Name: Baby Led Weaning - Your Questions Answered
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Baby Led Weaning - Your Questions Answered

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baby-food-temp.comSearch this siteBaby led weaning is a relatively new approach to introducing solids… but one that rapidly gained momentum!The principle behind baby led solids is that baby is allowed to feed himself age appropriate foods, through which he progresses at his own pace.This means that he’s offered a variety of foods to eat with his fingers, from which he may eat only as much as he wants.Food is never placed in his mouth – instead, he is encouraged to determine for himself exactly what he wants to eat… and when he has had enough.The whole concept of baby led weaning centres around the research for a master’s degree conducted by Gill Rapley, the ex-Deputy Programme Director of UNICEF’S UK Baby Friendly Initiative.Ms Rapley – whose research into the introduction of solids was entirely separate to her work for UNICEF – says that babies should only start solid foods once they have the ability to feed themselves (in other words, once they can get food into their mouths without parental assistance).Don’t miss…Our list of baby led solids first foodsBaby led weaning recipesThis generally happens at around 6 months of age.Parents who do baby led weaning do not spoon feed their little ones and usually bypass pureed food altogether. Instead, they offer their babies a selection of manageable, nutritious foods from which they help themselves.Mealtimes end at the point where baby stops eating – there is no encouragement to continue eating past this point.If you’re considering baby led weaning, then you might be concerned that your baby will not eat as much as he actually needs.So you may be reassured to discover that babies are actually very good at deciding just how much food their bodies require!In fact, many experts believe that overriding that innate ability (by encouraging children to ‘eat up’ at the point where they begin to show signs of being full) may contribute to problems with weight gain in later life.This is something we discuss is more detail here (please note that this page refers to both spoon fed and self-feeding babies).If you’re considering baby led weaning and researching it for the first time, your biggest concern may be that bypassing purees and giving your baby pieces of food from the very beginning may lead to choking.There are several reasons, however, why this fear is unfounded.IMPORTANT NOTE: Whilst rare, choking is something that can happen at ANY time to ANYONE, including adults.It’s always a good idea to be prepared by learning HOW to deal with a choking incident should one ever occur.There are online instructions available which show you how to help a choking baby, but the best option is to attend an official course dealing with infant resuscitation. Contact your local Red Cross for more information.Much of the literature published about baby led solids suggests that the associated choking risk is actually LESS than with the traditional method of spoon feeding.This is based on the premise that a baby is able to intentionally move food to the back of his throat only after he has developed the ability to chew it.The theory is that a baby who is controlling what goes into his mouth is less likely to choke than a spoon fed baby, who may suck food to the back of his throat before he is properly able to deal with it.This is why it is very important NOT to assist your baby when eating, should you choose to follow the baby led weaning approach. If you help your little one to get pieces of food into his mouth that he could not have placed there by himself, then the risk of choking increases significantly.Few formal studies have been carried out to either support or refute the theory that baby led weaning is any less likely to contribute to choking than spoon feeding.Please do remember that gagging and choking are two different things.Gagging is common when solids are introduced and is simply baby’s in-built defence against choking. Constant, excessive gagging, however, may be a sign of a hyperactive gag reflex.You can read more about gagging here (please note that this page also contains information related to spoon feeding).No. As long as the foods you are offering are appropriate (see the section on this page regarding preparation) then your little one will be perfectly capable of ‘smooshing’ food with his gums (if you’re nursing, then you’ll already be aware of just how powerful your baby’s gums really are!).This is the same recommendation that we would give to parents who spoon feed their babies, but are considering offering finger foods.With this approach to introducing solids, the timing is really up to your baby!The theory behind the practice of baby led weaning is that a baby who is unable to get food to his mouth unaided is unable to eat it.By 6 months of age onwards, babies are able to enjoy a wide variety of foods.Some foods, however, are more likely than others to cause allergic reactions or digestive problems. Though these foods do not necessarily have to be excluded from your baby’s diet, it’s best to be aware of them, particularly if your baby has any existing allergies or if there is a family history of food allergy.You can review a list of foods to avoid here – this page also contains a list of known choking hazards which should be avoided until your baby is older.You can read more about baby food allergies here.It is always prudent to check with your doctor as you introduce new foods to your baby. He or she will be familiar with your baby and your family history and is, therefore, the best person to advise you as to any foods you should delay introducing until your baby is older.Printable Baby Food ChartPrintable Baby Food DiaryThe nice thing about baby led weaning is that you really don’t need to do anything to prepare homemade baby food, other than what you are already doing when cooking for the rest of the family!Foods should be of a texture that babies can ‘gum’ efficiently, so firmer fruits and veggies should be cooked until relatively soft.Since most babies of around 6 months of age won’t have yet developed the ‘pincer grip’ which enables them to pick up very small pieces of food, it’s better to offer your baby larger pieces of food.At this stage, he is likely to grasp these pieces in his fist and gnaw on them. The same applies to foods like meat, which are easier for younger babies to handle when presented in larger pieces.Continue to offer those same foods in the future and your baby may just surprise you by developing a taste for them!Offering your baby a wide variety of tastes and textures from the outset should go a long way towards avoiding fussy feeding later on!As you can see, it can be as straightforward as selecting nutritious components from your own meal and offering them to your baby to enjoy along with you (although please do not share foods with your baby to which you have added salt – here’s why).There are a couple of things you