There is almost not a week going by without parents asking me about the BLW approach. For those of you that do not know this approach it was developed by Jill Rapley, a UK qualified health visitor that suggested starting with soft pieces of food from 6 months of age – meaning you jump the whole puree phase and babies just start by feeding themselves. She has published several books and has a website as well.
Initially it was seen as a craze from us as healthcare professionals, but since then this method of weaning has been studied by a couple eminent researchers. The studies have found that the majority of babies can feed themselves from 6 months of age using this approach and thrive, they learn how to regulate their own appetite better, have a preference for healthier foods and have a lower BMI (Body Mass Index) when they are older . There are however babies where this approach may not be appropriate, in particular those children with developmental delay, with faltering growth and other medical problems where food needs manipulation due to a medical reason. In these cases it is better to consult a dietitian or if you are in the UK your health visitor to establish if this method is safe and would sustain growth and development.
Key to using BLW is to start it only at 6 months of age and really to follow your baby with introductions. It is amazing how quickly they learn to eat soft fruit and vegetables and I have plenty of babies who eat meat happily without any teeth. You will find plenty of You Tube videos if you are a “non-believer” of babies from 6 months of age chomping on chicken legs and other more complex foods.
The advantage for me in using this approach for children with no underlying medical conditions is that you get less feeding difficulties as the baby has to regulate their own appetite and will therefore eat what they want to eat, instead of you as parents feeling they need to eat a specific portion. Although this method is pretty new, it is possibly also that we may have less obesity using an approach where babies control their own appetite. Of course you still need to offer a balanced meal and for this I suggest that you look at my previous blog entries to help you out. Happy feeding !