Baby Led Weaning

Chicken Nugget is over 6 months old, now! That means it's time to bring on the food!

My cousin has three boys, the youngest of which is 10 months old, so we use her as our advice giver on pretty much everything. She started baby led weaning with her youngest and had such great success that we decided to give it a try!

The basic concept is that you introduce solids to babies and let them decide how & what to eat. You let them explore different foods and textures on their own (no mashed up foods and no spoon feeding). It can be a little nerve wracking to give a 6 month old a carrot stick, but it does allow her to learn to feed herself, experience real food textures (not goop), as well as stop when she's done eating. Supposedly, the first few weeks / months are about exploration and play. She'll still get her main nutrition from breast milk. So far, that's proving true. She probably only swallows about a tablespoon of food in any given meal time.

We started her first meal with "Oatmeal Fingers".
3 tbsp quick (not instant) oatmeal
3 tbsp breast milk
Mix together in a shallow, flat bottomed bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes. Cut into long strips while hot, serve when cooled.

These end up being about the consistency of a soft granola bar and very easy for baby to pick up. I like them because they crumble really easily, so I'm not as worried about her getting a large chunk stuck in her throat. Also, they're half breast milk! So, the flavor is more similar to what she's used to.

She loves them! She's not so great at eating yet. She kind of holds the oatmeal in her hand and licks it, but, hey, she's still young.

One caution for all you neat freak moms out there.... Baby led weaning is messy. You need a dog. Dogs love baby led weaning.

Breastfeeding Myths

There is a lot of mis-information out there about breastfeeding. Some people are critical, some are optimistic. I like to give it to you real. As real as it is for us. And hopefully I'll expel a few myths I heard before I started breastfeeding.

The Myths:

1. If it hurts, you're doing it wrong

Sometimes that is true. Chicken Nugget and I had some serious latch problems in the beginning. But, sometimes your nipples just hurt. Chicken's latch is AWESOME now, like totally textbook, but sometimes she'll suck too hard or nurse constantly for days on end or do marathon nursing sessions of 1+ hours. During those times, breastfeeding hurts. It also hurt when we first got her off the nipple shield. Coconut oil and breast milk on the nipples helps, but sometimes it just hurts.

2. It's natural (aka easy)

Um. No. Not in my experience. It took Chicken Nugget and I a nipple shield and a full 3 months to get good at this, 4 months to get really good at it and get rid of the shield. And even at 6 months, we have good days and bad days. We've been through two nursing strikes, nipple pain, sleepless nights, etc etc. There were serious times when I considered giving up in the first few months.

3. It's personal

NO! Don't let it be personal. If you have any of the struggles that we had, you NEED support. You need a network of other nursing moms to give you advice, to pick you up and to keep you going. You need lactation consultants and supportive pediatricians. Ask for help when you need it! Don't be embarrassed. Don't give up because you think you're doing it wrong.

4. It's too hard to maintain when you go back to work

A lot of moms struggle with going back to work for a lot of reasons. Pumping at work can just add to the stress of going back to work. But, it's possible! You job HAS to provide you adequate time to pump at work. There are Federal Pumping Laws in place to protect this right. And they can NOT make you use a bathroom (gross!).
I know, even though you have the right, it's still nearly impossible to break away from meetings to go pump. And can be embarrassing to ask for accommodations, but you would be so surprised by the humanity you find in others when you ask.
I'm a manager at a large company and my day is mostly comprised of meeting after meeting. I have to literally block off three 30 minute slots on my calendar for pumping. I'll take conference calls during that time (Invest in a hands free pumping bra. It's a lifesaver.), or push it forward or back by 30 minutes, but I will not cancel a pumping session for a meeting. This is my child's source of nutrition. That's a line I won't cross. I like to think I'm setting a precedent for my employees. Maybe I'm pissing my boss off.... but who knows. She'll never tell. Because there are laws in place to protect us from that.
Offsite or all day meetings can be especially challenging or embarrassing to excuse yourself from. But, I promise, it's worth it. I ask every offsite location for a room to pump and every one has accommodated. Some provide better accommodations than others (DoubleTree gave me an actual guest room), some not so great (a local restaurant put me in an open banquet room that kitchen staff walked through twice.... *sigh*). If you're not going to be in your regular location, bring some extra supplies with you: paper towels & a nursing cover are super clutch.

5. If your baby wakes up at night / is fussy / is gassy / has jaundice you should give formula

Your breast milk is literally the best thing for your baby. After 50 years of trying, formula is still not as good. It will not make your baby sleep better (Breast Milk vs Formula) and provides none of the crazy immune benefits of breast milk. Some around you will try to tell you otherwise, but you know better.


Look, breastfeeding is not always easy or painless or totally convenient (see section 4). It's also not fun to have these sometimes saggy, sometimes engorged, leaking breasts attached to you at all times. But, breast milk is the absolute best source of nutrition for your baby. And if you give it up, your body will stop producing it. So, muscle it out with me. Find a network of moms to support you. See a lactation consultant. Cry in the shower (been there, sister). Come into this journey with your eyes wide open and your goal in mind. Find whatever it is that will help you reach that goal (determination, muscle, love, health, piss & vinegar.... whatever works). Don't be afraid or ashamed if it doesn't come as easily as you thought.

And finally, don't beat yourself up if you give up. You're doing your best!

Baby $#!t is overtaking our home!

And I mean baby stuff.... like toys and pack & plays and burp cloths and boppys and car seats.... it's ridiculous! And she's not even old enough to drag these things around, herself. Hubbie and I are the ones making this home a baby zoo.

Today, I took charge in one little corner of our home.... her nursery. Baby socks, bibs, burp cloths, hair accessories, shoes, scratch mittens and the likes have been stored in one single drawer that we affectionately refer to as the baby 'junk' drawer. This drawer is no more!

I am so proud of my crafty, recycling ways that I'm even blogging about it!

I re-purposed an old over the door shoe organizer into a small baby things organizer. Check me out!