Baby Led Weaning: A Beginner's Guide to Letting Your Baby Feed Herself

Whether you breastfeed or use formula, giving your baby solids for the first time can be a bit daunting (at least with the first kid!). As my baby was nearing her six monthiversary I started to feel a bit apprehensive about starting her on solids.  I had so many questions! Was she really ready? What should I start her on? How much should I give her? What if she gets constipated? How much solid food vs. breastmilk should she have? I imagined my kitchen as a baby food war zone -- mushy puree, painstakingly made from scratch, flying every which way, splattering my floors, my table, and every nook and cranny of our high chair. I saw my sink overflowing with smoking blenders, my stove stacked with pots and a mountain of half-eaten baby food jars collecting in the fridge (because I'd given up on making it myself, of course). Every piece of our clothing was newly tie-dyed with splotches of rejected sweet potato orange and chunks of some kind of mystery cocktail of green. I could hear her screams mixed with my crazed pleadings as a spoon quivered towards her unrelenting lips. 

Okay, okay, I will admit that was a bit dramatic, but I really wasn't looking forward to going to war with my baby over food. I spent countless dinners watching little ones fight with their parents (and grandparents) over the spoon. I was not looking forward to joining the struggle.

When I first heard about Baby Led Weaning (or BLW for short) it sounded crazy and impossible and waaaay too good to be true. With BLW parents skip spoon feeding completely and just give their baby more or less what they eat, letting their 6+ month old feed him- or herself finger foods from the get go. No battles. No mush. Just babies, having fun exploring food. Basically you have this 

 

instead of this

(Sorry it's grainy... it was a copyright free pic!)

After doing some more reading and watching some helpful videos on youtube I decided I wanted to give this thing a try and see what happens.  So far, both me and my baby have loved it! And since parents who have tried BLW tend to get "evangelical" about it (at least according to this article), I decided to put together a little guide for parents, who like me, have never heard of Baby Led Weaning.

The Basics

Let's start things off by going over the basics of Baby Led Weaning.

First, let's talk about what baby led weaning really means.

Baby led weaning does not mean you stop giving your baby breastmilk or formula. Breastmilk or formula should make up the majority of your baby's diet until they are at least one year old. Because the term Baby Led Weaning was coined across the pond in the UK it uses 'weaning' in the British sense, ie "adding complementary foods to baby's diet," rather than the American, "to give up breastfeeding." Some people prefer to call it Baby Led Feeding, Baby Led Eating, Baby Self-feeding, etc. As Louis and Ella would say, tom-aye-to, tom-ah-to. Just keep breast- or bottle-feeding your baby until they're at least a year. 

The "baby led" part simply means you sit back and let your baby do their thing while you as a parent neither force anything upon them or start breaking into a sweat over how or how much they're eating.

Simply put, baby led weaning means letting your baby feed him or herself from the get go.  Not only is your baby absolutely capable of safely feeding him- or herself at around six months, chances are they'll have a lot more fun with it, too.

But what's wrong with purees? 

Purees aren't bad, they just aren't necessary. Pureed baby food first became popular around the early 1930s.  Back then, doctors suggested starting babies on "solids" as early as three or four months old. Because babies at such a young age aren't yet capable of chewing, mothers started turning to purees and cereals to feed their babies. In no time, mush became the accepted norm as baby's first foods. Today health authorities like the World Health Organization, Health Canada and the UK Departments of Health* all recommend waiting until babies are at least six months old before introducing solids. At this age babies' digestive systems are more developed and ready for solids, their tongue thrust reflex (nature's way of protecting baby from swallowing anything they can't handle) has begun to recede and they are  fully capable of feeding themselves.  No purees needed!

*The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends starting solids between four and six months, but adds that babies should be able to sit up with little to no support and grab things to take into their mouth. Most babies aren't capable of doing both of these things until about six months of age.

Don't believe me?  Check this out

What does BLW look like?

