Baby led weaning?!
I’ve just recently learned about this and I’m so interested in giving it a go with my little guy! Wondering if any fellow mamas have been successful with this? Tips or tricks? Fails?
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There are groups on social media that you can connect with that has way more info from all different mothers, meal plans and all.
Once they are at least 6 months and showing all signs of readiness, start with easy to chew foods, like cooked carrots, sweet potato, etc. Sticks make it easier for baby to grasp, just be sure they are no thicker than your finger.
Join some groups like Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
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You should join this group if you aren’t already a member. It’s very resourceful and has a lot of great information. Good luck momma!
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Your first clue is sharp teeth !!!
I started wid finger food and my son is so good at it.nw 28months
Per our pediatrician we just gave her whatever we were eating but cut up in easy to hold shapes. Just remember no honey before one 
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Currently BLW with baby #2. We give her what we’re eating but in small soft or slightly mashed pieces or things that she can easily hold and put in her mouth. Personally, we stay away from risky allergens (eggs, nuts, etc) and haven’t started meat either. Whatever you’re comfortable with is typically safe. Always check with your pediatrician if you’re concerned. And baby does NOT need teeth to start BLW. Our babe has gums of steel and has no issues chomping up foods.
We did this and loved it! Avocados are a great one to start with 
people assume they need alot of teeth… it’s a myth we started at 6 months when my son had no teeth and he did amazing!!!
Kelsie Koser look into this
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What is led weaning?
My lil dude used this, he pretty much eats what u do, but in smaller bite sized pieces. From very young he wanted exactly what was on my plate lol. Fruits and veg are great! And what we started with, he will now eat most fruits and vegetables which is fab!
We then moved onto chicken goujons (he loves). I have the added allergy to milk. But we are also experimenting with that atm with trial and error as hes now 19 months old, we are trying to reintroduce milk items and so far, he can take yogurt, custard, scrambled eggs, anything except pure milk. I’d say go at babies pace, they tell you what they do and dont like, but we always circle back round and try it again as they’re taste buds are always developing and changing so young x
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Just remember that they can have basically anything you have. Someone told me I couldn’t feed her steak until she was a year old and at 6 months 4 days we made steak and she LOVED it. Also loves cheeseburgers, whole green beans, french fries(at home), Ice cream(rare treat), pasta, mac n cheese, corn, broccoli, strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, Cantaloupe.
My daughters first meal was Hot dog(quartered length wise 2x), potato salad, mac n cheese, blueberries and water melon.
Join BLWBB as it is an amazing group.
Babies do not need teeth to start. Their gums are their teeth.
It is recommended to start Allergens earlier now. Unless you are allergic to something then avoid that with him for awhile.
No Honey till 1 min
Remember formula/breast milk is still their #1 nutrition until age one. Always feed that about 30-40 min before hand.
Avoid candy and sweets(other than the occasional little bit IMO)
DO NOT let anyone bully you into not doing it or doing it their way rather than yours.
Baby purees are not recommended unless you fill 2-3 spoons and set them in front of baby. The whole goal is baby leads the eating and you supervise but don’t feed them yourself.
Also please do your own research. Pediatricians don’t stay up to date on things. Mine even got a little pissed because I wouldn’t start her on purees at 4 months then wanted to do BLW. I tried the whole purees for a week and she wouldn’t take the spoon even once.
Her favorite food is actually greek yogurt. Any flavor too. Most people would get just plain or vanilla but I get the fruit flavors as well. She will eat any of them. Plain, vanilla, coconut, strawberry and peach are her favorites.
Good luck!!
I pretty much gave my 4 yr old son the basics (when he was 5 months) that were soft foods. Such as mashed potatoes. Beans. Avocado. Apple sauce. Etc. I would also boil such vegetables. Like carrots. Anything that were hard to chew. And then I blended it. And gave it to him. He never liked baby food any way. And I’m planning on doing the same with my second.
Find a book or something to educate yourself, on the proper ways of cutting stuff. Make sure your babies primary source of food is breast milk/ formula until a year. They recommended giving a bottle or nursing 30-60 mins before a meal. They need to show all sign of readiness ( sit up unassisted and have full head control)
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Don’t stress too much about making your little one fancy foods just for them, most of it will end up on the floor for the 1st 6months, just a little of what your having, I sweared by suction plates as the plate will end up in the floor too , and if you have carpet maybe a large wipe able mat under high chair, no honey before 1, and just let them enjoy exploring food, learn the difference between choking and gagging, if they are making noise let them try and work It out it’s how there gag reflex gets stronger , when I started with my 6month old I just tried cooked veg sticks and fruit , let your child put the food in their mouths themselves, be prepared for mess but enjoy watching them explore foods
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Solid starts website isn’t so helpful. You can type in any food/fruit, veg anything. And it will tell you how to cook and cut to the appropriate size for the age! 
