All About Baby Led Weaning
Way back before I was pregnant with my first, I remember an Instagram influencer mentioning in passing that she was doing baby led weaning(BLW) with her son. And then didn’t really explain much further. But I always remembered it. When Henley was a few months old, I started to look into it and see what it actually was. I fell in love with the process & experience and I’m now doing it with my second baby! People ask me about it pretty often so I figured I’d put all the information in a blog post so everyone can reference it when they need to!
What is Baby Led Weaning?
My unofficial definition of BLW is that it is the way of slowly weaning a baby from strictly breastmilk or formula to solids by offering them developmentally appropriate food and allowing them to feed themselves.
This means no spoon feeding purées like commercial baby food has had us trained is the only way to feed babies. And I want to say that I’m not anti baby food! I believe that every parent knows what is best for them and their child. For me and my two kids, that has been BLW, so I’m sharing in case others feel the same!
Pros
Since we are not feeding them with spoonfuls of baby food, I get to sit next to my baby and eat my own meal next to them while they feed themselves.
They get to eat what the rest of the family is eating as long as it’s developmentally appropriate for their age.
They are exposed to so many unique flavors & textures, making them less likely to be a picky eater later on in life.
They are also exposed to potential allergens early in life, which studies show is linked to a less likelihood of developing food allergies later on.
It improves hand eye coordination.
It saves so much money. You are not having to buy jars or pouches of baby food, instead they are eating what you’re eating & already buying.
Cons
It can be messy. You’ll learn that certain foods(like yogurt) are usually followed with a bath.
They will gag. Gagging is NOT the same as choking, but it’s still uncomfortable to watch. They are learning how to eat and swallow, which also means that gag reflex is the most sensitive it will ever be. I suggest brushing up on what to do it your baby does choke. I love this video. Even if Baby-Led Weaning isn’t for you, or if you don’t even have a baby or toddler, PLEASE watch it! You just may be in the right place one day when another parent will need help for their child.
You have to wait until your baby is 6 months old and showing signs of readiness. Things like sitting up unassisted and being interested in food. This can be a con to some because most pediatricians and the world will tell you to start your baby on solids at 4 months old. So you’re gonna have to stick to your guns on this one!
So how to you even start?
At the very beginning, your baby has only ever known liquid textures, so I personally like to start with super soft foods like banana, avocado, and cooked sweet potato. First I mash one of them up and give it to my baby on a loaded spoon by scooping it up and then handing baby the spoon to feed themselves. Then I offer them strips of that food for them to grab & feed themselves. But after a few days of these foods, they can slowly move onto more challenging textures.
I like to loosely follow the method of one new food every day. Now, there’s definitely days that they don’t get a new food and that’s totally fine! You just want to offer them all sorts of textures and flavors before they start to get picky,
I made a list of just over 100 foods that babies can eat and have it stuck to my fridge. As Kellen eats through the list, I cross them off so I can see what he has & hasn’t had before. It also has all of the main allergenic foods underlined, so I can easily see which allergens he still needs to be exposed to. Scroll down the to the end of this post for a copy of it for yourself!
What do I need?
You don’t really need anything special to do BLW! But there are some things that I have used & like that I’m going to share. But really, you could do without most of this if you wanted to!
A high chair with a footrest. Footrests help them stabilize their core, and in turn, help them swallow food & not choke. Any high chair will do, but this is the one that I have my eyes on when my cheap one bites the dust. It’s as beautiful as it is functional.
Bibs. My favorite are the silicone bibs with the little pouch at the bottom to catch all the food that misses their mouth. They’re also dishwasher safe & can be rolled up and tossed in the diaper bag when you’re out and about!
Sleeved bib. It seems like overkill, but after scrubbing spaghetti sauce stains out of a onesie for the third time, you’ll think again about not getting one. I don’t use it all the time, but when those messy foods like spaghetti or yogurt are on the menu, it’s easier to clean this up than a whole baby and their outfit. This one is super affordable and comes in some fun prints.
Suction plates. While you could put the food directly on the high chair tray, plates or bowls with a lip help baby grab the food easier. It also makes it easy to dish up a plate while you’re making a meal at the counter and then bring it to baby. These plates are my personal favorite. I like the Mini Mat size. I have three at home, but you could totally get away with one and just wash it after each meal. They are dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe. They other day I accidentally set it on a hot burner while I dished Kellen’s lunch and it didn’t melt or leave a single mark! I love using them at restaurants too because it sticks to the table and then when we’re done, I just wipe it out with a wipe and stick it in a gallon ziplock bag to toss in the dishwasher when we get home.
Silicone spoons. Babies start to use utensils right away with BLW. Especially spoons. But you want a spoon that’s small enough and easy for baby to grip. And I like having two of them so while baby is eating with one, I can be loading the other getting ready for them to grab it. These are what I have and love! Later on in BLW, you’ll introduce them to a fork as well and I like this set. It’s very similar to the spoons, but a little bigger & the ends are plastic instead of silicone, making them stronger.
Kitchen scissors. I use my kitchen scissors every single day to cut up food for Kellen. Just this morning I used them to cut some french toast into sticks and at lunch I used it to chop up some fajita meat and veggies right on his plate. Totally not necessary, but definitely convenient. This is a link to a two pack that comes with covers. Trust me, you’ll use them all the time.
How can I learn more?
On Instagram, I suggest following @babyledweanteam & @babiesfeedingbabies. Another AWESOME resource that I learned most of what I know, was from a podcast called Baby-Led Weaning Made Easy. It’s by Katie, who runs the @babyledweanteam account & she is a wealth of knowledge! There are hundreds of episodes on any question you could ever have about BLW. She is a dietician who is also a mother of 7, including a set of quadruplets & knows all there is to know about it from both a professional, and mother’s standpoint.
