One of the things I really like about baby led weaning is the theory that a baby will only eat what isn’t bad for them. According to this theory, when a baby won’t eat something, they will generally later be found to have an intolerance or allergy to it.
I don’t have empirical evidence of this, but if you want to find out more, you can read Baby Led Weaning by Gill Rapley.
So, on to the story. Last month my granmother, my daughter Ameli and I were sitting in a pub in Stratford on Avon having lunch. We ordered traditional haddock and chips, which they set down with a big pot of peas.
I put a finger sized sliver of fish down in front of Ameli. I put two unsalted chips down in front of Ameli. I put a tablespoon of peas down in front of Ameli. She ate the fish. She ate the chips. She put one pea in her mouth and I don’t know if she ate it or not, but then she took her training cup and proceeded to mash the peas up quite violently before shoving them to the ground.
I have never seen her do that to any food.
My gran, sceptical from the beginning about letting an eight month old feed herself was quite taken aback. She then told me that she did not eat peas because of a intestinal condition she has had for years: when she eats peas they cause gas pockets in her intestines.
It dawned on me that I have never liked peas either.
Perhaps some day in the future I will have her tested for allergies and intolerances, but till then, we’ll keep peas off the menu. Just in case.
Sometimes I don’t just think it’s the food per se that’s the issue when they won’t eat it but where it is sourced from with regards to pesticides/coatings etc. etc. We try to go Organic and seasonal food where possible and I have noticed when I get other fruit and veg from the supermarket that isn’t organic, often or 10 month old baby girl will reject it.
@Wendy, That is a very interesting point. I suppose it makes sense as organic food often has a lot more flavour to it than bland ‘other’ food?
How interesting! We have not come across anything that my daughter takes an aversion to yet. Neither f us have any allergies ourselves or in our families so would love to see more research into this!
There’s not a huge amount of scientific research available on BLW, sadly, and most of it is anecdotal. That said, there are two main sources of research, Clara Davis – http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/175/10/1199 and Gill Rapley, a deputy director in the World Health Organisation with 25 years of experience as a health visitor. I highly recommend her book, Baby Led Weaning. It makes things so clear and simple. Her website is http://www.rapleyweaning.com
Thanks for commenting!
We didn’t puree too much food, instead I chewed little bits of food for Bombi to coat it with my saliva and then gave it to her. It’s easy for her to stomach as it’s covered in lots of digestive enzymes.
The Babby hated peas – it was the only food she gagged so hard on that she actually threw up. But it wasn’t indicative of anything I know of, since she’d happily eat peas that were mixed into other foods.
hello there! first time commenting, second time visiting, love your blog! I just saw this book at our local lactation consultant’s office, have you read it? Is it worth getting?
@Yuliya, Thank you for visiting and for commenting! Yes, I think the book is entirely worthwhile! I really learned a lot from it and it was easy reading – in other words I could do it even though I had a small baby at the time! We totally follow BLW now, and people are always surprised, not by how well Kyra eats, or how much, but what variety too. Highly recommended.