Following as my boy is 6 months today!
Join our support group for mums, lots of tips and tricks on there 
Mummies Support Group xx
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Worked for us SO MUCH!! Our kiddo is 7 and we don’t have arguments about food. It’s a great way to let your kiddo explore and learn to love food!
honestly best trick i did was put the yummiest straight up apple juice in a bottle for like 3 days straight and he never went back lol THEN when he started cows milk he just about fell out of his chair knowing he had all this milk in a bottle. He cosleeps with us soo we still get the loves n snugs 
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Can I ask what the problem is with baby foods? I guess I missed this trend in my baby reading. I have 2 kids my oldest is almost 5 and the baby just turned 1 and I did baby food with both my 1 year old eats everything my oldest is picky but she was picky at 6months.
So I had to Google led weaning lol my oldest is 10 then we have a 4, 2.5 and 1 yr old none of our kids did much baby food they eat what we eat with us or in their chair. We started around 6 to 8 months with soft foods like scrambled eggs, tuna, turkey burger, boiled eggs steamed veggies. Our kids eat great my 1.5 yr old has 8 teeth and eats salad and pretty much everything we eat.
Blw is no purees at all if you do start with that by accident then you have to stop by 6 weeks if not then you will need to do traditional weaning instead of baby led weaning also do not feed them let them eat on their own. Recommended age is 6 months and are meeting the requirements for blw
I didn’t really do much baby led weaning with my first and now he’s soooo picky. We have to buy the same foods for him over and over again. He hates trying new things. My youngest though, he loves to eat whatever we eat. He’s not too picky
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We started at about 4 months when they really started watching me eat and being curious about it and we started with prues and it worked great! Once they stopped spitting most of it out I stated adding thicker foods and then stepped up to solids that were easily mashed between my tounge and the roof of my mouth as well as “disolvable solids” (the Gerber teacher treats) I love BLW its so easy !
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Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB) —love this Facebook group!! Don’t start until they are at least 6 months of age, if you want to introduce purées beforehand that’s your choice, but not solids. Make sure babe meets all signs of readiness especially sitting up! Know the difference between choking and gagging, and it’s always good to go through a refresher of infant CPR and what to do when babe is choking! Also, don’t strap your baby in when they are in the height chair, if you do, don’t use the shoulder straps. This way you can easily get them out if they are choking, and it also allows them to move forward and work food out if they are gagging. Another thing, no honey before the age of one, and be mindful of sodium intake! We’ve been doing it from 6 months, my girl is currently 9 months and she LOVES it.
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Baby Led Weaning for Beginners and Beyond is great!
The book Simple & Safe Baby Led Weaning by Malina Malkani!
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Edited to add - I’d introduce no more than 4 new foods per week that way you can pinpoint any allergic reactions fairly easily. Typical allergen foods such as dairy/peanut butter/eggs are best introduced early on into your BLW journey!
Both of our boys’ first meals were pork chops with either baked or mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. We didn’t prepare them anything different from what we were having. Just make sure to cut things appropriately - either in finger length strips or for round foods like berries/grapes/etc, cut into fourths.
No milk before 1 - dairy products are fine. No honey before 1 including when used as an ingredient in food. No raw foods, whole nuts, popcorn.
Raw foods shouldn’t ever be given but whole nuts and popcorn shouldn’t be offered until 5-6. There’s too much risk for swallowing large pieces or inhaling the pieces which can cause huge problems.
Other than that … go nuts! Spicy foods are perfectly okay too if baby likes them.
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Solid Starts on IG is a great account to follow as well as feedingtinybellies
At least 6months old
Sitting up
Showing interest in food
Able to grip food and put it in their mouth
Learn how to first aid a baby before you start. There are videos on YouTube as well xx
There are a lot of comments here with incorrect information. First, if you have already started traditional weaning, you can stop and switch to BLW at any time. There is no timeline that locks you into purées/traditional weaning. The comment above stating that you must stop before meeting 6 weeks or you are stuck is absolutely incorrect. BLW can be started once baby is 6 months of age, is able to sit up on their own or with minimal assistance, and has lost the tongue thrust reflex. A lot of families choose to do traditional weaning before switching to solid foods. In fact, if you think about it, every traditional weaned child does eventually switch to solids because at some point, you stop feeding purées and serve real food. Otherwise we’d have 8 year olds eating puréed corn for dinner. To begin BLW, you serve baby whatever foods you and the rest of the family are eating just cut properly. The only no no is honey and of course obvious choking hazards like popcorn, gummies, etc. BLW emphasizes cutting foods in finger lengths rather than very small pieces to encourage baby to pick up the food and learn to take proper sized bites. This goes for meats, fruits, anything. The other big rule is to remove the roundness out of anything baby eats so serve berries or grapes or cherry tomatoes quartered. Bananas may be served as is where they are so soft. You do not spoon feed baby at all. Even yogurts, you put down in front of them in a bowl with a spoon or without. BLW emphasizes baby being in total control. There are many great groups and books with information on this. Lastly, do not worry if it seems to take baby awhile to actually invest any of the food. A big part of baby led weaning is the experience that baby gains from feeling the textures and self feeding. Baby also acquires a decent amount of nutrients just from gumming the food, believe it or not. Many babies do take a long time to really ‘eat’ where they are in control of the eating. This is totally normal and is why breastmilk or formula remains the primary source of nutrition until the age of one. Note - I did not say the sole source of nutrients because that isn’t true. After the age of 6 months, breastmilk/formula does not offer all of the nutrients baby needs. Many people will say ‘food before one is just for fun’ but this is very very incorrect. It’s a funny catch phrase and something often said to moms but is proven false by today’s medicine and the American academy of pediatrics. Best of luck!
