babyled weaning is fun!

this post contained affiliated links.

A little over two months ago, we officially started our little babe on solids. 

It was an exciting time - we were so eager to start and get Asher started on some real, big-boy food. I was preparing myself for the routine of steaming and pureeing and freezing foods and had purchased a few reusable pouches because, of course - I was super pumped to make all of my baby food au-natural and organic (duh). It only took a few days for me to realize that this cycle of steaming, pureeing and storing food was not gonna be conducive to our day-to-day pace.  I was eager to find an alternative.

It was by complete accident (but also a true Godsend) that I learned about baby-led weaning (BLW) through Instagram. I was so intrigued by the idea of starting my little babe on food that I was eating so I kept researching. Pictures of 6 months old chowing down on cobs of corn and gnawing their toothless gums on an entire porkchop was amazing to me. I joined facebook groups, followed a handful of accounts on IG and found out about a book that is seemingly central to all those who desire to give BLW and real chance. (click here for book - Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods-and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater)

By this point, Eugene wasn't terribly convinced by it so he didn't approve of me buying the book. Thankfully, I found the BLW Cookbook, The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook: 130 Recipes That Will Help Your Baby Learn to Eat Solid Foods_and That the Whole Family Will Enjoy available at my local library so I borrowed it and learned so much.

So thus our journey began: We started slow with easy things. Zucchini, banana, avocados. Things he was semi-familiar with. Slowly but surely, Asher was learning how to manage different tastes and textures better. The gagging episodes became less frequent. I stopped having an anxiety attack at every meal and the both of us really started to enjoy it.

Asher has tried so many different kinds of foods and flavors in these last 2 months of BLW. He has eaten probably 30 different fruits and veggies, pho, thai food, chinese food, mexican food, ribs, corn on the cob, grilled cheese, toast, fish, pasta, spagetti squash, zoodles, etc. He loves korean bbq (and when I say korean bbq, I mean he loves chewing and sucking on pieces of steak) and can eat lots with us when we go to AYCE sushi. It's been so much fun and I can confidently say we have a foodie on our hands.

BLW was completely new to me and I have to admit, I haven't really been strict about following all the "rules". However, I try to be safe and smart about the choices I make and just let him have fun with it. Some days he eats so much that his belly looks like its going to explode and he doesn't care much for nursing on those days. Some days he nurses all day and will have only one meal a day. Most of the time he only ingests 8% of the food and the other 92% end up on the floor, on his face, in his bib, rubbed against his high chair/our kitchen walls. It's a mess but it's fun! 

I hope that he always eats well and loves food just like mommy and daddy. However, I know that when it comes to babies - things can change overnight and he may be picky/hate his veggies/etc tomorrow. My hope is that as we continue on our BLW journey and Asher is able to enjoy different kinds of foods, flavors, textures etc - that he will see that the vast amount and variety of food that we have access to is truly a gift of God's grace and that He will learn to be grateful! so that even during those picky and difficult ages/stages, that we can use even something as mundane and ordinary as food as a way to teach him about God's amazing providence in our life over all things! 

praise God for food! (lol) and hooray for BLW! 

* 

A BLW starter-guide blog post coming soon.. 

Stay tuned.. :) 

xoxo

PS. Follow up on @babyeats_blw on Instagram for updates on what we're eating!