Baby-Led Learning

When my son, Cassian, turned six months old, my husband and I introduced him to solids using an approach called baby-led weaning. Baby-led weaning skips purees and starts babies out on solid foods that the rest of the family is eating, with some modifications for safety.

We chose this approach for a somewhat selfish reason – we didn’t want to spoon feed him while our own food got cold. However, there are other benefits to baby-led weaning, including:

• Exposing the baby to a wide variety of new foods,

• Allowing the baby to gauge their own appetite,

• Having the baby be part of the social interactions at the table early on,

• Saving time and money by giving the baby foods you were already preparing,

• Allowing the baby to develop its gag reflex, and

• Enabling the baby to develop fine motor and oral skills.

Watching Cassian’s palette develop, encompassing everything from bananas and strawberries to pickles and olives, has been a joy. In the beginning, most of the food was smooshed and ended up on the floor or in his hair, but recently he has started to eat 90% of the food on his plate. This experience has not only been beneficial for Cassian, but as I’ve observed him learning, I’ve started reflecting on my own habits around food in three major ways: being present, chewing my food, and honoring my fullness.

Being Present

We live in a go-go-go, do-do-do culture, which feels especially true while raising a baby. Taking a cue from Cassian, I now take time to actually look down at my plate and take a few deep breaths before starting my meal. I do this with the ultimate goal of not only enjoying my food but eating it in the rest and digest state as well.

You could eat the healthiest meal on the planet but still feel bloated and experience digestive upset if you’re eating while stressed. When eating under the stress response, your digestive power is dramatically diminished due to:

• Reduced salivary content in the mouth,

• Impaired breakdown of protein, fat, and carbs in the stomach, and

• Decreased blood flow to the small intestines leading to decreased assimilation of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients.

This is because when you’re stressed, your body can’t tell the difference between your boss yelling at you and being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. So if you’re eating under the stress response, your body is more concerned with sending energy and blood flow to your head and extremities to protect you from the threat and is less concerned with efficiently digesting the tuna fish sandwich you ate for lunch. This is why taking time to be present with the food that I’m eating and taking deep breaths to relax before a meal is so important.

Chewing My Food

Cassian does a very good job at chewing even though he only has six teeth. The average adult chews a bite of food three times before swallowing. This forces the body to work extra hard to break down food because it bypasses the salivary enzymes in the mouth that make food easier to digest and nutrients easier to assimilate. I chew my food 20-30 times per bite which has resulted in a few benefits:

• Improved digestion,

• Decreased food intake per meal because my brain and stomach have time to sync up, and

• Increased spectrum of tastes I experience in each bite of food.

One pro-tip for slowing down is to put your sandwich or fork down in between bites!

Honoring My Fullness

Cassian does not hold back when letting us know that he doesn’t want any more food. This is a new phenomenon to me because I spent most of my life as a card carrying member of the Clean Plate Club. Honoring my fullness has been a natural benefit that’s flowed from being present and chewing my food. Instead of finishing everything on my plate, my new measure of success at each meal is if I walk away feeling nourished and energized from the meal, which comes out to being about 75% full.

My husband and I are proud of the great progress Cassian is making as he explores solid foods and we will continue to foster an environment of intuitive eating as he gets older. What is coming so naturally to him now has inspired me to unpack my habits around food and tap back into that intuitive wisdom I had when I was younger.

Being present, chewing food, and honoring fullness are just a few of the concepts I work on with clients as part of the Total Energy Transformation Program. Reach out to me at briana@peakenergyhc.com to set up a free 1-hour Double Your Energy Breakthrough Session where we will discover what your vision is for your health and energy and to see if the Total Energy Transformation Program would be a good fit for you!

Sources: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/baby-led-weaning; Total Energy Transformation Program