Solids- Puree Food vs Led Weaning

Everyone has their own opinions and techniques on everything to do with parenting because we all know each child is so different and unique. I started Xavier on solids at the age of four months, some may say thats too early because rule of thumb is usually not before 6 months old. But my style of parenting is too go by what the child wants, Xavier was showing signs quite early on of his love and curiosity towards food, so i went with it. 

He opened his little mouth and ate every last bit of his farex which is what i decided to start him on considering he was so young i preferred to go into solids slowly. By the age of 5 months we moved onto basic vegetables and fruit pureed, by 6 months he had most of the basic fruit and vegetables. By this age i noticed his hands really wanting to hold the spoon or to touch the food and he became a little more fussy than usual. Then a friend told me about a thing called 'baby led weaning' so i did abit of research and quite liked the idea of your child exploring the textures and food with their hands and mouth.

 It was then i decided i really wanted to give this a go with Xavier, we first started off with soft cooked vegetables and pasta. It was a huge success so we kept going with it, trying new different things everyday! By the age of 8 months we had Xavier eating lamb chops and noodles or toast, it certainly makes a BIG mess so you have to have some time on your hands to clean afterwards. Xavier became so much more confident with his food and it made making meals and heading out to lunches or dinners alot easier on me.
Im truly so amazed at the gag reflex a child at this age can have and never get worried about any foods that i give him that are bigger and need chewing, it all comes totally natural!

I would suggest to any parent to research into baby led weaning because it was one of the best decisions I made as a mummy for Xavier. There are alot of blogs and websites with recipes and guides to help if your feeling confused or unsure. I have a few favourites myself, one called 'My lovely little lunchbox" who makes the most incredible recipes that are sugar free including brownies etc.