Before having a baby, I wouldn't have ever dreamed of starting solid foods at 6 months. Thanks to our sweet friends the Hutchens, I was able to see first hand how successful Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) could be. For those that do not know what BLW is, it is a type of feeding that does not use babyfood or purees, but instead introduces solids right off the bat (6 months on up). Another essential component of BLW is that the baby leads their eating habits. Instead of shoving food at them, you simply provide them with options on their tray and they select what they want to eat. We read the book
Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide a few months before starting and of course dove into Pinterest and other resources to start planning. The book is super helpful to provide background information and support for why this type of feeding is great for kiddos.
Here is another great website. It is also important to note that food before age 1 is mostly for fun, not nutrition.
There are lots of reasons why people choose to feed their babies in whichever method they prefer. Here are a few of the reasons why we chose (and love) BLW:
- Dexter is able to sit at the table and participate in meals as a family member (no spoon feeding or taking turns)
- He is able to choose what he wants to eat and how much he would like
- He has experienced many tastes and textures
- BLW is not time consuming, he eats the same things we do
- Cost efficient (plus we are eating a bit healthier too!
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| Yummy Mango! |
The best part for us has been that now (at 9 months) Dexter eats pretty much the same thing we do for all of our meals! We don't have to purchase anything special, or spend hours feeding him. We simply place the food onto his tray and he picks away at it. Because of BLW, Dexter has phenomenal fine motor skills for a baby his age. He is great at picking up small and large pieces of food alike. One big concern for a lot of people is the choking element. Knock on wood, we have yet to have any choking issues. If Dexter has too much in his mouth and swallows, he will cough, gum the food some more, then swallow it. At this point, he has figured out how to fake cough for laughs, but in all honesty the choking fear went out the window when we saw how happy he was to be able to pick up his food and feed himself! I should also mention babies do not need teeth to be able to eat. Now he has 6 chompers, but at 6 months he used his gums for everything.
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| Eating some of Grandpa's famous chicken wings |
We started Dexter off with Broccoli and bananas, and worked our way up from there. In the beginning, they need large pieces to pick up and gnaw away at. As time has gone on, we have cut the food into smaller pieces, because he loves to shove the entire item in his mouth otherwise. We use these
scissors to cut most things, but any old knife/kitchen shears would work well! I thought I would provide a list of some of the things he ate as the months went past. Please know I am no expert and you know what works best for your child. We have had a WONDERFUL experience with BLW and I will never give my future kiddos baby food if I can help it. Of course every baby is different, but I cannot suggest BLW enough.
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| Carrot chips and banana! (Trim the top 1-2 inches off the top of half of a banana until they can grasp it easier) |
6 Months
At this point we cut food into large pieces (longer than their chunky little fingers) for eating. Some foods were better in whole pieces like broccoli and strawberries.
- Fruits: whole Strawberries, Bananas, Pears, Mango slices, Peaches
- Veggies: Broccoli, Zucchini, Carrots, Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, Avocado, Green Beans, Cauliflower, mashed Potatoes
- Proteins/Grains: Toast, Cereal (Puffs/Cheerios), Waffles, Pancakes (tried some with breastmilk from Pinterest and they were an EPIC fail.), rice, rice cakes, shredded chicken, chicken meatballs, beef meatballs, Peanut Butter (smeared on cheek first to check for allergy), ground turkey
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| Yum! Strawberries! |
7 Months
The pieces were mostly still large at this time, but some things were cut smaller.
- Fruits: softened Apples, applesauce, Oranges, Grapes, Blueberries
- Veggies: Tomatoes, Spaghetti squash, Celery
- Proteins/Grains: well cooked scrambled eggs, warmed up lunchmeats, grilled chicken, pasta/noodles, string cheese, yogurt (his belly did not handle very well), Oatmeal with breastmilk, tacos, sloppy joes
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| Messy man |
8 Months plus
Things range from larger pieces of pasta/sweet potato fries, to small bites of meats and grapes.
- Nothing new - pretty much everything we are eating! Dexter eats grilled cheese, pizza, pasta, fruits, and veggies.
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| Crepes and fruit for breakfast |
Gear
You really do not need much for BLW. We have this
graco high chair, which is nice but is difficult to clean. If we splurged, I would absolutely get the
Stokke chair! We love the EZPZ mat for keeping things on his tray (Use this
link and get 10% off), and
Bumkins bibs for easy clean up. I use my Norwex Kitchen cloths to wipe him down after every meal.
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| Mashed Potatoes are fun |
Easy Snacks/Meal Helpers
-Puffs (can purchase anywhere)
-Frozen sweet potato & Kale shapes from Aldi (ps we really like most of Aldi's baby picks as far as foods!)
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| Messy but Oh So Worth It! |
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