Baby led weaning

mrss128 · August 2015

Anyone on here have experience with baby led weaning? I did a search but didn't find any topics about this. I'm really considering it, but I wanted to hear pros and cons from some people that have actually done it.

JennaMaroney · August 2015

We did it with our 3yr old DD... It was great! I actually didn't even know it was a "thing" until after we started.

She didn't like to be fed by a spoon (she's always been very independent) and spit out everything puréed, so I just mashed things, put them on her tray and she went for it. She pretty much ate everything we ate (within reason... Nothing too spicy or chewy) and was eager to try new colors, textures and flavors. She was a great eater until about 2, when she learned the power of "No!"

We're definitely going to do it again for #2.

Emott13 · August 2015

Worked great for us, too. DD actually was done with the boob (sweet potatoes taste so much yummier!) at around 9 months but I made her stick with it for at least a year. But we never had any problems at all. She's been a great eater her whole life!
Edited because autocorrect.

kmo8986 · August 2015

It is wonderful! We started my son with pieces (long skinny) of banana, avocado, steamed carrot chips, very steamed broccoli, peaches, and slowly just started giving him everything. When I watch my friends having to feed their one year olds baby food with a spoon I am so grateful that he feeds himself. At about 10 months he probably started eating everything we do, and by 14 months he wouldn't eat without a fork. Now (16 months) he is super proficient with utensils, he only has a hard time with things like rice. I could not recommend BLW more.

SummerOH · August 2015

I didn't realize it was a thing with DD, just seemed natural to do that rather than spoon-feeding. She and DS loved avocado, green beans, banana, etc. We did a little sooon feeding with DS, but mostly BLW.

holocene · August 2015

We did it for our children also. We started with avocado and went from there.

ETA: My 4 year old and almost 2 year old are fantastic eaters, who eat anything we do. I don't credit BLW fully, but I think it certainly helped.

Kelley421 · August 2015

I did this nearly 10 years ago with DD. I didn't know it was a "thing" or even if it was then. I did both soft foods with a spoon and small pieces that she fed herself. I just call it "feeding your baby". She was off bottles at 9m and drank formula from a straw cup.
The only problem I have with letting them eat everything with hands- she was a messy eater for a long time.

kmcc14 · August 2015

Can someone please share what this baby led weaning is? N00b here. :-B

sherks11 · August 2015

Baby led weaning is basically baby led feeding. Basically it's where you skip the purees and allow the baby to feed themselves. It eliminates you having to sit and spoon feed your baby and it allows them to explore food a little more independently. In general, I think you wait until 6 months to do this.

I did this with dd. I started with soft foods like egg yolk (not recommended by docs for allergy reasons but she loved it), alvacados, steamed red peppers, etc. Basically anything soft that she could hold and chew on without teeth. I really liked it and plan to do it again. The only exception I made was because of day care. I sent purees there bc with 8 babies and 2 adults I didn't trust sending solids until she was really good with them. Dd also didn't NEED food until 6 months, she was very content with only breastmilk. Some babies need it earlier, mine just didn't.

sherks11 · August 2015

Also, it sounds a little weird, but I learned a lot about I this from Pinterest. I was too lazy to buy a book on it.

kmcc14 · August 2015

sherks11 said:

Also, it sounds a little weird, but I learned a lot about I this from Pinterest. I was too lazy to buy a book on it.

Good to know, thanks!

hotvanilla · August 2015

Basically ditto what everyone else said. I just want to add don't stress over following BLW exactly how a book/friend/blog etc. tells you. As many momma mentioned not knowing it was a "thing", they followed their instinct and their baby. I never understand people looking up recipes for BLW because that seems to defeat the whole idea, just keep it simple. We basically have DS deconstructed versions of what we ate and he loved it!

adcc43 · August 2015

We did not do it with my first but did with my second. We just gave him everything we would be eating (minus high allergy items) from early on. He did great with it. We also gave him some purée but mostly tried to feed him our food.

willashbaby · August 2015

I would love to skip the "baby food" phase!

ljhgrey · August 2015

We did it and it was fantastic. EBF til 6 months and then started soft cooked solids. He learned how to manipulate food in his mouth so well. Aside from one minor watermelon incident (which was a bad call on my part), never an issue with choking as some people who try BLW are most concerned about. He ate a variety of foods early on and now that he's a toddler, he's a little pickier, but he'll definitely try pretty much anything.

maureenmce · August 2015

I have a question about this for the STM moms who have done this - where does breastfeeding fit in? Do you breastfeed the baby first and then let him/her try out some solid food? Or the opposite - let him/her explore solid food, then breastfeed to make sure they're getting enough nutrition?

Otherwise, this seems instinctive and much easier than baby food blending, etc. and I'm excited!

laineylove78 · August 2015

We did BLW and it worked out really well. By 9m she was eating all on her own and now at 13m she's a great eater.

My ped said to always give milk first up until a year. I would nurse first and then maybe a half hour later offer solids.

maureenmce · August 2015

@laineylove78 Thanks! That makes sense.

sherks11 · August 2015

Milk is the #1 nutrition until 1 year. I think the saying is something like... Food is for fun up until 1 year. Of course it all depends on the needs of your baby though.

mrss128 · August 2015

This sounds awesome! I was pretty convinced that this was what I wanted to do but been feeling pressure/judgement from other moms who do the purees. I will be really happy to not have to spoon feed or make baby food. Working momma is too busy for that mess. Plus feeding baby regular food always just seemed more natural to me. Babies have been going without mush for food for thousands of years

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