Baby Led Weaning Resources

Here are some resources for finding out more information concerning Baby Led Weaning:

1. Does Baby Know Best?

2. Guidelines for Implementing a Baby-led Approach to the Introduction of Solid Food

3. Baby Led Weaning (wholesome baby food)

4. Blog: Baby Led Solids

5. Blog: My Baby Led Weaning Experiences

6. Blog: Baby Led Weaning

7. Baby-led Weaning: Helping Your Baby to Love Good Food By: Gill Rapley

First Dinner

So far Matthew has had and sometimes enjoyed, avocado, bananas, sweet potato, carrots, butternut squash, applesauce, pears and apples. (Although I must add, that he pretty much just had juice and not very much of the actual fruit for the latter two). He really has developed an appreciation for feeling the different food textures and when he is able to he likes to squish the different foods through his fingers.

This evening was the first night that we were able to all eat dinner together as a family. Up until this point Cass and I will usually put Matthew to bed and then we will eat. (When Matthew was still a newborn, we used to eat dinner in front of him but then it got to the point that he would want to eat or go to sleep right when it was time for me to eat. As this wasn't really working for me we just moved our dinner time later).

I was really excited tonight for us to be able to eat dinner together as a family. Cass admitted that he was a bit nervous about letting Matthew have spaghetti but I reassured him that everything would be fine and even offered to show him pictures of children Matthew's age eating it. While he didn't take me up on my offer to see the pictures, he did give his consent and so pasta night it was! According to Gil Rapley's book, Baby-led Weaning, you should offer pasta both with and without sauce. Gil also states that babies should not have any commercial pasta sauce due to the sodium content and instead recommends using mashed up vegetables. With this in mind I made Matthew some spaghetti with carrot puree as a sauce. He started off his meal by truly embracing his dinner, as he dumped about half of the spaghetti in his lap. He then proceeded to play with his food, which he found much more enjoyable than the taste of his whole wheat pasta and carrot sauce. He did seem to have a bit of preference for the plain pasta that we served him next but at that point it was difficult to tell as carrot was everywhere. (A trick that Rapley shares in her book is to put the baby's bowls or plate in the freezer while you cook dinner. This way when the meal is ready it will cool the food down a lot faster so that the baby can eat with his/her parents and the parents can enjoy their meal nice and hot).

After playing for a few minutes with his dinner, Matthew started to get a little fussy as he was tired and so I tried to appease him by giving him the outer edge of my garlic bread. (I wanted to give him the edge so that he would have only be eating the bread and not the garlic). After picking it up however, he decided that it wasn't anything that he wanted to try. I then thought that we should offer him some banana because at the very least even if he didn't want to eat any he could still have fun mashing it between his fingers. Well the banana was a success! Not only did Matthew have a great time feeling the texture of the banana, but he also enjoyed feeding himself the banana and both Cass and I were able to finish eating our meal. This evening he did put some rather large bites of banana in his mouth, but just like Rapley's book foretold the pieces fell right out. As soon as we were finished, we took a mess assessment and decided that a quick bath would be the easiest and quickest cleanup. Tomorrow night I am hoping that Cass will okay for us to all eat dinner together as a family again. If so, we will be having buffalo burgers.

Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to share as I could not find my camera and Matthew was tired. We did film a brief video, which I will upload later.

BLW or Baby Led Weaning

We have been doing BLW or Baby Led Weaning for the bast 10 days here in the Bell household. Basically BLW encompasses skipping purees and baby cereals altogether and instead only feeding your child finger foods. One of the advantages of BLW is that babies are able to play with their food and learn about the different textures and shapes. Another advantage is that it makes meal time a fun, learning experience rather than a stressful one. One last benefit from BLW (there are many others) is that it puts the child in charge of what, when and how much he or she eats. The thought is that helps reinforce to the child to trust his/her hunger cues and with the obesity epidemic that we have in this country I would say that is a great thing.

We gave Matthew his first taste of solids on the 17th and as you have seen from our previous post, avocado was not a big hit. (We still haven't tried avocado again as I needed to buy some more. I am thinking that today we might reintroduce it to him at lunch time as I bought an avocado last night). Matthew's next solid food was bananas. Originally I had planned on offering him another type of food but he saw me eating my banana and was very interested. In fact, he kept on trying to eat the peel. So Cass and I put him in his high chair and let him have a go with the bananas. They were a huge success. The last food that we have since tried was sweet potatoes. While Matthew enjoyed them more than the avocado, he was definitely more intrigued with my spoon and with his bowl than actually eating the sweet potatoes.

