Thank you so much for the article. Instead of spoon-feeding him mushy cereals and purees, you put large chunks of soft food directly on the highchair tray or table, and let your baby grasp the food and feed himself. But, baby-led weaning certainly can be safe, if you know how to cut and cook foods properly. « Family Meal Prep (PLUS: 10 Tips on How to Get Started). Wow!! Age takes a backseat to the signs your baby gives you herself as to her developmental readiness. Same like adults or 3 times a day is enough? They chewed their food in their own mouths and gave it to baby, or they allowed baby to gum at things and eat them. Will my baby actually eat much food with BLW? Understand the gag reflex. We started baby led weaning with Kaitlyn at 6 months old. Milk and cheese and cottage cheese are all fine—you just don’t want to do straight up cow’s milk on its own since it can be hard for babies to digest. Why no milk? Insert other new and possibly confusing name [here]. In a blender, add in the eggs, milk, oil, applesauce, vanilla extract and spinach. Thank you so much! The feeding approach known as “baby led weaning” or “BLW” for short, is a style of feeding infants that allows them to feed themselves right from the start. Yummy Toddler Food - www.yummytoddlerfood.com, Copyright © 2020 Yummy Toddler Food | Site Design by, This post contains affiliate links. I’ve learned how to cut things for him so he can put them in his mouth and chew them. A young baby first doesn’t have molars to chew, second it doesn’t get the concept of chewing very well and also has a limited understanding of what can be eaten. In fact, research is showing that introducing these foods early can actually protect baby from developing an allergy. You want foods to be finger sized so they are large enough that baby can’t force the whole piece into their mouth, and a shape that’s easy for a 6 month old to hold with their chubby little hands. Brush up on the basics of how to know when baby is ready to. I think it’s a great idea to mix the two methods simply because it gives you many more options for foods and allows the baby to experience more textures. These are some of our favorites. I hope it’s a great resource for you. To me, it seems like a more natural approach to feeding babies. Here’s a guide to the meals, snacks and nutrients your active baby needs to stay healthy and full of energy. This post is a complete guide on Baby Led Weaning Foods with over 125 starter foods and recipes for baby! with sane advice and simple, yummy recipes More... Get a FREE copy of my Your email address will not be published. Remember: There’s no evidence that says that you need to start with vegetables versus fruits, so go with something that tastes good to you. These little bites are a great way to introduce healthy oily fish into your little ones' … Meat is not only rich in iron, but it has a special type of iron that’s only found in foods from animals. Then baby can bring the food to their mouth all by themselves. Consider offering more preloaded spoons with purees to start your journey more slowly. 6 months + This post may contain affiliate links. 4.38 from 8 votes Below are some of the best first foods to start baby led weaning. Any other advantage is superseded by baby safety. I’ve read lots of posts and articles and this has been the most useful. This stage is about exploration! As a new mom, I didn’t know where to start. I decided to try baby led weaning with my daughter. First of all BLW says that your baby gets all the vitamins it needs at 6 months from milk. If your 6-8 month old baby is just starting solid foods, you will probably only manage to have baby eat 1/2 of the tablespoon sized portion the very first times you begin solids. They’ve doubled their birth weight (at least). The key is that the baby is in control of the feeding (by pre-loading a spoon, for example). How often should i give baby the food in a day? This gives you some of the same advantages of baby led weaning, but can be more comfortable for many parents. Inside: get easy 8 month old baby-led weaning meal ideas, a sample feeding schedule, plus a free printable meal plan! Other recipes featured in the meal plan: Cod with root veg and rice Do babies need teeth for baby led weaning? Thank you so much for sharing this! Here is a list of easy and nutritious finger foods to offer to your 6-month-old. Gagging and choking are two different things. Wow! Baby-led weaning, or baby-led feeding as I prefer to call it, means that babies feed themselves finger foods as soon as they start solids. 6 Baby-Led Weaning Breakfast Ideas. Freezer-Friendly Spinach Waffles for Baby + Toddler, Almond Butter + Banana Toast with Hemp Sprinkles for Toddler, Wholesome Blueberry Sheet Pan Pancakes For Baby + Toddler (allergy-friendly), Cheesy Egg Roll-Ups (for baby, toddler + kids), Easy Blender Spinach Pancakes for Baby + Toddler (Allergy Friendly! I got a lot of information from your blog which can help me to prepare baby food easily. I love offering purees on a preloaded spoon. I am so grateful I found your post, You’ve really covered up almost all the possible tips that a new mom should follow while preparing for first food for baby. TIP: If you start offering solids and baby just doesn’t seem interested at all, it’s okay. Serve or store in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer. At around 6 months old, your baby’s iron needs are the highest they will ever be. I’ve been wary of offering whole beans to baby J for now, but I don’t want to … Choose one at a time to offer and make sure that the fruits are ripe so that they are soft and taste good. I love how easy they are to use when I need a shortcut and that they have fun baby-led weaning recipes on the side of every box! These 125 Baby Led Weaning Foods are going to be your ultimate guide if you are doing BLW with your baby! Thank youuuuu!! This recipe for warm and wholesome waffles made with nutrient-packed spinach is perfect for baby 6 months and up. Let’s Start Slow With A Simple Avocado-Apple Puree TIP: If the sound of gagging really freaks you out, you’re not alone. Serve them for meals if you are following Baby Led Weaning or alongside purees if you are following the traditional approach to the introduction of solids. He’ll be just 5 months old. You can also help them hold the banana if needed. Thank you so much for your reply! Just serve baby wholesome and colorful food. Baby will gag on food when they are learning to eat finger foods, which is good, because that is how baby learns how to move food around their mouth and swallow foods. Take a break for a few days or a few weeks and start again. Listen to a recent podcast episode to hear about some of the basics of BLW with our guest Megan McNamee, MPH, RDN, CLT, and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in pediatric nutrition who runs Feeding Littles. Slightly … The first time you offer solids is such a fun milestone, so you’ll be ready once you follow these simple steps. Here is our. You can try the bigger blw style pieces. If you are just starting out doing Baby-Led Weaning, then you need to bookmark or Pin this post! Many of them are high in iron, zinc and fat, important nutrients at this age. You can find out how we started here in this post! Baby Led Weaning Safety . Gagging is a healthy sign of your baby discovering how to eat WITHOUT choking. Baby cereal – those made from oats, barley or quinoa are favoured by dieticians as the fortified iron in these absorbs better than the fortified iron in old fashioned baby rice Mashed fruit – like apple, pear or banana Mashed vegetables – try carrot, potato, butternut squash, sweet potato and parsnip Teeth really have nothing to do with whether or not a baby can eat solids. TIP: Remember that breastmilk or formula will continue to satisfy baby’s hunger for the first few months of eating solids. Finding breakfast can be the toughest meal of the day to plan for your little one, because most breakfast foods revolve around eggs (or have eggs baked into them.) I hope it’s a fun experience for him to start eating! If you’re ready to start solids with baby, or you’re just curious what it looks like to do a mix of baby led weaning and purees, check out my Yummy Baby Food cookbook. 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