can try! Either coat the foods in wheat germ, ground flax or sugar-free crushed cereal – or cut the foods with a crinkle cutter, which gives handy ridges to help your baby get a grip. It can also be helpful to leave the skins on certain foods (see below).A list of ideal first foodsIt’s actually quite surprising how quickly babies learn which parts of a fruit or vegetable are edible (or manageable!) and which parts are not.Many parents offer fruits and vegetables to their little ones with their skins still on. They find that their babies tend to spit out any parts of the fruit or veggie that they cannot (or do not want) to eat.That being said, offering a very young baby a whole pear, for example, would present him with quite a challenge – so the most common approach is to cut the fruit or veggie into chunks, exposing the flesh and making it easier to cope with.There are other considerations to take into account when deciding whether or not to peel fruits and vegetables for your baby – you can read more about these here.No – if they are soft enough for your baby to cope with, then some vegetables and fruits can be offered raw (a ripe, juicy pear for example, or a chunk of melon).We have more information about the pros and cons of cooking fruits and veggies for your baby here.Many parents who use the baby led weaning approach to introducing solids tend to be very passionate about its advantages and do not advocate the offering of foods from a spoon at all.But this doesn’t mean that baby can’t enjoy ‘smoother’ foods – in fact, a smooth texture is a texture in itself, just waiting to be experienced!It’s possible to offer foods like yogurt as a ‘dip’ to accompany cooked veggies, soft fruits etc. Likewise, foods such as cream cheese can be mixed with herbs and even chopped vegetables to create tasty spreads or fillings for little sandwiches.Another idea – although frowned upon by some – is the concept of ‘loaded spoons’. This means presenting baby spoons that are pre-loaded with spoonable food such as oatmeal, then allowing him to feed himself from those spoons if he wishes.Remember – the point of baby led weaning is not that baby does not use a spoon at all, but is merely that food is not given to him via a spoon. Rather, he is encouraged to take what he needs!Yes – in fact, some parents naturally make the switch when they have little success with spoon feeding and realize that their independent babies would prefer to feed themselves!Some parents also combine the two, giving the occasional spoonful of food to supplement self feeding (although this is not in keeping with the true philosophy behind the baby led weaning method).Then it’s likely that..a) he’s not ready orb) he’s not hungry!Various factors can influence a baby’s willingness to eat, including teething and generally feeling unwell.As his need for solids increases, you will notice a heightened interest in food and an increase in the amount he consumes.As we stated earlier, milk remains baby’s most important source of nutrition for much of the first 12 months of life. Therefore, it is important that you continue to breastfeed on demand, or offer formula as usual, when introducing solid foods.Extra water is not usually necessary for breastfed babies, but some doctors recommend offering a little water to formula fed babies when solid foods are introduced (learn more about giving babies water here).No – no more than offering foods from a spoon would!Even though you are not directly spoon feeding your child, you can still provide a spoon for him to experiment with (or you can use loaded spoons, as described earlier).We have a 9 month old who is doing baby led weaning and we all couldn’t be happier.We started at six months and she took to it immediately. It’s made life with a baby much easier. We just spent the last 3 weeks traveling in Italy and she just ate whatever was suitable for her off our plates. Or if we weren’t eating something suitable, everyone was very nice and would give us a little extra vegetables or something she would like.Our baby loves it. She grabs for everything and there hasn’t been anything she’s tried that she has rejected.The only downside, and I’m not really sure it’s one, is the mess in the beginning – but surely spoon feeding and preparing purees, etc, is a bit messy, too.And the puzzled (and worried) looks from other people in the beginning wondering why you are giving your small baby food in this form.I am branded as The “down-to-earth” doctor because of my personal holistic lifestyle and practical, easy-going teaching ability.My position on baby-led weaning is a perfect match to my brand.I advocate baby-led weaning and all three of my children were weaned that way. Each child did it at different ages. My wife breast fed them until they didn’t want to anymore.When we saw them start grasping for solid foods, then we knew it was time to start introducing it slowly and carefully.Infants are born with immature digestive systems that are not able to easily break down and assimilate foods. The enzymes in their guts are not sufficient to break down foods. Their digestive systems are extremely porous and that’s why it’s not healthy to give them solid foods too soon. Their digestive capacity is weakened if food is introduced too fast, increasing their likelihood for chronic childhood and adult illnesses.Sweet Potato BoxtyA traditional Irish recipe with a healthy twist!Do you have any opinions, comments or experiences with baby led weaning that you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you!Please note:Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page…Baby led feeding… by accident!I stumbled upon this website after searching for finger food recipes for my 9-month-old daughter. At around 7 months my daughter became resistant to spoon …Baby led weaning – much faster progress than I expected!My son is now 9 months and we started BLW at 6 months. We have loved the experience and I think he has too. He took to the concept of solid food very smoothly…Baby led weaning experiencesWhat is being called “Baby Led Weaning” is an approach that has been practised in the Caribbean for many years. I have seen it done by family and friends …Gill Rapley’s WebsiteFTC Disclosure: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a small commission. There will be no added cost to you. 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baby-food-temp.comSearch this siteBaby led weaning is a relatively new approach to introducing solids… but one that rapidly gained momentum!The principle behind baby led solids is that baby is allowed to feed himself age appropriate foods, through which he progresses at his own pace.This means that he’s offered a variety of foods to eat with his fingers, from which he may eat only as much as he wants.Food is never placed in his mouth – instead, he is encouraged to determine for himself exactly what he wants to eat… and when he has had enough.The whole concept of baby led weaning centres...

Baby Led Weaning - Your Questions Answered

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