An Introduction to Baby Led Weaning

Baby led weaning is a newly developed alternative to puree feeding, Gill Rapley developed the concept as babies are being weaned later and later, the current World Health Organisation recommendation is 6 months. At this stage there is no need for pureed and mashed food and appropriate healthy finger foods can be given instead if your child can sit up unaided and hold their head.

Baby led weaning simply means giving finger foods to your baby which they can explore and investigate rather than spoon feeding purees. Suggested first foods are fruit or steamed or boiled vegetables cut into shapes which are easy for the baby to hold and control. Broccoli trees are perfect as they have a base for the baby to grip onto. Milk should be given as normal at first as it may take a while for your baby to start chewing and swallowing the food and until then they will still be getting all their nutrition from milk.

Many parents worry about their baby choking on the large chunks of food as it seems to be natural to give them mashed or pureed foods however it is believed that there is less chance of a baby choking using baby led weaning than purees as the baby has total control over the food they put in their mouths.

Advantages of baby led weaning include the fact that the baby will be familiarised with real food rather than needing to adapt to a change in consistency and texture when lumps are added to purees later on followed by solids. This familiarisation will result in a smaller chance of having a child who is a fussy eater in the future

The baby can be involved in meal times this improves socialisation of the baby joining in family times.

Baby led weaning is much more convenient than traditional puree feeding. You do not need any special equipment and when away from home you don’t need to carry jars and spoons.

Initially you may find that baby led weaning has some disadvantages however these tend to be when starting out and can easily be overcome with perseverance. The first one is the length of time it will take your baby to realise that what you are giving him is food and is to be eaten, during the first few occasions the baby will probably just play with the food, leading to the second disadvantage, food wastage. As in the first few occasions the baby won’t be eating, just playing with his food the food will ultimately be wasted, there’s also likely to be food thrown and dropped on the floor. Once your baby begins swallowing the food you can give him pieces a few bits at a time so if he begins to play or throw the food you know he is no longer hungry, reducing waste and teaching you the portion sizes suitable for him.

Many health visitors are unaware of baby led weaning and may disapprove of the method due to their lack of knowledge, it is however important to follow the advice of medical practitioners if your baby has allergies, was premature or has any other medical issues which may cause difficulties. There is plenty of available support out there to help you with baby led weaning and any problems or concerns you may have especially as this is becoming a more popular method of weaning.