Page 66 - Winter2009

actually hit its mark, his mouth! Allowing baby to play, examine and • Thin slices of meat (stewed is often softer);
do what he will with food (except toss, in my opinion), will encourage consider making fish or beef fingers
an interest in different tastes, textures and smells. This is quite a shift • Chicken leg bones, lamb or pork chops (es-
from the typical baby food blends, where it is all puréed together. Help pecially helpful for teething discomfort)
her if she shows frustration and wants assistance, but don’t press.
As time goes on, baby will become more
Once baby can sit up, chew without choking and efficiently get food proficient at this new skill and hit the target with
into his mouth, the principle of baby-led weaning really takes off. Food is more precision. Good timing too, as baby’s need
becoming a fun experience; baby can pick and choose what tastes good, for calories and nutrients is growing. Breast milk
what feels good and what is right to nourish him at the time. Now you can or homemade formula (see Nourishing Traditions
offer longer, thicker finger foods that baby can hold and that will stick out or www.westonaprice.org for more on formula
of his clenched fist such as: recipes) still make up a majority of baby’s calorie
and nutrient needs. Stay flexible while finding the
• Steamed, sautéed or roasted veggie sticks: carrots, sweet potatoes/ balance between milk and food. Each baby will
yams, squash, green beans, parsnips be different. If baby seems fussy without milk
• Sticks of fruits: papaya, banana, pineapple (with skin to help grip) beforehand, feed it first. If she is happy to grab
• Thick slices of avocado at food for a while and get a good helping down
• Cheese sticks and still takes a good portion of milk, great!

SMORGASBORD EXPERIMENT

Back in the 1920s, a pediatrician by the name of Dr. Clara Davis conducted an experiment that illustrates two impor-
tant points. First, sacred foods—such as eggs, liver, fish roe—are ideal for baby to thrive. Second, babies have an intuition
about their nutritional needs. Dr. Davis’s experiment took place in a time when food recommendations for babies were
becoming more rigid and unappetizing. Babies were clearly not enjoying these new “healthier” standards, as evidenced
by the opposition experienced by many parents. Dr. Davis believed these new standards were not what babies needed,
and her experiment confirmed her suspicions.
Davis evaluated fifteen orphans between the ages of seven and nine months, who were given free rein to choose what
and how much they wished to eat from a smorgasbord of real foods with little preparation—no mixing foods and no refined
or processed ingredients. Foods offered—thirty-three to be exact—included whole milk (sweet and sour), hard-cooked
eggs, meats, fish and fish roe, cooked cereals, raw and cooked veggies and fruits. The foods weren’t salted, but a bowl of
salt was set out for the babies to partake of if desired. The nurses involved in the study made no comments, didn’t send
spoonfuls of “airplanes” in for a crash landing in baby’s mouth, and refrained from scolding when a baby declined a new
food or ate “too much” of another.
With no refined foods to muck up their palates, these children demonstrated an innate wisdom to self-select the foods
that met their nutritional needs to create vibrant health, which was monitored by extensive testing. Food selections were
not always pretty. One day a child ate seven eggs, while another opted for a handful of salt. Some children ate more fruits,
yet others gravitated to the meats. A child with poor bone structure was partial to cod liver oil one hundred thirteen times,
on his own accord. While each day’s meal did not provide a perfect “balance,” over the long haul, their nutritional profile
conformed to just what they needed. Not surprisingly, none of the children chose to eat a diet dominated by grain and
2
milk.
Although small, Dr. Davis’s study gives good reason to consider baby-led weaning. Setting out thirty-three different
food choices at each meal is a little over-the-top, but feeding a reasonable variation of traditional foods to baby at each
meal is doable. Being able to consider several choices and having the opportunity to decide on his own, baby will pick
and choose what is best for his growth and development at that specific time. To me, the findings from this experiment
offer freedom to relax. Babies know. A key element to this experiment was the fact that Davis provided healthy foods and
let children eat as much or as little as they wanted. Would the study have turned out differently if Davis had included
processed, sugary foods laden with fake fats? Perhaps, but we don’t know and are not likely to find out since this setting
might not fly with today’s research criteria.
Sometimes baby will chug down a sippy full of raw milk, another day not so much. One week he might eat two fried
eggs each day, the next week pass them up. Don’t panic if food selections seem a little irregular at times—it all balances
out in the end. And since you are feeding from the family table, none of the food goes to waste.
64 Wise Traditions WINTER 2009