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Bananas and green beans are good starters
We just let them try what we ate we have 6 kids no issues
Lots of Facebook groups! Baby Led Weaning For Beginners
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You feed them what you eat only softer.
I started LED feeding mine by about 5 months.
Youre babies will not be nearly as picky when they get older.
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My daughters dr gave us the okay to start blw at 4months when she started showing interest in foods, sitting up right & holding things to her mouth. We started off simple, mashed potatoes, mashed veggies and fruits , smoothies & breast milk with fruit popsicles. Before introducing her to a new food, we gave it 1 week to see if she had any allergic reaction- which she didn’t. She is now almost 2 , and has tried over 100s of different foods!
And if baby gags, it’s okay & normal! Just baby trying to learn how to swallow:two_hearts: I would look on Pinterest for “ baby led weaning meal ideas “ ! They have so many great healthy ones!! Good luck mama 
What is baby led weaning?
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I started at 6 months with my first and plan on doing the same with my one month old. We absolutely loved blw
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Just go for it! Let the baby try it all! My youngest is 3 1/2 and it had been 10 years since I had a baby…I didnt know about this back then. We have almost zero food/eating problems. She loves a lot more than most at her age (chicken gizzards, braun Schweiger, pickled onions…) but anyways, just go for it. Look it up, read about it, and just let the baby do it!
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
Baby Led Weaning
Are great groups
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I started when the little ferrets started biting , it went “Ouch right that’s it for you.”
Just give it a go…mine was on smoosh table foods at six months no baby food just ours. Like mashed potatoes cottage cheese etc. she refused baby purées completely only wanted ours
Each babe is different. My now 2 year old did not like many whole foods until after 1. My now 1 year old, never took to baby food and only ever wanted whole food. Don’t stress, put the whole food (tiny bits) on the high chair tray and let them explore.
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6 months or when they can sit up
Cut food length ways like long carrots or broccoli
Put the odd piece on the high chair tray and leave them explore
Just remember “food is for fun until they are one” so milk is still the main source until 1
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
There is a group and a book!
Best thing we ever did for our babies
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Sorry if this isn’t allowed.
I follow this group and it really helped me with my babies.
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Join the Facebook group! I think it’s called Baby Lead Weaning For Beginners. They helped me out a lot. Baby eats exactly what you eat, just cut properly (finger size/shape pieces when first starting out) You model eating for them but they feed themselves. While I have NO regrets doing BLW - and would 100% do it again if we have another baby - I was a first time Mom and thought my girl would continue to eat every fruit and vegetable put in front of her. Lol. Wrong! That toddler pickiness still set in but we have no regrets doing BLW! Expect some gagging, especially in the beginning. Stay calm and let them work through it. You’ll be amazed at what they can do for themselves! Make sure baby is 6 months OR older and it’s super important that they can sit-up by themselves even if you are using a high chair.
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB) is a good place to start learning. Babe should be a minimum of 6 months, sitting unassisted, and should no longer have the youngest thrust reflex. Babe should obviously also show a clear interest in food. Babe can have pretty much anything except honey (not until 12 months) as long as it’s cooked and prepared properly. We started my second babe at 6 months when she showed all signs of readiness. Her first meal was scrambled eggs and fruits.
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When can you introduce peanut butter?
Melinda Marie Santana they have a few groups in these comments!
“Don’t offer, don’t refuse” is the La Leche League advice. Never sit down! Give plenty of solids.