BLW looks a lot like the video you just watched. As explained by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett in Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods - and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater:

• The baby sits with the rest of the family at mealtimes, and joins in when she is ready
• She is encouraged to explore food as soon as she is interested, by picking it up with her hands - it doesn't matter whether or not she manages to eat any at first
• Food is offered in pieces that are the size and shape that the baby can handle easily, rather than as purees or mashed food.
• She feeds herself from the start, rather than being spoon-fed by someone else
• It's up to the baby how much she eats, and how quickly she widens the range of foods she enjoys

And it's really that easy.  You give you baby food and your baby eventually figures out how to eat it. For the first little while it may seem like your baby is doing everything with their food except eating it but you might be surprised by the story the diapers tell. 

Signs of readiness

It's important to wait until your baby is really ready before you start solids. In addition to waiting until at least six months, your baby should also be doing the following: 

• Sits up with little or no support
• Reaches out to grab things and then takes them in her mouth quickly and accurately
• Gnaws on toys and makes chewing movements
• Starts putting food in her mouth herself

Even then, your baby might not be interested in food yet. That's okay. When you let your baby decide whether or not they want to try solids, you're ensuring that your baby really is ready.  

First Foods

The idea behind BLW is to eventually just give your baby whatever you eat but it's probably a good idea to ease them into things with foods that are easier to chew, first. Some great first foods include:

• Bananas
• Pears
• Avocado
• Mangoes
• Apple (steamed or baked until tender)
• Peaches/nectarines
• Plums
• Sweet potato (baked -- I like to cut them into fries, toss with some olive oil - but NO SALT - and then bake for about 30 minutes at 400F, flipping them halfway through)
• Squash (baked)
• Carrots (steamed)
• Broccoli (steamed)

Try to cut food into stick shapes as these are easier for babies to hold (your baby likely won't be able to pick up little pieces of food until s/he develops a "pincer grip" at around 9 months). For more slippery foods like bananas or mangoes I usually leave part of the peel on so it's easier to hold. For example, I often cut bananas into chunks a couple inches long and then quarter each chunk, leaving the peel on. This gives my baby a nice little stick she can easily grasp. I've also read you can trip dipping mushier foods like avocados in crushed whole grain cereal to make them easier to hold on to, too.

Some other advice I've found:

• Breads - Try lightly toasting bread before giving it to your baby. Also stick to whole grain breads without any seeds or nuts (choking hazard). 
• Soups or dips - Soups or dips are fine, just make sure you're still giving your baby control. You can dip their spoon for them and then pass the spoon over (so they're the one actually putting the food in their mouth) or use a piece of bread or pita as a dipper 
• Meat (like chicken or turkey) - We haven't given our baby any meat yet but it's recommended to serve in big chunks that are easy to pick up and hold (but not small enough that they could choke on it). Your baby probably won't be able to chew much, if any of it, but I've read babies like to suck on meat
• Cooked pasta - start by just giving them the pasta plain, without any sauce (easier to hold) and use whole grain varieties whenever possible
• Make sure any food that's been cooked beforehand (steamed, roasted, etc) is cool enough for your baby to eat before you give it to them. I like to stick hot foods on a plate in the freezer for a few minutes before I give it to my baby. Make sure you check the temperature in the middle before handing it over, too. 

BLW purists will tell you to just feed your baby whatever you're eating, whenever you're eating from the get go - so long as your family doesn't have a history of allergies. On the other hand, pediatricians often recommended only introducing one food a week to make it easier to spot the culprit in case baby has a bad reaction to something. We've kind of mixed these two pieces of advice, usually waiting a few days between new foods. We've been at BLW for about a month now and our baby has had bananas, pears, mangoes, squash, sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, green beans and a little pancake. I also give her half of a baby spoonful of my yogurt each morning.  

