IMG_6768.jpg (Photo credit: SlugsOnTheRefrigerator)
Baby-led weaning, sounds intriguing (and a lot less hassle) but where do you start?
In our group today lots of mums shared their ideas for good first foods (as this seems to be the most scary part). Here are all the ones I could remember – should have written them down oops! Please feel free to add to this list.
Full Circle’s guide to Baby Led Weaning First Foods
- toast soldiers
- rice cakes
- crackers
- all/any of the above spread with humous, or mashed avacado, apple, philadelphia (equally good with other brands of spreadable cheese) etc. In fact any sort of thickish dips with any sort of dippers really work well. Runnier things like yoghurt are better introduced a bit once they have the hang of dipping (not necessarily with a spoon – fruit or breadsticks – or fingers – make good dippers) though this totally depends on the consistency.
- potato (or other veg) wedges
- filled pasta (tortelini?)
- pasta coated with sauce (warning: very messy and can be a little difficult to pick up at first. Ella preferred penne as she could pop her finger into it and pick it up that way)
- pretty much all fruits – particularly things that are easy to hold like strawberries, melon and bananas (smaller things like berries and peas should only be used once your baby has enough co-ordination to pick them up themselves. Nature’s amazing way of ensuring they don’t choke).
- vegetables, particularly roots like carrot, swede, parsnip - lightly cooked are easier for them to deal with, particularly if they don’t have many (any!) teeth yet. Roasted veg works well too.
- Meats can be a bit more tricky but anything they can manage to bite and move around themselves will be ok e.g. thinly sliced meats or chunks of fish (de-boned). Mincemeat is a good option (though you’ll need to be patient as they usually pick it up one piece at a time) and can be used to make meatballs, lasagne etc.
For all foods keep the size quite chunky and let the baby handle them themselves. They will not choke if they have control over what goes in and out of their mouths. Don’t be tempted to pop something in (or fish something out) for them as this can be dangerous.
Some good ideas (and gorgeous pictures) of BLW in practice here https://babyledweaningideas.wordpress.com/
A more dry but informative take here http://www.babyweaningrecipes.co.uk/babyledweaningideasrecipes.php
The site that links to the now famous book (with loads of info) is here http://www.baby-led.com/
I hope that’s helpful. Please do add to this list (I’m sure I’ve forgotten loads).
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