A few weeks ago I sat at the dinner table and watched Clara furrow her brow as she focused on a centimeter square piece of omelet that was sitting on her dinner tray. She reached a chubby arm and closed her dimpled hand over the egg, raking it closer, before clutching it in her tight grip and transferring it to her mouth. It took some effort, but she succeeded, and thoughtfully chewed and swallowed the omelet before looking around for more. I actually blinked back a few tears in awe and pride.
Clara is not quite six months old and is eating on her own like a little champion. She is slow, messy, and doesn’t actually ingest all that much, but gracious me, she is not picky! In fact, quite the contrary, she wants to eat everything. In solid form, too.
How did we get here? No drippy rice cereal? Brown-colored puree? Well, while I was still pregnant with Clara, my doula tipped me off to a method for introducing solids called Baby-Led Weaning
Baby-led feeding is the common-sense practice of giving your baby soft, palatable whole foods and letting her feed herself her first ‘bites’, while continuing to breastfeed. The theory is that babies will experiment and discover food at their own pace, as well as develop new abilities including chewing and keen hand-eye coordination.
I’ve certainly seen firsthand the benefits of skipping purees and moving straight to solids. Not only is it less work in the kitchen, but Clara is continually astounding us with her early ability to chew and participate around the dinner table. And of course I’m hoping in the long run that she’ll be open to a much wider range of food than my boys were.
What are the advantages of BLW?
Skipping purees and going straight to solid food sure sounded attractive to me, as I never enjoyed the spoon-feeding days with my boys, but I have to admit, I wondered if it would really be a success. It only took a few days for me to observe that a baby who is ready and eager to eat, as Clara was, is completely capable of handling, chewing, and eating solid foods.
In brief, here are some of the advantages of BLW versus jarred baby food/purees:
- Baby eats what you eat. So, no extra meal prep, dishes, etc.
- Babies are in control of what they are eating. They stop when they are full, or continue when they are hungry. There’s no (less?) power struggles.
- Babies are more likely to be better eaters as toddlers and young children because they have been exposed to such variety of taste and texture, and been in control of their eating, from such an early age.
- Babies feed themselves, leaving you free to use a knife and fork of your own – while supervising, of course.
- Babies learn to chew first, and then swallow, as opposed to just letting the puree slide down, which, in my opinion, makes for a difficult transition to chunkier food and real solids.
Getting Started
Whether Clara is a budding ‘foodie’ or not, I have to credit BLW for giving me the confidence to set whole foods down in front of my tiny little girl – and allowing her to swipe an occasional slice of tomato off my plate.
We started, unofficially, at 4 months, when she tucked into an ear of corn and proceeded to give it about 20 minutes of her time. From there we moved on to chicken bones, with shreds of meat attached. I had noticed the signs of early teething, so likely the corn and the bone felt good on those sore gums; still, she was obviously interested in food. I just wasn’t sure if her tummy was ready.
By 5 months she was holding a peach and sucking the juices from it. We moved on to vegetables, some braised meats, and pancakes and her chewing improved drastically. A favorite food was oven-roasted zucchini sticks.
Hand-eye coordination and dexterity already surprised us at (almost) 6 months. She now eats as if hungry, although food is still like a toy for her and she gets most of her ‘food’ from breast milk.
Tips for Baby-Led Weaning
Watch for signs that baby is ready.
We eat together as a family every evening as a way of creating a healthy family food culture. While sitting on my lap at the dinner table, Clara would take my hand and gently redirect my fork to her mouth. It doesn’t get more obvious than that.
Other signs we noticed were:
- intently watching others eat
- making little noises and sucking motions with her mouth
- drooling
BLW and a Whole Foods Diet
Families that are striving for whole foods diets are already on the right track to Baby-Led Weaning. Most of the foods on your table are suitable for baby, too, meaning they feature organic ingredients, and are for the most part, unprocessed.
What a time-saver when the entire family can sit together and eat the same dinner!
Clara’s Diet:
I’m starting slowly with Clara, so although she’s been grazing for almost two months, her diet is still limited. I’m holding off on grains (difficult to digest) save for a triangle of French Toast here and there, as well as dairy, although I may try goat yogurt soon.
