Baby Led Weaning| My Tips and Tricks and Products I Swear By

November 1, 2020 Channing Hanneman

Hey Guys!
Luke is officially 13 months which means he has been eating table food for 7 months! I can’t even believe it! When we started on our BLW journey I never imagined it would be this fun and easy. Please read on for some tips I have, as well as all the products I highly recommend if you want to start on this journey.

I have never heard of Baby Led Weaning until I had a child. I saw some of my favorite influencers on Instagram feeding their babies regular table food and I found it so fascinating. I started researching the idea of BLW and found that I loved the concept. Now, this isn’t for everyone. I HIGHLY recommend doing research on your own before you start. BLW is an amazing thing but you have to be extra careful about the way you present the food so babies learn to eat without getting frustrated. I learned a lot from this book HERE.

I won’t bore you with all the amazing things I learned from this book but here is a quick summary. BLW is great especially for breastfed babies because they are already independent in their eating meaning they already control what they are drinking/eating and are teaching themselves when they are full to stop. Not saying that bottle fed babies can’t do BLW as well but this concept started with breastfed babies. Since these babies are already more independent, feeding them by spoon takes a step backwards because it teaches them to rely on you to feed them rather then themselves. BLW also encourages family bonding at mealtime so that every meal is shared by the family at the same time. I liked this idea because sitting trying to spoon feed a baby mushy messy food while my own food got cold didn’t sound fun to me.

The book also talks about the importance of cutting the food properly for each age. At first, you want to cut the food in long thin strips. This scares people because they worry about choking and think the food is too big. I learned that young babies don’t have a proper pincher grip to grab small food so when you cut it in long strips, they are able to pick it up and knaw at the end that is sticking out of their fist. Pretty cool huh! As they grow older and their pincher grip and hand eye coordination develops, you can start cutting pieces into normal small sizes like we adults eat. Speaking of hand eye coordination, I really believe that BLW has led to Luke having amazing little fingers and he has been able to use stacking toys and other complicated toys since he was really little.

Alot of people’s main concern about BLW is choking. This is understandable. From my research, babies are no more prone to choking in BLW than in regular spoon feeding. That being said, it is extremely important to always watch a child when they are eating no matter how old. I will never walk away from Luke when he is eating. Anything can happen in a second no matter what it is.

The number 1 rule for BLW is that you can’t start until they meet ALL signs of readiness. This includes sitting up on their own for 1 min straight, being 6 months old, loss of extrusion reflex, and baby brings objects to mouth with ease. There are also foods that you must not feed to baby including raw honey before the age of 1 (this can hide in objects such as bread so check the labels) obvious choking hazards, unpasteurized foods and anything undercooked. Besides that everything is fair game!

The other most important rule about BLW is food before 1 is just for fun and milk is still king. Whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, you should always offer milk first before every meal. This is where babies get the majority of their nutrients from especially before they aren’t eating a lot of regular food.

We don’t follow a specific diet for Luke. We have always given him what we are eating. He eats sugar and processed foods in moderation, we don’t add a ton of salt or seasoning to his food, and he eats plenty of fruits and veggies. He loves meat but sometimes red meat can be hard on his tummy so we have to cut him off ( which he hates haha)

Many people have doctors and family members who will try to talk them out of BLW. My own doctor had never heard of it but once I explained that this is what it is she didn’t say anything. My family was very confused and often tried to steer me away from my decision but I pushed forward. I knew what I wanted for my son and ultimately everyone is now amazed at what a great eater he is! Many people will also try to tell you to introduce foods in a certain order or one at a time to avoid allergies, This is also a myth. Allergies can pop up at anytime during your life so you don’t need to do this.

Overall, this is your child and your decision. You can do BLW 100%, half spoon half BLW or all spoon. Whatever you decide remember, you are the parent and you know what is best for your child.

See below for the products we love!

Highchair: I have talked about the highchair from Ikea a few times now. It is inexpensive, so easy to clean and works amazing. You can get a little blow up insert to go in to help move baby closer to the tray. Luke used this until he was about 9 months. I love the sleek minimal design and the fact that it takes up so little space.

