Basics of Baby-led Weaning

Happy Sunday! (Or whatever day of the week it is that you’re reading this lol)This week I’m touching on a topic near and dear to my heart…FOOD! haha
Food is such an important means of bonding in my family. As such, we find such value in baby-led weaning. Mainly because it allows our littles to eat with us as they are navigating solid foods. If you’ve never heard of it, baby-led weaning (BLW) is pretty self explanatory. Though it’s often associated with solid foods rather than purees, you can successfully do BLW with them. BLW is aimed at teaching little ones not only how to chew and eat solid foods, but how to recognize the feeling of being full, expose them to different textures, and work on fine motor skills. When starting a baby on solids with baby-led weaning, I’ve found the following to be helpful:

1. have a list of food you’d like to introduce to baby
2. Keep utensils minimal (you’ll be grateful for the lack of dishes needing washing!)
3. if you won’t eat it, don’t give it to baby
4. Relax!

I find it so much easier to introduce foods when you know which foods you’re going to introduce. This way you’re aware of how they should be prepped so that the risk of choking is extremely minimal – long/thin steamed or roasted strips of carrots or sweet potato, finger width and length strips of toast, etc. It can be overwhelming going to the grocery store not already knowing what you’re going to feed your baby. Feeding your baby the same foods that the rest of the family is eating at mealtimes will allow baby to be exposed to foods that are common in your household and they are more inclined to eat them because they see everyone else eating them too.

There’s so many feeding utensils on the market that it can often be overwhelming and you can end up with a ton of dishes to wash. We are a fairly minimalist family, and we’ve kept to that same mindset with baby-led weaning. Finger foods have been our main go-to. Mostly because they allow for practicing fine motor skills, but also because it allows for Isla to feed herself at her own pace – she can control how much and how quickly she eats, and if she’s finished she doesn’t have to worry about an unwanted full spoon coming towards her. For softer foods such as yogurt, guacamole, or soups, we have one spoon and fork set – again, keeping it simple.While most of our BLW journey with both of our kids has been mostly filled with solid finger foods, we’ve utilized utensils to our benefit. I love introducing smaller pieces pre-loaded onto forks and spoons to my babies.

Our recent favorites have been these infant feeding sets from Triple The Joy Boutique. We were sent this cute for and spoon set and I instantly fell in love with them. Aside from being absolutely adorable, they small round handle fit so perfectly in Isla’s hand and the short length made it easier for her to go straight from plate to mouth (less food on the face for me to clean up! lol). We recently introduced an open cup for small amounts of water so she could practice drinking from an open cup. We love our Ezpz mini cup. The base is thick and heavy to keep it sitting flat, and it’s made with BPA-free silicone just like our spoon and fork set. This is a must for teething infants!

When it comes to textures, you want to provide baby with a wide variety. This sets them up for adventurous eating habits. I go by the phrase “if I won’t eat it, I won’t let baby eat it”. Though babies don’t have teeth (at least mine doesn’t yet lol), their gums are quite adept at mashing food – you’d be surprised. If you can mash a piece of food between your thumb and forefinger, a baby’s gums can most likely mash it as well.

It can be quite nerve wracking watching your baby eat solid finger foods. Not gonna lie, with Irys I had so much anxiety and was so scared of him choking. This time around I’ve had much more trust and faith in the process. Learn the difference between choking and gagging. While babies learn to maneuver their tongues to move food around their mouths to eat, they often gag to bring any food from the back of the throat toward the front of the mouth to mash it further so it can be swallowed. It can be scary to hear but baby is okay. Choking means there is no air moving through the passageway, so typically you will not hear gagging or coughing. Sit close to your baby, keep a close eye, and put the phone DOWN!

Baby-led weaning can be a bit overwhelming, but it definitely doesn’t have to be! I have to give a major shout out to Sarah (@snackswithjax on IG). We’ve battled some sensory issues with Irys’ eating since day one and at almost 3 years old, he’s eating more and different textures he previously wouldn’t even touch. Sarah is a mom and nutritionist. Go check her out – you’ll love her almost as much as I do!
Remember to relax and enjoy this time exploring new foods with your baby.