baby led weaning what age do you start?
so you wondering about baby led weaning. The name tends to speak for itself. baby led. The baby will be in control of when he or she starts to take solids. The difference is you forget the mashed up stage as in the photograph above . You give them foods they can hold in their hands to chomp on.
There has always been so much fuss about when to start weaning. The health visitor pops round and says “no don’t start solids yet.” Its not what you want to do as a parent so you do your own thing. Yet premature babies are weaned earlier in general anyhow. Using this method mums start later at around 6 months old.
What foods to you give for baby led weaning
baby led weaning foods in general are all types food cut into chip shapes for a baby to hold in their hand. Do not add salt. . Personally as a nursery nurse I’ve seen so many babies choke on hard foods such as apple chunks. So although I like the idea I’d stick to softer foods to hold and never leave a baby unsupervised in their high chair. It does work and there is less mess as you are cutting out the pureed stage.
Food ideas for a baby led diet
here are 7 ideas to get you started on a baby led diet
- Cooked chicken breast slices whole potatoes cooked peas + banana
- tuna sandwich + strawberries and yogurt
- chopped up salad cucumber tomatoes radish grated carrots roast beef slices + fresh raspberries blueberries.
- boiled egg sausage baked beans toast with margarine + fruit salad
- pasta bolognaise grated cheese + chopped melon
- mild curry and rice nan bread +pears and ice-cream
- pasta broccoli cauliflower cheese sauce + peaches and yogurt
Getting started with weaning this way
To start wait until your baby tries to grab for your food around 6 months of age. Sit them in their high chair with a bib on . Next they will make mess but its part of learning. learning to feed, hold foods without dropping them . The chewing and swallowing stages of development .
So no need to get stressed about it.to begin with you could always put an old towel under their high chair whilst eating. Pass them food and watch them chomp on it. Use Dettol antibacterial cleaner on a high chair to sanitise the tray. and once clean put the food straight onto it. all the best weaning from cheeky chums