I’m also waiting on very sweet fruits such as banana, blueberries and pineapple. I’d prefer if she formed an attachment with vegetables and savory flavors before going ‘bananas’, as it were, on sweeter food.
- chicken, usually braised until soft and tender
- beef, some steak, some ground beef (easy to pick up and chew)
- salmon
- peaches, pears, whole or sliced, very ripe, peeled
- strawberries
- broccoli, whole steamed florets
- sweet potato, zucchini ‘fries’, baked
- avocado
- corn on the cob
- carrots, roasted
- scrambled eggs & omelets
- French Toast, pancakes
Right now we’re waiting for Clara to be a little stronger when sitting up, and then it will be time for a whole new menu! Squash, apples, beets – fall has so many lovely foods that I can’t wait for her to try.
Here’s what a few ‘real food’ mothers have to say about Baby-Led Weaning:
Nicole, Simple Homemade.
“BLW has been super fun. I’ve been amazed at the dexterity Hallee has acquired in less than two months. I like that with BLW I am teaching my baby to put food in her mouth and chew it (or suck/gum it to start), rather than teaching her to swallow first, which is actually a little backwards if you think about it.”
Katie, Kitchen Stewardship.
“Baby-led weaning may mean that my 12-month-old eats like a carnivore who loves fruit but I’m okay with that. It feels really good and natural to trust his instincts (except when he throws food overboard onto the floor), and I haven’t missed the special cooking and reheating of “baby food cubes.” My little guy hardly ate anything until 10 months old and then had 4-5 foods he enjoyed, and I’m so glad I didn’t feel like I had to feed him so much food and so many choices. Those power struggles over the highchair tray aren’t worth it.”
Brittany, A Healthy Slice of Life.
“Hailey eats what we eat! I make sure it’s modified to fit her needs (soft, long pieces with no spices), and we can all eat together. And if we’re out? She can eat off our plate- no spooning her food! So far, I love baby led solids.”
Looking ahead
I’ve been told to expect a bit of a lull around 7-8 months as babies get over the novelty of handling and eating foods, but pick up with renewed interest around 9 months. We shall see. I think once Clara discovers how her mama can cook she won’t want to leave the table! *wink*
For me, there is no haste to make and freeze cubes and bags of frozen puree. Clara will eat what we eat and celebrate the seasons and the variety they bring. I’ll definitely be reaching for the The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook
Now, if only we had a dog to take care of the mess under the high chair…
Resources:
- The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook
- Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods – and Helping Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater
- BabyLedWeaning.com
- BLW Facebook group
Comments? Questions? Experienced BLW parents, I’d LOVE your input!
About Aimee
I LOVE baby-led weaning! My child (13 months old) has never accepted eating from a spoon. He loves to feed himself, and he eats everything. He is a little slow in the teething department, but he can eat practically everything we eat. The other day he ate 4 or 5 apple slices (including the skin) without any problems chewing. We are still breastfeeding (and plan to continue for a while) but dinner has become his favorite time of the day because of all the new tastes, textures, smells, and colors he gets to explore. Eating is more than nutritional for him. It is a total sensory experience.
We follow this same approach with our 5-month-old. Audrey is eating avocado, banana, salmon, etc.
Quick question for you: Do you worry about choking? I tend to feed little bits of whatever we’re eating to our baby instead of letting her hold the food. A whole ear of corn or bone of chicken would make me a little nervous. Your thoughts?
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Stephanie,
In this method, it’s fine to let baby hold BIG pieces of food. It takes some getting use to. A whole ear of corn won’t harm her, she’ll work out her hands and suck the corn juice off of it. Bones should be BIG with no loose skin , meat or bones. She’ll suck and gnaw. As baby gets older and has teeth, that’s when I feel more comfortable with smaller pieces of food. The point is for baby to play, learn, test and work out her hands, mouth and tongue. AND have fun!
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This is great! I wish people would talk about this more. I LOVE this method. I did it with my first and now I’ve started it with my 2nd (currently 7 months). We call it BLF at our house, too! It makes feeding the whole family less stressful. It also encourages us to keep our meals fresh and healthy!
