I loved baby-led weaning because it was a fun and messy way to introduce solid foods. Now my daughter eats everything, has increased dexterity, and stops when she’s full. Keep reading to learn more amazing benefits of baby-led weaning.
One of the milestones I was most looking forward to with my baby was introducing solid foods. Food is fun! I love gathering around the table with loved ones and enjoying a nice meal together.
Similarly, one of the things that stresses me out the most is the idea of fighting with her over food. I want Evelyn to love a variety of foods. I want to make only one meal for our whole family, not separate meals for me and Nick, and an individual meal for Evelyn because she won’t eat what I cook. And I want to enjoy family mealtimes.
All of these reasons (and more) is why I chose to do Baby-led weaning (BLW) when introducing solids to my daughter for the first time.
What is Baby-Led Weaning?
Baby-led weaning is a way of starting baby on solid foods. I was able to skip purees altogether and give my baby finger foods from the start.
Instead of feeding baby with a spoon, babies feed themselves with fry-like shaped foods that they can hold in their fist.
Foods that can be squished with your index finger and thumb are a good consistency so baby can gum at the foods and safely eat them.
Baby learns to explore food and self feed from the start. You don’t have to eventually transition away from finger foods because you started with them in the first place.
Learn more about baby led weaning vs purees and see which one is right for your family!
Why I Loved It
I’d heard of baby led weaning from friends who loved the method of feeding their babies:
- No baby food.
- No purees.
- No slowly introducing solid foods one at a time.
- No eating the same food over and over.
Baby eats what mom and dad eat (within reason) from day one, around six months old. It sounded perfect!
I have also heard that doing baby led weaning can help prevent picky eating down the road. That was a huge benefit for me!
If you’re thinking of trying BLW, here are ten awesome benefits of baby-led weaning. I will say that starting solids with Evelyn was one of the easiest parts of parenting to date!
She is two years old now and continues to be a great eater and enjoys many types of foods!
Warning: many cute photos of my baby covered in food ahead!
10 Benefits
1. It’s so easy!
Like I said above, I didn’t want to deal with everything that goes into spoon feeding a baby. BLW is so easy!
Offer your baby some food. Eat it. Clean up.
She eats what I eat, so I never have to make a different meal for her.
2. It’s cheaper than traditional weaning
Baby food is expensive! Those packets of fruit and vegetable slurry are like a buck and a half a pop.
It’s so much cheaper to just feed Evelyn what I was already eating. As she ate more and more, I did have to increase my grocery budget, but it just meant more food for the family overall.
I didn’t need a lot of stuff to get started either, just a few simple baby led weaning supplies will do the trick.
3. Combats Picky Eating
While she has her good days and bad days (hey, she’s 2 years old), Evelyn is NOT picky.
Here’s a sample of things I’ve fed her in the last month:
- black beans
- string cheese
- broccoli
- pickles
- eggs
- spaghetti
- greek yogurt
- sweet potatoes
- tri-tip
- baked chicken
- hamburger
- corn on the cob
- grilled cheese
- asparagus.
Her favorite food at the moment is raspberries and bell peppers. She will eat a bell pepper like it is an apple.
There are plenty of first BLW foods to get you started.
4. She enjoys eating
Food is FUN! She loves exploring the textures of food with her hands and mouth. She is almost always happy at the table. (Unless we’re not getting food to her fast enough!)
Oh, and I totally enjoy watching her. She was so entertaining when she first started exploring food!
5. She is a part of mealtime
While it doesn’t always happen, we try to have most of our meals together as a family.
I usually eat eggs and fruit in the morning with her, and we try to eat as a family for dinner together. Lunch is hit or miss, but we try.
I don’t feed her and then eat dinner separately. Everyone eats together. I’m teaching her that family meals at the table together are valuable to us.
6. She learns to clear stuck food
One of the biggest reasons people avoid BLW is because they are afraid their baby will choke. It’s definitely something that has crossed my mind more than once when Evelyn has gagged on something.
But gagging is not choking.
Every single thing she’s gagged on, she’s managed to clear herself (usually followed by a huge grin).
She is learning to chew, then swallow. With purees, it’s swallow, then later learn to chew. The choking hazard can actually be greater when you introduce solids to a baby after the’ve already learned to swallow whatever you put in their mouths.
Learn more about baby led weaning and choking in this post.
7. She is learning to self regulate
I want to teach Evelyn to be an intuitive eater and enjoy all foods. I don’t want to sit there with a spoon and cajole her into taking one more bite. And I really don’t want to use food as a reward or a punishment down the line.
With BLW, she learns to eat her fill and stop when she’s full.
8. Less risk of allergies
New research suggests that introducing solids to kids at a younger age actually lowers rates of food allergies. In years past, moms waited to introduce “allergy” foods, but now the recommendations have changed.
Evelyn has had eggs, wheat, peanuts, almond butter, strawberries, dairy of all sorts, and soy (tofu).
She did have a reaction to shrimp but I am glad we found it sooner rather than later. I know this is different for every child and allergies can develop later, but it was good to get an all-clear on some of the major foods for now.
9. She will learn to appreciate different foods (I hope).
When everything is a puree, it’s hard for babies to distinguish different foods, and often they develop issues with textures once solid food is introduced.
I am hoping that BLW will give Evelyn an appreciation for all types of food as she gets older. We’re two years in and so far she loves a variety of foods.
10. She’s learning!
Baby-led weaning is good for your little babe’s hand/eye coordination, dexterity, chewing skills, and helping them develop the pincer grasp.
As baby picks up food and brings it to their mouth they are developing important skills! Just by eating, which we do all the time anyway, she was able to practice these important skills.
I loved baby-led weaning as a way to start solids and totally recommend it! Two years later I still see so many benefits of doing it.
I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about the benefits of baby-led weaning. Just leave them in the comments and I’ll respond.
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