Join us for an Interview with BLWing blogger Sarina from ‘Stop The Munchies’ and find out her opinion on the benefits of Baby-Led Weaning!
Thanks to social media, we are now able to meet people we wouldn’t ordinarily connect with from a business perspective. I met Sarina through Instagram when she tagged @grabease.au in her posts and this started a lovely exchange between us about food, baby-led weaning and CJ’s (her son) development. I then had the pleasure of meeting her at the One Fine Baby Fair in Sydney. When we met in person and spoke, I realised her story was a great one to share with other families in similar circumstances or those researching how they wanted to start solids.
So, here we are…..Enjoy!
Why did you choose Baby-Led Weaning with CJ?
As CJ was getting closer to being ready for solids I found a free online children's nutrition course by FutureLearn which led me to the Baby-Led Weaning book by Gill Rapley. This book spoke on the many benefits of BLW including minimising fussiness. Growing up, and even to this day, I was your typical fussy eater! I hated my veggies. Being a fussy eater, I find it very restricting and often left me feeling anxious in social circles. I do not want this for CJ and as CJ has been exploring new foods I’ve also been trying to retrain myself. I want him to know how amazing Fruits and Veggies really can be!
How old was CJ when you started?
I started CJ at 6 months to the day! However, that doesn’t mean it would be the same for everyone. For me, CJ showed all the signs he was ready; He could support his own head, he would bring toys to his mouth and he had lost his tongue thrust. Before 6 months CJ was showing a lot of these signs, for me waiting also was about making sure his gut was mature enough to handle solids, this is said to happen from 6 months onwards and is a recommendation by The World Health Organization (WHO).
What has been the biggest positive of BLW?
The biggest positive was seeing what an independent little boy CJ has become. He is willing to try anything! He doesn’t always like everything he tries but he will continue to explore, taste and feel a variety of foods. To me, this is the essence of why I do this!
What has been the biggest negative of BLW?
When I read this question aloud my husband instantly said the MESS! Yes, there is a lot of Mess to deal with at the beginning! But I promise it gets better 😊 the mess is all part of learning, and whether you do BLW or traditional weaning there is always going to be a component of MESS.
Tell us your must-have tools to start the weaning journey
There are so many tools out there to help you with this journey and a lot of them are developed or sold by some amazing Mums that have been through this experience themselves!
Here are my top 5:
- A Food Catcher or high-chair food catcher...This saved my carpet
- Suction Plates. Trust me a suction plate comes in handy for when they start throwing!!
- Sippy Cups. When bub starts solids, they should also be offered water!
- Smock/ Full cover bib we actually use a combo here! The grabease allover bib is so easy to machine wash and keeps both baby and highchair clean.
- Last but not least, our Grabease cutlery set. CJ is such a pro with scooping up yogurt and is now working on his fork skills! I stumbled across Grabease after seeing another insta account recommend them and have not looked back since!
The 'Stop The Munchies' story
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Sarina is a Sydney-based Mum to 3-year-old CJ and the Mummy behind @stopthemunchies. Stop the Munchies came about in the hopes of sharing Sarina and CJ’s BLW Journey. Sarina is passionate about educating parents on all things BLW. If Sarina isn’t cooking she’s usually thinking about what she’ll be cooking next! |
