This is a guest post by Emily of Oh! Apostrophe.
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Starting solids is a topic that comes up all the time with moms. Personally, I felt like starting solids was a huge deal. When I gave my son Finn his first bite of real food, I was practically holding my breath. Is he going to choke? Is he going to scream? Is the world going to end? (We did start at 5 months and 20-something days after all… don’t babies come with a timer that will make them explode if you don’t wait the recommended 6 months?)
Turns out it was really not that hard. And when I found out about baby-led weaning, it became stupidly simple. So here is how we did it… not precisely by the book (this is the book, which I definitely recommend: The Baby-Led Weaning Cookbook), but this is what worked for us. It might not be how you want to do it (yadda yadda babies are different and not robots that come with instructions proceed at your own risk yadda), but I wish I’d known about it sooner, and I’ll definitely be doing it this way again with any future babies.
Here we are at (almost) 6 months with our first solid food milestone extravaganza, which was videotaped and photographed with at least three different electronic devices. It was avocado. Finn ate some. We were so proud.
(Why avocado and why not rice cereal is a whole different can of worms but this site has some good info on why we made that choice.)
We went along our merry pureed way for a couple of weeks after that, and I used a borrowed Beaba Babycook to make sweet potatoes, peas, green beans, butternut squash, apple, and pear purees. We did one meal a day, trying a new food every few days. Finn liked them for the most part. It was okay; we could have kept doing it. But then one day I was eating a banana and I decided to let him take a bite. He loved it! So I handed him a chunk of the banana to feed himself.
Not that actual banana. One of many many many bananas that came after.
At that point I’d read about Baby Led Weaning, but I didn’t really know if it was right for us. Once I saw how much Finn liked feeding himself though, I decided maybe we’d do a mix of purees and finger foods. So at that point (maybe 6.5 months), we started offering him things he could feed himself in addition to the purees. Among the first things we tried were cooked pasta, cooked baby carrots, peas, avocado chunks, banana, and cucumber spears. Once the option of feeding himself was there, he really lost interest in the purees. After about a month of this, purees were out and real food was in. At that point he could eat almost anything we were eating. We waited until eight months to introduce berries, dairy products and eggs. Aside from sweets, peanut products, shellfish and strawberries (those last two because I’m allergic/sensitive so we’re waiting until one year to introduce), he can have just about anything. We plan to skip purees altogether with any hypothetical future kiddos. At six months, babies are developmentally ready to learn how to feed themselves real food.
Pasta, peas, & avocados; Pancake breakfast
There were definitely some things that made me nervous for a bit in the beginning:
Worry #1. Was he really getting enough to eat? His fine motor skills were definitely in the early stages. For every piece of pasta that made it into his mouth, three ended up on the floor. (Our dog Duncan is a big proponent of BLW.) But, Finn was still nursing just as much as he ever was during this time, so a huge majority of his calories and nutrients were still coming from me. Nervous mommas, repeat this mantra with me: food before one is only for fun. BLW is all about letting your baby decide what he wants to eat, and your job is just to provide healthy options. No making yourself crazy trying to get him to take one more bite. No here comes the airplane spoon trick. No coercing, no tears (from you I mean). This is one of my favorite parts about the philosophy, and it is really refreshing. It took a little getting used to, but I have really learned to not stress out (most of the time) about how much Finn is eating. I mean, for the first six months of his life I offered him food (boob) and let him decide how much to eat. Why wouldn’t I keep doing that now?
Worry #2. Was he going to choke? Another mantra, say it with me: gagging is NOT choking. Finn gagged a couple of times (as in, I think twice) when he was learning how to eat. This is normal. This is like falling off of your bike a couple of times before you get it right. Here is what gagging looks like: cough-cough-pukey face, up comes food. Finn only ever spit out the piece he was gagging on, but supposedly sometimes more food comes along for the ride which is normal too. This is not choking. The BLW book was really helpful in getting me to understand this, complete with a description of how baby mouth anatomy is different from adults, and that the gag reflex is stronger and further forward as a natural safeguard against choking. You should definitely know what to do if your baby chokes and you should supervise them when they’re eating (regardless of how you decide to feed them). You should also know what gagging versus choking looks like so you don’t freak yourself out while your baby is learning to eat.
Mac ‘n’ cheese and pears; Pumpernickel bread with cream cheese
Once I got past those two concerns, BLW has really been nothing but awesome for us. Let me count the ways…
Awesome #1: It’s lazy. Now that Finn can eat almost anything we can eat, there is no more pureeing separate food for him. Whether he eats exactly what we eat, or a “deconstructed” version (I call it that so Finn feels extra fancy) where certain ingredients are left out (I might take his chicken and veggies out before I add sauce to a stir fry, for example), it’s much easier than making something else.
