BLW update at 8.5 months

A few months ago I posted about starting Quinn on solids.  Since then he's really taken off with it.  Just tonight at dinner I think he ate about half an avocado along with several crackers and some mac and cheese.  He's definitely gotten past the point of just playing with his food and now seems to actually eat a lot of it.  He also really likes eating-- he gets mad if he sees me eating something and don't give him any.  And many times he'll actually sit quite happily for all of dinner time munching on his own food, letting us get a chance to actually sit and enjoy our own dinner, too.

I have to admit, the first weeks of baby-led weaning (BLW) were kind of... stressful.  Q gagged on his food a lot, and Zach and I would kinda freak out anxiously waiting to see if he'd be ok or start choking.  Thankfully, I'd read about how that's all part of the normal process.  Apparently babies have an over-active gag reflex, to help protect them against choking (they gag and move the food forward long before it's actually at the back of their throat).  After the first weeks he gained a lot more control, and then I realized that he almost never gagged anymore.  I still watch him carefully as he eats, but it's a lot more relaxed, as I trust him to be able to manage the food in his mouth and eat it successfully.

By now he's tried all sorts of food, like apples and pears, to avocado, beef (sucked the juices out), chicken and salmon, plums, blueberries (I break the skin on them so they squish easily when he chews), bread and crackers, squash, cucumbers, scrambled eggs... etc etc.  I'm mindful of things like sodium content, but otherwise try to give him some of whatever it is we're eating.  Almost everything he's tried, he has loved.  And what's amazing, is that even though he himself is usually a huge mess after he's done, very little food actually falls to the floor (other than when he's past the point of eating and starts purposely flinging).  He's even already experimented some with feeding himself with a spoon (pre-loaded with a bit of yogurt) and fork (with smaller bits of avocado or other foods that I know he can manage bites of but as he handles them get broken to pieces too small for him to pick up as easily).  It's pretty amazing to watch.

Avocado:

 

Watermelon:

 

Um... squash, I think?

 

Yummy breakfast of cheerios and banana:

 

BLW buddies!  Quinn and his cousin enjoying cheerios, blueberries, grated cheese, and yogurt up in Tahoe.

So yeah.  I was a bit skeptical of BLW when we first started and I was so worried about him choking.  Now, this seems like the best thing ever.  He loves his food, is getting all sorts of great fine motor skills practice, and best of all-- since I don't have to feed him with a spoon, it means I get to actually eat my food at dinner, too!  That right there may be the biggest benefit of this whole thing.  Well, that, and not having to prepare purees.  I have no shame in admitting that laziness played a big role in deciding to try BLW.  ; )