When a baby is around 6 months old, you typically begin to transition from a full liquid (either formula or breast milk) diet to a diet that includes a variety of solid foods. At this point in a child’s development, they have learned so many skills and it’s time add one more – how to feed themselves!
Baby-led feeding is one way to introduce solid foods. This is when you follow the baby’s lead and allow them to experience a variety of foods while skipping traditional baby foods like purees. With this method, instead of buying specific foods for your baby, you prepare a meal for your whole family and make modifications to the food so your littlest eater can enjoy too. This doesn’t mean your baby starts right off with a full piece of pizza, but it does mean that you can incorporate baby into family mealtime from the very beginning of this transition. This allows your baby to eat some of the same foods that the rest of the family is eating.
What are the benefits of baby-led weaning?
Not only is baby introduced to a variety of foods early on, but it can also save time and money. Baby-led feeding helps baby work on important developmental skills! This process allows babies to learn to gauge their feelings of hunger and fullness all while getting a chance to try out some fine motor tasks (like picking up a piece of cut up fruit).
It is important to look for the developmental signs that baby is ready to start this feeding journey. Make sure baby can sit upright (with minimal help), can pick up something and bring it to their mouth, and have a diminishing tongue-thrust reflex (that’s when they use their tongue to spit something out of their mouth). This all typically happens around 6 months old, but every child is different!
So what are the best foods to start a baby on baby-led weaning?
Any food that is firm enough so baby can pick it up and hold it, long enough so they have a little portion sticking out of their hand that they can see, and soft enough to gum and chew. Some options are spears of soft, ripe fruits (bananas, pears, avocado, kiwi, and mango), strips of roasted, baked, or steamed vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash), and ground meat or soft-shredded strips of meat that you can move your fingers through. Oatmeal, applesauce, and plain whole-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt are also great options. If you decide to try this method, it is important to be mindful of the portion sizes for baby and only feed them what is going to be safe and appropriate for them. It is recommended that a baby of this age continue to receive formula and/or breast milk until they are one year of age.
What food should you not give your baby?
Anything that poses a choking hazard. Babies should not be given firm, round foods like berries or grapes, crunchy foods like chips, nuts, or popcorn, and any raw vegetable like carrots. Also, do not give a child of this age cow’s milk. In fact, you should wait to give your child cow’s milk, honey, or peanut butter until they are at least 12 months old. Honey can be especially dangerous for a baby under one year of age. It can sometimes contain botulism spores and babies under a year old have not yet developed the necessary stomach and intestinal good bacteria to counteract the botulism spores.
If you decide to give this method a try, be ready to embrace some mess! Don’t be afraid to let your child eat with their hands. Self-feeding is such a great sensory experience for kids this age. It will take your baby some time to figure out the whole process of eating on their own, no matter what food they are given, so don’t worry if your baby doesn’t consume that much food when first starting solids. This is totally normal! Remember, feeding methods aren’t always one-size-fits-all, and you don’t have to do things in a certain way. As always, please reach out to a Family Support Navigator with questions at navigation@familyfutures.net.
