I wanted to start this series off with a disclaimer that I am not a dietitian, a child development specialist, or any other type of child professional. I am just sharing what worked for me and my baby.
If you don’t know what BLW is, it is an acronym for Baby Led Weaning. This is a way to feed your baby, after they show signs of readiness, by skipping the purees and going straight to finger food.
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The signs of readiness for baby led weaning is
- Sitting up with little or no support
- Able to hold their head steady
- Be able to reach out and grab things
- Bring objects to mouth
- Be making gnawing and chewing movements
6 months is about the age that babies are ready for solid food. I started my daughter with solids using purees through the advice of her doctor. She really struggled. Cora Belle kept grabbing the spoon and wanted to do it herself. She also kept pushing away the spoon when I would actually put it to her mouth.
I was struggling trying to introduce foods to her so I did some research. I came across baby led weaning and it taught me so much. From my research, I learned that she was not ready at 6 months. She wasn’t even ready when she hit 6 months with her adjusted age. My daughter was ready for food when she was 8 months.
It wasn’t until she was 8 months that she started making the chewing motions and could sit up on her own. It is so important to follow your baby’s lead and there is no rush for food. Although it is really exciting for you, as a parent, to share your favorite foods with your baby, it is so important that you follow your baby’s lead. If you try to start solids before they are ready they will have a very hard time with it.
This is the second post in this series and in this one, I will share how I introduced foods. If you would like to read my first post in the series, which I shared my favorite products, click here. If you would like to follow the rest of this series be sure to subscribe here. Once you do you will be able to stay up to date on this series and also any of my new posts.
I make these baby pancakes and these baby muffins often and serve them as an easy breakfast.
I wanted to start off this post talking about infant CPR & choking. Before you start feeding solids to your baby, please make sure you are informed and know what to do if your baby chokes. It is so, so, so important. It is very scary to think about, but you need this information.
Just yesterday, Cora choked on a plastic water bottle lid she found on the ground and I had to get it out. It happens. Babies are always putting stuff in their mouths. Find a class at your local hospital or watch YouTube videos. It is so, so, so important for you to know what to do. When you know what to do when your baby chokes, you will be able to keep calm and get whatever they are choking on out.
Be aware, but not anxious when it comes to your baby choking. They will make gagging noises and it might sound like they are choking. They are learning how to eat and sometimes food goes into the back of their mouth because they are learning how to work their tongue with food. Most of the time they will gag it up and spit it out. Only intervene when it is clear that your baby cannot breathe.
You can feed your baby anything you are feeding yourself, as long as you make it safe for them to eat.
It makes preparing meals easy because you just feed your baby whatever you are making instead of making them a separate meal. You can also set your baby in a high chair with you at mealtimes and they will soon learn that mealtimes are when the family is together.
When you start baby led weaning (BLW) you need to prepare the foods a certain way so they are safe for your baby to eat. Foods that are rounded like blueberries, beans, and corn you want to squish with a fork so they are no longer round. Round foods, if not squished, are HUGE choking hazards for babies.
Cut foods like slices of bread, meats, and avocados should be cut in finger-length strips. Strips allow babies to easily grab them and start to learn how to feed themselves. I, personally, didn’t introduce utensils until she mastered feeding herself. Some people choose to start with utensils, but the decision is up to you.
Here is a picture of examples of how I prepare certain foods for BLW:
I found that it was easier to start off with foods that could be cut into strips. I also chose to start with strips because Cora was really struggling with her pincer grasp. She has been in physical therapy because her thumb was so stiff against her palm that she couldn’t use it.
Starting with strips, was something that kept Cora from getting too frustrated with her inability to use her thumb. Now, that her mobility with her thumb and her ability to chew food has increased, I am doing every food that I feed myself and my husband for meals. The only difference between Cora’s meals and ours is I squishing the round foods.
I started off by making Cora toast eat each meal we had. I was really nervous about introducing foods to her and toast was something I was comfortable with. When I made her toast, I left it dry at first and cut it into 3 strips. Slowly, I added some butter and peanut butter (talk to your doctor about peanut butter). BLW is like a dance between what you are comfortable with and what your baby is ready for.
I then moved on to fruits and vegetables. I squished those foods that needed to be squished but left those that didn’t need to be alone. This allowed Cora to do it herself.
I then moved on to meats. With meats, you want to make sure that the meat is cooked completely through. You do not want to risk them getting food poisoning because the meat wasn’t cooked completely through. One thing I find interesting is that the nature of solid foods from baby led weaning generally have more proteins and fats than traditional feeding.
When it comes to peanut butter, eggs and diary products, talk to your baby’s doctor.
In Cora’s case, we learned that she did have food allergies. She is allergic to bananas so I wasn’t comfortable jumping into feeding her all of those foods. There isn’t a family history of peanut or egg allergies so I felt comfortable introducing those foods earlier than most. There is a family history of lactose allergy so I was really slow to introduce cheese and yogurt. Just do whatever feels ok with your level of comfort.
Every baby is different and what worked for my baby might not work for yours. But I hope that I was able to give you some ideas and guidance to start baby led weaning (BLW) when your baby is ready. What also helped me on my BLW journey, was following BLW accounts on Instagram and joining Facebook groups.
They were able to give me ideas for meals and teach me the safest ways to introduce food to my baby. In my next and final post in this series, I will share every meal that I gave my baby to give you some inspiration on the foods that you can feed your baby.
What was your baby’s first food? Did you do BLW? Let me know in the comments below.
