I want to start by saying before trying BLW, educate yourself!! I spent a good amount of time learning and preparing myself to be able to safely do BLW. If you are going to give this a try, I HIGHLY recommend taking the “Feeding Littles” infant course (they also have a toddler course that I recommend as well…and check them out on Instagram!!). This course was designed by feeding experts with over 40 years of combined pediatric feeding experience. I felt SO confident in doing BLW with my baby because of their wonderful class. **Regardless of BLW or pureed diets only, I encourage all parents and caregivers to take an infant CPR and first aid class. The course will help you to understand that “a baby can choke on anything but we have no reason to believe that this method increases choking when safe foods are offered” however, you want to be prepared with what to do in case of an emergency whether or not you follow this method. Always, always, always supervise your child while eating. This article is not intended to provide or substitute medical advice. Please work with your pediatrician as to whether or not this is the right choice for your baby! Feel free to also send any questions my way and follow along with our BLW journey!
What age can you start?
It’s less about a certain age and more about the baby showing signs of readiness. You want your baby to be able to sit up well unassisted in their high chair so that they feel secure in their eating space. They also need strong head and neck control. Our girl, Bradlee, started right at 6 months.
How did you hear about it and decide to try?
A friend of mine had very successfully started doing BLW at 6 month with their twins and I saw how great they were at feeding themselves already. Hearing how nice it is to have them eat what the parents eat sounded great and I had read about some of the benefits and was instantly sold on the method. Now I have seen the benefits come to fruition!
Does my baby need to have teeth?
Absolutely not! Have you ever stuck your finger into a baby’s mouth and been bit? Ya…those are some powerful gums!
What are good first foods?
Start with very soft foods. Bradlee’s first food was avocado. The course will teach you all about how to cut up a variety of foods- the idea is that most of the food is cut into “strips” that are big enough for the baby to pick up, hold, and have some sticking out of the top of their grasped hand to bite into. We also did salmon early on, lots of eggs (at first I’d scrambled and cook in coconut oil and shape into a square that could be cut into strips for her to hold…now we do scrambled, hard boiled is great too, again just cut into strips big enough for babe to pick up), and lots of ripe fruit and steamed veggies. Banana is a great one too! The course will also teach how to introduce highly allergenic foods early on (and do this!) We kept track of all the foods she ate with a tally-mark method to show us how many times she was exposed to a variety of foods. We did this for a month or so and it was so fun to see what a variety of foods she tried!
What foods should you avoid?
No honey until 1year. No excess salt. No super spicy. There are specific choking hazards to avoid. Again, I refer to the course for the complete list of choking hazards, however, a few common ones to avoid: raw apples, whole grapes, anything with bones, whole hot dogs, raw nuts, olives, whole cherries w/ a pit, raw carrots, popcorn, chips, candy, huge globs of peanut/nut butter. It’s worth mentioning that a few of these items CAN be modified to feed your baby- for example, B LOVES apples. We cut them up into “matchstick” shape and cook them in coconut oil until soft with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Grapes- when we first started I would skin them and quarter them, now (at 1 year) I just quarter. Peanut and nut butters can be spread very thin and are a great source of protein for babes. We mix into yogurt or spread onto a banana strip.
What are your go-to meals? / Can you give us an example of a good breakfast/lunch/dinner?
The moral of the BLW story is, feed your baby what you eat (modified shapes of course). One of the biggest benefits to BLW is that you’re not preparing multiple meals AND because of that you’re likely to be more conscientious to eat healthy yourself knowing that’s what you’re feeding your babe.
At 6 months her schedule consisted of: breakfast, lunch, pm snack, dinner. Starting around 10-11 months we added an am snack.
B is now 1 year old…here’s what she’s eating today (which is similar to what she ate even when we first started)….
Breakfast- Scrambled eggs with onion and tomato. Watermelon.
AM snack- yogurt and almond butter. (we often do banana and almond/peanut butter). Another fav snack in our house = any steamed veggies with a glob of hummus or guac. We LOVE the individual packs of hummus and guac from costco.
Lunch- Shredded chicken (used to do strips of chicken v. shredded when we first started), hummus, black beans, possibly pineapple.
PM snack- whole milk cottage cheese (possibly some fruit if she’s hungry. A whole milk string cheese is also a go-to snack.)
