Your little one has been cleared to start food, how exciting! If you are like me, baby-led weaning is a concept you aren’t familiar with and it can be overwhelming to figure out the basics. I promise it is not as difficult or scary as it seems. Read below to find out all you need to know about baby-led weaning.
When my baby was cleared to start solids I knew I wanted to go the baby led weaning route but had no idea how to start. I scoured Pinterest, websites and even purchased a book! It was overwhelming to say the least. So I created this guide for a one stop shop on all you need to know about baby-led weaning.
What is baby led weaning?
Baby-led weaning is the phase where you start introducing solids to your little one. When I had my first son 12 years ago, I do not believe baby led weaning was even a thing, everyone did baby food and purees. Now baby-led weaning is a popular option and all it is, is a means to introduce your baby to food. Instead of baby food and purees you are giving them solid foods and meals that typically align with what you and your family eat (with some exceptions and changes of course).
Why baby-led weaning?
Baby-led weaning is believed to have a multitude of benefits. One main benefit is introducing different flavors and textures from an early age. This has been thought to reduce food aversions and decrease picky eaters by letting them taste, feel and chew all kinds of different foods.
Another benefit is you know exactly what is going into your baby’s food. A lot of issues have occurred over the years regarding contaminated baby food and questionable ingredients. While I understand that there’s a risk with all foods being contaminated this is a noted benefit by many.
I personally find it cost effective, while we still buy the occasional pouches for snacks and on-the-go meals the main source of his food is whatever we are eating. It is much cheaper to give him a portion of what we are going to cook than to constantly run to the store to stock up on baby food.
The last and most important aspect is that he loves it! From day one of starting baby-led weaning my little one has loved meal time. There are foods that he doesn’t like but ironically he keeps trying them. Watching him experiment and enjoy meal time lets me know that we made the right decision when we chose baby led weaning.
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What you need to start baby led weaning.
First thing you need is approval from your pediatrician. All babies develop and grow at different paces and whether you are starting baby food or solids it’s imperative that your doctor has given the “Okay”.
Some of the supplies we found useful at the beginning and still use to this day are suction plates and bowls. Let’s face it, part of the learning process when it comes to food, is playing with it. Suction plates and bowls help prevent your baby from throwing the entire meal out within seconds.
Utensils are essential. Your baby will not be able to use them properly initially but getting them used to the idea and feel of them will be beneficial in the long run. Not to mention it will help develop gross motor skills. While we have several varieties of spoons, the silicone self feed spoons are by far the best ones we have. The rounded handle makes it easier for the baby to grab while the silicone material makes it comfortable for them to chew on. The shorter length also improves their ability to control the spoon.
Baby-led weaning is a great time to start introducing drinking from a cup. When it comes to cups there are many options out there. We prefer the 360 cups and straw cups, both of which my son was able to drink out of at 5 months. There are also open cups, while we have not tried them I hear they are wonderful. Ensure to always give water, your baby does not need the extra sugar that is in juice.
As you know babies in general are messy eaters. Protect their clothing and decrease the mess by using bibs that contain a pouch in the front to catch those runaway pieces of food.
How to cut and prepare the food.
Food should be cut into age appropriate sizes. A good rule of thumb is long strips of food initially until they develop the pincer grasp. Ideally food should be about 1 inch wide and 3-4 inches long. This allows your baby to have the ability to grab the item with their entire hand. I also noticed it prevented them from shoving the entire piece in their mouth.
Around nine or so months your baby will develop the pincer grasp which is the ability to grab things with the thumb and index finger. This is when you can start cutting small bite size pieces of food.
What type of food to prepare.
When it comes to baby-led weaning the types of foods you can introduce are endless. When you first introduce foods I found it best to give foods that had a mushier texture. Some things we started with were: steamed bell peppers and carrots, hummus, yogurt, asparagus, green beans, strawberries, bananas, watermelon, boiled eggs, cucumber, avocado, tomatoes, toast with nut butter or hummus (it is best to use a wheat bread, I cut the crust off and toast it just enough to take away the doughy consistency but not make it hard or crumbly). Once your baby gets used to those foods you can start adding and experimenting with so many different flavors and combinations.
As food becomes more familiar you can start adding so much more and even more so once they develop the pincer grasp. A whole new world opens up. This is when they can start having ground beef, chicken or turkey, salmon, pastas, peas and carrots (cooked), scrambled eggs, cooked veggies, blueberries (cut and smashed), and so much more.
There are some foods you need to avoid.
- Honey- due to the risk of botulism honey in any form is not recommended
- Nuts- spreads are fine but due to a choking hazard raw nuts are not recommended
- Popcorn
- Whole grapes
- Raw eggs
- Raw meat
Remember solid foods will be a whole new experience for your baby. They will gag, especially at first, as the textures and taste will be foreign. This is a completely normal aspect of the learning process although it can make you extremely nervous! Hang in there Momma and enjoy the learning process! I hope you learned all you need to know about baby-led weaning.
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