Awesome #2: It boosts fine motor development. Finn could pick up a pea with a pincer grasp at seven months. It was so fun to see him figure it all out, and it happened so fast. The skills practically show up overnight when there is such a big motivator. Plus, at this age, there is no other way for babies to practice these kinds of fine motor skills, because anything that small that wasn’t food would be dangerous.
Pasta primavera and grapes; Chicken and fresh peach
Awesome #3. No more taking food with you for travel or eating out. We went on a cruise with our families after Christmas this year, and Finn ate from the menu the whole time. It was super easy for us, super entertaining for others (“my baby will have the salmon please”), and so much simpler than lugging jars or pouches of baby food with us.
Awesome #4. No spoon feeding. I always watch Finn when he eats, but not having to give him every last bite myself frees me up a bit. I can eat my own dinner at the same time, pick up the kitchen a little, or cook while he feeds himself. (Or take his picture, which apparently I do a lot.)
Awesome #5. There’s some good science behind it. A recent article published in the British Medical Journal came to this conclusion: “Weaning style impacts on food preferences and health in early childhood. Our results suggest that infants weaned through the baby-led approach learn to regulate their food intake in a manner, which leads to a lower BMI and a preference for healthy foods like carbohydrates. This has implications for combating the well-documented rise of obesity in contemporary societies.”
Banana bread; Peppers and hamburger… cheese has been eaten. (Burrito night for us.)
You might be thinking to yourself, this doesn’t exactly sound like rocket science. And it’s not! I think a lot of parents just start doing this and think nothing of it. I’m kind of a neurotic first time parent, and so it helped me to have a little bit of guidance. Calling it something, reading a book about it, and hearing about other people’s experiences was really helpful for me. It also helped me feel like I knew what I was doing when people questioned me about handing huge pieces of food over to my eight month-old.
Finn is eleven months old now, and tonight we ate Indian food together as a family. He chowed down on spinach and paneer cheese with a side of naan. On Saturday morning we all ate crepes together for breakfast (don’t tell Finn his was missing Nutella). As he gets older, there are fewer times when he can’t eat the exact same meal as us. It’s really great.
Meatballs and cheese. We are serious about our BABYBJÖRN Bibs around here.
So that’s our take on the (complicated-sounding yet stupidly-easy once you jump in) idea of baby led weaning. Bon appetit.
Guest Blogger: Emily of Oh! Apostrophe part 2 of 5
1. Guest Series: Cloth Diapering by Mrs. Bee2. Baby-Led Weaning by Food
3. Sign Language for Babies by parenting
4. Public Service Announcement About Slides from Finn by parenting
5. Cutting Back on Plastic by Guest Blogger
Baby Led Weaning part 1 of 11
1. Baby-Led Weaning by Food2. BLW Gear Faves & Fails by Mrs. Stroller
3. BLW - The First Few Months by Mrs. Stroller
4. Getting Started With Baby Led Weaning by Mrs. Superhero
5. Baby Led Weaning by Mrs. Superhero
6. Getting Started with Solids, Purees, and Baby-led Weaning by Mrs. Bee
7. Time for Big-Boy Food by Mrs. Yoyo
8. My Modified Baby-Led Weaning Approach by Mrs. Pen
9. Little Tea Cup versus the spoon - part 2 - favourite first finger foods by Mrs. Tea
10. Starting Solids with Baby Led Weaning: A Conservative Approach by Mrs. Markers
11. Starting Baby Led Weaning by Mrs. Chipmunk
pear / 1764 posts
So interesting! Thanks for sharing. My LO is 10 months old & is SUPER picky about textures. She will eat some finger foods (organic puffs, cherrios, small pieces of cheese, banana, etc) but she usually will clamp her mouth closed unless you are offering her a puree. She will eat anything pureed! Any suggestions? TIA!
grapefruit / 4120 posts
We did a combination of purees and finger foods too, from the start, but for some odd reason at 14 months it’s like he’s backsliding and prefers being fed. Weird baby.
guest
We have tried this a bit but our son (10 months) simply shoves as much food as possible into his mouth and then often will start gagging. We have been trying to model chewing but often the only solution is to give him only a few bite size pieces at a time. I would love to hear your thoughts on this!!
pear / 1728 posts
Liv flat out rejected purees, so at 6.5 months we went to BLW and have LOVE it. Its super easy, and she loves being able to eat with the grown ups and feed herself.
