When Little Oats was four months old, the doctor suggested starting her on rice cereal. She was a little peanut in the weight department, and he thought it might help her sleep through the night (haven’t we all heard a variation on this?). So, just before Christmas, we started spoon-feeding her a brown-rice cereal… and she loved it! Gobbled up bowl after bowl… until her stomach protested. She had gas pains, constipation, and really struggled to go to the bathroom. So we backed off until 6 months, when we attempted to introduce other foods.

(Little Oats devouring her rice cereal)

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I prided myself in making all of my own baby food. I whipped up combinations like pear and ginger, avocado and lime, and cinnamon peach. They tasted great, I used local produce when I could, and I was so excited to start feeding them to Little Oats. But despite offering her different fruits, vegetables and cereals several times a day, she wanted nothing to do with purees. One day, out of desperation when we were at the mall, I bought her a baby food pouch. Since she could hold onto it and feed herself (with a little help), she loved it. Pouches seemed to be the answer to Little Oats’ puree-aversion. Because I had a freezer full of homemade baby food, I ordered these reusable pouches from Amazon; this way, my farmers-market-fresh fruits and veggies wouldn’t go to waste. But the little stinker knew the difference, and would ONLY eat the store bought pouches. Puffs were a hit, as were Cheerios… but a baby can’t survive on carbs alone!

(unimpressed with my homemade baby food)

By the time she hit nine months, she had 6 teeth, was skinny as a string bean, and still only showed limited interest in food. Knowing full well that she needed to be eating something other than breast milk and puffs by the time I went back to work in August, we tried seeing what food she showed an interest in.

And wouldn’t you know it, she was interested in ANYTHING from my plate. Hot, cold, breakfast, dinner – it didn’t matter. If I was eating it with a fork or spoon, Little Oats wanted some. So that’s what we started giving her. Slowly at first, because gagging freaks the heck out of me, but then with more gusto as we realized the kid would eat almost anything! Avocado, black beans, chicken, tofu (in spicy peanut sauce!), fish sticks, pasta salad… anything she could pick up in her little fingers, she devoured.

We’re sitting here a little shy of a year, and after a good 4 months of struggling, I can confidently say that Little Oats is a good eater. She learned the sign for ‘more’ quickly; the faster she signs, the faster she can cram her face full. I can’t sit down with a plate before she’s pulling up on my lap, saying ‘mo mo’ and signing ‘more.’ She prefers to feed herself; any spoon that comes near her mouth gets grabbed and thrown across the room.

I didn’t plan on baby led weaning; I had done a little research, and wasn’t keen on the mess, or the potential for gagging. But we’ve never had a problem with gagging; Little Oats is an expert at spitting out pieces of things that are too big or difficult for her to chew. I was also given a reality check in the mess department; it doesn’t matter what or how she eats, there will always be a mess.

I didn’t go looking to use BLW, but BLW found us, and it’s been easier, healthier, and more fun than I could have imagined!