Splat Mat: To go under the highchair to help stop any messes is this splat mat. It comes in many designs and can be washed in the washing machine. It is super travel friendly as well so we like taking it to places when Luke needs to eat at his grandparents or for holidays. This is waterproof so in the future we will also use it for the beach and other outdoor activities.

Smock Bib: Since BLW is messy, Luke wears a smock bib over his clothes. These are made of almost the same material as the splat mat and can be thrown in the washing machine for easy cleaning. I highly recommend having at least 2 for easy rotating. Luke also spends alot of time at his grandparents so I have a couple there as well.

Silicone Bib: I also recommend going with silicone bibs rather than cloth ones. These can be wiped clean, also can be thrown in the washing machine and have a pocket to catch extra food.

Sippy Cup: Obviously this isn’t eating, but when we started BLW we also started introducing Luke to a cup. We started out with water in a shot glass to teach him to tilt his head back and drink. Then we graduated to these cups. They are spill proof, easy to clean and Luke loves them.

Utensils: These were great in the beginning to load a spoon and let Luke feed himself. Obviously babies don’t know how to use spoons and forks yet so BLW encourages parents to preload spoons, set them on the tray and let the baby pick them up and feed themselves.

Bowls: These bowls are amazing and stick so well to the tray. Luke can’t rip them off. I am still trying to find plates that suction as well so I won’t be recommending any plates just yet.

Overall, we have really enjoyed this journey with Luke. He is an amazing eater and pretty much likes all food. Some days he eats more than others but more often than not, he eats more than me! If you have any questions or want to share any of your favorite products, let me know down below!

XOXO Channing

6 Month Baby Update | Must Have Products for 6+ Months

March 24, 2020 Channing Hanneman

Hey Guys!

I can’t believe Luke is 6 months old already! I feel like being pregnant was a lifetime ago. I can’t even imagine what life was like before Luke came along.

I wanted to share my go to products that I am still using and have started using for Luke. But first, here is a bit of an update on him.

He is so big and becoming such a little ham. His personality is starting to shine through and I love it. He loves to watch all the action and definitely gets FOMO very easily. He laughed for the first time and I started to cry. It is my favorite sound in the world. He is sitting up, and we also started on our Baby Led Weaning journey. This means he eats whatever my husband and I eat. We skipped baby foods all together. He is doing amazing and loves food! His favorite so far is cucumber and pulled meat.

We are still going strong on our breastfeeding journey. When I decided to breastfeed I gave myself a minimum goal of 6 months. I was going to try my hardest to do it for 6 months and if it was still difficult I would have stopped. But I am happy to report it is going amazingly. I am not going to lie, the first 4 months were extremely difficult. From latching difficulties, to oversupply issues, to hunger strikes and everything else under the sun, Luke and I had a tough start to our journey. Then one day when he was 4 months old he weaned himself from the nipple shield we used every day, and went from eating for 40 minutes every time to less than 10. Now we have more time for learning and playing.

My husband and I also decided to sleep train Luke at 4.5 months. He went through a terrible 4 month regression and I spent months 3 and 4 basically sleeping in his rocker with him in my arms. Once we realized Luke didn’t want to be swaddled anymore and was capable of going all night without waking up for feedings (per the pediatrician) we decided to sleep train him using a gradual cry it out method. He caught on fast and by night 2 he has been sleeping for 11 to 12 hours. He is still doing this but I know a 6 month regression plus teething is coming so I hope it doesn’t affect him too much. I still hold him for all of his naps mostly because I miss the snuggles and I know that when I have my next child I won’t be able to snuggle like I can with Luke. But I do plan on nap training him in the next couple of months.

He is literally such an easy going angel boy and I can’t believe how lucky we are to call him ours.

Scroll down for the products that I swear by and have been using for months now.

-Halo Sleep Sack- We have been using these since Luke was in the hospital. We had a newborn size and now have 3 of the bigger sizes. We had some fleece ones for when it was colder out and have switched to cotton. These made transitioning from being swaddled so easy since you can have their arms in, 1 arm out and then both arms out. Luke is about to outgrow this and then we will move to the traditional sleepsack without torso compression.

-Haakaa- Since I am still on my breastfeeding journey I am still using and loving my Haakaa. I don’t pump anymore because I hated it. I just use this to catch my letdown on the opposite side Luke is nursing. I usually get 2 to 3 oz a day just from doing this. Since I rarely leave Luke this is the perfect amount to freeze and store when I do leave him.

