A Natural Introduction to Food: Baby Led Weaning

So I have been meaning to write this post for so long but the last year has just been crazy busy and I procrastinated. Better late than never though, right?

Sophia eating some casserole with the family (8 mo)

If you aren't familiar, Baby Led Weaning (BLW) is a way of introducing food to your child from the start of weaning (aka adding complimentary foods, not taking away the breast/formula) by allowing them to self feed and explore their food.

Unlike traditional weaning where baby is spoon fed purées, with BLW you offer baby a variety of foods in manageable shapes/sizes (think your finger size) for baby to feed themselves. BLW starts from 6 months on and takes advantage of your baby's natural desire to explore food and learn from it. To begin with baby won't eat a lot (more than what you think though) and it mostly looks like they are playing with food (but they are actually learning from it). They quickly advance their skills and, depending on the child, will begin to eat more efficiently within a few months. For us it was around the second month of BLW (8 month old).

You might be concerned that baby is not ingesting enough solid food. However, since breast milk or formula should be baby's PRIMARY nutrition for their first year this is not a valid concern. In fact, studies show that BLW babies learn to eat solid foods faster than spoon fed babies.

Sophia eating her favorite breakfast - eggs and sausage (16 mo)

BLW is messy to begin with but I would say Sophia became a pro around 14 months. Now, at almost 20 months old, she hardly ever makes a mess regardless of the kind of food she is eating. This is in stark contrast to my friend's son (also 20 months old), who was spoon fed, and creates a mountain of mess after every meal.

It's not to say spoon feeding is bad, but just that it is unnecessary. Purées were first recommended before doctors understood that breast milk and formula should be the primary nutrition for the first year and falsely believed babies needed supplementation from solids at 4 months old (before a baby has the drive or skill set to eat solid food - thus the need to purée the food).

Overall, our experience with BLW has been awesome! The most exciting part was watching her skills develop. I remember when she first developed the pincer grip when picking up a piece of cereal. I was so proud!

Sophia at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner 2012 (18 mo)

If you want to read more about BLW and try it, I highly recommend 'Baby-Led Weaning' by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett. It fully explains the skills that develop and also safeguards against choking. Also, it's important to understand gagging and how it is normal and healthy (and very different from choking). They describe how you should respond when your child gags in order to encourage and not scare them. They also talk about the many other benefits of BLW such as: developing healthy eating habits, trusting baby's instincts for nutrition, family meals, no mealtime battles, easier meal prep, and baby learning and developing from food.

Hope you enjoy BLW as much as we have!