Evie’s Food Update: Making the Switch to Responsive Baby Feeding

For those of you who have been following along with me for a while, you may remember the posts I wrote during Ottava’s transition to solids, including Ottava’s First Foods, Raising a Paleo(ish) Baby, and knowing How to Start. Through this transition with Ottava, I really learned so much; it was difficult and a process for sure. If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to read my thoughts about the benefits of raising a Paleo baby, because that has been amazing for us.

But now with Baby #2, little miss Evie, I’ve been surprised by how differently things have gone. I’d assumed it would be easier the second time around since I had already been through it and “knew so much.” But, Evie is such a different person from Ottava, and her eating development is no exception. So, I’ve been faced with a whole, fresh set of challenges that I hadn’t foreseen. This is why it’s so important to stay humble, right?

It is this new process with Evie that I want to focus on and share with you. We are still in the midst of it, but already I have adapted a totally new perspective and method (with some help, of course!). I’m excited to see where things go from here.

Challenge #1: Switching from Traditional Feeding to Baby-Led Weaning

When I first began introducing foods to Evie, I was immediately disheartened because she really didn’t like it. It was much more difficult to introduce foods to Evie than it had been with Ottava. Evie disliked the textures of foods, and purees were not her favorite. So, I very quickly decided to switch to baby-led weaning. I went with sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, avocados—all easy to mash foods.

I could see how much better Evie did with chunks than with purees. She didn’t gag on them; she wanted the chunks. Evie has always been more of an oral baby, with lots of chewing on toys and whatnot, so she already had the mechanisms of chewing down. (Yes, babies can chew food without any teeth! They chew with their gums and tongue.)

Now, I should mention that we always did pureed meats: chicken, beef, and chicken liver (though she refuses liver). I also have done salmon and egg yolks in small pieces.

Challenge #2: Facing Anxieties Around Baby-Led Weaning

When I began the process of adding more foods in chunks, I got really stressed out. I constantly worried about Evie choking, and I couldn’t bring myself to give her harder pieces of food. I felt frozen, like I couldn’t move forward in baby feeding.

However, I found some encouragement from Megan Garcia and her First Foods Program. I discovered how important it is that both mom and baby’s stress levels need to be addressed. I wanted her to like food, and I didn’t want to feel like I was waiting for her to choke every meal. After researching baby-led weaning and responsive feeding, I decided that as long as Evie is making the choice to eat, it really doesn’t matter how she’s fed. Big chunks, bite-sized pieces, purees. I wanted Evie to be responsive to her hunger and needs.

Solution: Responsive Feeding

Megan Garcia has an excellent article about responsive feeding that goes much more in depth than I will be able to here. Simply put, responsive feeding involves learning and paying attention to your baby’s cues regarding hunger and fullness. This can start as soon as your baby is born, as they are nonverbal signals. Megan lists the most common signs to look out for, but ultimately these will be different for each child (as with everything!). After learning more about this method, I began putting it into practice using a combination of traditional feeding and baby-led weaning.

We went to spoon-feeding purees; I put the spoon in front of Evie’s mouth and she either grabbed it herself or else leaned her mouth toward it and I let her eat off of the spoon. This worked so well for both of us. We did this method for 1.5 months until she was ready for fewer purees and wanted more bite-sized pieces.

Around 8-8.5 months, I started cutting her food very small, and she developed her pincer grasp and could eat food on her own. And she really wanted to feed herself.

All in all, I am reminded of how unique we all are, and why there is no one-size-fits-all solution to healthy living. Ottava wanted to feed herself right away, Evie didn’t. But now we’ve gone from 1-2 meals a day at 8.5 months to 3 meals a day, and she is doing so well. We are both doing so well.

Other Helpful Resources:

• Feeding Littles (they have infant and toddler courses too)
• Baby-Led Combo and Traditional Feeding Facebook Page
• Scientific Research on Responsive Feeding