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If you are just starting baby-led weaning (BLW), this article can start you off in the right direction with easy ideas of first foods for your baby.
What Is Baby-led Weaning?
Disclaimer: Talk to your child’s doctor about the best way to feed your baby. This article is not medical advice and is purely for entertainment purposes. You can read my full disclaimer here.
Baby-led weaning or BLW is allowing your child to self-feed using regular food that you and I might eat. But, to minimize choking risks, it is best to only offer age-appropriate foods that are prepared correctly.
When babies are first starting to feed themselves, they typically grab the food with their whole hand. Later, babies will begin using their thumb and index finger to pick up food which is called a pincer grasp. In those beginning stages, you can introduce a pre-loaded spoon and appropriate foods that can be easily held in your baby’s fist.
I love BLW because I’ve never had to purchase a jar of baby food. My daughter went straight to properly prepare foods. If you want to get started with BLW, here are some ideas.
BLW Fist Foods
Avocado
Avocados require almost zero prep work. Just cut a ripe avocado into large strips, and serve the strips to your baby. This was my daughter’s first food.
Banana
Banana is another easy and great first food idea. Here’s a little trick to get perfectly sized banana strips without having to pull out a knife and cutting board.
Peel your ripe banana. Stick your finger into the end of the banana and run it down the center of the banana. It should split into three pieces. Cut these pieces into halves or thirds depending on the length of your banana. Serve to baby. I love that little hack.
Toast
Lightly toast a slice of bread in your toaster or on the stove. You don’t want it crispy, just toasted enough to stop the stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth thing. Top the toast with applesauce, yogurt, or ricotta cheese. I like to cut off the crust and slice into three strips. Let your baby feed themselves.
Eggs
Whisk your egg with a fork and pour into an oiled or buttered skillet. Stir a little but allow the egg to take the shape of the skillet. Flip and cook thoroughly. After it’s cooked, remove the egg from the pan and slice into strips. If your baby is a little bit older and developing a pincer grasp, you can serve the eggs scrambled as well.
Sweet potato
Wash and cut your sweet potato into large fry shapes (like big steak fries). I like to use a crinkle cutter to make them easier for baby to hold. Toss your pieces in a drizzle of oil. Roast in the oven at 375° F. until soft.
This is the crinkle cutter I have. It can cut through raw sweet potato, so it’s pretty sturdy.
You can try this same method with regular potatoes, butternut squash, acorn squash, etc.
Pear
Ripe pears are really soft and easy for babies to eat. Just remove the pit and cut into large slices. If your pear is not soft, you will want to cook the pear first until softened.
BLW Spoon Foods
Applesauce
Serve unsweetened applesauce in a bowl with a spoon. Baby will likely discover that his hands make excellent spoons, but offering preloaded spoons is a great way to encourage the development of fine motor skills.
Yogurt
Unsweetened, plain, full-fat Greek yogurt. Your baby doesnt need the added sweetness and flavors, but your baby does need the extra nutrients in full-fat yogurt. You can also serve traditional yogurt, but Greek yogurt is thicker and easier for your baby to self feed. It also sticks to a spoon much better than regular yogurt.
Serve the yogurt in a bowl with a preloaded spoon.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a great way to introduce one of the top allergens to your baby. However, peanut butter on its own is a choking hazard. To minimize that risk, you can stir a very small amount into your baby’s yogurt. Make sure you stir it up really well because you don’t want any clumps of peanut butter.
Serve in a bowl with a preloaded spoon.
Oatmeal
Cook oats and milk together on the stove until very soft. Serve as is or stir in some yogurt or smashed berries.
Water for Babies
You can begin introducing water to your baby at the same time you begin introducing solids. The best way to introduce water is in an open cup or straw cup. We started off with this open cup. It’s important to note that babies should not drink much water.
If you want to learn more about water for babies and how much your baby can have, you can read this article.
BLW Supplies
Let me preface this by saying, most of these items are not necessary for baby-led weaning. These items are what we used and can be fun, but do not feel like you have to have all the supplies to make BLW work for your family.
We later upgraded to this cutlery set that looks more like adult utensils.
Stainless steel straw cups for smoothies
The Ultimate BLW Resource
Something that I have just recently discovered is the Solid Starts food database. It is chockfull of BLW information. With this database, you can search for any food and find out the proper way to serve it to your baby depending on their age. The database even has foods I’ve never even heard of before. This resource is invaluable for parents, and it’s free! Be sure to check it out.
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