my 8 mth boy is not taking his purees and porridge too well, so I'm thinking of starting with baby led weaning instead.. any good advice or resources to share? thanks in advance!

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Some of my friends tried baby-led weaning and found that it is not very tedious in terms of food preparation. Food preparation is fast and easy since it usually only involved cutting and steaming fruits or vegetables. While it can get messy, their babies appeared to be more interested in eating and having fun while at it. What they did was to cut fruits or vegetables into pieces that are big enough for their babies to hold onto. They started off with steamed carrots, banana, soft mangos, toast finger, broccoli and peeled cucumber. And to introduce the idea, they started the first session as “snack” in between feeds. Once their babies got the idea, they started eating together with them and as a family whenever possible. One thing is note is that do be prepared that baby-led weaning would definitely be a messy process (but mess can always be cleaned up!). You can also try giving your baby a loaded spoon (with oatmeal) to feed himself/herself. One thing to note will be to ensure that your baby is able to grasp and “gum” the food offered. Firmer fruits and vegetables should be cooked till they are relatively soft. For more information, this article should be quite useful: http://homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/baby-led-weaning

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Baby led weaning is offering them foods that are soft-cooked and cut or mashed into small easily manageable pieces. You may choose to offer your baby a large hunk of apple that she can easily hold and gnaw on or a bowl full of soft cooked mashed apples.You will expect some messy play with food - so you're not expecting her to eat it for a start. While Baby Led Weaning does encourage the infant to lead the way, we must realize that they need to help guide and direct their babies through the weaning process. Watch your baby as he experiments with the food and if need be, show him how to guide the food to his mouth but do not spoonfeed her. Have fun exploring baby!

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