Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

What is the Baby Led Weaning?

The term Baby Led Weaning was first introduced by the authors Tracey Murkett and Jill Rapley in 2008 when their book was published in the UK. The method refers to babies in the phase of transitioning to solids.
According to them, the baby eats exclusively by self-feeding, without spoon feeding or bringing foods to baby’s mouth by caregiver. So, baby is in control.
The method is considered an alternative to the conventional way of transitioning to solids and encourages independence and self-feeding. Foods, preferably those consumed by the family, are served to the baby as finger foods, allow him to explore foods with all his senses. This is different from the traditional method, where parents spoon feed their children purees and gradually adjust textures as baby grows and develops.
Also, note that the word Weaning which is actually a bit of a misnomer. That is because at this stage, there is no weaning from breast milk or infant formula. They will continue to be baby’s main source of nutrition until the age of one (at least).
The Baby Led Weaning method has become pretty popular among parents of our generation, mainly as an antithesis to a widely seen phenomenon of force feeding and pressuring children to eat larger amounts.

When and how to start Baby Led Weaning?

Baby Led Weaning should not be started before the age of 6 months. In addition, you should wait until baby is ready. How do we know he’s ready? He should be able to comfortably sit in a baby chair (without melting in the chair), and should have the ability to bring food to his mouth area.
Most healthy and normally developed babies at this age are able to feed themselves, i.e. put food in their mouth. On the other hand, note that even if they manage to put food in their mouth properly, they will not necessarily be able to chew everything because chewing skills in some babies may fully develop up to the age of 9 months. That is why patience and practice are needed.

What textures are most suitable to start with?

In order to succeed, it is essential to start by choosing the right textures. Easiest to explain would be to tell you choose foods you can squish between two fingers or squish with your tongue in your mouth with your upper palate. Examples? Soft avocado, steamed cauliflower, sliced steamed apple, soft meatballs, etc.
A cucumber for example, we would not be able to smash between our fingers and therefore would not be suitable as a primary food.
Larger foods should be cut into long, thin strips, to make it easier for baby to hold. This is because few babies aged 6 to 8 months are capable of a pinch grip (thumb and forefinger), so they will usually pick up food with their whole palm. Once baby develops the pinching grip later, you can serve smaller pieces, such as ripe melon pieces, cooked beans, and over cooked pasta.

What foods are best to start with?

Of course, it is recommended to start with fresh, homemade, and nutritious foods such as vegetables and fruits. This is a good start in exposing baby with these textures, which should help them enjoy vegetables and fruit later on as well.
Here are the first foods that are super soft and some information on how it is recommended to serve them.
Vegetables (choose 2 per serving)
• Cooked/steamed zucchini
• Baked potato strips
• Steamed carrot strips
• Cauliflower
• Cooked/steamed sweet potato
• Baked halibut
• Steamed broccoli florets (perfect handle)
• Roasted pepper (start by serving pealed)
Protein (choose one per serving)
• Soft meatballs
• Roasted/boiled chicken, tender and finely crumbled.
• Omelet cut into strips/scrambled eggs.
• Shredded salmon.
• Crumbled sauced tofu.
• Cooked (well done) and mashed chickpeas.
• vegetable strips dipped in hummus/lentil spread.
• Later, you can of course start serving unsweetened dairy products as well.
Fruit
• Ripe banana strips.
• Steamed apple/pear strips.
• Avocado strips.

Where to begin?

1. Start by sitting baby, at the family table, in a proper and suitable highchair. It would be best to seat them when other members of the family are dining. Remember, modeling is very important. Baby sees, baby does.
2. Cut each food to a finger food (ie, a bit like thick French fries). It is especially important to expose to vegetables and fruits and iron rich foods.
3. Grill/steam/cook the vegetables/fruits. You can drizzle olive oil (or any other healthy oil), before cooking to soften.
4. It is very important to notice that the texture is one that you can squeeze and squish between your finger and thumb.
Take the first few weeks to learn baby’s cues while allowing him to explore, even if he doesn’t put the food in his mouth right away. Lower expectations about baby eating significant amounts at this stage. The process requires time and patience. Baby will start getting used to feeding himself and then you can expect to gradually see an improvement in his eating abilities and progress to real eating.

What are Baby Led Weaning advantages?

There are many potential benefits.
The method is based on skipping the phase of serving purees and spoon feeding.
Moreover, from the start, baby learns to feed himself and advances motor abilities, as the method supports the development of hand-eye coordination, chewing skills and good eating habits. It also gives baby a real opportunity to closely explore the taste, texture, aroma, and color of a large variety of foods. Introducing as many textures and flavors as possible, in early age, are highly important in preventing picky eating later on in life.
This is an early stage in baby’s life, and it is very important in learning self-regulation. Baby will stop eating when he feels full. In practice, with BLW, it is not possible to make or force a baby to overeat because he is eating independently. This is contrasted to spoon feeding where parents and caregivers can sneak a few more spoons in even if baby is full or not really interested, which may disrupt the child’s normal hunger and satiety mechanism. Furthermore, studies have shown that using BLW was a predictive factor to preventing obesity in late childhood. That is because of the baby’s ability to regulate quantities. It has also been seen that proper eating regulation was also observed later in life.

