we're skipping the baby food

introducing peanut butter in peanut pasta

Lyla is over 6 months old (7 months now) and that means solids! Yes, we waited till 6 months as is the current recommendation by most health organizations these days including the AAP and the WHO. Traditionally that means heading to the baby food aisle (or making your own), spoon-feeding your little one, and gradually introducing table foods, but we're skipping straight to table food! These days it's a movement called "Baby-Led Weaning" (UK definition of weaning aka the introduction of solids, not discontinuing breastfeeding as it often means in the US), but babies haven't always been spoon-fed.

Background 

chewing some bread from a reuben

What solid foods babies have been fed varies based on time period and location, but the wide spread use of store bought baby food jars can essentially be traced back to advertising starting in the 1920s. By the 1950s 90% of Americans fed their babies jarred baby food and by 2002 that number was 99% (click for source). But this wasn’t always the way it was done; in fact some older family members may recall they did indeed simply give baby some of what they were eating, only it wasn't called "baby-led weaning" it was just called feeding your baby. Baby-led weaning (BLW) challenges the myth that infants must start on diets of liquid mush and while there is NOTHING wrong with going the traditional weaning (TW)  route, this post will clearly be biased towards BLW. But what about the research? Is this a fad? I'll be the first to admit that evidence based research on BLW is scant to nonexistent. It just hasn't really been done. But what research has been done along with the anecdotal research from thousands who have done it show it is feasible for most infants and has many benefits (the only real con is baby can get messy). 

Why bother?

Picture credit: Baby Led Weaning for Beginners Facebook Grou

• Give control back to baby: Babies and toddlers instinctively know what foods their body needs nutrition wise and how much to eat. They will not overfeed themselves. They become self-sufficient and confident at feeding themselves when they are given the chance to do so.

  

  learning appropriate bite size

• Learning to chew first: Spoon-feeding bypasses the gag reflex to encourage them to swallow the pureed food. BLW teaches baby to chew food first before swallowing. By experimenting with how much to bite off they learn appropriate bite sizes and are at a lower risk for choking.
• Tastes and textures: Food before one year isn’t about getting large amounts into your baby, it’s about letting them explore food and all its tastes and textures. It's a great learning experience and they learn more about what food is like when it's in its true form. 
• Convenience: Say goodbye to an increased grocery budget (no need to buy jars), waiting to eat your cold food (you eat at the same time as baby), and specially prepared meals (they eat what you eat). Less to do, so there's less stress! 

So how does this work? Here are the basics:

Picture credit: Baby Led Weaning for Beginners Facebook Group

• Before you start: Babies must meet the following requirements: 6 months of age by date (adjusted if preemie), able to sit unassisted, loss of tongue thrust, interest in food, starting to develop the pincer grasp. 
• Baby eats what you eat: There are NO first foods and no specially prepared meals for your kiddo. The only things to avoid are honey in all forms and too much sodium (400mg per day for baby if you want to be specific). It's also best to eat (and therefore offer) a well balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. 

  

  baby eats what we eat but in finger shapes

• Appropriate food sizes: All foods should be cut into finger lengths when possible. Small foods like rice or corn are fine as is and round foods like grapes, tomatoes, or baby carrots should be cut into quarters length-wise. Choking hazards like nuts and popcorn should be avoided. Once baby has mastered chewing and the pincer grasp (around 9-10m), food can be cut into bite sized pieces (but not itty bitty pieces). 

  

  trying cheese

• Offer milk first: Milk is the primary source of nutrition until a year old and feedings should not be reduced until then. Offer breastmilk/formula 30-60 minutes before meals. Up to 2oz of water a day offered at meal time is ok but no more.
• Baby feeds themselves: Only place food on tray for baby to grab themselves. Puree-like adult foods (think yogurt or applesauce) are fine as long as you put the preloaded spoon on the tray for baby to use. Never put food in baby's mouth or hand them something. They need to be in control. 
• DO NOT INTERFERE WHEN GAGGING: 

  

  gag face

  Gagging is a built in safety reflex for when big food gets too close to the wind pipe. It can be unnerving to watch a baby gag at first but they will work it out themselves. Interfering can cause choking. Choking is rare and is NOT the same as gagging. Often those not familiar with the difference will see a gagging baby, exclaim “she’s choking!”, and want to take the food out but that is incorrect and dangerous. Educate yourself to know the difference.

BUT WHAT ABOUT..??

• Choking: Is rare. Take an infant CPR class so you know what it looks like and what to do in case it happens. Remember, gagging and choking are NOT the same thing. 
• Allergy foods: There is no 3 day rule (that's outdated info) unless you have a history of family allergies (then work with your Dr. on how to introduce). Introduce everything at 6 months. Any reactions would likely be pretty obvious and immediate. 
• Teeth:

  

  no teeth needed!

  There are no teeth needed to eat real food. The back teeth used for chewing don't come in until 2yrs old and by then all kids are eating solid food. Baby gums are tough and meant for chewing.
• Doing both BLW and purees: This is a big no, sorry. Yes in TW you eventually start offering solid food but if you’re going the BLW route you need to be fully committed. Sometimes spoon-feeding can cause confusion about whether to chew or swallow first (choking risk!) and it defeats the whole point of letting baby do it themselves by trial and error. If you’ve done purees for a few months already it’s also best to continue the traditional route. 

Lyla makes some great faces

Lyla's experience

I admit, her first meal I was a little nervous and watched her like a hawk. She did gag a lot and even threw up but it didn’t seem to phase her, she just wanted more food! We’re now a few weeks in and she rarely gags and we know she is eating some things because her diapers have become rather exciting. I’m always sitting with her and modeling eating but I don’t watch her as intently anymore, I just enjoy my meal. Not all babies will go for food immediately but Lyla is definitely gung-ho about trying food and she loves being included in family meals. I’m also happy to have my lap and hands free so I can eat too! Food so far has been a chill, stress-free experience with 0 extra prep and only a few extra baths. We LOVE BLW and are so glad we went this route. If you want to know more, read Baby-Led Weaning by Gil Rapley or I'd be happy to answer any questions! 

new food means intense concentration

Lyla tries steak!

Working on her pincer grasp

trying egg with her first meal