Dinner- “Deconstructed tacos”- This is also a go-to. Chicken or ground beef (you can season it but don’t make it too spicy). Black beans. Whole milk shredded cheddar cheese. Tomatoes. Brown rice. Slop on the guacamole so that baby can pick up rice and beans.
Should my baby use hands or utensils?
Both! One of the main ideas of BLW is to have the baby self-feed, meaning, don’t spoon feed your kid. Let them play with infant-appropriate silverware. I highly recommend Num Num Gootensils (amazon) as a first spoon. You can “pre-load” a spoon (aka dip it into the hummus), hand it to the baby, and let them put it in their mouth. Now, we preload her fork too. DO NOT put anything into your baby’s mouth as this can bypass their gag reflex. Let them play with their food, pick it up, and chew on it. At first, it seems like they’re not actually consuming much and just “gnawing” on food but remind yourself that this is all about exposure and they will get there!! One other thing to keep in mind, (to start) we only put a few bites in front of her to prevent her from throwing food and wasting it. Now, she has more on her plate and when she starts tossing it at the dogs, we know she’s done! ALSO, start exposing them to sips of water out of an open cup when you start feeding. You can even just use a shot glass. They teach “1, 2, take it away” method for training on how to use a first cup and that worked GREAT for us.
This is another spoon and great first fork we started using and still use.
The “Feeding Littles” course will also share a link to their amazon store which has great recommendations for plates, spoons, high chairs, cups, bibs, all the things to feed your babe.
What were/are your fears and how did you overcome them?
Of course the misconception of an increased risk of choking can cause a lot of fear. So, I knew a lot of the benefits but I still wanted to know that true experts didn’t believe this would increase the risk of choking. The best (and most legit source of info) is the American Academy of Pediatrics. The AAP has numerous articles and statements regarding no increased risk of choking in babies that do BLW v. purees only. In fact they did a study about this to determine that there was no increased risk. Here is a great resource from the AAP that encourages self-feeding, introduction of solids at 6mo, etc. More info here. I also spoke with our pediatrician about it right before 6 months and she highly highly encouraged the method.
My initial fear was overcome by 1. Taking the FL course 2. Reading everything I could so I felt empowered and confident 3. Took an infant CPR and first aid class to know what to do in case of emergency 4. Practiced taking her out of the high chair as fast as I could (again, just in case!)….and make your significant other practice too! 5. TEACH TEACH TEACH anyone who will be watching your child while eating- grandparents, nannys, daycare, etc.!
What are the pros/cons of BLW?
First, know that parents’ attitudes have everything to do with how successful you will be with this. If you are staring at your child terrified while they eat a banana slice, they too will be terrified and feed into your vibes. Relax (yet be watchful!) and enjoy watching with amazement at how well your baby can do.
Pros– Developing outstanding hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and fine motor skills. No need to prepare separate meals. Have fun watching your kiddo explore new foods. Feeding your baby REAL FOOD is probably the biggest benefit if you ask me. Bradlee has never ever had baby food and I have to admit I’m really proud of that! From the day she started at 6months old, she has only eaten real, whole, food…ok, aside from Trader Joe’s bambas, some cheerios, and the occasional teething cracker 🙂
Another huge plus- Go out to eat and know you will find SOMETHING on the menu baby can have. We went to our favorite mexican place (pre-quarantine) and B and I shared shrimp fajitas and she was happy as a clam! Pretty much every restaurant can do steamed veggies (I just ask to not add salt) and fish/chicken etc. Whenever I order for her, I ask for all her food to not be prepared with salt. Headed to brunch? Order fresh fruit, eggs, yogurt.
Cons– Some people are too afraid of choking despite the research and knowledge and that causes mealtime to not be fun and even stressful on the baby. If you simply can’t get over it, don’t force it and start when you’re ready.
Final thoughts
Be patient with your baby (and yourself). Some days, it’s gonna go great. Other days, there will be food everywhere and they will have barely eaten anything. It’s all about exposure especially at first. Keep trying! Let your baby get messy and explore. Eat WITH your baby. They will watch you chew and see how you do it and learn from you.
Enjoy every second of this special time with your baby. 6 months to 1 year went so fast for us. We have loved watching her grow and develop her awesome eating habits. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. As I learned more and more about BLW, I quickly learned that this is a huge passion of mine to share this information with others because it’s been so positive (and fun!) for us for so many reasons. Happy eating!!!