Just give them chunks of food that you eat. There’s really no “start” to it. Start feeding your kid real food=baby led weaning
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I did this and it worked brilliantly I highly recommend it. My daughter is a year old and I read about it while pregnant. My other kids I did the purée veg and fruit thing it was always a struggle. With baby led weaning you start by giving regular food (no salt or sugar) to try and your baby will like some and others they won’t and you can build up meals from their. My daughter loved porridge not the baby one. She loved plain pasta cooked veggies. That sort of thing. You let your baby hold them don’t put on a spoon my daughter will now eat everything not fussy at all. There are lots of videos on YouTube and articles on google do your research
Join a baby wed leaning group on Facebook that was so helpful for me! It is amazing my little one is 17 months now and eats all by herself with. Fork and spoon and is the best eater!
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I started my oldest on mashed potatoes(real not flakes) at 5-6months. Actually I started mashing fruits & veggies at that age for her. When she got teeth I was chewing up meats for her & feeding her that at about 10 months. My youngest was 4 months old when I started feeding him mashed fruits & veggies. I wasn’t producing enough milk to keep him fed & formula just wasn’t satisfying his hunger so I started extremely early on him. Do not belittle me for chewing up food for my babies. They were very healthy. Today they eat most things kids & some adults gag at just being mentioned.
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Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
ELS: BLW/Purees
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I did BLW with my youngest. It was the best decision I made, we loved it! First meal was chicken and asparagus. Make sure you cut everything properly. Join a group or two here on FB, they are so helpful and informative. Good luck 
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Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB) join this group it helped me with my little one.
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Most babies reduce nursing when they start eating solid foods and wean themselves. My sons did
I did BLW with all of my kids (8.) As soon as they started grabbing for my food I started sharing, everything from avocado and toast to ribs and steak. The only one with food aversions also has SPD and autism so it’s kind of expected with him. The others will now eat literally anything, including crickets, meal worms, etc.
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As long as your baby is six months old and can’t sit up alone with no assistance, then you can get started. Join a blw group on Facebook for all details. No honey before one year old. Also no hot dogs. Other than that baby can get pretty much everything you eat. Cut food into strips shaped kind of like your finger so baby can pick up the large pieces and take his own bites.
Um… I just introduced food as my oldest was ready and the more food she got, the less she nursed. She was weaned and we were trying to fit in a little breastmilk or formula to supplement just under a year. We tried to go one year but she did not want to nurse anymore. She didn’t really want formula or breastmilk at all. When I complained to a doc, he just said she was way taller and bigger than a normal 1yr old.
This was my daughters first meal 
or at least part of it… the rest included, strawberries, eggs, avocado, haddock … I guess you could say we went all in 
… but to each their own! Follow yours and your child’s comfort level, educate yourself, watch videos, join groups etc. Ultimately, you are mama and know what’s best for yours!
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Join a group!!! No need for just mushy foods they can have at a strip steak at 6 months! As long as you are modeling for them!
If you use Instagram SR Nutrition is amazing!!
I cooked broccoli 1st untill it was really soft and them them feel it at first it’s about textures and getting them used to picking foods up there’s loads of good stuff online or ellas kitchen
We give ours sticks of cucumber and bell peppers. cooked broccoli, asparagus, baby corns and carrot. She’s also had a rosy dinner. Rice crackers work too. Just keep an eye on them and let them chomp away.
Download blw meals on your phone!
Lots of incorrect information here, so please make sure you are doing your own research from trustworthy sources. BLW is amazing and it is 100% safe IF done properly.
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Honestly I join the Facebook group baby LED weaning for beginners and Beyond several months before my son was ready to start that way I could educate myself they’ve got wonderful files and tips on how to cut things appropriately it was the best decision we made.
Dang, that’s too much. My son was on baby rice at 2 months and solids at 8 months
I did LED on two. Backfired on me. They have become the worlds pickiest eaters as teenagers now.
Best thing I ever did. So so much easier than traditional, I did that with my first.
Look up groups on FB.
BLW you wait until all signs of readiness are shown and totally skipping purées.
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Stephanie Heverly Nicole Fleming
any advice? I know you’re experts in the field of breastfeeding!
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You join Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
Baby led weaning (BLW) recipes & support group
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
I have an Instagram page with lots of baby led weaning tips /tricks and recipes. @little_foodie_diaries
Baby Led Weaning And Combo Feeding Without The Woo is excellent help.
Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB) is an amazing resource !
Follow Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)
We did it with #2 and it was 10x easier. Watch videos on YouTube to get more comfortable. We just fed baby what we ate. Put it on his tray and let him eat.
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When baby shows all signs that they are ready for solids just feed them. Make sure food is cut in pieces small enough for them to grasp and that’s that. I did BLW with all 4 of my kiddos and they eat EVERYTHING without any issues. No picky eaters (of course they each have a food or 2 they dislike, but don’t we also have that as adults?). Don’t be surprised if in the beginning more ends up on the floor then in their mouth but food before 1 is just for fun so it’s not really about the quantity, it’s just about the exploration of different tastes and textures.
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Baby Led Weaning for Beginners & Beyond (BLWBB)