-Binky Holder- This thing is a lifesaver for my binky loving bug. He loves his binky and this helps to keep it attached to him at all times and off the floor. It also has silicone beads on it that he loves to chew. I put it in the dishwasher and it cleans well. Plus it looks so cute.

-High Chair- We set up Luke’s high chair around 4 months so he could sit at the table with us and watch and observe us eating. This is one of the things to do to lead up to Baby Led Weaning. He loved being apart of meal times and saw us chewing and eating properly. This chair from Ikea is super inexpensive and so sleek looking. It is no fluff and easy to clean and you can buy an insert for when they are small to help prop them up. I also purchased a wooden footrest for the chair off of Etsy since this helps him have good posture and helps them not to choke since they are sitting up straight. We love it!

-Splat Mat- Since Luke is a messy eater, I use this mat to put under his highchair. It helps with easy cleanup. Since we have a smaller dining room I fold it up and put it away between meals. But it is cute enough to keep out all the time if I had the room. It also comes with a smock bib which we love for keeping food off of Luke’s clothes

-Activity Center- We also set this up when Luke was 4 months and he loves it! We call it his DJ booth haha. It is nice because it transitions as they get older from sitting in the middle, to being able to stand and play and then using it as a table with chairs.

-Diaper Genie- We have been using the Diaper Genie since Luke was born. I love that it is sleek looking and comes in a variety of colors to match the nursery. Ours is grey and blends in so nicely.

-Tummy Time Water Mat- Luke isn’t always a fan of tummy time. He usually would rather sit or stand with help. But this water mat keeps him occupied for a while. He loves hitting it and watching the fish move around inside.

-Overnight Diaper Pads- When we were sleep training Luke the problem we kept running into was leaking diapers. Since he was going 12 hours between a change I wanted to make sure he was dry and not leaking. I found these pads for his diaper and they are a game changer. He wear 1 regular diaper with the pad inside, then I slather on a thick layer of diaper cream and then put an overnight diaper on top. In the morning he is dry and the moisture is pulled away from him and he never has diaper rash.

-Drool Bibs- Since teething has started Luke is a drooling mess. Withing 30 minutes of me getting him dressed he will soak through his shirt. I bought this pack of drool bibs and they come in so many patterns and wash great. I love them!

-Portable Sound Machine- We use this when we are in the car, grocery shopping or when Luke takes a nap at his grandparents house. Since he sleeps at home with his sound machine, this one is perfect to create that mood anywhere.

-Sound Machine- Speaking of sound machines we still love our Hatch. We use it for every nap and nighttime sleep and I can’t live without it.

-Huckleberry App- This app is amazing for tracking feedings, diapers and sleep. It will then calculate the best time to put baby down for the next nap. Helps me make sure I am hitting the correct wake times for Luke. It also adjusts for his age and lets you know when you should start to transition to fewer naps and when to go to bed.

-Stretch mark Lotion- I didn’t get any stretch marks on my belly during pregnancy but I did get them on my thighs and love handle area. I used this cream everyday since giving birth and the marks are gone. I mix it in with my regular lotion and I am amazed at the results.

Luke's Birth Story| My Labor and Delivery Experience

October 16, 2019 Channing Hanneman

Hey Guys! Today I wanted to share my labor and delivery story with you!

Check out my trimester recaps below:

1st: HERE

2nd: HERE

3rd: HERE

My due date was September 21, 2019. I was always convinced I would go 2-4 weeks early. My Mom went a month early with me and since I had a few health complications during my pregnancy, I was convinced. When I went in for my 36 week checkup, I was 1.5 cm dilated and my Doctor predicted he would be here in about 2 weeks, so 2 weeks early! I was excited and nervous!

Well 2 weeks passed, and at my 38 week checkup I was barely 2 cm so it didn’t seem like he was coming very soon. My doctor offered to do a membrane sweep to “speed things up” but I declined. I wanted my Son to come when he was ready.

Well, 2 more weeks went by and a couple days before my due date I went to the Doctor again and I was still only 2 cm dilated. She wasn’t worried and again offered a sweep but I declined. Since it wasn’t medically necessary I decided to let nature run its course.

