To think most people don't understand baby led weaning

[Londonforestmum]

I hear so often people say they are doing a mixture of baby led weaning and spoon feeding. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but this is 'traditional weaning', which always advised finger food from 6 months as well as purées. It's not doing a bit of both. BLW means you let your child feed themselves all the time. To say you're doing a bit of both is like saying you're a bit of a vegetarian because you eat some plant based foods alongside meat?

BLW also doesn't mean children don't use a spoon, you can use a spoon straight from the start but you just preload it for them and then let them hold it / put it in (or somewhere near lol) their mouths.

I think maybe people feel under pressure to do BLW but don't want to so they say they're doing a bit of it. There is nothing wrong with doing traditional weaning (purées and finger food) though!

The mask slips.

This

It's also a class example of "tell me I'm a middle class wanker with no money worries and too much time on my hands".

Yeh to be fair it's two separate issues, the phrasing/ lack of understanding annoys me.

I did also do BLW and think it makes a lot of sense.

I’m going to be an arsehole and ask you how many babies you’ve weaned @Londonforestmum ? You sound very engrossed with it all and probably slightly unaware that it’s a very brief stage in child development. I guess you might have formed opinions on different approaches based on your immediate families experience but again, how many babies is that really?

Just 1! From what I've read though people often are more likely to do the purées/spoon feeding with first child when they have more time to be doing that and by the 4th they are left to do BLW pretty much by default anyway!

I just can’t imagine why anyone would even care about this.

Does it matter? I did what i would consider is a combination of both with my 2 and predominantly just used my common sense. They are now 7 and 3 and have both survived and eat fine. Why be so anal about putting a label on these things.

Most parenting ‘techniques’ that have a name eg baby wearing, gentle parenting, BLW are aimed at household where one parent will be at home and there is money. Other people just get on with parenting the best they can, and possibly taking bits from each of these techniques (without probably knowing it had a name it is just parenting) just doing what works for them and baby

Doesn't loads of food get wasted then? Mine at least were more interested in playing with food rather than eating it, but would eat happily if spoon-fed. Sounds like an endeavour for only the most patient of parents!

I did also do BLW and think it makes a lot of sense.

Great. Genuinely

But why feel the need to go any further than that? Getting annoyed about other people's use of the phrase achieves absolutely nothing. You're feeding your baby, they're feeding theirs. Happy days.

It comes across a bit like you want a gold star for obeying the arbitrary rules, but just you, not them. It's silly. Enjoy feeding your baby and stop worrying about other people.

I’d say it’s a bit of an adventure for you at the moment and possibly less of a big deal when you’ve done it a bit more. I think it’s a common idea to think that people care less/focus less/do less, for younger siblings. It seems to comfort people to think the younger members of larger families are a bit neglected. In my experience third fourth or fifth time mother tend to be sahm with a lot of experience and their parenting is far more competent and less faddy.

I'd say that was a rhetorical question; I think everyone already knew you had one child tbh

All the health professionals I know say that this belief that ‘food is for fun before one’ is simply untrue. Children do actually need food before they are one, and they don’t get all their nutrition from milk until the age of one.

A pendant? 😁

That’s a great typo! 😂

Isn’t it!

100%

I feel seen!

Sorry haven't read the full thread.

For us anyway it was that we read a few different things and did parts of a few of them! I mostly let DS at it with going for the food. But if he wasn't getting the food in I would spoon feed it to him. I didn't really have a definitive way we followed

As long as they're fed, does it matter?
Surprised my kids ever survived...

The point is you can but don’t call it BLW.

Or what? Honestly, listen to yourself, gatekeeping some words.

I can whatever I want anything I want, we all can, so it is BLW or not, What will happen will the stars fal

Maybe they need to set up an accreditation process? Someone can come to your house and assess you over a mealtime and only if you pass can you tell people you do BLW?