Last week I attended a weaning talk at the local baby clinic. I only knew about it because the baby nurse had mentioned it when we were in getting MiniMe weighed before Christmas. Actually, when we were there before Christmas she asked if we were staying for the weaning talk she was doing that day (which I didn't know about). I wasn't really prepared to, at that point, so she said to come along to the one in the new year.
Along we bumbled. A few mums from my antenatal group were there getting their babies (born before MiniMe) weighed and when I asked if they were staying for the weaning talk they told me they had (all) already been to a talk and, besides, they were (all) already weaning. That didn't really phase me. MiniMe is the youngest baby in the group anyway. What I wasn't prepared for was for her to be the OLDEST at the weaning talk. The baby nurse was actually surprised that we were there, and what she told us wasn't really relevant to us anyway...because it was all about weaning from 17 weeks.
I guess I felt a bit the fool, really. I hadn't been notified of any talks when MiniMe was 4 months old and since weaning wasn't even on my radar at the time I didn't think to ask about it. Needless to say I didn't really learn anything new from the talk. And it was only after the fact that I thought of some questions to ask (about offering whole wheats and grains, dairy, brown rice). We see the Health Visitor in a week so I'll TRY to remember to ask her then.
In the meantime we've decided to start MiniMe on solids TOMORROW! We had been intent on waiting until she is 26 weeks but social engagements mean that Dad won't be around next weekend and it wouldn't be fair on him to miss out on such a BIG EVENT.
I've also been reading some weaning books, namely Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley and Weaning Made Easy by Rana Conway. Rapley's book is all about Baby Led Weaning (obviously) and it outlines how to go about it through the different stages MiniMe will go through over the next few months. It explains about gagging reflexes and, what I found interesting, the LANGUAGE, of weaning. She says to OFFER food, rather than GIVE or FEED. Offering implies that MiniMe is in charge of feeding and regulating her food herself, where as giving or feeding implies that we are making the decision for her. Typing that out makes it all seem a bit hippy dippy actually, but in reality it makes a lot of sense. MiniMe is exclusively breast fed, she already decides when she wants to eat and for how long...this is something that she will be able to carry on at the table.
I'm happy to have read the Baby Led Weaning book to have a better understanding of the physical side of eating...what is actually going to be going on in MiniMe's mouth and the ethos behind letting her be in control. I like that, but we have decided that we would like to do a combination of spoon fed and baby led weaning. Conway's book talks about combining both methods but because she gives advice for weaning from 4 months the beginning of the book is pretty spoon fed/puree heavy and in her meal plans still recommends baby rice/porridge for 6 month olds. I'm not interested in that, one bit.
So we have decided that TOMORROW we are going to give finger foods a go. Banana at breakfast, steamed carrots and lunch and steamed broccoli at dinner. We have no history of allergies on either side of our family so we are just going to go for it. For the meantime MiniMe will get to explore what we offer her for breakfast, lunch and dinner on the weekends when we can all sit down together, and for breakfast and lunch during the week (unless Dad comes home early). Once she is settled and actually eating I'll start eating my dinner early during the week with her...but that's a while away.
Stay Tuned...
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