Book Review: Assignment as part of BMSG Counsellor Training Programme Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid

Foods and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Condent Eater by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett Published: 2010, The Experiment Review by Khatim Hamidon, March 2, 2012 When it comes to starting solids for babies, what comes to mind? Bland mush of steamed vegetables or pasty ground brown rice with powdered dried anchovies for that iron intake...and the agony of force-feeding your baby to just swallow the stuff, for Gods sake. And the exasperation. Why the exasperation, you ask? Mothers go the extra mile to pure fruits or buy commercial baby food by the bulk -- and which the baby ends up smearing all over the high chair, and the kitchen wall too, for good measure. Fret not. Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett in their book, Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Condent Eater, propose that not only should parents not be so strung up about pulping down food for babies, it is plain unnecessary. Assuming that you have a healthy, bouncy six-month-old who was born full term and already knows how to sit up, then this book would recommend that you share your own food with your little one. Rapley, apublic health nurse, and Murkett, a freelance writer, suggest that feeding is instinctual for babies, and that parents should let their babies have control over what and how much they eat (provided the choices are healthy ones, of course). This is one reason why baby-led weaning (BLW) is a perfect transition for breastfeeding babies: they share the same principle of trusting a babys natural intuition where a baby feeds on demand to meet his needs. Having said that, the authors also provide tips for mothers with formula-fed babies who wish to follow the BLW way. Rapley and Murkett are quick to acknowledge that weaning here does not mean stopping milk feedings entirely and to be replaced with solid food. Rather, weaning here takes on the British understanding of the term, which is to introduce solid food to complement the babys milk feedings. In fact, the rst few weeks of starting solids are just an introductory round for babies to experiment with new tastes and textures from the food off mommys plate such as cut-up fruits, and gains condence in manipulating the food while improving his dexterity. This is what makes BLW fun for baby and for mommy. The authors are very thorough. Besides listing down the benets of BLW (which touch on so many aspects of the babys health and wellbeing - physiologically and psychologically), they assert that the main issues with conventional feeding of solids to babies are that babies are introduced to solids before they are ready and that spoon-feeding is a major culprit in developing unhealthy eating habits. Here is where they truly convinced me why BLW is the natural way for a baby to progress. The authors also managed to assuage parents very valid fears about BLW, such choking and not taking in enough nutrients. Additionally, the book guides readers on starting BLW, and has sideboxes that has parents relating their diverse BLW journey. And as though to persuade parents further, the book has coloured photos showing adventurous tots stripping off meat and pineapple at the dinner table with their family.
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Granted, some people might say that this BLW idea is not a new phenomenon and has been practiced in some families and in other cultures. Rapley and Murkett agree with this and described BLW as something that was, before this, nameless. However, I see BLW more as part of this growing parenting trend of going back to the basics by stripping what is deemed unnecessary and mindlessly consumerist. (See: http://www.guardian.co.uk/ lifeandstyle/2011/nov/14/buying-minimum-child-kit). However much I nd BLW useful, I do have to admit that this book may tend to grate the reader as some information are repeated in what seems like every other page. I get that the authors may be aiming for comprehensiveness, but a book may still be comprehensive in its essence while remaining concise. In fact, the article that rst introduced me to this book is itself a good summary of what its main ideas are. (See: http://ecochildsplay.com/ 2009/03/13/baby-essentials-that-arent-part-7-baby-food/). Some may quibble that this book does not really provide extensive research to support BLW and only presents a small number of case studies and anecdotes. One justication is that BLW is all about instincts anyway. However, this may change soon enough with more researchers delving into this topic and giving more evidence to support BLW. (See: http:// www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16905371) I would recommend this book to new parents whose babies are yet to start on solids but are unsure what to feed them, and also to second- and third-time parents/parents-to-be who are seeking ways to make mealtimes a happy occasion for both the baby and parents. -END-