Baby-led weaning first foods (Flavor combinations your toddler will love)
You want to jump straight to finger foods and bypass purees and jarred baby food altogether with solid foods and baby-led weaning by giving to your little ones control over what (and how much) they put in their mouths, and you don’t know how to? Wondering from where and when to start!?
In this article,
you will learn about your biggest baby-led weaning questions! what is baby-led weaning? When to start, the benefits and the
downsides of BLW, some safety tips for success and the best foods for baby-led
weaning!?
Moms and dads,
let’s do this.
What is Baby Led Weaning (or BLW)?
Baby-led weaning (BLW) is an approach to introducing solid food where the baby is allowed and
encouraged to self-feed solid finger foods instead of receiving purées via
spoon.
Here are some
benefits of BLW:
- Gives your baby full control of their appetite,
- It’s easy and inexpensive,
- Improved dexterity,
- May reduce picky eating,
- Less stressful for the parents,
- Unprocessed “real” foods are potentially very nutritious.
When can baby-led weaning start?
Experts agree
those solids should be delayed until the middle of the first year of life (6
months), and it’s important to take into account ALL readiness signs for each
individual baby.
Signs of
Readiness:
So first of all,
let’s talk about whether or not your babe is ready for BLW by assessing your
baby’s sign of readiness.
Here are some
things to look out for:
Baby should be
able to set up with support and have neck support so it’s easy for them to spit
out food without choking.
Baby should be
showing interest in food and reaching out and grabbing things you’re eating at
mealtime.
Baby is opening
their mouth to suck on items (hands, food or inedible items)
Baby has lost
their tongue-thrust reflex so they don’t just automatically push food out when
it goes in.
How do I start baby led weaning? And what foods to offer?
Now it’s time to
discuss what foods to offer and how?
Baby led weaning first foods
FRUITS AND
VEGETABLES
You want to
offer fruits and vegetables that are soft enough that you could mash them with
your finger, or baby’s gums or tongue. Hard raw foods should also be avoided.
Make food as
easy as possible for the baby to pick up and manipulate foods into their
mouths. Try to offer foods that are shaped like a finger so baby can more
easily hold it in his hand.
One of the fun
hack to avoid slippery food is to roll the food in ground flax, baby cereal or
ground almonds which not only gives babe a better grip, but it also adds some
iron and other minerals to their foods.
GRAINS
When it comes to
grains, offer wheat pasta in rotini, fusilli, penne, and rigatoni shapes so
babe can easily grab. Avoid foods that form too much crumb in the mouth.
DAIRY PRODUCTS
Pre-load some
full-fat yogurt and/or ricotta cheese onto a spoon and let babe try to feed
themselves. Cut cheese into finger like slices and make sure the cheese is low
sodium.
PROTEINS
Serve higher
fat, juicy meats that can easily break down in the baby’s mouth. Pair your iron
with fruits and veggies because vitamin C actually enhances the absorption of
iron. Thinly spread nut butter on fruits and finger-shaped slices of toast.
Serve up eggs by making mini frittata fingers. Offer hummus without the salt by
spreading it thinly on toast or vegetables.
FATS
Use healthy fats
like olive oil and avocados (smeared avocado and toast).
Can you start baby led weaning before 6 months?
Baby-led weaning
is an attitude. It implies you won't get worried, you are going to let your
baby take the lead, thus the name. Along these lines, in the event that he
appears to be prepared for nourishment before the brilliant 6 months, at that
point indeed, you can begin before 6 months.
What size should food be for baby-led weaning?
Baby-led weaning food shape
You want to have
a portion of the food poking out the top of their fist (about 2 inches long
should do the trick), otherwise, you will end up with a frustrated baby! So to
begin baby-led weaning, start with over-sized chunks of food.
Foods that are wedge or spear-shaped work best.
Finger foods
will also have to be either chopped into small pieces (roughly the size of a
pea) or cut into 2-3 inch strips.
