So, you are preparing yourself and little one for solid foods… where should you start? Honestly different this is really up to you and your baby. Do you start with purees or do baby led weaning? Either way the end goal is to have a healthy baby/child and remember to talk to your pediatrician with any concerns or questions. In this article I will share with you what worked for us.
First of all let me be completely honest, my son breastfed until about 27 months old. This wasn’t for every meal but would occur 3-4 times a day. With that being said he didn’t ACTUALLY wean from doing baby led weaning. He was and has always been a great eater regardless of still consuming breastmilk.
What is baby led weaning?
Baby led weaning became popular about 10 years ago in the UK and is primarily all about skipping over the spoon feeding puree stage and waiting until baby is ready to self feed. When I say “self feed” I mean serving your little one small soft morsels of food. The benefits of self feeding is baby gets to explore new foods, practice dexterity and chewing.
Our experience…
purees
We were gifted an amazing baby food maker so of course we put it to use. I made some pretty interesting combinations of baby food, some of which my little guy ate but most of them were not loved. But the best part of the whole puree spoon feeding process was that my son became a pro at handling a spoon. I had come across the OlaSprout spoons on Amazon, seriously folks these are awesome. Not only do they teach good hand/eye coordination, dexterity and self feeding but they also make a great teether!
Baby led weaning/self feeding
At between 8-9 months our little guy went completely solo at feeding (with our supervision of course). He was eating cut up pieces of steamed carrot, blueberry bits, avocado, watermelon and so much more. We did find that he would want to try foods from our plates and sharing made it “special”. Then magically, he would be enjoying yet another new food. Btw this is still how we get him to try new foods.
A few tips for starting solids/baby led weaning…
- Talk to your pediatrician, they can usually recommend foods to get you and your little one started.
- Introduce a new food every four days or so. In the event of an allergic reaction this will help pinpoint the food responsible for the reaction.
- Food scissors, they make cutting up soft foods easy at or away from home. Plus, some have a handy ruler on the blade to help you make sure you are cutting small enough bites.
- Be patient and keep trying. One day your little one may dislike blueberries for example but if you try again next week, they may love them.
- Sit and engage with your little one while they are in their highchair/booster. Never leave your child unattended while they are eating.
You got this mama!
No matter which way you decide to start feeding your baby solids, you got this! I truly feel that one way isn’t the only way. Do what works best for you and your little one.
