Basic Steps to do Baby-Led Weaning at Mealtime
Many of the steps to do baby-led weaning (BLW) at mealtime are the same as if you were doing traditional spoon feeding. However, during BLW you will offer appropriately sized and textured finger foods or preloaded spoons of purees for baby to self-feed. Here are some basic steps to baby-led weaning (BLW) to give you an idea of what it may look like at mealtime:
- Set up a splash mat under baby’s highchair if you’d like to contain the mess (at least attempt to!)
- Wash baby’s hands and put on baby’s bib (a silicone catch-all bib works well)
- Offer stick shaped pieces of food that are at least two inches long if baby has a palmar grasp, or chickpea-sized pieces if baby has a pincer grasp. You can also offer purees on a preloaded spoon and place the spoon on baby’s chair or the table.
- Test the temperature of the food yourself before giving to baby
- Place baby’s food on her highchair tray or the tabletop
- Offer a small amount of each food item. Baby’s can become overwhelmed by being offered too much food
- Eat your meal along with baby to role model chewing and encourage baby to try a variety of foods
- Offer more of a food item if baby finishes what’s in front of her and indicates she’d like more
- Be attentive to baby’s hunger and fullness cues. End the meal if she indicates that she’s done, whether her plate is clean or not.
- Always stay by baby until the meal is finished
- Enjoy watching baby explore and learn to love food!
Resources
Rapley G, Murkett T. Baby-Led Weaning, Completely Updated and Expanded Tenth Anniversary Edition: The Essential Guide―How to Introduce Solid Foods and Help Your Baby to Grow Up a Happy and Confident Eater. 10th ed. New York, NY: The Experiment, LLC; 2019.
