Comments on: Baby Essentials That Aren't, Part 7: Baby Food

By: John

John — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:13:25 +0000

While I agree with some of the principles advocated here, there’s a big problem with taking this approach too far. What about chewing?

The digestive system can only access the exterior surface of a food particle. The chemicals down there are only so strong, and they aren’t going to just dissolve a food particle if it’s too big. If a baby doesn’t have molars yet and isn’t thoroughly chewing food (my 3 year old still doesn’t chew much before swallowing, as obviously evidenced when he throws up barely chewed food!), then much of what may still fit down the pipe will eventually just come out the other end without benefiting the body much along the way. This is very obvious from a cursory examination of diaper contents.

If you’re just feeding the baby certain solids for fun, then you may not care. But if you actually want the baby to extract significant nutritional benefit from what you’re feeding it, then I think it’s still a good idea to throwing it in the pureeing device of your choice to chop it up into as small particles as possible to compensate for the lack of chewing. I just don’t see how gums are capable of breaking down a lot of food types the way the body needs it broken down.

Other than that, the other biggest danger of this approach I see is using it in an environment where the rest of the family isn’t really eating as healthy as they should be. I would cringe in horror if I saw parents feeding their babies the kind of stuff most adults often eat. Their bodies are just not as capable of “tolerating” the kind of stuff that adults eat regularly. Obviously, however, the solution to that problem is not to prepare special healthier food for the baby but to change the whole family’s menu!

By: SMiaVS

SMiaVS — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:43:56 +0000

This is interesting. I’d heard of ECing, co-sleeping, baby-wearing, etc., but I’ve never heard much discussion regarding BLW. I think it’s something I’ll definitely be trying in the future. Am I the only single, childless person who’s already researching this sort of thing?

By: Links for Thought (May 15) « Williamsburg Mothering

Links for Thought (May 15) « Williamsburg Mothering — Sun, 15 May 2011 15:16:00 +0000

[...] well-researched posts (especially the one on baby food – if you read only one, make it the baby food one!) were paradigm-shifting for me. Even if [...]

By: First Solid Food « Salmon and Souvlaki

First Solid Food « Salmon and Souvlaki — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:11:29 +0000

[...] only person who ever puts food into her mouth. You’ll find a good explanation of the method here. I’ll write more about our reasons for doing this at some point. The first part of this [...]

By: 5 Green Products: Happy Baby Organic Baby Food to PVC-Free EcoZoo Natural Cotton Animal Backpacks

Sun, 31 Oct 2010 17:22:26 +0000

[...] Would I buy this product? Probably not. I am not convinced we need store packaged baby food, except for perhaps convenience on a long trip. It is so simple to make your own baby food as part of your family meals. Plus, Heather makes some great points in her post Baby Essentials That Aren’t, Part 7: Baby Food! [...]

By: On Baby Gifts and Registries « A Life in Season

On Baby Gifts and Registries « A Life in Season — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:41:22 +0000

[...] A great set of blog posts I discovered as I researched were these in Eco Child’s Play‘s “Baby Essentials That Aren’t” series. They just may make you reconsider the need for some pretty standard-issue baby items, like cribs, infant car seats (note: they advocate using a convertible car seat, so that separate infant and toddler car seats are not needed — they are very pro-car seat!), strollers, diapers (thought-provoking!), baby bathtubs, baby brain boosters, and (this is the one I found most fascinating) baby food. [...]

By: erin

erin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 01:04:01 +0000

Love this article, and all the Baby Essentials That Aren’t… so very true!

As I was reading, I was thinking that spoon-feeding is just one more modern-day invention that is so child-centered. I find it humorous that so many people will say that breastfeeding (especially into toddlerhood), co-sleeping, etc. will spoil a baby and that it is so baby-centered, but really, the opposite is true. Think of how child-centered it is that a baby would have to have his own bed, in his own room, and eat his own different food, with total undivided attention by the adult who is occupied with feeding him rather than feeding herself alongside him…

By: Stacey

Stacey — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:26:06 +0000

I will agree with a lot of what you said, but there are many reasons for the spoon feeding and the ‘liquid’ foods. Children (as rare as they may be) like my daughter, are on a very very strict diet. She was born with PKU, only about 1 10,000 are… But for mothers like me, we have to remember to count every gram, and that the ‘normal’ diet will make our kids very very sick.

By: Do You Really Need Swim Diapers?

Do You Really Need Swim Diapers? — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 18:39:58 +0000

[...] the spirit of telling you about products we don’t think you need so you can reduce your consumption and at the risk of upsetting those that find such items [...]

By: poulepondeuse (La poule pondeuse)

poulepondeuse (La poule pondeuse) — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:50:26 +0000

Sur la diversification alimentaire (en anglais) : http://tinyurl.com/cforu6