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When it comes time to introduce solids into your baby’s diet, about a million questions run through your mind! What’s the best first food? Will giving my baby cereal make them sleep through the night? How old should my baby be to start solid food? While when and how to start solid food is something that you should always consult your child’s pediatrician about, being aware of solid food options is very important!
With my first child, over 12 years ago, I had never heard of Baby Led Weaning. I fed her cereal around 5 months, followed by pureed foods starting around six months. When I had my son about 2 years ago, I started hearing and reading about Baby Led Weaning. My first thought when I heard the word “wean” in the name of it was, But I don’t want to wean my baby from breast milk. Although the name Baby Led Weaning includes the word wean, it does not mean rushing to stop breast or bottle feeding! It simply means to let your infant take the lead in eating solids. I decided to try it with my son! As a side note: Both my daughter, who was fed purees, and my son, who never had purees, turned out fine. So don’t feel that parental guilt for whatever choice you make! Read on for some answers to your questions about Baby Led Weaning.
What exactly IS Baby Led Weaning?
Baby Led Weaning is all about letting your baby feed themselves and take control over what goes in their mouth. It focuses on exploring the taste, texture and smells of “real” food as opposed to purees. Start by mentally tossing all the preconceived notions you have about baby food. You’re not going to need spoons, purees or baby cereal. What you will need are a lot of bibs, wash cloths, and maybe a dog (to clean up the floor).
What signs should I look for to know my baby is ready for solid food?
Your infant should be able to sit up on his or her own. Watch for your baby to be grabbing for your food off the table as another sign. One of the great things about Baby Led Weaning is that everyone gets to eat together, and no one has to let their food get cold while they spoon feed the baby.
What are some good first foods? How should I cut the foods to give to my baby?
Some suggestions for foods to start with are:
- avocado
- banana
- cucumbers
- mango
- melons
- steamed veggies such as carrots
The best way to cut food is in slices the size of your index finger. This makes it easy for babies beginning to eat solid foods to grasp in their fist, still leaving some food sticking out of the top to gnaw on.
Here’s a group of pictures from when my son was about 8 months old, enjoying a breakfast of banana and toast slices, dipping them in yogurt. I wouldn’t recommend any bowls of food in the early days of doing Baby Led Weaning as they’ll probably quickly become projectile objects!
As you can see, he didn’t actually eat much food! That’s alright, though, because breast milk or formula is still a baby’s main source of nutrition for the first year. Baby Led Weaning allows for a lot of exploration (and a whole lot of mess!).
But doesn’t my baby doesn’t have teeth! I worry about choking!
This was my number 1 worry about doing Baby Led Weaning, so I decided to buy this book: Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods and Helping Your Baby Grow Up to Be a Happy, Confident Eater.
This book explains the difference between choking and gagging. Basically, the gag reflex is normal, and something your baby should learn about through chewing and putting things in their mouth. And my son did gag a few times in the beginning. I would be lying if I said it didn’t make me nervous! But the key is to not intervene when your baby is gagging. If you have more questions about gagging vs choking, I suggest reading this article.
Do you have any experience with Baby Led Weaning? Please share them to help other parents feel more confident and comfortable!
Please do not substitute any advice on feeding your baby for that of your medical professional. This article simply shares one parent’s experience with Baby Led Weaning as a way to introduce solid foods.
I did BLW with my twins. A lack of teeth didn’t hinder them at all. In fact, because one of them has Down syndrome, she didn’t have teeth for a REALLY long time (I swear she’ll be teething until college), and she did GREAT with BLW. People were (and still are) impressed with the variety of food they eat.
I started my daughter on “solid food” just before she turned 5 months old. She was very interested in what I was eating and wanted to touch our food, and I didn’t feel she was ready yet til one day she stuck her hand in my yogurt and scooped all that she could grab into her mouth. I am basically doing BLW, but I did do just a little bit of cereal (always mixed with fruit) and purees at the very beginning. I made everything from scratch, and only went through like one box of organic rice cereal, mostly using it as a vehicle for other things. She did not have any teeth til she was nearly 9 mos, and pretty quickly she was not interested in being fed and took control completely. Occasionally, I can help her out, like today I fed her vegan no-chicken noodle soup, and she let me spoon broth into her mouth, provided she could feed herself the noodles, tofu chunks and chickpeas. It’s a compromise!
We started with purees but after about 2 weeks I learned about BLW and decided that was the way to go. One of the things I love about it is that at a very early age he ate with us instead of feeding him purees and then sitting down to eat ourselves. There are times we adapt food that is easier for him to handle – tonight was taco night, DH and I had tacos, I used the filling to make a quesadilla for LO – but he’s still eating something that we’re eating. At 2 1/2 he knows he’s expected to at least try everything on his plate, and there are foods that he tries just because we’re eating them and he expects them to be an option.
a few other food suggestions – when they’re just starting Asparagus (my LO’s first vegetable) and Green Beans are great. As they start developing coordination cereal and berries in yogurt is a great breakfast and grilled cheese or toast fingers to dip into a thick soup is a great lunch.
I am very interested in trying. One question I have is how did you deal with people wanting to give them food you didn’t want them to have? I am very picky about my babies not having sweets until they are a year or so (my daughter didn’t taste cake or ice cream until she was one and her first cookie wasn’t until the Christmas after she was one.) In my family I feel using this method may let people to think it is okay to give them anything. When I’m around I have no problem but sitters and family members when I’m not there would make me nervous.
I would suggest leaving purees for those family members or babysitters who make you nervous about following your guidelines. Your baby won’t backtrack at all because she will be eating mostly with you, and it gives you a bit more control when you’re away.
We tried purees but my daughter hated them. Week 2 I read about blw and gave it a shot. We both loved it. My daughter is now 2 1/2 and eats anything I give her. I really believe that is from the blw. I always gave her what we ate and now she eats it. My daughter even eats spicy Thai food with me now! She never choked and always did great.
My son is 5 months and I started the blow and I have noticed some changes. He seems to poop less and food is not digesting. Is this normal?
This is totally normal when changing diets with infants. If he isn’t pooping after a few days, talk to his pediatrician if you are concerned. You can give him some diluted pear juice to help move things along-it worked every time with my kids!