Baby led weaning flavor combinations foods

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!?

 

First foods for baby-led weaning

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

  

Vegetables:

. 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.