Can you do baby led weaning and purees?
They like to say
that you should never combine traditional and baby-led weaning. That means not
ever feeding pureed foods. They tend to say that it can increase the choking
risk of feeding.
Remember, it's
OK to take a combination approach: purees and BLW foods! Even after starting
solids, babies will still get most of his or her nutrition from breast milk or
formula until age one.
Can babies eat solid foods without teeth?
Babies can enjoy
soft finger foods before they have teeth. They can mash foods into smaller
pieces using their gums. Mealtimes may be messy and slow at first. This is part
of learning how to eat.
What finger foods can I give my baby with no teeth?
Want to give
your baby some extra food and nutrition, but worried about what he can chew
without teeth? We have summarized some of the best finger food before a baby's
teeth come in:
First foods for baby led weaning:
Fruits:
. Avocado – Try
to ripe it perfectly
. Bananas –
ensure that it is ripe enough
. Peach – Feed
ripe peaches
. Apple – Peel
before giving baby, but avoid the too crunchy ones
. Watermelon –
Remove the seeds then give to your baby only the red parts
. Muskmelon –
Offer the ripe and soft ones
. Mango – Go for
ripe ones
. Pear – Peel
and give baby; if it seems too hard, stew it for some time
. Strawberries –
Hull before offering to baby
. Sweet potato –
Boil or steam well till soft
. Cauliflower –
Roast or steam
. Zucchini –
Steam or cook lightly till soft
. Broccoli –
Roast or steam lightly
. Potato – Boil
or steam well till soft
. Carrot – steam
or boil to make it soft, avoid overcook it
. Pumpkin – Cook
till the cubes are soft
. Beetroot –
Steam or boil till quite soft
Baby led weaning finger foods:
. Banana and
avocado
. Roast chicken
and apple
. Elbow pasta
with marinara sauce and Focaccia
. Cheese toast
and sweet potato fries
. Cheese omelette
and turkey-apple sausage
. Cheddar cheese
and figs
. Swiss cheese
and apricots
. Green beans
and pears
. Fresh
mozzarella and tomato
. Butternut
squash and peaches
. Peas and plums
. Carrots and
apple
. Mac 'n' cheese
and beets
. Banana and
cherries
How much solids should I give my 6 months old?
6 - 8 months:
Formula and
Breast Milk is still generally significant at this age. Babies in this range
might be simply beginning solids so the above for 4-6 Months would apply. A few
babies might be eating up to 8 ounces of solid foods between 2-3
"meals" during a day.
8 - 12 months:
Many babies will
be eating 3 “meals” per day at this stage; including a grain, fruit, veggie and
a meat or protein source such as eggs.
Baby led weaning foods to avoid!
Under one year
avoid offering these foods to your little one:
. Choking
hazards: whole nuts, small bones in fish or meat
. Undercooked
meat, eggs or shellfish
. Certain fish:
Shark, marlin, and swordfish can be high in mercury
. Cow's, goat's
and sheep's milk
. Salt
. Honey
. Sugar and
artificial sweeteners
. Low-fat dairy
. Soft,
mould-ripened cheeses
. Caffeine.
How do you prevent choking in baby led weaning?
Here are the
best safety tips to prevent choking:
. AVOID CHOKING
HAZARDS
. OFFER SAFE
FINGER FOODS
. MINIMIZE
DISTRACTIONS WHILE EATING
. UNDERSTAND
GAGGING IN INFANCY
. RECOGNIZE
CHOKING EARLY
. EDUCATE
CARETAKERS ON CPR READINESS
We hope that these tips to prevent choking help you feel more confident in using Baby-led Weaning.
Remember that baby-led weaning, like so many other parenting methodologies, isn't a win or bust suggestion. You can choose baby-led weaning some of the time, alternating with spoon-feeding or adding to it.
Keep in mind, always consult with your pediatrician regarding introducing solid foods to your little one and specifically talk about any foods that may pose allergy risks for your child.
0 Comments