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Found this on Pinterest. I think this is the first post I’ve seen of a baby actually going through BLW/F, not just the information. Great information! I like you’re terminology of feeding better than weaning, because we aren’t weaning yet, just adding solids to the diet. We did modified BLW, since apparently you’re supposed to soft cook the food first, with my almost 3 year old and she is an amazing eater. Our second is two weeks from 6 months and starting to show signs of interest, gonna start on the green peppers and broccoli first.
I absolutly LOVE this method. At about 5 months we started this with my now 14 month old daughter. We got a lot of negative comments from people who did not know about this method. I stuck to my guns and followed my little ones lead. It has been the best decision we have made. At 14 months old she eats EVERYTHING! She is in no way a picky eater. Baby led weaning has so many benifits, I wish more people would learn and embrace it.
Be careful! I successfully did this with my first, then did this with my twins sons and ended up in the ER with anaphylactic shock due to a milk and egg allergy after trying a pancake. With my 4th I plan to do this but stick to only meat and veggies/fruits. Can’t be too careful!
My daughter is 6 months and we have been doing BLW since 4.5 months. My first has a feeding tube, my second was spoon fed and now we are BLW! I love it so much! She was an early sitter and showed interest at 4.5 months. I couldn’t believe such a tiny babe could eat whole foods! Thanks for the post. I’ll be repinning it for my skeptical friends to read!!
I love the idea of the method and we are starting my little girl on it. She is 5 1/2 months old. I have her a carrot last night when we ate. It was steamed and soft, but not mush. After just a few tries, she successfully got the carrot in her mouth and began gumming it. A small piece came off and she gagged until she spit the piece out. Is this normal, or should the food be very mushy? My husband freaked out and declared that he “doesn’t like this,” but I really want to give it another try. Any suggestions? Thank you!
I asked a lactation consultant who told me about BLF about this, and her response was: It’s important to remember that gagging is NOT choking. Gagging is the reflex babies rely on to prevent them from choking. In fact, in very small babies, the gag reflex is triggered much father forward in the mouth (which is why when you spoon-feed very early, they often spit out half of what you put in). It’s how they protect themselves as they learn to eat.
I don’t like seeing a baby gag, but in my experience, they gag all the time when being spoon-fed purees, so I’m not sure BLF is going to result in any more or less than any other method. *shrug*
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing between BLW and purees. I do some of both. For example, I give my 7 month-old lots of finger foods such as apple slices (to suck on and gum), big slices of avocado, steamed broccoli, soft tofu cubes, pieces of roasted squash or sweet potato, etc., but I also puree up things like peas and give it to her on a spoon. There’s a way to follow the baby’s lead here too. I simply hand her the spoon and she feeds herself. Sometimes I just lay the spoon down on her tray and she picks it up and puts it in her mouth herself. Other times I thicken up something pureed with rice cereal to the point that it becomes thick enough for her to actually pick up with her hands. I did this with some lentil soup we were eating, for example.
We’re planning on doing baby led weaning/feeding as well.
I was just wondering when you give Clara eggs, is it the whole egg or just the whites or just the yolks? I’ve heard different things about eggs.
Thanks
The whole egg, from about 6 months. But we raise our own eggs, so I know where they are coming from…
Thanks!
Raising your own eggs is a total bonus!!
Hey there… interesting post. We’re just discovering a more “natural” way of living. So, can someone help me out…
1. What stops a baby from shoving the whole thing in their mouth and choking?
2. What about common allergens like eggs and strawberries? Do you just not worry about that stuff?
Thanks! Blessings!
Hey Charity,
Thanks for your questions!
1. In the early stages, the baby is usually breast fed first, so they are not ravenous when placed in the high chair. It is most exploratory at the beginning, and my Clara pretty much picked at her food, squished it, and put a little in her mouth.
2. One still follows the basic method of introducing foods as they would with purees. Not too many new ingredients at once, so you can isolate a food if there is a reaction.
Hope that helps.
Hi Aimee!
I love your entry!
We just started BLW with my 6 month old baby boy. We started with avocados, then carrots and now potatoes. My baby doesn’t like to hold the food, sometimes he holds it for a second, food gets squished in his hands then he eats his fingers. Is that normal for early days of BLW? I’m really clueless! I’m learning all this with the baby.