Here is a video of Matthew enjoying his bananas:



Here is Matthew inspecting his sweet potatoes:



And here he is enjoying my spoon:

Matthew's 1/2 Birthday

Matthew started off his half birthday by kicking off his six month growth spurt. It has hit both him and myself with a vengeance. He spent most of the night waking up to eat and as a result neither one of us got much sleep. We then went to the pediatricians for our 7:00 am appointment, where Matthew was weighed and measured as well as given a clean bill of health. He is 15 pounds 12 ounces (20th percentile), 28 1/4 inches (96th percentile) and his head circumference is 43 cm (74th percentile). We then spent the rest of the day at the house, where the sleep portion of the growth spurt did not occur until late in the afternoon and Matthew insisted that I join him. (He really did every time I got up to leave he would open his eyes. Once he saw that I was there he would close them and go back to sleep). When Matthew woke up, we spent time together as a family. Cass and I decided that we couldn't wait until the weekend and so we decided to give him his first taste of solids. Well Matthew let us know loud and clear that he does not like avocado. I will post some pictures and another video clip later but for right now please enjoy this one.

6 months already?

It has been way too long since my last post and for that I must apologize. It seems that it has just been one thing after another - nothing bad just things and events that leave one very tired. By the end of the day I have just been wiped out and so the thought of getting up to update the blog just wasn't very appealing. I did update the blog several times while I was trying to fall asleep if that counts for anything.

Well today Matthew turned six months old. It is hard to believe that a half a year has already passed since he was born. One piece of wisdom that has been oft repeated to both myself and Cass is "not to blink" that "it goes by so quickly" and I must say that is definitely the case. Six months has never before in my life passed by and left me wondering where the time went. As it is late I will spare the sentimental anecdotes but just know that I often look at Matthew's tiny hands and think that he will one day too soon not have tiny little appendages any more. I think the same thing when he falls asleep in my arms that one day he will be too big to do that or too big to even want to fall asleep there. It makes me want to cherish the time that I have with him even more but it is difficult as I also feel the "present" calling, telling me to unload the dish washer, do another load of laundry and not just sit there staring at my son. It makes me reflect and realize that being a parent is like being a trapeze artist in that both professions make you walk a fine line between basking in the moment and recognizing reality.

Three Months Old

It is hard to believe that Matthew is already three months old. He has really amazed both Cass and I with how much he has grown. Physically he has grown two inches in the past month and over two pounds. (We don't know exactly how much he weighs as he would not stay still when we went to get him weighed last Monday and so the scale never locked in place. The figure was hovering around 13 pounds 10 ounces). Matthew continues to love being outdoors and taking in all the sights. Indoors he really enjoys looking at lights and trying to "steal" glances of the television. Recently he has started doing the doggy paddle in the bathtub and is really proud of his accomplishment. He still loves music and enjoys kicking his legs in his crib. Recently at night he has started sleeping in bed with his mommy, which has resulted in better sleep for both of them. We are looking forward to the holidays and can't wait for Matthew to meet some more of his relatives at Thanksgiving. We will update soon with some holiday pictures. (Mommy is having a very hard time finding him a holiday suit but so far has found two other very cute outfits).

Here is a video from Friday night highlighting Matthew's love for stories:

Happy November!

Matthew has been growing by leaps and bounds. It is hard to believe that in just three days he will be 3 months old. He now weighs almost 14 pounds and I am curious to see how long he is, which Cass and I will find out on his mirthday (month + birthday = mirthday). He is now talking up a storm and has even started shrieking. Matthew also just started laughing and last Saturday was the first time that he laughed while awake. Daddy was playing with him and he laughed right back at Cass. Matthew has also been grabbing and playing with things though not as much development there as with his talking. He rolled over from his tummy to front on the 25th of October but hasn't done it much since then. He also LOVES to stare at lights and does so quite a bit. He has been trying to sit up on his own and gets extremely frustrated when he is unable to do so. Matthew and I flew down to Texas from October 20th until the 24th and we had a great time. Matthew behaved wonderfully on the plane and even received a few compliments. Matthew has also spent some quality time with Granddad, grandmama and grandpa/popop. Sorry to keep this short but Matthew has not been sleeping for very long without me recently and so I need to catch up on some much needed sleep. Please enjoy the pictures and video.

Talking up a storm:

A busy few weeks...

