Hand feeding during blw

[Eatmybees]

I started our doing solely blw but added a few purées /Ella’s kitchen pouches after a while for convenience as I was unwell. Now doing a bit of a mix. Dd likes me to spoon feed or hold the finger food for her. I let her take bites in her own time Is this a problem?!

Babies are programmed to experiment and explore; it's how they learn. BLW gives babies the chance to explore different shapes and textures for themselves and at their own pace. Self-feeding encourages hand-eye coordination and regularly handling foods improves their dexterity. Pretty much everything babies can learn from the best (and most expensive) educational toys can be learned by handling food. For instance, they figure out how to hold something soft without squashing it or something slippery without dropping it - and about concepts such as less and more, size, shape, weight and texture, too.
Allowing babies to do things for themselves not only enables them to learn, but also gives them confidence in their own abilities and judgment. When a baby picks something up and gets it to her mouth she receives an almost instant reward in the form of an interesting taste or texture. This teaches her that she is capable of making good things happen, which in turn helps to build her confidence and self-esteem. As her experience of food grows, and she discovers what's edible and what isn't and what to expect from each type of food, she learns to trust her own judgment.

No, helping is fine. Blw is a fad. Traditional weaning also encourages a lot of self feeding. There is absolutely no harm in helping your baby to eat. I've seen people totally tie themselves in knots about not assisting in any way / not using spoons etc and they claim that anyone that does is "not doing blw, they are doing traditional weaning." Well, whatever, it doesn't need a label, just let your baby eat and help when you want to.

Blw in its purest form was a follow on from breastfeeding and about simply taking the lead from your baby. Don't get too caught up in the "rules" that a lot of people try to impose.

And enjoy it x

I offer pieces or pinches of food by holding it myself, and my baby likes to grab my hand or fingers and pull the food into her own food this way, or push it away when she has had enough. They are perfectly in control if you do this, and it means that they are able to try foods that would otherwise elude them. If my baby literally only ate the foods she was able to handle herself, I'd be concerned that entire food groups might get missed out simply because they are too slippery. Trust your instincts, people have always weaned babies by helping them out bit by bit.