Gill Rapley, PhD, has studied infant feeding and child development for many years. She worked as a public health nurse for over twenty years and has also been a midwife and a voluntary breastfeeding counselor. She developed the theory of baby-led weaning while studying babies' developmental readiness for solids as part of her master's degree and has since been awarded a PhD for research comparing spoon-feeding with self-feeding. Gill lives in Kent, England, with her husband and has three grown children, all of whom tried their best to show her that they didn't need any help with solid foods. Tracey Murkett is a writer, journalist, and breastfeeding peer supporter. After following baby-led weaning with her own daughter, she wanted to let other parents know how enjoyable and stress-free mealtimes with babies and young children can be. She lives in London with her partner and their daughter.
"I've been telling mothers for years that when babies start
grabbing food from the table, they are ready for solids. I had the
pleasure of observing this with my own children. What I love about
this book is the joy and zest the authors put into parenting, their
commonsense approach, and their faith that babies will do the right
things for themselves when the time is right. Baby-led weaning is
easy, and it makes parenting fun!"
--Nikki Lee RN, MS, IBCLC "Gill Rapley's work is amazing and makes
so much sense. I recommend this groundbreaking book to every new
mother I know. Read it. It will forever change the way you think
about feeding your baby."
--Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, clinical associate
professor of pediatrics, Texas Tech University School of Medicine,
and coauthor of Breastfeeding Made Simple STARRED REVIEW--Nurse
Rapley and freelance writer Murkett encourage parents to forgo the
usual baby puree and move straight to whole foods while continuing
to breastfeed primarily after a baby is six months old. Their
arguments are scientifically sound, especially when it comes to
muscle development in the mouth, and they address the anticipated
counterarguments, e.g., the need for iron-fortified cereal at six
months. Some parents will be concerned about their lax approach to
the order of allowable foods and especially their lack of concern
about nuts, but allergic warnings are given where necessary. If
mine were little again, I would definitely try this. As long as mom
is nursing, who says baby can't eat lamb chops?
--Library Journal "The benefits are great"
--Independent "Sharing food with Mirah has turned out to be one of
the great joys of parenting. Watching her respond to the pleasures
of ripe tomatoes, curried rice noodles, and all kinds of meats and
vegetables has made mealtime a much more enjoyable experience for
all three of us. We can tell she is learning through all of her
senses about how various substances respond to being crumbled or
dropped or mushed. She seems to really like that she is eating the
same foods as we are, and since we are generally sharing the same
meal, I am more likely to make us all something healthy."
--Aimee Pohl, Babble.com "I see many happy children, who chose
their own food independently and eat at their own pace."
--Stefan Kleintjes, pediatric dietitian "It's been wonderful, and
very funny, watching her discover food, her great concentration in
navigating new textures and exploring new tastes... One of our
favourite things about BLW is its emphasis on families eating
together."
--Nicola Kent, The Guardian "You just hand them the food in a
suitably-sized piece and if they like it they eat it and if they
don't they won't... That's the essence of Baby Led Weaning. No
purees, no ice cube trays, no food processor, no potato masher . .
. just you and your child, eating food that you enjoy with you and
your family . . . My baby is nearly seven months old and . . .
ADORED feeding herself while her parents ate their own meals. I
can't even begin to tell you how pleasant it is to eat in a
restaurant with your Baby Led Weaning child chomping on a piece of
bread and butter or a chunk of cucumber from your salad beside
you."
--Aitch, founder of Babyledweaning.com "As a child psychiatrist, I
have worked on a team for children with feeding difficulties... One
of the main things I would recommend to these families is giving
the child control, and allowing them to have small successes to
build on rather than pushing food on them and ending up in a battle
. . . I believe strongly in baby led play (again, something I would
teach at work) and baby led routines rather than routines being
forced on babies to suit parents' lifestyles (as suggested by at
least one popular parenting book). So this intuitively makes sense
to me."
--Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist
(psychiatristparent.wordpress.com) "It sounds like common sense:
after all, would you want to be strapped into a high chair and
force-fed spoon after spoon of bland vegetables? It's surely much
more exciting to be able to exercise a bit of control over your
diet."
--The Guardian "[Baby-led weaning] makes life so much easier."
--The Times, London
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