Baby Led Weaning – a Herbalist’s Point of View

The Baby-Led Weaning seminar we attended at Sure Start, Folkestone, by Gill Rapley was such fascinating stuff.  It is such a respectful approach to weaning children and the seminar was accompanied by some wonderful videos of babies, watching their development and their transition from milk to food.

It makes use of many truths about babies that have been forgotten. 

For example, from 6 months:

• Gross motor skills are improved – baby can sit self up and support head
• Fine motor skills improve – baby can reach and grab
• Hand-eye coordination improves – baby can feed self

It also works from the perspective of all babies being different and that they all develop in their own time.

One of the ideas that was challenged was that ‘good’ babies are often passive in our society.  Whereas the ones that are active, (touching food, grabbing the spoon themselves, refusing to eat) are seen as ‘difficult’.  This is not the case.

Obviously for full details we recommend that you buy Gill’s book, but some of the interesting points that stood out to me were that:

• To begin with, a baby probably won’t swallow the food it takes into its mouth – he or she will only do this as their developmental ability allows them to.  This can create some anxiety in parents when they worry about the baby ‘getting enough’ food, but actually, just as babies often shuffle, or crawl before they walk, so they begin to explore food with their hands and mouths before they actually start taking it in as food.  They are just tasting to start with and it is like a new toy to them!
• The development of the pincer grip doesn’t occur until 8-9 months of age so baby won’t pick up anything very small – you just give them chunks of food that they can grab and nibble. 
• Just as in adults, we like eating to be an enjoyable experience, the same is true for babies.  Jodie and I took part in an experiment where we had to feed another person at the seminar and we discussed what that experience was like.  (That’s where this picture came from – the local press!  Here is Jodie feeding Steve Wall!  Look how much he is enjoying the experience!)

Of course to begin with, someone approaching a new way of doing something, away from the pureed food and spoons and feeding, may find it a bit challenging to their ideas.  But Gill’s research has pulled together all the information you need to put your mind at rest about how this approach is safe and fun for your child.

The Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning are:

• It is cheaper!  No blenders to buy!
• No need for pureeing
• The family eats together
• The whole process is simpler
• Eating out is much easier, just maintain good standards of cleanliness in where the baby places their food
• No concerns about what to give baby as long as food is healthy, go for it!

Potential bonuses of Baby-Led Weaningare:

• Happy families (relaxed attitude to mealtimes, family eats together)
• Improved nutrition
• Less obesity
• Fewer eating disorders (My next blog post will be on this topic)
• Improved coordination in babies

The seminar was organised by Lyndsey Wall, featured in the article, who used baby-led weaning with her two children, Archie, two and Annabelle, one.  She made a beautiful display about the experience, with lots of pictures of messy, smiling children!  Lyndsey is looking to organise drop-in sessions on the subject – do call the Sure Start Centre on 01303 856200 if you are interested.

Hayley Jones

To read other articles on the subject click here.

Tagged as: baby, Baby-led weaning, Folkestone, Hayley, Herbal Medicine, herbalist, Hythe, Jodie