Throwing the spoon out of the weaning process

Baby-led weaning may not appeal to parents averse to mess, but it may make mealtimes easier as babies are encouraged to feed themselves

‘Here comes the choo-choo train . . . open wide”, that traditional parental ploy while thrusting a spoonful of food towards a baby’s face, is fast becoming redundant as baby-led weaning takes over.

Forget the purées and the baby rice, advocates say. Don’t start to introduce solids until six months and then you can leave it all in the hands of your baby – literally. None of this shoving spoons at them; it’s a matter of laying bits of food out in front of them and letting them take their pick – and their time – while, ideally, you eat much the same alongside them.

It’s not a style of weaning that will appeal to parents averse to mess, nor to those paranoid about choking. However, the mess is short-lived and it is argued that babies are probably at less risk of choking if they are in control of what goes into their mouths.

The approach capitalises on a baby’s natural desire to explore and experiment, as well as mimic what other people are doing. The array of textures, colours, sizes and shapes in the different foodstuffs are more stimulating and educational than a bowl of mush.

Curiosity rather than hunger would appear to be what motivates babies to start the transition from milk to solids, says Gill Rapley, a UK health visitor who is credited with coining the term, “baby-led weaning”. She didn’t invent the process, she points out. It is something that time-pressed parents with three or more children tended to do anyway.

“I just took it out of the closet really,” says Rapley, who, with co-author Tracey Murkett, wrote the definitive book, Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food, which was published in 2008 and has since been translated into seven languages. She reports a recent surge of interest in the subject, particularly in the US.

Not starting until six months, when your child is developed enough to be able to start self-feeding, is key – sitting up and reaching out are signs to look out for.

In the case of premature babies or those with developmental delays, medical advice is recommended if considering baby-led weaning.

No need for purées

Parents used to be encouraged to start weaning earlier – from three or four months – but now the recommendation is about six months. However it is considered “safe” to do so from 17 weeks onwards, as outlined in Best Practice for Infant Feeding in Ireland published last November by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

“If we had never invented starting at three or four months, I am not sure we would have bothered with purées as it is not logical or necessary when a child can feed himself,” says Rapley.

Initially babies will play with food because they won’t recognise it as something that will satisfy their hunger. So don’t panic if very little seems to be getting eaten – playing is learning – and keep this feeding separate from breast or bottle time.

Valerie Kelly, paediatric dietitian at the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street and joint author of Feed Your Child Well – A Handbook for Parents in Ireland, sees lots of positives in baby-led weaning.

“It is very good to encourage children to feed themselves and to follow their own appetite, rather than keep feeding them. Developmentally it is good too.”

At a time of concern about increased obesity in children, UK research has shown that babies fed in this way had lower BMIs (body mass index) in their toddler years.

The only worry Kelly has is whether self-fed babies can get enough iron in their diet because it is hard for them to chew on red meat. “I think maybe sometimes you have to do a combination of spoon-fed and baby-led weaning.”

A baby can suck juices out of a lump of lamb or braised beef can be cooked until it is crumbly, says Rapley, adding that “we are only talking about very small amounts anyway”.

Parents need to make most of the six- to 12-month stage to “bombard” babies with new tastes, adds Kelly, to give the best possible chance that they won’t be fussy eaters later.

Charlene Boyle and her seven-month-old daughter, Charlotte, seem to be such perfect role models for baby-led weaning that it is questionable why they would enrol for a class on it. Like each of the mothers though at the Mummy Cooks tutorial kitchen in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, on a recent Friday morning, Charlene has her reasons.

Mummy Cooks is a cookery school devoted to helping parents through the weaning stage.

Siobhán Berry, a mother of two young children, started it in her home last September and offers a six-week course on stages one and two of weaning, as well one-day groups and private classes. She has also started operating from the Donnybrook Fair cookery school and at the Little Gym in Liffey Valley.

Finger foods

Recognising the growing popularity of baby-led weaning, Berry has introduced a class on it, in which she demonstrates the cooking of a variety of finger foods. Hummus Pasta Sauce, Tomato and Aubergine Beef, and Cheese and Broccoli Muffins are some of the items on the menu.

Boyle, a remarkably relaxed first-time mother from Sandyford, Co Dublin, is clearly well-versed in both theory and practice with Charlotte, but is here to learn some new recipes. She has encountered some scepticism among family and friends for not going the baby rice and purée route, so she is probably glad to have her beliefs vindicated.

Margaret Donnellan from Navan in Co Meath, has 14-month-old twins, Brian and Michael, and the latter wants nothing to do with a spoon. She feels she is in a bit of a rut when it comes to feeding them and is hoping to broaden her culinary horizons.

Laura McEvoy from Co Wicklow is clearly anxious about the eating habits of her eldest son, Seán, who is nearly three, and she is determined not to go down the same road with his 11-month-old brother, Rián.

She says she has “spent the last two and half years run ning around with a spoon”, trying to get food into Seán, who is only really interested in fruit.

Baby-led weaning helps to prevent meal-times building up into a battle of wills, by giving control to the baby and encouraging parents to be more relaxed about what is or isn’t eaten.

Persistence is required in the preparing and presenting of a wide range of food – but not in the deployment of a spoon.

For more information see rapleyweaning.comand mummycooks.ie

swayman@irishtimes.com

Top five tips for baby-led weaning

1 Trust your baby – believe that he/she knows how much food he/she needs.

2 Share healthy food – it is not a matter of giving them whatever processed stuff the rest of the family is eating, so this may be an opportunity to improve the eating habits of all.

3 Offer, don’t give – don’t insert food in the mouth.

4 Let the baby play with food – to give him/her a chance to explore.

5 Keep it safe – take normal precautions such as making sure the baby is sitting upright, is not left unsupervised and not given whole nuts.