I am sorry that it has taken me so long to provide an update but we have had a busy few weeks. This past Monday Matthew went to the doctor for his two month appointment and we found out that he is now 23 inches long (60th percentile), 11 pounds 10 ounces (50th percentile) and has a head circumference of 15 3/4 inches (50th percentile). Matthew has really taken off with talking. He now coos like crazy. Both Cass and I really enjoy our conversations with him and his reactions. He also has seemed to discover his hands and now thoroughly enjoys putting them in his mouth. In fact, he tries to not only get his entire fist in his mouth but also both hands at the same time. He is starting to discover placing just his thumb in his mouth, but his thumb usually ends up moving along his upper gum line instead of in a conventional sucking position. Matthew received his first (and only) bottle on the 10th when we went to our first family life group. We had a great time and look forward to our second meeting on the 24th. We are looking forward to doing our study on the Book of Isaiah. Matthew still enjoys going for walks outside, although they have been limited lately due to all of the rain and cold weather. He still enjoys looking at trees and other foliage. Matthew has also started to push himself up even further during tummy time and constantly impresses both Cass and I by his strength. Matthew has also enjoyed being in his new bouncer, which mommy also enjoys as it gives her a chance to grab a bite to eat/get dinner ready. Lastly, Matthew has become quite good at holding things for longer and longer periods of time.


Watch out what you put near my mouth daddy.
Bundled up for a walk with mom.
Asleep in my bouncer.
I love to lick things now including this blanket made by my great-great-grandmother.

Watching the Ravens game with daddy.
Spending time with Uncle Stevie.

What we have been up to...

Well the past ten days have really flown by in the Bell household. Some memorable moments include Matthew sticking his thumb in his mouth for the very first time. Granted this solo thumb sucking experience did not last long as Matthew's fingers quickly joined the escapade. We have also taken Matthew out for a lot of walks in his stroller, where we have discovered that Matthew has a genuine love for the outdoors. He definitely looks forward to his time outside and appreciates looking at the trees and listening to the crickets. Matthew also got to take his first big people bath with mom and really delighted in being in the warm water. Since then he has taken two other baths with mom in the big tub, which he enjoys as long as it doesn't last longer than 15-20 minutes at which time he really lets mom and dad know that he has had enough time splashing around. Matthew and mom also went on their first play date on Monday where we met some great moms and children. (There was also another little boy named Matthew). We have also noticed and delighted in the fact that our son smiles more and more each day and has started cooing as well. Matthew continues to take joy in listening to music and he now even has some wrist rattles so that he can join in on the fun. Finally, Matthew has started to grasp onto objects other than our fingers. We hope that you enjoy this week's pictures and video!

This is a picture of the first time Matthew wore pajamas.

This past week

This past week has been a busy one as Matthew reminded me once again that his mommy should not eat any broccoli or I will suffer extreme consequences. He went on two walks this week (one with Uncle Stevie and his mom and the other with his parents) where he was able to get in his stroller without the car seat. He really enjoyed the fresh air and was able to "chill out." Matthew has also been grabbing more and more things (my hair, bag handles, fingers, shirts, his daddy's glasses, etc) and he has managed to hold them for longer periods of time. I also discovered this past week a great way to occupy Matthew during the afternoons so that I have enough time to make and eat lunch - propped up in his bobby pillow.

Matthew also gave both of us his first conscious smiles. On Monday, Matthew smiled at me three times in a row while I was changing his diaper. Then his smiles "disappeared" until his broccoli induced gas pains went away and so Cass had to wait until Thursday morning to get his. Cass loves Matthew's smiles and thinks that "they are beautiful" and I totally agree. Matthew's smiles make our day and are so rewarding. Let's see if they win you over as well:

One Month Old

It is hard to believe that one month ago today we gave birth to our first child and most precious son, Matthew. This past month has definitely been an adjustment for Cass and I as we are slowly learning what it means to be parents. Things are starting to resemble more of a routine in our house although we are by no means on a set schedule. Matthew has also gotten to the point where he sleeps for one four hour stretch each night, which allows mommy some much needed sleep time. We are also becoming more familiar with Matthew's cues as well as his various cries. We have learned that he LOVES to sleep on his mom's chest and that his swaddleme in conjunction with his car seat and vibrator are a good substitute. Matthew equally enjoys spending time with his daddy especially when that time involves staring at and studying his dad's face. Finally, we know that although at times caring for Matthew has been stressful and has provided us with our ups and downs, we wouldn't trade it for the world as we love our little boy and can't imagine our lives without him.