@Leslie – try only putting 3-4 pieces of food on his try at a time. They tend to get overwhelmed with too much on there and then either play with it or shove it all in. Less food means less in his mouth at once and more concentration on the individual pieces
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
Awesome. My LO’s 11 months old and I let her eat by herself, but 99% of her food ends up on the floor. -.- It’s nice not having to make puree’s for her anymore though!
guest
Totally agree. We did BLW with all three kids and my MIL always comments on how early they have fine motor skill mastery/ can use spoons and forks early and have a varied, healthy appetite. LOVE it!
apple seed / 1 posts
Totally reading my mind with this post! I was just researching BLW yesterday. My daughet is only 2.5 months old, but I wanted to getmore information about introducing solids so I would be prepared. Thanks for the encouragement on the BLW front. I anticipate starting her on solids slightly earlier than 6 months, so I will probably start with purees then move to full self-feeding in the coming months.
kiwi / 525 posts
Well now that’s a brilliant post, it makes so much sense but I’d seen so many parents Freak Out with the gagging that I didn’t realise you could really do it that way. And I’m having twins, so this means dinner could be a far faster affair than spoon for you, spoon for her… Deadly!
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
Yay I love this post!!! I can’t wait to try BLW with baby TTT.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
Thanks for this. I want to introduce more finger foods to Baby Y!
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
I’m so glad your post was shared on here! I found it so informative when I read it on your blog the other day. Great information!!
honeydew / 7968 posts
haha thanks for the humorous way you presented that. i will definitely keep this in mind when it comes to feeding my babies. ooooh i’d love to skip the purees. what a pain in the butt.
honeydew / 7504 posts
Really interesting! I’m anxious to research this a bit more.
pea / 18 posts
Great timing – our daughter is a week and a day shy of 6 months and we’re hoping to start experimenting with solids this weekend! Wondering aside from avocados, what are some goof foods to start with?
pomelo / 5866 posts
We started this at about 7 months and got past the baby food jars entirely around 10 months. I was always afraid of choking so I would go really small and then she would start coughing on the ‘crumbs’ I gave her. My husband was braver and would always boost her up a notch on size. It’s a little scary but she is a good eater!
grapefruit / 4049 posts
Love BLW… DD #2 wasn’t a fan of purees (neither am I!), so we moved on to BLW at 7 mos and we both love it!
pomegranate / 3595 posts
Thanks so much for sharing this! LO is 3 months this week so we have a ways to go but starting solids will be here before you know it. BLW is so appealing for both parents and baby!
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
Thank you SOOOO much for this post! I wish I had read this sooner. I really should have been repeating some of those mantras to myself long ago, lol. I bet if we had done BLW sooner our LO would have also enjoyed food earlier. I know this post will be helpful for future kiddos and other parents out there.
Like you we didn’t end up doing rice cereal, but we did try it a few times. It actually made LO really sick. He’s also slightly anemic, do you know if Finn is, too? Any tricks you have to get more iron in him if so?
GOLD / apricot / 341 posts
Thanks so much for this post! I love how un-intimidating you make it sound.
I was completely neurotic and a little wimpy about finger foods with Alec, but just being around mums and babies that were a couple of months older than Alec (and having A’s pediatrician explain the difference between choking and gagging) helped me to take the plunge at around 7-8 months of age. Back then, Alec ate a lot of puffs, baby mum-mums, peas, cooked macaroni, and little pieces of my breakfast bagel to complement his purées. From the age of one (he’s 14 months now), he has eaten what we eat and it is such a relief!
I believe I will be more adventurous the next time around!
GOLD / apricot / 341 posts
I also have to really recommend the book Cooking for Baby by Lisa Barnes. There are some really fabulous recipes in their, both for early purées and for really great family meals that are toddler-friendly. We use it often and my husband and I really enjoy the healthy foods that are recommended for our little one!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
wonderful post! i’m definitely going to try baby led weaning with olive. i can’t believe she’s already almost 5 months, so it’s just around the corner. but baby led weaning definitely makes a lot of sense!
apricot / 464 posts
@Boogs: Did your doctor do a blood test for anemia? Finn isn’t, but we only had a blood test because we were looking for lead paint issues (old home), so I didn’t know if it was routine. He will actually eat a fair bit of meat, so I’m hoping we won’t have a problem!
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
@ohapostrophe: He did, I think they routinely do it for EBF babies.
grape / 90 posts
Thanks so much for this post! I sent it to DH, and we’ve been talking about it ever since. Our little guy is just over 4 months old so this is really timely for us!
honeydew / 7968 posts
hi! i’m back! planning to start next week! since they turn 6 months on sunday. was wondering if you could do a post on what you started first!!!
@Mrs. Bee: hey mrs. bee – what do you think?
thanks!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
@tequiero21: yes i will do one! i went a less traditional blw route because olive was behind in physical milestones and not able to feed herself.
honeydew / 7968 posts
@Mrs. Bee: thx, perfect! i think i have to do a mixture or something less traditional as well. im not sure my boy is ready….
guest
Aw, this sounds awesome. Not entirely possible for us because my little 9 mo old has many severe food allergies, but I would like to include the basic philosophy of this a little more.
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
This is so interesting. Thank you for sharing!
pea / 14 posts
I will be looking into this for sure before its time for my LO to start solids.