is BLW really natural?

[kels666]

Our ancestors would have been mashing food for their babies for thousands of years. If not mashing then chewing food for them. Of course it's natural to give finger foods (nothing new there) So why some trendy American term? Why do people thing they're doing something different to what the rest of us do? My first lo had every finger food going at 6 mths. Most of the time she ate from my plate. Oh and guess what, she also had mashed food - seems like the natural way of feeding a baby to me.

[Twinklemegan]

Just an aside here - "Medieval Babies Thrived on Breastfeeding" - this research would have been carried out on the bones of breastfed babies who had fallen victim to their environment though, presumably? Apologies if this is a bit tactless, but it's what I do in my day job...

[hunkermunker]

[AitchTwoOh]

me too!

[AitchTwoOh]

[hunkermunker]

Yes, I can

[hunkermunker]

[Enid]

ooh can you do that [interested emoticon]

[SoupDragon]

[harpsichordcarrier]

oh how I agree with you Dizzybint, that is just the point. BLW is a refreshing way of giving the control back to the person who is actually feeling the hunger, to try and get rid of all this nonsense about : good eaters = those who eat a LOT. and praising empty plates IS a bit of a slippery slope imo.
I do praise dd2 if she tries something that she "doesn't like"

[AitchTwoOh]

should say when rather than if... he wouldn't get another meal out of me if he didn't enthuse politely every night...

[DizzyBint]

that's exactly it. i don't see finishing everything in front of you as a 'good' thing. of course enjoying your food and enjoying trying new things is to be praised, but not for eating past being full.

i think there is far too much emotional attachment to food, too much comfort eating, food seen as treats etc.

[AitchTwoOh]

i think there's a difference between being visibly pleased that someone is enjoying what you've cooked for them and praising them for eating it, iykwim? if dh says 'thanks, that was lovely' i am pleased and might allow myself a small preen, but i don't tell him he's clever for clearing his plate.

[MrsWaggsnapps]

I think the difference that isn't being mentioned is not between mashed food and finger food BUT puree and finger food. Whilst our anscesterrs may have pre chewed food for their offspring, they did not stick it in a braun blender til it was semi liquid then freeze into icecube trays.

Whilst allowing your child to moderate and consume his/her own food is time consuming, it's not nearly so mind numbiingly boring as creating masses of puree (which in my case was was then rather pointedly refused) - and as smeone else mentioned at least you can eat your food at the same time (v important in my experience).

I think the BLW title got used heavily by UNICEF as an extension of their breastfeeding campaign so that was partly why the connexion exists.

www.babyfriendly.org.uk/

[hunkermunker]

I don't do praise for eating things with my children.

"Yay, you tried a sprout! Woohoo, you ate all your dinner!"

I remember being massively fawned over by a neighbour's grandmother for eating all my lunch one day (I was about five). I could NOT work out why she was so excited. If I'd not been a shy child, I'd have said "It's only a jacket potato, you nutcase, get off the ceiling!"

I do say "ooh, do you like that?" if they try something new or say "that's a funny face" if DS2 puts something in his mouth that he's not sure of the taste of (my grammar's gone to buggery, sorry).

We enjoy mealtimes, but largely, IMO, because we're not doing a song-and-dance-routine-complete-with-pom-poms-and-upbeat-soundtrack the whole time.

[SoupDragon]

My praise on an empty plate/bowl tends to be of the "bloody hell you've easten it" variety.

[SoupDragon]

But eating does have emotion! Imagine if we only ate for fuel rather than the delight of tasting it... sigh.

[AitchTwoOh]

dizzy and bluejelly, i think that's more what we do praise-wise, in fact it's often she who kicks off the 'nyum-yums'. of course it's early days yet, i do think that it will be harder in the future to keep the disapproval out of my voice if she becomes a PITA about food. but that's more my personality than anything else, i just don't handle fussiness very well...

[bluejelly]

PS didn't mean that to sound smug

[bluejelly]

Was the same DB, I think best to take out all emotion/morality from eating. And it works-- my dd has never missed a meal in her life (though still not overly keen on green veg I have to say)
but she has a v uncomplicated relationship with food...

[DizzyBint]

cori- if you read rapley's study she explains the intake thing. as she explains the ff bf thing. but she has subsequently added to this on aitch's blog.

[DizzyBint]

i don't praise dd for eating. i hate that MIL for example insists that when dd has clearly finished she ALWAYS says to her 'oh one more mouthful' then if dd does take another mouthful MIL goes 'awwww gooood girl!!' hate that. to me that's teaching her to eat more than she needs to eat. of course it's a different story when you have a child that needs encouragement to eat or has food issues, but with my dd it's not the case.

we do all sit around together and eat. we don't praise her, we just do a lot of yum yum yums, and she says yum yum back...showing her how we're enjoying our food. it's not a good girl/naughty girl thing.

[cori]

I dont actually get how BLW actually regulates the babies intake. My DS is 8 months old, and I can see the frustration because he doesnt have the coordination to feed himself fast enough, or when food is continously falling on the floor. If i didnt feed him as well i think he wouldnt be satisfied.On the other hand i love how he 'chooses' to eat brocoli and carrot sticks. I was so proud at Wagamamas the other week when he happily munched through a plate of Asparagus spears

[fluffyanimal]

Just to add to that, I wouldn't ever scold a child for not eating .

[fluffyanimal]

I think that some praise for babies when they are eating is good, as I reckon they can get manipulative quite quickly. My ds is only 10 months and spends half his meal time begging for his water cup so he can fling it around the kitchen. i have to hide it from his sight and praise him when he eats (either from a spoon given by me, or finger food). But I can't get him to eat a scrap more than he wants to so i don't believe I am making him eat more than he wants by encouraging him with praise.

[kels666]

I don't have any problem with how people feed their babies. I do, however, laugh at the implication that BLW is some new phenomenum. People have been feeding their babies like this for centuries. I fed my first this way and she was formula fed by the time she was weaned. (ok, she had mashed food as well) I intend to do the same with my ds who is 6 mths tomorrow and still breastfed. I also believe that it's natural for mammals to chew food for their young - which is why I asked the question in the first place. I notice some people just give finger foods (along with milk feeds) - I wondered if their babies would get enough nutrients this way. I personally, wouldn't feel happy doing it that way. As far as spoon feeding is concerned, we are expected to eat with cutlery, so I don't think spoon feeding is necessarily a negative thing. In fact, I wish I'd used a spoon a bit more with my dd. She still grabs food with her hands - at 22 mths - and rarely uses cutlery.