BLW, What’s that? (Baby Led weaning)

What is Baby-Led weaning?

It is recommended for babies to start solids at 6 months of age, some babies are ready before but most aren’t and that’s okay. At first, I made some fruit purees for Baby Nico, around 5 and a half months.  After reading up on BLW (Baby-led weaning) it became clear of what I was going to do next.

BLW isn’t weaning baby off of breast-milk or formula (those should still be baby’s main food source) but getting baby accustomed to new tastes & textures, by allowing baby to feed himself he also is working on his hand-eye coordination and grasping skills.

But in a nutshell, Baby-led Weaning basically means baby eats what we eat, cut up pieces of fruit, veggies, meat that baby will be able grab.

Steaks can be cut into long strips, fruits into wedges… But stay close, babies have a really sensitive gag reflex, which helps them with not chocking. 

It’s a little frightening at first, you think they are chocking, but they’re not used to what you’re feeding them so it’s normal for them to want to spit it out or not know what to do once it’s further in their mouth.

I’m still getting the hang of it and have been doing more and more research on types of foods to offer baby and how to manage his salt intake. It’s definitely easier and funner to do than pureeing foods but be prepared for food being thrown and messy floors.  A naked baby is best for clean up.

He’s had broccoli, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, coconut, steak, eggs, toast & asparagus.  Next, we’ll be trying quinoa, pears, peaches, and melons.

Sometimes he eats more, sometimes he’ll just nibble, and that’s okay. Baby is exploring and that is the point to all of this.  We want baby to learn.

Here’s an example of a Baby Led Weaning Meal Plan:

Breakfast:
Time – Breast milk or formula
1hr or so after – fully cooked scrambled eggs, strips of toast and a slice of fruit or half a banana (keep part of the peel for baby to grasp better, that sucker is slippery after the baby has been gnawing on it.)