I’ve been a huge proponent of baby-led weaning or BLW since I had my first kid. I followed all the accounts, bought the guides, trialed recipes, you name it. My first kid ate canned salmon at a rest stop during a road trip. I would pack a cooler every time we went anywhere (food allergies contributed to this – more on that in another post!). Food was a PROJECT and I spent a lot of time on it. He did not once eat store bought baby food or eat from a pouch. One of his favorite foods was sardines and pureed spinach. Today, he is your average child who enjoys buttered noodles with a side of plain chicken. But he also likes edamame, salad, and tikka masala. In all seriousness, I don’t know if BLW has any effect on your child’s future palette. I do believe it fosters independence, supports an openness to food, and is the right choice for our family. However, I have adapted over the years to a more flexible approach that doesn’t require Herculean effort. I’ve included my major touchpoints for adopting mostly baby-led weaning in a sustainable way that doesn’t make me pull my hair out or make the tiny baby’s menu the centerpiece of our family’s lives. There are plenty of fantastic ways to do this – this is just what this busy mom has refined over three rounds with this!
The Basics
Readiness
Wait until 6 months and your baby is sitting up mostly independently. I did start allergy introduction early for peanut butter which I’ll discuss in another post.
Start Slow
I start with one meal at a time, preferably breakfast so that I have all day to observe any potential allergic reactions. I also prefer to give major allergens on the weekends for that reason. I will add in the second meal after a month or so, with the goal of being at three meals a day around 9-10 months. I always do breakfast and lunch first. We have an amazing daycare but they’re not feeding the babies chicken legs or letting them smear purees everywhere like I would. With the third baby, we started with dinner because our mornings are too crazy, and we’ll figure out allergens on the weekends as best we can. There are no real rules here!
Batch Cook
I make large portions of things and freeze them. Steam a handful of frozen vegetables or mash some beans and then freeze them into cubes. Do this for a variety of foods and you can easily grab them and microwave to fill out a meal in a few minutes. The immersion blender is your friend and is my top recommended item for BLW.
Center Your Menu on Staple Items
I have found a wealth of information on certain BLW sites but whenever I get to the meal planning recommendations, I am instantly overwhelmed. While our family eats most of our meals at home, some of the suggestions for baby meals read like an exotic fancy restaurant to me. Instead, I make a few very simple recipes for baby food that are still based on real ingredients but aren’t Pinterest worthy. My go to is a wheat cereal that I swap out different flavors and frequently serve as breakfast a few days at a time. Same with yogurt variations. I don’t need to read a fancy recipe and make a new breakfast every day. I just go for one of my tried and true options and swap a fruit or nut butter for variety.
Feed Purees
Sometimes there appears to be some controversy on this but I fully endorse it. I let the baby feed themselves with a spoon or put it on a thin cracker or toast. Items that come in this form already or can be easily mashed are great – think mashed potatoes, applesauce, yogurt, avocado.
Use Food Pouches Strategically
I was convinced with my first kid that if I ever gave him a pouch he would start rejecting real food. I heard horror stories of elementary schoolers who would only eat their food by pouch or straw. When things got busy with my second, I used pouches and the world did not end! Second kid eats real food (actually more than first kid). I like to buy pouches of foods that are hard for me to make. Think Serenity Foods bison, beef, etc. I also like to buy pouches that are easy to replace a whole meal with so we can use them on the go. Check the ingredients closely because a lot of pouches or blends include large amounts of fruit even if its not marketed that way. There is nothing wrong with giving fruit pouches but I want to know when I’m doing it! I don’t want to buy a pouch that says beef and find out I’m really giving applesauce with a hint of beef. When I am at home, I avoid pouches so I can keep them as a tool for when I need them that I won’t feel guilty about.
Prep Meat Options Ahead of Time
You won’t be surprised based on the above items that I find serving meat to be one of the more difficult tasks with BLW. Oftentimes BLW demands that you serve a whole chicken leg or a specific cut of beef, something we just don’t serve often or that my other kids won’t touch. To get around this, I like to prep super simple meatballs out of ground beef, pork, and lamb (each separately) that can be microwaved for any meal. I will also plan proactively what meat I can serve the baby from our dinners that week and make sure I have a good portion saved for the baby for other nights when we eat Chickfila, etc.
Keep A Variety of Ready to Serve Items on Hand
Once I start BLW, I stock a bunch of things that can be served immediately, usually from a can. This includes tomato sauce, pumpkin, beans, canned fish, applesauce, quick-serve grains. I also tend to buy a handful of items every week to throw out for a meal as needed. You should come up with what makes sense for your family but for us, this usually includes a pepper, tomato, avocado, and fruit that I already buy for my other kids.
Get Comfortable With Waste
We waste a lot of thrown, half eaten, rejected food during BLW and I have made peace with it. It’s a short period of time and comes with the territory.
Use Tools to Limit Mess
I let my babies get messy but I make them wear a washable smock and I frequently put down plastic sheets to catch the mess that I throw away after each meal. This is not environmentally friendly. But it works for my busy life and again, we only do this for a few months. I’m also not afraid to put the baby in the kitchen or somewhere with easily wipeable surfaces, especially if they start throwing food.
Don’t Forget to Serve Water
You should offer your baby water at every meal. For more on this, check my other posts!
Choose What You Want to Optimize
The way I prefer to do BLW is not the cheapest. This is a privileged take and I am aware of that. These recommendations are not always the most affordable and that is a trade-off I am personally making for my sanity.