Baby led weaning is the term used to describe the natural transition of a baby’s food intake from liquid to solids that is led by the baby’s themselves with proper guidance from parents, guardians, and the people in their environment. Baby led weaning can be the start of a child’s independent decision making. In this type of feeding, a baby is introduced to different kinds of natural, unprocessed food starting from soft ones, transitioning to more textured, and hard ones.
In baby-led-weaning, it is important that the people around the baby, especially the parents, are wholehearted in this chosen feeding pattern. It may be hard, and seriously messy, but it is all worth it. In baby led weaning, there are no grinding, mashing, and processing the food that the baby is to feed. It is all natural, especially the first few months of the process. Studies show that this method produce less picky eaters than babies that are fed with processed food.
Baby led weaning babies are mostly fed carrots, broccoli, potatoes, and other types of vegetables and fruits that are easier to chew. They are cut into handy sized pieces so that the baby can hold on to it by himself. Usually, it is advised to present the baby with 2-3 types of food so that they can choose which they like best. Give one specific food type per week as to know if your baby is allergic to anything. Nothing to worry about chewing and gagging, you would be amazed how babies can swallow food. They have amazing gag reflex. As with choking, there is a proper way to address that, and first would be not to panic.
The proper age to start baby-led weaning is at 6 months, and it is important that the baby can support themselves in sitting alone to refrain from choking. After the soft stage, babies are slowly introduced to more diverse food selections like meat, poultry, and other dishes. Baby led weaning is a fun phase where you can prepare your baby’s food to make sure that what he’s getting is all natural, and healthy.
