Family Recipes for Baby Led Weaning (2024)

FAQs

How many meals should I start with baby-led weaning? ›

To start BLW, ensure readiness and begin with one solid meal a day during family mealtime. Use a highchair in a safe setting, allow exploration and play with food, offer age-appropriate soft foods in manageable sized pieces, and let the baby lead the feeding process.

Baby-led weaning means offering your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start, rather than spoon-feeding them puréed or mashed foods. You can offer a range of small, finger-sized pieces of food. Some parents prefer baby-led weaning to spoon feeding, while others combine a bit of both.

Some parents worry that baby-led weaning is more likely to cause their baby to choke than spoon-feeding. Emerging evidence suggests that baby-led weaning may result in more gagging as babies get used to swallowing but no increased likelihood of choking . Baby-led weaning can be messier than spoon-feeding.

Baby-led weaning (BLW) involves skipping the spoon-fed purées and letting babies feed themselves finger foods when starting solids.

Overall, it's up to parents to choose whichever method you are most comfortable with, purées and spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or a combination are all safe and healthy ways to introduce solids.

Baby-led weaning (BLW), proposed as a new form of complementary feeding, has emerged as a real trend phenomenon in the media. Infants are seated at the family table from the age of 6 months, facing the foods they grab and bring to their mouth: they decide which foods they want to eat and what amount.

Nevertheless, the use of the BLW method has been linked to lower energy intake; zinc, iron, and vitamin B12 deficiencies; and the risk of choking. Due to these potential risks, some healthcare professionals are reluctant to recommend BLW.

Another observational study underlined that mothers following a BLW approach estimated that their babies ate more milk feeds and less solid food compared to those following a traditional weaning; this may provide inadequate nutrient intake for infants from 6 months of age onwards [30].

What are the negative impacts of weaning? ›

Introducing solids too soon may increase the risk of asthma, eczema, digestive problems, allergies and obesity in later life. Every baby is different but there are three clear signs that together show your baby is ready for some solid foods alongside breastmilk or infant formula: 1.

Beef, pork, chicken, turkey, and lamb all offer exceptional nutrition for babies including protein, fat, iron, zinc, and other essential nutrients. If your baby is on a diet of only breastmilk (or formula), fruits, grains, and veggies, she might miss out on brain-boosting nutrients.

This approach simply involves introducing 1 new food per day, 5 days per week. That's 20 foods per month and in just about 5 months your baby will have tried 100 new foods before turning one.

Most babies won't be having any significant amounts of food until about 7 months. One small 'meal' of solid food each day will probably be enough for a while. You can slowly build up to three meals each day (plus drinks and snacks) over the next 6 months.

Offer 1-2 pieces of finger food and 1-2 tablespoons of each mashed food. Offer more if your baby is showing signs that they want more. Offering large portions at mealtimes can either overwhelm your baby or lead them to eat more than they need.

Tablespoons: Since your baby is still drinking breast milk or formula as their primary nutrition, slowly incorporate approximately 1-3 tablespoons of food for 1-2 meals a day. As your baby starts to eat more solids, the Mini Mat can help you keep track of portion sizes.

From 6–8 months old, feed your baby half a cup of soft food two to three times a day. Your baby can eat anything except honey, which they shouldn't eat until they reach 12 months old. You can start to add a healthy snack, like mashed fruit, between meals.