Family Recipes for Baby Led Weaning (2024)

FAQs

How many meals should I start with baby-led weaning? ›

To start BLW, ensure readiness and begin with one solid meal a day during family mealtime. Use a highchair in a safe setting, allow exploration and play with food, offer age-appropriate soft foods in manageable sized pieces, and let the baby lead the feeding process.

BLW has some obvious downsides. The infant may not get enough energy, iron, zinc, vitamins, and other nutrients, or too much protein, saturated fat, salt, or sugar. The risk of choking, which must be distinguished from the physiological gagging reflex, has not been ruled out by scientific studies.

At 1 year old, your child is learning to eat on their own. They can chew food as well as you can, so they can eat the same foods as the rest of the family.

Baby-led weaning (BLW) involves skipping the spoon-fed purées and letting babies feed themselves finger foods when starting solids.

One of the advantages of BLW is that it's very difficult to overfeed your baby. As long as you're providing a good variety of nutritious food it will be up to your baby to decide whether or not they want to eat it.

Overall, it's up to parents to choose whichever method you are most comfortable with, purées and spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or a combination are all safe and healthy ways to introduce solids.

Babies weaned too early may gain excess weight, and may develop allergies and intolerances to some foods. Babies who are weaned at around six months should progress more quickly from smooth to lumpier textures. Different textures help with your baby's chewing and speech development.

Baby-Led Weaning will not suit all infants and families, but it is probably achievable for most. However, ultimately, the feasibility of BLW as an approach to infant feeding can only be determined in a randomized controlled trial. Given the popularity of BLW amongst parents, such a study is urgently needed.

Toasted bread is a go-to for babies and toddlers — it's an easy pleaser for little palates and you can top it with all kinds of wholesome ingredients. Families following a baby-led weaning approach tend to introduce bread early on, but it's an equally good option for spoon-fed babies who have graduated to finger foods.

You can serve eggs pureed, mashed, or as finger food. Try starting with pureed (or mashed) hard-boiled eggs, mixed with avocado or breast milk for a more creamy consistency, spoon feed or for baby led weaning offer a pre loaded spoon. Omelette strips are a fantastic finger food as are mini egg muffins and egg pancakes.

What is 3 day rule for baby food? ›

Thus, it is essential to follow the three-day rule to start baby food. Introduce only one food at a time and check for three days, if your baby is comfortable, then you are good to introduce the next one. 6 months baby food chart should include vegetables, fruits, cereals, grains, protein, and dairy.

When your baby is around six months old you can start to introduce family foods. If you would like to attend a face-to-face or a virtual 'Introducing family foods workshop', please speak to your Health Visiting team or contact the Surrey-wide 0-19 Advice Line on 01883 340 922.

In terms of solid food, most babies will eat small amounts at this age. This may look like 1 - 2 tbsp of purees or a few bites of food served baby-led weaning style. New foods tripping you up? Get some much needed help tracking your baby's progress as you start adding solids to their diet.

From 6–8 months old, feed your baby half a cup of soft food two to three times a day. Your baby can eat anything except honey, which they shouldn't eat until they reach 12 months old. You can start to add a healthy snack, like mashed fruit, between meals.

Most babies won't be having any significant amounts of food until about 7 months. One small 'meal' of solid food each day will probably be enough for a while. You can slowly build up to three meals each day (plus drinks and snacks) over the next 6 months.

Tablespoons: Since your baby is still drinking breast milk or formula as their primary nutrition, slowly incorporate approximately 1-3 tablespoons of food for 1-2 meals a day. As your baby starts to eat more solids, the Mini Mat can help you keep track of portion sizes.