Baby-led Weaning, Nunley-style.

Sometimes people are shocked when I tell them she does not "eat" purees. They ask how she can handle whole foods being so little and having no teeth. They ask why we risk her choking by giving her the same foods we eat. 

Well, here's the deal. This is how she eats the foods we give her. 

1. She picks up the food

2. She puts said food in her mouth

3. She gnaws on it until is is small enough to swallow or until she grows bored of it. 

I have done quite a bit of research and we decided that among all the information out there this was the best way to feed our baby. There are a few compelling points that really sealed the deal for me. (Keep in mind these are my personal opinions and are in no way meant to be objective.)

• In purees, baby learns to swallow before she learns to chew. I would be afraid when she encounters a chunk or something not as smooth as the puree she would try to swallow it without chewing it. By teaching her to chew first we are substantially reducing that risk. Plus, you should never leave your child unattended while eating anything, so if she struggles with something we are there to help.
• In jarred purees there are all kinds of preservatives. No matter how "natural" they claim to be, in order for them to be jarred and sold in mass they have to be preserved.
• Some people argue that I could make my own food, but who has time? I work full time and I want to spend some quality time with A before she goes to bed, so why would I want to take extra time away from that to make special food? 
• With spoon feeding, who knows when to stop? Not to say that we don't or won't give her food on a spoon, but they are foods that are normally eaten with a spoon. i.e. cereal, yogurt, etc. The great thing about BLWing is that she is in control and when she is not hungry any more she stops eating. She doesn't have to eat until the jar or bowl is empty.
• It's much more cost effective. By giving her what we are eating we don't have to buy special foods just for her. We may still buy her baby-oriented "snacks", but we try to limit the amount of snack-type foods she eats to help limit her dependence on snacks as a regular eating habit. 
• It's family time. It is my hope that by being included in meals it will help solidify her bond with us and make her feel a part of something special.

This is just meant to be an explanation of how we came to the conclusion to feed A this way and how we do it. It is not at all meant to be a put-down to anyone who chooses otherwise.