Baby-led weaning is something that’s full of different experiences. For example, it can become a pleasant time as you see your baby progress from different foods. From eating soft foods like steamed squash to more solid ones like apples, baby-led weaning is one of the ways where you see your little one grow.
However, it can also become a difficult experience for many mamas. Among the many things that can make it difficult would be when your little one gets picky with their food. In these cases, it can become harder for you to find out what foods they’d want to eat. Considering that nutrition is vital in this phase in your baby’s life, it can become more stressful as you may end up worrying about whether they’ll get the nutrients they need.
With that in mind, how does a mama deal with this? How should you handle food refusal during baby-led weaning? The answer to that isn’t as complicated as you think. What’s more, you shouldn’t worry because this is something that’s easy to overcome. You just need to know what to do. So, read on and learn more about how you can do this!
Food Refusal During Baby-Led Weaning
Any experienced mama will tell you that a baby refusing food, especially during complementary feeding and weaning periods, is normal. As such, it shouldn’t be a cause of worry if this happens with your baby. Think of it as part of their growth and development. This is because babies will eventually have preference for some foods over others. Much like you, this may be due to things like taste and texture.
However, while this may be the case, this doesn’t necessarily mean you should let it happen. As you’re still helping expose them to different foods, with their tastes and textures, it’s still good to keep the variety in their diet. Plus, you do have to make sure they get their vitamins, minerals, and nutrients from different sources, too, to ensure you maximize their nutrition. All you need to do is find a way to work around it!
Dealing With the Food Refusal
So, what should a mama do when their little one refuses food as they go through the baby-led weaning process? Well, there are three ways that you can go about it. All of which don’t really involve doing anything overly complicated. It will, however, just take a little extra effort on your part.
Don’t Give In
One of the first things you should do when your baby refuses the food you give would be to not give in. Persistence is key, after all. So, don’t let their refusal get you down. Sometimes, you’ll just need to give your little one more opportunities to try the food. Doing so at least encourages them to try more foods. You’re also subtly teaching them that refusing food isn’t something that you want them to do.
As part of baby-led weaning depends on a child’s exposure to the food to get them more accustomed to it, then you will have to make sure that you don’t stop giving your little one a certain food. At least without them trying it a few times. As this is also where they build their preference for food, it’s at least important you let them try something before they ultimately decide what they want.
Change the Form
Aside from exposing your baby to a certain food multiple times, there’s also another way to get them to try a food they keep refusing. You can change the form that your little one gets a certain food! Whether it’s the literal shape or appearance of the food to its texture, there are several ways to change up how you serve that certain food.
Babies can get attracted to something that looks different than what they’re used to. Along with this, they’re also very touch-oriented. So, how something feels and how something looks can play a part in how they eat. So, by exploring this with them, you can also find out what kind of things they’d like to eat, be it due to its appearance and texture. Once you’ve got that figured out, feeding them during their weaning stage can become easier!
Mix It In
Another possible solution to stopping your baby from refusing a certain food would be to add some variety to the mix. Instead of giving your baby that one food they keep refusing, you can give it together with other foods that they enjoy eating. If they’re not very particular about the foods they pick up as they eat, they could end up eating a piece of what they’ve initially been refusing.
However, even if they still refuse to eat the food, mixing it with other foods still allows them to explore it. From how it feels to its texture, you’re at least allowing them to have some sort of exposure to it. This is still a step towards getting them to at least try it! It may just take a little more time.
Feed By Example
One other thing you can do to help your baby reconsider a food they refuse is by eating it in front of them. Babies are more perceptive than many mamas believe they are. Because of this, babies tend to pick up on a lot of the things they see. So, you can use this to your advantage!
Along with your attempt to try and give them a food they keep refusing, you can also eat this in front of them. For example, you can sit down in front of them and eat with them. Get the food they keep refusing and let them watch you eat it. Of course, you also have to show them that you’re enjoying the food. That way, you end up piquing their interest. Soon enough, they may get curious too and finally try it themselves!
Baby-led weaning is a process that will take some time. As each baby is different, the rate at which they try out new foods may be different than others. So, you just have to be a little patient with your little one. It’s normal for them to not want to eat certain foods at first. But, with enough time and effort, they’ll try it eventually. Just don’t give in and give up! Soon enough, your little one may finally give that one particular food a taste!
