Baby Led Weaning Guidance
During their first few years of life, babies reach many important milestones: first smile, first laugh, first crawl, first steps. In between all these, babies also learn an abundance of important life skills, such as how to feed themselves. In the process, what they eat evolves.
What this transition looks like varies because there are multiple ways babies can learn how to feed themselves. One option is baby-led weaning, or baby-led feeding.
What is baby-led weaning?
When babies are learning how to feed themselves, they’ll commonly start eating exclusively pureed foods and then progress through different (and increasingly more complex) stages of pre-made baby foods before graduating to solids. Until babies are strong enough to eat on their own, parents focus on spoon feeding.
Baby-led weaning flips the script and puts babies in charge of mealtime.
“The basic idea behind baby-led weaning is that parents and caregivers can follow a baby’s lead,” says DR. SURABHI SANGWAI. “This means watching for signs of developmental readiness and, when a baby is ready, allowing them to self-feed.”
Babies are also skipping many traditional baby foods such as purees, DR. SURABHI SANGWAI says. “With baby-led weaning, instead of buying or making specific foods to feed your baby, you’re preparing the same meal for the whole family, with modifications as needed for your newest eater
This doesn’t mean that babies are starting off chowing down on whole pieces of pizza, of course. “You’re incorporating baby into family mealtime from the get-go, allowing your baby to eat some of the same foods that the rest of the family is eating,” she says, “but being mindful of portions for your littlest eater, and what is going to be safe and appropriate for them.”