Another advantage is the messiness and all the getting dirty. Yes, this is an advantage.
In a world where ‘The Hygiene Theory’ is predominant, a theory that believes the cleaner we are, the allergies we will have, a baby who will dip his entire face in tomato sauce, may have a preventive advantage in allergy.

Want to hear some more of BLW?

Studies show that parents who followed the BLW model applied less pressure on baby during mealtime, were less concerned about weight gain, did not interfere directly with the amount of food consumed, which all contributed to proper eating habits later on.
Initiation of solids in the BLW method was usually at the recommended age for starting solids, that is, not before the recommended age of 6 months, and therefore, babies were exclusively breastfed for a longer period of time than in the traditional approach.
Finally, BLW increases frequency of family meals, reduces parental anxiety about amount consumed by baby, promotes more exposure to a variety of foods, creates more interaction with food, and in general sounds like a pretty good way to start complementary foods.

What are the disadvantages of BLW?

It is most appropriate to start with the simple fact that the method is not suitable for every baby or every parent.
Parents who are generally more stressed or have difficulty during the transition phase to solids, will necessarily stress when baby eats independently and so the nature of the parent is important here.
In babies with insufficient weight gain up to 6 months of age, you must consider whether it is right to start with this method. Baby’s intake may temporarily be lower compared to the traditional method. And if there is pressure or parental concern about weight gain, it is wrong to follow this approach.
In addition, babies with any developmental delay or neurological problem should start solids in the traditional way.
Remember that compared to the many years of research we have on the traditional way to start complementary foods (using purees), the BLW has only been known for the last decade or so. Therefore, it is still difficult to clearly say exactly what the long-term benefits are.
Choking risk is one of the issues that creates more uncertainty or concern among families when children are fed using BLW. Although there is no association between BLW and a higher risk of choking incidents, it is important to observe the recommendations and guidelines for safe feeding in general and the BLW method in particular. You can read more about preventing choking and suffocation from food in children, in the following link.
Surprisingly, most babies will present proper skills in managing finger foods. Naturally, some babies have a reflexive defense mechanism – gag reflex that may also cause watery eyes or a cough. If this happens, it is important to stay calm and allow baby to bring the food forward himself. If the parent is stressed, the baby will of course feel it.
Choking, on the other hand, occurs when food gets stuck in the throat or trachea, blocking the flow of air. If a baby is choking, he probably won’t make any sound and of course immediate intervention is needed.
When challenging the palate with a new texture, a gag reflex may sometimes appear, and it is important to know that this is normal and that this reflex is nothing like choking. It indicates normal functioning of the swallowing system.
Of course, in any doubt that there is an eating or swallowing problem, one should seek professional evaluation by a pediatrician/nutritionist.

How can we avoid choking incidents?

These are universal recommendations while choosing any method to feed the baby.
In general, one should proceed gradually in serving different food textures, i.e. start with the softer and lighter things and according to the baby’s abilities, proceed to more challenging foods. Of course, always avoid serving dangerous foods such as whole grapes, sausages, popcorn, raw vegetables and many more. (see again the important article on choking prevention).
If you would like, here are some basic safety rules:
• Baby never eats unsupervised.
• Make sure baby is upright while eating.
• Serve suitable foods, as explained above.
• Allow baby to lead. There is no need to rush or intervene, if the parent applies stress, it has been shown that the baby may develop a negative association with eating.

What do I think? Which method is better?

I of course believe that the method must feel right for the parent and child, but a combination of the two approaches can work for many families. If you are comfortable with spoon feeding, there is no need to give that up completely before offering finger foods. So, you can serve finger foods at the same time as purees. Serve them foods that the family normally eats and the child can easily hold himself as an active participant at mealtime.
In the first months of solid feeding, it is very important for the baby to lick, taste, explore, touch and actually be active during the process. Allow them to be a part, whether by holding a spoon dipped in a puree or by holding a finger food as explained above.
The amounts of food that are consumed will gradually increase, so the purees can help make the meals more filling and nutritious earlier rather than later.
It is important to serve a variety of textures from the age of 6 months – that is, aim to expose the baby to different textures such as lumpy, soft boiled, finely ground, ground, mashed and soft finger foods from the start.

What else should I know?

Beware that making a mess is an integral part of this process. The goal is to let the little one explore food at his own pace. So that means squashing it, smashing it, dropping it, and probably making a big mess at almost every meal. This is essential while learning. So do everything you can to allow baby to feel comfortable touching and exploring, not only in Baby Led Weaning, but in general when transitioning to solids.
Several important principles should not be forgotten. Create family mealtime and eat while they eat. Don’t just sit there, but truly eat like you want them to. How are they supposed to learn what and how to do? The baby should usually eat what you eat, with adjustments of course. And if you ‘just sit with him’, the process won’t work as well.
Let the baby use cutlery suitable for their age. Even if they don’t really seem to know what to do with them or prefer their hands for now. Always put a spoon dipped in something they can lick or eat.
At last, you must remember that there are children who are simply not ready for finger food at the age of 6 months. In that case, I recommend serving finger foods before or after serving the purees and start serving puree with an increasingly lumpy texture to help gradually advance chewing skills. Touching food is still very important.
In conclusion, each family should find the right way for them, which is convenient and suitable with the nature of the parent, the caregiver and the baby. Seek help of a professional if necessary.
Oh, and good luck! Enjoy the ride 😊