Hello! I’m Katie Hlucny. I’m a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a licensed registered dietitian (LRD) in North Dakota and Minnesota. I’m a content creator, recipe developer, and mom to a toddler and baby. In my free time I enjoy horseback riding, hiking, camping, and doing anything outside with family.
Welcome to My Dietitian Friend, where I share my journey and insights into baby and mom nutrition, specifically through the lens of a baby-led weaning approach to starting solids!
My goal is to share plenty of resources and tips about starting solids for you!
If you’re new here you can start by exploring some of my top blog posts and resources:
- Overnight Oats for Babies
- How to Know if Almond Milk Causes Constipation in Toddlers
- Quesadillas for Baby Led Weaning
- How To Know When Its Safe for Babies to Eat Popcorn
- How to Teach Babies to Drink From Open and Straw Cups
- Pumpkin Pancakes for Babies
- 10 Baby Meals
My path to becoming a dietitian was driven by a desire to understand nutrition better, not just for myself but for my family too.
Starting with an Associate of Arts degree from Rainy River Community College in Minnesota, I had the opportunity to begin my college career and play collegiate volleyball. This journey led me to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of North Dakota, where I completed a coordinated program. Shortly after, I took the rigorous Registered Dietitian Nutritionist exam to earn my RDN credential.
But my hunger for knowledge didn’t stop there. Seeking to broaden my horizons, I pursued a Master of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Wyoming. Here, I was a nutrition teaching assistant and research assistant. I completed my masters thesis on researching a method to better measure iodine status in humans. Along with my colleagues I published a paper titled “Reflection of Dietary Iodine in the 24 h Urinary Iodine Concentration, Serum Iodine and Thyroglobulin as Biomarkers of Iodine Status: A Pilot Study.
My professional journey has taken me through various roles, but my heart has always been drawn to working with babies and women.
Faced with limited options in traditional dietetics settings, I embarked on a path to explore alternative avenues, eventually discovering baby-led weaning. Inspired by this approach and armed with a newfound passion, I began creating online resources and providing guidance to parents on this empowering journey.
As a clinical dietitian at an outpatient clinic for the past three years, I’ve counseled patients on weight management, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Yet, it’s my personal experience with baby-led weaning that truly ignites my passion. Introduced to it by my sister and further captivated by its principles after experiencing it firsthand with my own children, I became a fervent advocate for its benefits.
The beauty of baby-led weaning lies in its simplicity and many benefits.
It empowers babies to explore food independently while fostering positive eating habits and developmental milestones. Through my own journey, I’ve come to realize the transformative impact it can have on families, from simplifying mealtime for parents to nurturing adventurous eaters. The best part of BLW is the host of benefits for babies like speech and motor development and decreased likelihood of pickiness.
While doing baby-led weaning with my first baby, I knew this way of introducing solids was too good not to share. I wondered why I had never heard of it and why my pediatrician never talked about it. I just knew there must be more people who wished they’d heard of baby-led weaning before introducing solids to their baby.
Feeding little ones can be challenging. I’m here to help!
Curious little eaters start with the caregivers role modeling eating a variety of foods, eating as a family, and involving kids in the kitchen. By implementing these key feeding strategies from the start, you can become confident that you provided your little ones with the skills to have a healthy relationship with food for the rest of their lives!
My mission is simple: to empower parents with the knowledge and confidence to embrace baby-led weaning, while creating a foundation for a lifetime of healthy eating habits.
Whether you’re embarking on this journey for the first time or seeking guidance to navigate feeding challenges, I’m here to support you every step of the way.
Together, let’s embark on this exciting adventure of baby-led weaning and nurture a generation of curious, adventurous eaters!
All the best, Katie
Follow along for new baby-led weaning tips and content!
