What is BLW
Baby Led Weaning is simply a very old way to wean a baby by letting this instinctive little individual make his own choices in what and how much is eaten. It bypasses the puree stage entirely and starts around 6 months (the finger food age in conventional weaning). Nothing is force or spoon fed. Baby grabs the food, explores colours, textures and tastes as they come. The food is the same as eaten by the family. Runny foods are offered with dippers or on pre loaded spoons and baby learns in time to dip or eat with cutlery. Babies are very good at knowing what they need and BLW gives them a chance to do exactly what they need to do, allows them to develop great coordination skills and gives them the independence they so love.
What is EC?
EC or Natural Infant Hygiene stands for Elimination Communication. Although Kerian wears nappies, especially since it's been cold. He has used a potty since he was a few weeks old. Babies are born with full sphincter muscle control and - as you'll know if you have one - the ability to communicate. This is all one needs to let baby pee and poo in other places than against this skin. Kerian has never had a nappy rash and he pooed in his nappy maybe a dozen times since he was born. This obviously is not new but is the standard method in most of the world: indeed a lot of mummies simply cannot buy nappies or wash them on our planet!
Massaging your baby
Infant massage is used in many places in the world and is gaining popularity again in our 'civilised' regions! Most mummies and daddies touch their babies and stroke them with love and that's just what massage is all about. I Personally started with a free massage video on Video Jug and moved on to a full massage routine from Vimala McLure's book. Kerian's favourite is face and legs. This is a great prep for baby gymnastic or baby yoga.
Baby Yoga
We all do a bicycle movement with our little one and we lift them up in the air to delight them. Why not take this a step further and organise this fun time into a baby yoga routine? Francoise Barbira Freedman wrote a great book about it. I practiced yoga for years and during pregnancy and then I got lazy. This is a great way to get back into it. Not only you'll be amazed at what your baby can do on his/her own with some gentle support but you get back in shape too. Kerian loves drops, flying sequences and any leg exercise.