The day before my due date I had a ton of cramping that felt like menstrual cramps. I thought they were contractions but they went away and on the day of my due date I felt fine. I guess Little Man was nice and comfy inside my belly.

My husband and I took the weekend to finish up any last minute things before he would come along. We did a lot of walking and resting and just hanging out with us and Bruce our dog. Any random pain I would get I would start Googling to see if it was the start of labor. My husband said he wishes he could ban me from Google lol.

Finally things started to progress. At 3 am Monday morning I woke up with cramping again. This cramping felt different though. It would start in my back and wrap around my abs really tight for a few seconds every 10 minutes or so. It wasn’t painful, yet, but definitely uncomfortable and very different then the cramping I had before.

Since it wasn’t super painful, I decided to just sleep on the couch as to not disturb my husband and see if they would go away on their own. When he got up around 6 am they were still happening. They weren’t getting worse pain wise, but also weren’t getting better. I sent him off to work and he took Bruce to boarding just in case this ended up being it.

I googled what contractions felt like and these seemed to be real. They start in the back and circle around the abs and get really tight then the pain goes away. It was nice since in between contractions I could rest and not be in pain.

At about 11 am everything stopped. I got a burst of energy and cleaned my entire house. I guess this is normal for some people and is part of nesting. My husband decided to come home around 1 and the contractions started back up again. They still weren’t painful but the tightness would stop me in my tracks.

We decided to go on a walk to help speed things along. I am not sure if it helped but it was nice to get out of the house and enjoy a beautiful day.

At about 5 pm, things started to get more intense. The contractions were coming about every 7 to 8 minutes and building in intensity so my husband and I decided to make and eat dinner just in case this was real and we would run out of time to eat.

By about 7 pm, they were getting pretty intense. I called the hospital and they told me to wait until the contractions are 5 minutes apart for 1 minute in length and for over 1 hour. By about 8:30 they were 6 min apart and lasting 2 minutes but the hospital still told me to wait. Finally at about 10 pm I had had enough. The contractions were so bad and painful I called and said they were 5 minutes apart and they told me to come on in.

Luckily we had our suitcases packed already (check out what I packed HERE) so we loaded up the car and hit the road. As soon as we got to the hospital they took me into the triage room where they are supposed to check and monitor you for about an hour to see if you really need to be checked in.

I barely got into the room and got checked and even though I was only 3 cm dilated the nurse acted like I was going to give birth soon so she rushed me into our room and called the anesthesiologist for my epidural. I got hooked up to the machine and the anesthesiologist came in.

They didn’t give me the option to wait as they said I was progressing quickly. I was actually pretty terrified to get the epidural because a needle going in my spine made me uncomfortable but honestly I didn’t even feel it. Within 15 minutes I couldn’t feel anything from my waist down and it was amazing. I felt awesome! The contraction pain immediately went away and I felt relaxed and warm.

The epidural for some reason slowed down my progression so I wasn’t dilating as quickly. This was at about midnight so the nurse set my husband and I up for the night and told us to get some rest. Since I couldn’t feel any pain I got a couple hours of sleep.

The only thing that kept going wrong was my blood pressure kept dropping and my heart rate kept racing. I have low blood pressure before and during pregnancy and at one point during the night my blood pressure was 88! My husband also didn’t get much sleep since the first night they only gave him an uncomfortable chair to sleep in. Luckily the next 2 nights they brought in a bed for him.

At about 5:30 am, I sent my husband to eat some breakfast, even though I couldn’t eat, and the doctor came in to break my water to speed up the process. At this point I was still feeling good but I was very hungry.

At about 10 or 11 am the scariest thing happened. I was about 9 cm dilated and preparing to start practice pushing and I could feel every contraction again. I started freaking out because it was very painful. I told the nurse something was wrong and the epidural must not be working and she at first didn’t believe me.

They checked my back and it was still in so she didn’t understand why I was feeling so much pain. Finally after insisting something was wrong, they checked my IV bag that the epidural medicine was hooked up to and saw that it was unhooked and had leaked all over the floor.

This must have been going on for hours because after I gave birth, I couldn’t feel my legs or anything for at least 4 hours. They called the anesthesiologist who rushed in to give me another bag and I felt relief again. Although after that scare, my husband and I were paranoid it would happen again so we would constantly check the connection every minute.

