Here are some of the 'key points' of Baby Led Weaning, adapted from the brilliant book Baby Led Weaning:
How do you get started?
- Sit the baby upright, facing the table, either on your lap or in a highchair. Make sure the baby is steady, and can use her hands and arms freely (in accordance with the World Health Organisation's guidelines, weaning should not begin until the baby is around 6 months old - by this stage, most babies can sit upright very well with gentle support).
- Offer your baby food, rather than giving it to her - put food in front of her (on a tray or the table) or let her take it from your hand, so that the decision to take (or leave) food is always hers.
- Start with foods that are easy to pick up - thick 'sticks' or long strips are best at first (think green beans, thick batons of carrot, homemade potato wedges, toast soldiers, broccoli florettes, a strip of steak etc). Introduce new shapes and textures somewhat gradually, so that the baby can work out how to handle them (for example, a soft piece of banana or feta cheese requires a very different grasp to a lamb cutlet or a piece of rice cake).
- Include your baby in your mealtimes whenever you can. As far as possible - as long as it's suitable (and most things are) - you should offer your baby the same food as you are eating, so that she can copy you. Foods can be slightly adapted for ease - for example, a soup or lentil dhal can be spread onto toast fingers. Furthermore, someone should always sit and eat with the baby - food is a social occasion, and babies love to watch other people eat while they eat themselves. Sometimes, this means I have two dinners (one with Tabitha, and one later with The Daddy if he has a long day), so I just eat two small portions.
- Choose times when your baby is not tired or hungry, so she can concentrate. Mealtimes at this stage are for playing and learning - she will still be getting all of her nourishment from her breastmilk feeds. I find that if I offer Tabitha a 'food meal' directly after a breastfeed, she will spend more time 'eating', and her concentration and interest is better.
- Continue offering breastmilk (or artificial baby milk) feeds exactly as before - this is still the main source of nutrition until the baby is roughly one year old. When your baby begins requiring less milk, she will naturally take less herself.
- Offer your baby water with her meals so that she can practice drinking while she learns to eat.
- Don't hurry your baby or distract her while she is handling food - allow her to concentrate and take her time. This is an important safety consideration, and will also help prevent her from becoming frustrated - learning to handle slippery, sticky and soft foods requires loads of concentration!
- Never put food into the baby's mouth - this is a major choking hazard - the baby needs to feel, observe and control her food herself, and an unexpected piece of food in her mouth is dangerous.
- Don't try to persuade baby to eat more than she wants. Your job is just to offer her a range of interesting, nutritious foods - whether she eats them or not isn't important, as she is getting her nutrition from her milk. The baby led weaning 'mantra' is 'Food is for fun until they're one'. Sometimes Tabitha just wants to peer at her food, and perhaps squeeze it between her fingers. That's fine. She's still learning!
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