For the first year, food is more for fun

It may take a bit of time for your baby to figure out how to successfully wrangle food into his mouth (especially more slippery foods). Even when your baby does successfully get food into his mouth, chances are quite a bit (if not all) of it will just come sliding right back out. This is both totally normal and completely okay. Since you're still regularly breast- or bottle-feeding your baby, you don't have to worry about how much your baby is really eating. For now, mealtime is a learning experience. Your baby is learning about taste and textures, colors, smells and shapes. They're working on their hand-eye coordination and figuring out how to bite and chew. You'll be amazed at how quickly they figure things out!  Eating for calories can come later.  For the first year, meals can be more for fun as your child builds a positive relationship with food.  

When to feed the baby

BLW pros recommend feeding your baby (or well, letting your baby feed herself!) whenever you eat yourself. Since you're still breast- or bottle-feeding your babe it's fine if you skip a meal here and there though. In our house, my baby also gets some food while I eat breakfast and then lunch and dinner vary depending on how the day goes. In addition, for the first little while, your baby won't connect eating with filling her tummy so experts also recommend sitting your baby down to eat about an hour after breast- or bottle-feeding her. If they're hungry, babies can become easily frustrated with food.

Oh yeah, it's messy

I almost forgot to include this one. Learning to eat is messy business. But it's the good kind of messy. Your baby will smash, smear, drop, squish, squash, crumble and spit out just about everything on her tray as she learns to eat but hey, the kid's learning to eat! I stick one of these bibs with sleeves from Ikea on my babe (usually with another bib on underneath) and let her have at it. She's actually usually pretty good at keeping her food on her tray but a few things always fall overboard. I've heard putting a plastic table cloth under baby's chair can help contain the mess. Added bonus, with BLW at least when my baby spits something out it just lands in a little chunk on her tray (which she may or may not give a second shot at making it into her mouth). With purees the food gets sprayed and glopped everywhere. 

You'll end up throwing away some food

Your baby isn't going to eat everything you give them.  I try to save what I can for later but I end up throwing quite a bit away each day.  I tell myself it's a price I'm willing to pay to help my baby learn to feed herself a healthy amount of food. To help avoid waste, experts suggest giving your baby a variety of foods but only a little bit of each item.

Keeping your baby safe

Now that we've gone over the basics, let's make sure you know how to keep your baby safe when eating.

Make sure your baby is sitting upright

Leaning your baby back or sitting them in a reclined seat (like a bouncer) for meals drastically increases the risk of choking whether you are spoon-feeding or your baby is feeding herself.  Make sure you baby is seated upright at all times during meals.

Don’t let anyone except your baby put food into her mouth

When babies put food in their own mouth they are in control of it. If they can chew it, they will. If they can move it to the back of their mouth and swallow it, they will.  If they can't do these things, the food will just fall out (so long as they're sitting upright). Allowing your baby this control keeps him safe. Imagine if someone started shoving food in your mouth. It'd probably be pretty hard to eat safely! This also helps keep your baby safe from smaller foods he isn't ready for yet.  As explained by Rapley and Murkett, 

"The link between what the baby can do with his hands and what he can do with his mouth may also help keep the BLW baby safe. When a six-month-old baby first starts to feed himself he can't pick up the sorts of food that he might have trouble moving around with his tongue, such as raisins and peas, so they are unlikely to get into his mouth. It's only as he gets older (about nine months) that he will begin to use his finger and thumb in the "pincer grip" that enables him to pick up tiny objects. By this time...his chewing skills will be well advanced. This means that once he can get a raisin to his mouth he will almost certainly be able to manage it safely."

Learning to chew and then swallow

One of the things I love most about BLW (besides how easy it is on a lazy mama like me), is my baby is learning to chew first and then, eventually, swallow. When you spoon-feed your baby pureed foods they don't have to chew -- they can just slurp it off the spoon. This works great until they start encountering lumps. With BLW my baby is learning to chew first, and then swallow. Not only does this reduce her risk of choking, building good chewing skills also helps with the development of speech and good digestion.   We've been doing this BLW thing for almost a month now and while she'll occasionally gag, she hasn't choked once. 

