I personally don’t like extremes, and I found this to be the best of both worlds: This method is a mix of food pieces (BLW) + purée. I learned it through my pediatric nutritionist @dra.mafergastropedia and it is a perfect middle ground alternative. It mixes the best of both worlds and is a benefit for numerous reasons:
1. Food pieces allow a sensorial exposure, which makes the baby practice and develop the deep motor abilities, and learn how to feed themselves.
2. But at the same time, we can control their food intake with purée and make sure they get the enough nutrients and daily calories required.
3. Being exposed to pieces of food also develops their brain: they learn about color, smell, texture, temperature, consistency... and when the piece of food arrives to their mouth, they associate all this information learned through the senses, with the taste too. This is how they start recognizing food.
4. With purées we also can make sure they eat certain foods safely. So we make sure they eat all the nutrient groups/categories, and all the foods in each category too! So they are exposed to every single food before the 12month mark.
5. This BLISS method combines both purées and pieces, so it also helps keep the baby interested in food/eating, as there’s more variation. They also can set their own pace, mixing and matching and they don't get tired as quickly. I can totally see Sofia more interested in peaces one day, and the next she is suddenly wanting to eat more purée, they set their own rhythm and have more options for it!
6. Doing both also helps in trying more textures (purées can also vary In texture & density as they grow), aid in early mouth development while avoids picky eating.
7. Pieces at first will be a 10-20% and slowly increase with time, to end up being 100%
This worked great with Sofia and I am doing it exactly the same with B!
See all my Solid Intro posts here.