This was one of those things I felt didn't come naturally to me when it was time. I guess no one tells you how to become a mum but that seems to come natural to most mums when your baby is born, you just have this instinct and it just kicks in. But when it came to weaning Amelia, I didn't know were to start, do I BLW her? Do I traditionally feed her. I just didn't have a clue were. Books I read didn't make sense in my head, what I read on the Internet didn't register and when it came to her being almost 6 months I still felt like how do I do this? Giving a 6 month old baby solid food just didn't make sense in my head but I needed to just try it to find out I guess.
In the end I got given a Ella's kitchen purple book (which is amazing if you do either) and started to follow it, however I tried the BLW, this is what majority of mums around me were doing with their little ones so I thought I would give it ago. If you don't know what BLW means it's *Baby Led Weaning*, basically they lead the way! She picked the food up, and basically just threw it or put it in her mouth and spat it back out, which was fine because all she was doing was learning textures but for me I just didn't like it. I felt paranoid, all I was thinking every time she put something in her mouth was, what if she chocks then its my fault cause I'm giving my baby solid finger foods she doesn't know what she's doing all she's used to is milk. The other feeling I was getting, was that she's not actually swallowing anything its going in her mouth and coming back out? What if she's now not getting enough nutrients that she's needs. It literally blew my mind!
However I persisted with it for a good 4-5 weeks, making foods for her, cooking foods, buying all the fruit. Everything was going in, everything was coming back out. All I was thinking was she's 7 and half months and not much if anything is being consumed. It played on my mind for days about switching her to puree foods but I didn't want to disappoint all the mums around me, because I felt like I had failed at this and the guilt just ran all over me. So I had to change.
Oh my, I don't know why I didn't just do this to start off with, whether you buy the pouches or you puree foods yourself, either was fine. She enjoyed this so much better, all the guilt just vanished. I could then relax knowing my baby was getting the nutrients that she needs, I wasn't wasting money on food she was just throwing on the floor and I could see she was enjoying it so much more. Everything that was coming her way was eaten.
Nearly a month and a half later, Amelia is nearly 9 months and she is reverting back to her finger foods and actually consuming the foods, which is amazing to see. She is now enjoying her once a day chunky puree food for dinner, her picnic lunch and her porridge for breakfast! She's amazing at drinking from a sippy cup and loves water. Everything I have given to her so far she's eaten (other than chili) and I feel like a happy mum!
It just goes to show that just because one thing might be right for another children at that time it might not work for yours and this is what I need to take on board more often. I do sit and worry some times that I may do things other mums don't agree with or it may be different but I guess that's the whole point of being a mum to your own children, you parent the way that comes naturally to you that might not come natural to another mum but that's absolutely fine.
If you think your doing something different to another mum, it doesn't mean its wrong, it just means its your way of parenting.
Emily xx
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