The difference between gagging and choking

Our gag reflex is designed to help us move food that is too big for us to swallow safely away from our airway (preventing choking). Although the gag reflex is triggered at the back of the tongue in adults and older children, in a six month old baby the gag reflex is triggered much farther forward on the tongue. Not only does this prevent your baby from choking, it also helps teach her how to handle food in her mouth. As Rapley and Murkett explain, "When a baby has triggered this reflex a few times, by putting too much food in his mouth or pushing it too far back, he learns not to do it."

So how do you tell the difference?  If your baby is making noise, they're likely just fine. Give them a moment and you'll soon see a chunk of food make it's way to the front of their mouth or all the way back on their tray. Below is a video of a normal gag reflex.

If you're baby is unable to cough, cry or breath it's time to take action. Although you probably won't ever need it, here's a great video to walk you through what to do when a baby is choking.  

 

Foods to Avoid

With BLW you can give your baby almost anything BUT there are still some foods you should avoid

• Salt - Babies shouldn't have more than 400mg of sodium a day  (their little kidneys can't handle it!) so keep your baby's salt intake to a minimum. Buy fresh or frozen fruits and veggies as much as possible and avoid giving your baby fast food or pre-made meals as these are often incredibly high in sodium. Make sure to read those nutrition labels!
• Sugar - You need to keep your baby's sugar intake down, too, for the same reason why you and I shouldn't have too much sugar.  Plus, you don't want to encourage a sweet tooth!
• Whole nuts - nuts are a choking hazard and should be avoided until your child is at least three years old 
• Honey - Honey contains botulism spores and should be avoided until your baby is at least a year old. This includes things like Honey Nut Cheerios, honey graham crackers, etc. 
• Cow's milk - Don't give your baby cow's milk until at least a year. Other dairy like cheeses and natural yogurt is okay, though (go for whole milk varieties)
• Shellfish - lobster, prawns, crab and shrip
• Whole grapes, cherry tomatoes, cherries, olives - Also a choking hazard. Make sure to halve or even quarter before giving to baby and remove any pits
• Popcorn, hard candies, etc - also a choking hazard

Some foods can also be hard on a baby's digestive system or are more likely to cause an allergic reaction. These should be introduced very gradually. These foods include:

• Tomatoes - harder to digest
• Corn - Also harder to digest
• Citrus fruits - oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, etc can be hard to digest and often give babies rashes. It's recommended to wait until 12 months before introducing citrus to your baby.
• Peanut butter - There is a huge debate over when to introduce peanut butter.  We're planning to wait until our baby is at least 12 months
• Berries (especially strawberries) - can trigger allergies
• Eggs - Egg whites are a big allergy-trigger so avoid giving them to your baby until at least 12 months. Egg yolks can be given around 9 months.

Additional Resources

If you want to learn more about BLW I recommend taking a look at the following resources:

• The BLW Bible, Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods - and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. If you're serious about trying BLW it's a good read. 
• This is the book in pamphlet form. It provides good, brief guidelines about BLW
• BabyLedWeaning.com is another great place to go for info and support
• Trusting a Baby To Know How to Eat from The New York Times Parenting Blog
• Why baby knows best when it comes to food from The Independent
• This post from Hellobee.com has a wonderful list of food ideas for BLW 
• Youtube! Baby Led Weaners love to share their love for BLW and Youtube is rife with proof! The most helpful video I watched is a 10-minute how-to from Victorious Heart (which I've kindly embedded below!)

• ME! I'm not a BLW expert by any means but I did quite a bit of research before starting and I've got some experience under my belt. Feel free to comment with any questions you may have  and I'll do my best to answer 

*** Although this post was not sponsored it does contain affiliate links.  I make a small profit when you buy products from these links at no additional cost to you***