How to Get Started with Baby-Led-Weaning

What did babies eat before commercial baby food became available in the early 20th century? 

Before the 1920s, foods weren't made just for babies. Instead, parents gave their little ones soft table foods that were safe to chew and swallow. Although, 100 years ago, babies started solids at about 1 year old—six months later than they typically do today.

Now we know that most babies are developmentally ready to start solids at about 6 months old. We've also learned that the feeding experience has benefits that include nutrients (most notably found in iron-rich foods and food sources of zinc), but also much more. Taste preferences and healthy eating habits take root during infancy, and helping babies have a positive introduction to solid foods sets the stage for a healthy relationship with food and feeding as babies grow.

Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an alternative feeding method to traditional spoon feeding where solids are introduced via finger foods from the family table for self-feeding, starting at about 6 months of age when signs of developmental readiness for solid foods are present. 

As a pediatric dietitian, I encourage parents to consider BLW as a way of starting solids, and no matter what feeding model you choose to use, to always follow a responsive feeding model. Keep reading to learn more about baby-led weaning and how to get started.

What Is Baby-Led Weaning?

BLW is a baby feeding method that encourages babies to feed themselves when they’re ready to start solids. 

Instead of the passive spoon-feeding of store-bought or homemade purées, BLW allows the baby to explore the tastes, textures, and smells of the foods they'll be eating more of once they're weaned. 

Many early foods must be modified in order to be safe for 6 to 12 months old to be able to mash down with gums and swallow. But in my experience as a parent and pediatric dietitian, serving food from the family table is easy for parents once they know what to serve and how to prepare it for BLW. Plus the baby benefits from eating with the family, and caregivers save money and time by preparing one meal for everyone.

How do you know when and how much to feed your little one?

Responsive feeding is a key component of BLW and parents can start when their little one is still bottle- or breastfeeding. Parents watch for the baby's hunger and fullness signals and respond by offering food or ending the feeding. 

Is Baby-Led Weaning Safe?

It’s understandable that fear of choking and food allergies are top parental concerns when a baby starts eating solid food. 

For some parents, spoon-feeding purees feels safer at first. It’s true that we do give up some control over how big a bite your little one takes when you allow the baby more independence at meals. But BLW is safe as long as the baby is ready for solids and the texture and size of the food is developmentally appropriate.

Here are tips to help your little one self-feed safely.

Risk of Choking

A 2018 Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics study found no association between BLW and increased choking risk.

A 6 month-old little fellow getting messy at mealtime! Thank you to his parents for allowing me to share their photo!

Still, choking is always a concern when serving a baby solid foods, especially foods with a higher choking risk. Parents can reduce the risk of choking by serving soft, finger-shaped foods for babies using a palmar grasp, or soft foods cut into tiny bite-sized pieces for babies using a pincer grasp.

In general, hard fruits with tough skins should be peeled and cooked until they’re soft and mashable. Vegetables should be cooked until soft and tender. And avoid the most common choking hazards until later into toddlerhood or even beyond, when a child has the chewing skills and molars to handle them.

Babies should always be secured in a highchair during meals. Always supervise closely during meals. Allow babies the space to feed themselves and learn about the differences between gagging and choking and what to do if baby pockets food in the cheeks or stuffs too much food in their mouth. 

A few of the major choking hazards and foods to avoid or modify during infancy include: 

• hot dog rounds or tough meats

• popcorn

• whole cherry or grape tomatoes

• whole grapes

• hard raw vegetables

• corn kernels

• chips

• crackers or bread with seeds

• corn kernels

• nuts, seeds, and globs of nut or seed butter

• hard cheeses

• round or hard candies

• chewy and sticky candies

Introduce Common Food Allergens Early and Often

Until recently, the AAP recommended that children avoid allergenic foods for the first few years of life. However, according to the AAP’s 2019 review, the latest research shows that early introduction of common food allergens such as peanuts and eggs may actually prevent food allergies. 

The nine top food allergens responsible for about 90% of all food allergies are:

• eggs

• milk

• wheat

• peanuts

• tree nuts

• soy

• fish

• shellfish

• sesame seeds 

Before serving top food allergens, consult your baby's pediatrician for guidance, especially if baby has allergies, eczema, or a family history of allergies. Introduce top allergens for the first time either alone or with foods the baby has had and tolerated before, on a day when the baby is healthy and happy and you’re able to monitor for a few hours after the meal. Offer a tiny taste to start, wait 10 minutes, and if there is no reaction, offer the rest of the portion of food. Repeat the process a few times with the same allergen and if there's no reaction, continue the same steps with the next allergen until you’ve introduced all nine.

Once introduced and tolerated, keep these common allergens in your baby’s diet about twice per week to help prevent food allergies from developing. Use my 12-Week Baby-Led Feeding Meal Plan (with over 30 recipes and photos of every meal for food sizing guidance) to make this process easy. 