I’ve done baby-led weaning with my first two (now ages 5 and 2) and will start soon with my third. My two older children are fabulous eaters — they love sardines, anchovies, vegetables, meat, and just about everything else. They’re happy to try new foods and we rarely have battles. They only thing they flat out refuse is spicy food (totally understandable) and they get tired of eating the same thing over and over (like oatmeal for breakfast). I don’t know if BLW is the cause but I certainly won’t be changing to purees!
Very interesting running across this idea. My youngest, 8 mos, has been doing this since about 4 mos. We didn’t plan it though! She was always watching us eat and trying to get at our food. I did some puree bc that is what you are “supposed” to do, but I’m lazy and it was much easier to just let my girl nom on what we were eating. She has a wide range of foods she likes and I’m thrilled because we love cooking and trying new dishes. If we go for baby four I will definitely be letting my LO lead the way. Thanks for sharing this idea.
Although it didn’t have a formal name when my daughter was born, my mother taught me about letting my daughter feed herself from the table. I also believe it’s a lot easier and healthier than using jar foods. We started with mashed potatoes and green beans and moved on to other foods, allowing her to try whatever she wanted that we felt was safe. She even loved lemons, and still does to this day! After her first year, she never touched ‘baby food’ again after eating bits of turkey, dressing and other goodies at Christmas. Sh
Hi there! Just ran across this googling about 7 month old feeding schedules. We’re doing the whole puree/jarred baby food thing, mainly because of WIC but I’ve been looking into letting Genevieve try out new textures and holding her food. So far, we’ve tried banana and she wasn’t too keen on touching the sliminess, haha. After reading this I’ve been wondering if why she refuses fruit so much is because it’s the same old stuff and it’s always mixed with oatmeal. I worry about allergies and such but at the same time, I question the food charts that say when to try a new food. Do you have any good suggestions about foods to try for a new baby to BLW/F? I thought about maybe steaming a carrot and letting her pick it up and nom on it. I know she’s ready to move beyond purees because she’s always so interested in our drinks and food. Speaking of drinks, how has your transition to the cup gone? Do you use sippies or just straight to a regular cup? Gen is bottle fed so she’s being super picky about her cup. The doctor and WIC both are already nagging that she needs to be off the bottle completely before a year old. Any suggestions or should I just ignore them and let her do what she wants? I think they say it just because of their teeth.
I discovered BLW 3.5 years ago, when my twins were 6 months old. THANK GOD! I am so grateful that I didn’t have to mess with all those purees. As almost 4 year olds my kids are completely normal in their eating habits. Yes, they eat things I wouldn’t have expected (my daughter loves grape tomatoes and my son is a fan of salads!), but they can have their pickiness too. My daughter will not eat potatoes in any form but as a french fry frozen or from a restaurant (won’t touch my baked fries at home!). We still have eating battles (they want dessert with every meal, which is an ongoing struggle), but I do think BLW helped my kids develop a taste for a wider variety of foods than many other children I come into contact with. I’m always so excited to hear of others going the BLW route.
I almost forgot to add my favorite quote from the BLW world. “Food is just fun until one!” This mantra helped me to remember it was okay for them to not eat some days and just relax and let them take the lead instead of trying to shove food into them. They got their nutrition from formula and did not *need* the food. It was simply an exploration and learning experience.
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Hi, I just came across this from Pinterest! I have a 2 year old who loves to eat! He has been obsessed with Bananas since he was like 4 months old or so! I did not know about this theory. I wish i did. He used to love cabbage, lettuce and some other different foods. Now i am having trouble getting him to eat that. Im not sure if its because i didnt try this or what. I wish i had known about this sooner!
Do you have any advice to get my son to eat the stuff he used to? I hate to think he might become picky!!
i think this is awesome! I’ve tried it with my 10 month old unsuccessfully though. he’s a preemie, born at 29 weeks and he has several food intolerances – dairy, soy, corn, egg, tomato and peanuts. his adjusted age is 8 months and he loves to eat, but every time i try to give him anything ‘solid’ he chokes. i’ve tried semi-mashed bananas, baked sweet potato and regular oatmeal. he chokes every time. he loves to suck on apple slices, but all he gets off that is the juice. any tips for us?