Finally I was 10 cm dilated and it was time to practice pushing. At this point I hadn’t eaten since 5 pm the night before and it was now noon. I was so hungry I didn’t have any energy to push. I also started throwing up. This meant I had to receive medicine and take a break from pushing. I took a little nap and at about 1 pm woke up ready to push again. But again I started throwing up and had to receive more medicine. I was begging for just 1 bite of food but wasn’t allowed.

Finally at about 1:30 it was time to get him out. I was feeling less nausea and I got the urge to push that they talk about. I started to push but since I had the epidural, I couldn’t really feel if I was pushing the correct way or not.

They offered a mirror for me to see and at first I didn’t want it since I thought it would be crazy to look at and make me more anxious but finally I said OK. You only have the mirror there for the practice pushes not the whole process and honestly it was amazing. I could see his head poking out along with his hair and it was so amazing to see. It helped motivate me for sure!

After about 45 min of practice pushing I couldn’t do it anymore. I was tired, hungry, baby’s heart rate was dropping, and I needed an oxygen mask. I physically couldn’t do it anymore. The nurses and doctors were so motivating and my amazing husband helped me push him out. When I felt the urge to push, I would curl up my entire body and my husband would put his arms around me and pull me up so I could push. It was a team effort and I don’t think I would have been able to do it without him.

At this point it was about 2:30 pm and my epidural beeped that it had less than an hour left. The nurse informed me they wouldn’t be refilling the bag so I mustered up all my strength and forced that baby out.

At 2:58 pm, my baby boy was born. Honestly that moment was a blur. There was no pain, but when he came out I fell like I blacked out. They placed him on my chest and my husband and I cried. After 36 hours of labor he was finally here and he was perfect. 40 weeks and 2 days later, my Luke Michael was finally in my arms.

My husband informed me of the next bit of information since I was so out of it. He said Luke had an abnormally long umbilical cord which I later found out could have caused a lot of complications but I am so thankful it didn’t. We also found out the reason it was taking so long was Luke was crooked and coming out crooked and finally turned at the last second as he was coming out so his head was a bit crooked but thankfully this went away within 2 days.

He also was a big boy at 8 lbs. 7 oz. I measured small my entire pregnancy and had to have an extra ultrasound to make sure he was growing correctly. I figured he would be barely 7 lbs. so having an 8 lb. baby was a shock! Since he was so big and came out crooked, I did have a 4th degree tear which is apparently the worst. Once I heard this I was a bit upset but I figured there was nothing I could do about it.

After we tried feeding and had about 2 hours of skin to skin, they wiped him off and swaddled him and I could finally order food to eat which made me very happy.

We stayed in the hospital for the next 2 nights as I tried to get the hang of breastfeeding as well as healing from my tear. I could barely move or stand up and my bathroom routine lasted almost 10 minutes each time. This made my husband and I extremely stressed to go home as I would obviously need to be able to move when I got home. I also started googling 4th degree tears and the results didn’t help much.

I must say after about 5 days I felt pretty much back to normal. I am 3 weeks post-partum today and still have a bit of bleeding and cramping but nothing compared to those first few days after birth.

I will have a blog post up about my post-partum must haves soon so stay tuned for that.

Now that we are 3 weeks in everything is starting to feel normal. I went to the doctor today and have lost 17 lbs and have about 13 more to go. I am not focusing on the numbers but how I feel and look and I feel like I look pretty great!

There are obviously highs and lows, and I cried more the first week than I had my whole pregnancy, but each day it is getting better. My husband is back to work full time, and I stay home with the dog and baby. I don’t know how Moms find the time to do everything each day such as feeding, pumping, taking care of themselves, eating, and socializing but I am determined to find the balance.

The other random thing that I have noticed since giving birth is my appetite is gone. I have a very high metabolism so I am used to being hungry and needing to eat every couple hours but since Luke’s birth I haven’t had much of an appetite. I force myself to eat but would rather sleep.

Overall, the experience was definitely memorable and I am so thankful that my baby and I came out happy, and healthy. I do miss my big old pregnant belly though and can’t wait until I have one again!

XOXO Channing