What Are the Benefits of Baby-Led Weaning?

Meals may be messier, but there are many potential benefits of BLW for both parents and baby.

• It encourages self-feeding and independence – BLW allows babies to feed themselves, which supports motor skill development and a positive relationship with food. BLW aligns with Ellyn Satter’s division of responsibility: parents provide the food and determine when and where babies eat. And, baby gets to decide whether and how much to eat. 

When you give your little one autonomy over how much they eat, it strengthens their internal self-regulation system and they learn to eat according to their hunger. 

• BLW exposes baby to a variety of flavors, colors, and textures – taste preferences develop early. Keep offering new foods, so your little one is exposed to how different textures feel in their hands and mouth. Picky eating is often related to color or texture aversion of new food. The more variety a baby experiences when starting solids, the more likely they are to accept a variety of foods and flavors down the road. 

• It's easier for you – parents spend less time, money, and energy preparing separate meals or making purees. Right from the start, your baby is drawn right into family meals and benefits from watching caregivers eat, which helps teach them how to self-feed.

Try a variety of textures during BLW!

Exposure to a variety of different colors and flavors (like these soft-cooked veggies) helps encourage more acceptance of a variety of foods down the road.

When to Start Baby-Led Weaning

Once babies are about 6 months old and showing all of the signs of readiness for solids, they’re old enough for baby-led weaning. 

Common signs that baby is ready to start solids are:

• Sits up independently (with minimal support)

• Good head and neck control 

• Notices food, reaches for it and opens mouth when food is offered

• Can bring their hand or objects to their mouth

Baby-Led Weaning Foods By Age

Depending on their age, certain types of foods are ideal for BLW without much modification. Soft and smooshable complementary foods including banana, mango, or avocado, tofu, cooked vegetables like sweet potatoes, pieces of toast, and scrambled eggs are some of the best BLW first foods.

Once baby’s motor skills develop and they have a mouthful of teeth, they can eat a greater variety of foods. 

To simplify this for caregivers, my book, Simple and Safe Baby-Led Weaning offers guidance (with photos) on 25 early foods and how to size them for BLW.

Palmar Grasp (6 to 9 Months Old)

Six to 9 month-olds typically grasp objects by wrapping their palm and fingers around an object and “palming it.” They haven't developed the dexterity and fine motor skills yet to pick up small pieces of food with their fingers and find their mouth. So offering small bites of food can be frustrating for them. At this stage, offer soft, tender, and mashable foods about 2.5 to 5 inches long – approximately the size of 1 to 2 adult pinky fingers. This allows babies to eat the part of the stick-shaped food that is sticking out of the palm.

Pincer Grasp (9 to 12 Months Old)

Most babies at this stage can pick up small objects between their pointer and thumb and bring it to their mouth (although keep in mind every baby develops at their own rate!) The pincer grasp usually develops at around 9 to 12 months old. At this stage, you can offer soft, tender, and mashable foods cut into chickpea-sized pieces. 

Here’s a chart with suggestions on preparing some common baby-led weaning foods by age.

Tips for Baby-Led Weaning First Foods

A 7 month-old baby girl enjoying avocado slices! Big thanks to her parents for sharing.

Soft fruits and cooked vegetables like avocados, bananas, and sweet potatoes that can be easily mashed with a fork work well as early foods

• Modify foods appropriately to match your baby’s stage of development 

• Always supervise mealtime and keep an eye on your baby as they chew and swallow 

• Avoid foods that are choking hazards such as raw carrots or apples, unless they're grated or cooked until very soft so they're easy to swallow

• Avoid added sugars and be mindful of sodium content in the foods you offer your baby, avoiding overly salty and heavily processed foods

• Thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables – defrosted frozen fruits and frozen veggies (cooked) work well

• Offer soft pieces of food in shapes that are easy for baby to self-feed

• Offer a small amount of water in an open cup with meals only 

If you’re getting ready to start your baby on solids, download my FREE Baby-Led Feeding Essential Checklist to make sure you have everything you need to get started. You might also want to check out my online course for parents, based on my best-selling book which will walk you through the whole process of starting solids using a baby-led approach.

Alternatively, if your baby is almost ready to start solids and you’re looking for someone you trust to map out the entire first 12 weeks of your baby’s solid food feeding journey, check out my Safe & Simple 12 Week Meal Plan! Over 30 recipes, weekly shopping lists, tons of balanced baby meals, a complete plan for top allergen introduction, & lots of guidance (with photos) on how to safely serve each food.

And if you're looking for personalized nutrition support for your babies or kids, I am currently accepting new clients in my virtual private practice. Looking forward to meeting you online…