choking that stops many parents from trying the Baby Led Weaning approach to introducing solid foods. In short, Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is skipping the “Stage 1” thin and runny purées and not feeding your baby with a spoon.
Baby Led Weaning means offering your baby (age appropriate) foods that are soft-cooked or raw, and that are cut or mashed into manageable pieces. These foods are then given to your baby to eat. Your baby gnaws on, digs in with fingers, sucks on and “eats” the foods on his own, as he sees fit for his hunger needs at the moment. Many parents choose to offer their babies baby food that is puréed while other prefer to jump straight into “table foods”. It is important to note that when it is time for introducing solid foods and weaning a baby onto solid foods, a parent must feel comfortable in the methods and the foods that will make up the introduction to solid foods. It’s a great method if you are comfortable with it. Today’s slide will help you to learn the difference between choking and plain ‘ole gagging and trying to work a food around and out of the mouth. Learning CPR and how to save a person from choking is a valuable skill – find a center near you!
Quick – What to do if your baby is choking.
Courtesy of Raising Children Australia – http://raisingchildren.net.au/