Living the Sweet Wife

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Easy baby led weaning that any mom can rock at!

Easy baby led weaning that any mom can rock at!11

Hey new mamas out there! Before becoming a mom did you ever realize how much you didn’t know was involved in being a mom?! I feel like I have never done more research in my life. BUT at the time time, nothing could be more natural than being a mom to my son. Weird phenomenon there. Well, as you know, babies come with a lot of hard decisions to make! Do you stay at home or keep working? Breast feed, pump, formula? A little of each?

I’ve had a lot of moms ask me what we have fed David and what works the best as baby transitions to solid foods and I am always so excited they asked me because I believe I have the key to making their lives so much easier!! And that makes me so happy!

Now I know the phrase “baby-led weaning” can scare some people. When I first heard of it I wrote it off as some hippie natural fad thing but the more I read about baby-led-weaning and allowing your child to eat finger foods rather than spoon feeding, the more excited I was to jump on board!

What is baby-led-weaning exactly?

Well if you don’t know, it’s basically giving your baby age-appropriate finger foods and allowing them to feed themselves. Yes, this can sound scary, but our babies can do more than we give them credit for a lot of the time! And keep in mind that the finger foods change as baby grows. We started David off on foods that he could pick up and put in his own mouth but were squishy enough that it would be hard for him to choke on the. But *random fact* did you know that a baby’s gag reflex is set up higher in their throat than an adult’s? This means that they will gag sooner (if needed) without choking. Which is great while they are learning to feed themselves. We didn’t have this problem often with David though.

Why should you run to baby-led-weaning and never turn back?

Baby-led-weaning teaches babies to help themselves. They decide when they are full or if they’d like to continue eating. It also helps to develop a child’s hand-eye coordination as well as motor skills. Most important to mama?? Not having to spend so. much. time. boiling, blending, storing,  and spoon-feeding baby food! (or spending a lot of extra cash on purchasing store-bought).

With baby-led-weaning, mama is completely hands free, and baby is just as, if not more, happy.

So if you’re anything like me and are thinking “UM YES! But… I don’t even know where to start…” You’re in luck because it is so easy! I’ve created a list of foods that we regularly give David that you can use as inspiration when wondering what to feed your child!

Canned foods

  • Peas
  • Carrots
  • Beets
  • Beans
  • Kidney
  • Black
  • Mixed
  • Green
  • Mandarin oranges
  • Peaches
  • Pears

(when buying canned fruits, look for fruits with no sugar or syrup added. When looking for canned veggies, look for no salt added).

Fresh foods

  • Bananas
  • Avocados
  • Berries
  • Bread
  • Kiwis
  • Pineapple (or canned)
  • Beets (or canned, usually mixed with something sweet though or else David makes a face like this >:P)
  • Tomatos
  • Mangoes
  • Watermelon

Cooked foods

  • Rice
  • Cooked mixed veggies (we quick thaw frozen veggies a lot)
  • Sweet potato
  • Potato
  • Frozen veggies cooked
  • Eggs (D loves them!)
  • Pancakes/waffles (torn up)
  • Salmon
  • Chicken
  • Potatos
  • Asparagus
  • Spaghetti
  • Zucchini
  • Squash

Some foods to avoid:

  • Corn (almost no nutritional value, not digested well. It wouldn’t hurt, but it doesn’t do much for babes).
  • Broccoli (for babies that had a tendency towards bad gas)
  • Soy (contains estrogen)
  • Honey (does not process well)
  • (Anything you would avoid during pregnancy i.e. fish high in mercury, soft cheeses, etc.)

There are many more to foods to experiment with but these are a great starting point and should keep baby’s taste buds pretty happy for a while.

As always I would LOVE to hear your thoughts and we’re always looking for great new ideas. Share in the comments any foods that you’ve tried that you didn’t see in this list.

Also- share this list with a mom you know who might be making the decision for baby foods or baby-led-weaning! I am forever grateful to my friend who told me!

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Comments

  2. NinA says

    this is great! I’ve been meaning to look up baby led weaning and it sounds so much better than the baby food I gave my oldest son. I’m hoping it will lead to a more adventurous eater than my toddler currently is.

  4. Dara says

    Great post! I remember when my son was just starting solid foods…..I was so concerned about him eating real food and thought he should be eating more. The best advice I got was from an older woman whose children were grown: Don’t worry about it. By the time he’s an adult, he’ll be eating real food! LOL. He’s three now…..and trust me….eating is NOT a problem!!! Thanks for sharing!

  5. Alexandra @ My Urban Family says

    This is a great list! I have so many friends with young kids and I never know how they keep track of what to feed them. I know when I was little it was a lot of those canned baby foods but it doesn’t seem to be as popular anymore!

  9. Hil says

    I wrote a bunch of blog posts on BLW too. I LOVE it! Currently on my second child doing it and I would not have it any other way. I love corn on the cob as a first food though, super easy for them to hold, easy to get the juices with their gums and soothes sore teething gums too!

  11. Rachel - À LA MODEST says

    Awesome! I am expecting our baby this November. I know I won’t have to ween him/her til he/she is almost 2 years old (is that right?), but I like reading and researching about babies as much as I can. New mom here 🙂 I am definitely all about going about these things the most natural way. I also read about infant potty training, and I’m very intrigued!

  12. ashley says

    Great post. I actually leaned more toward this way with my first child.. sadly my 2nd is almost 10 months old and still eats jarred baby food! Ha! She gets eggs, and some of our food here and there though. Reading this makes me want to change it up like I did with my first. She was actually not picky and ate pretty much anything… Hoping my 2nd will be the same.

  14. sue says

    My ‘babies’ are all in their twenties now so its interesting to read how moms today approach the weaning stage. I think I got a little more adventurous with food choices as each of my daughters started to try real food but today there are great blogs like this to learn more and share the experience.

  15. Brianna says

    My boys are now 9 and 4. We did baby led with the 4 year old. This is how we also started with solids. It was trial and error, but worked out well. 🙂

  17. Joscelyn | Wifemamafoodie says

    Being a mom came easily for me also:) I kind of did this with my kids too, although my reason was mostly because they were extra hungry at times so I supplemented with solids to compensate for my insufficient milk supply. I think it works great too and helps with the typically stressful weaning process!

  20. Nikki says

    Hi Chelsea,

    I recently heard about baby led weaning a few months ago while attending a local Moms Event. Unfortunately they didn’t explain this method, so I am thrilled I came across your post! This is something I may have to consider when we have another baby. When we had our daughter, I remember researching solid foods quiet a bit. I was definitely nervous and unsure where to begin, what to feed her, and how much. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about what we did and while its a not the same as baby led weaning, it was a big help for this FTM. I hope you have time to check it out. Thank you again for your post! http://boldlybravelyyou.com/meal-time-baby/

  21. Mckenna says

    I am so glad I stumbled onto your blog; it is adorable! I definitely want to go this route with my current babe; my first ended up being such a picky eater after eating exclusively purees for so long 🙁 Thank you for the helpful tips!

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