Zeb's Baby Led Weaning Journey

So it's been two months now since we started the Baby Led Weaning with Zeb and everyday I am still amazed to see my little one feeding himself during mealtimes. To be honest, I did not have any idea at all about this approach until I came across this social media community Baby Led Weaning Philippines. I joined the group and saw pictures and videos of babies eating by themselves and I thought to myself I wouldn't have the courage to do it with Zeb. 

First of all, what is Baby Led Weaning anyway? Well simply put, it means "self-feeding". Baby eats solid finger food. No mashed. No purees. No spoon feeding. It's just letting your baby explore different tastes and textures by themselves which makes eating fun for them. Like what they always say, food before one is just for fun. The baby's main nutrition  would still come from milk - be it breast milk or formula milk. So don't worry if half of the potato ended up on the floor or the avocado turned out as your baby's face and hair mask. This is all part of learning for your little one.

The biggest challenge in this weaning style is the risk of CHOKING. I myself was very worried at first, in fact this was the main reason why I had second thoughts on going this route. But after some reading and research, I felt confident that Zeb will be able to do it. Note that gagging and choking are two different things so better arm yourself with the knowledge first before you actually begin. You can search on Youtube and watch videos about them and learn how to deal with it. Luckily for us, we haven't had any choking incident and only a couple of gagging. Key here is not to panic and observe with caution how your little one will handle it. Babies are smarter than we think. 

I can't help but smile everytime I see  my Zeb eat his veggies (broccoli is his fave!). So far he has not rejected any food that I offered him, he would eat whatever is on the tray and that is a good training right there to have a less picky-eater child. I hope he continues to be this way until his toddler years. That would be awesome! Though this method is messier than the traditional spoon-feeding way, I wouldn't trade that "one proud momma moments" for a cleaner floor. It feels so good to see that Zeb is already learning to be independent in this early stage of his life. 

So to celebrate his two-month journey, I created this short video montage. Hope this will inspire you to go the BLW way :) Enjoy watching!

Customized Mattress for Zeb's Crib

A few weeks before I gave birth, my mom offered to buy Zeb his crib. Of course I took advantage of that offer so off we went to SM department store to pick up one. Instead of the traditional wooden crib, I opted for a playpen type of crib since it's more convenient to travel with. There weren't a lot of choices in SM Harrison Plaza at that time so I just chose the one that I liked the most which was from the brand Goodbaby.

photo credit: www.ugenebaby.com

We also wanted to buy a mattress for when Zeb is big enough to sleep on the lower part of the playpen and not on the "hanging" part but unfortunately we couldn't find a mattress that fits the dimension of the playpen we chose. One of the sales staff recommended to just have it customized by Uratex but I brushed off that idea because I was confident that I will find one that fits and wouldn't cost me a fortune.

Fast forward to today, Zeb is almost 8 months old in a few days and last week, we continued our search for the mattress and yes you guessed it right - we failed! So finally, I succumbed to the idea of having it customized and called Uratex consumer service hotline {888.6800}. I informed the staff about my request and gave her the dimensions - 4 inches thick x 23 inches wide x 46 inches long. She then asked me if I want the foam to be medium-firm or the bouncy type. I chose the former. There's also an option to pick up my order in one of their showrooms but the nearest from my place is either in Muntinlupa or in Cavite which are not that near so I just had it delivered for a fee of Php150. 

When it was time to ask how much the damage would be, I closed my eyes and crossed my fingers hoping it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. Usual price we found in the malls was Php2000 so I was expecting it would be higher than that since having something "customized" is almost always expensive. I was surprised and smiling from ear to ear when she gave me a quotation of Php1270. She then instructed to wait for a call from another staff to confirm my order and give the details for payment and delivery.

When I got the call, I got an even better news! The final price for my order was lowered down to Php941.32! When I asked why, she said the initial quotation given was based on retail price. Then she gave me instructions for payment to their BPI account and was told that delivery will be either today (Oct 1) or tomorrow. I placed my order last Thursday (Sept 25) and today, it arrived! Yay!

 

I excitedly opened the plastic wrap and immediately fixed Zeb's playpen and tadaaaa!!! Finally, he has a proper mattress to sleep in. I'm hoping that this would somehow give him longer Zs at night :)

Overall, my transaction with Uratex was smooth and hassle-free. I regret not doing this in the first place when the SM sales staff suggested it to us. We could have saved on gas and energy mall hopping. Anywho, it's all in the past and I'm a happy mommy now.


Thank you so much for dropping by. Hope this post could be of help.

Ciao!