Baby Led Weaning (BLW) has become an increasingly popular way of introducing solids to babies, but what is it and how does it differ from traditional weaning? 

BLW involves skipping the purees all together and instead, offering soft, finger sized foods to your baby to eat independently. It involves giving your baby the chance to explore foods and feed themselves. Many mums claim that BLW created positive food associations for their children, leading to ‘good’ and ‘intuitive eaters’. 

As a rule of thumb, babies are ready for solids when they are at least six months old, showing interest in foods, can hold their heads up, can sit unassisted and they have lost their Tongue Thrust Reflex. Keep things simple to start and begin by introducing solids one food at a time. Some great options to start with are sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, banana, pumpkin, cut berries and sliced pieces of meat. While baby learns to eat, gagging is common and not a sign to worry (as mums do!). The mantra BLW communities use, ‘loud and red, let them go ahead. Silent and blue, they need help from you’ is a valuable piece of wisdom. There is a big difference between gagging and choking, so it’s important parents understand the difference. 

To help you on your Baby Led Weaning journey, we’ve compiled a list of hints and tips to get you on your way to a happy, messy and well-fed baby. They include:

• Invest in an easy to clean highchair
• smocks and food catching bibs for those messy meals will save you in clean up time 
• dipping banana and avocado fingers in coconut flakes or hemp seeds is a great hack for little fingers to grip slippery foods
• a plastic feeding mat for under the highchair will save your floors from daily spot mops
• baby can eat what the family is eating, saving you extra prep time
• embrace the mess or get a dog! All jokes aside, your family pooch will love BLW just as much as your baby.

There is a plethora of invaluable online resources and books for mums wanting to learn more before starting their families Baby Led Weaning Journey. Tiny Hearts First Aid, Milk to Meals and Solid Starts are perfect to introduce you to the world of BLW.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to parenting, and that includes solids. Remember to follow your babies lead and do what works for you and baby.