Baby Led Weaning Must-Haves

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With Oliver getting started with Baby Led Weaning soon and I have other parents with children of similar age also interested in doing BLW with their littles, I have compiled a resource guide of things to have on hand before getting started.

What is Baby Led Weaning?

BLW is a method of introducing solid foods to children (instead of or alongside purees) starting around the ages of 6 months. It is following the child’s signs that they are ready to start trying solid foods and following that intuition. BLW makes introduction of foods a sensory experience for the child, with a variety of flavors and textures for them to explore. You can read more about the benefits of BLW here. Signs of readiness include:

• able to sit on their own, unassisted

• reaching for items/toys and bringing them to their mouth

• showing an interest in food at mealtime, such as reaching for your food

Disclaimer

I'm not a pediatric feeding expert who teaches babies and parents how to BLW.
I take most of what I learned from the Instagram accounts and resources of Solid Starts Thriving Foundations, Feeding Littles and The Fresh Tummy , and combine them with what I learned having a Filipino mom and doing BLW with my first son. The purpose of my content is to show parents how I introduce solids and how to do so comfortably and confidently. To prepare, I did a lot of reading and educating myself, and am also child CPR certified.

Practical things you need at home

• high chair

• dinnerware

• cup with straw

• bib with food pouch

• Aquaphor (or similar choice)

• floor mat

• a plan

Table from Abiie High Chair without the removable tray

High Chair

When it came to picking out a high chair, I really liked the idea of investing in a ‘grow with me’ option, one made of wood, and designed to last. While the Tripp Trapp High Chairs seemed to be a popular option, but doesn’t come with a tray and is more designed for baby to eat at the table with the family. I ended up choosing the Abiie High Chair on Amazon that is of similar design, comes with a tray, and $130 cheaper. It has adjustable seat and foot rests, with a detachable table try that you can hand wash or put directly into the dishwasher for easy clean ups! For parents on a budget, the Evenflo 4-in-1 is another great option.

Dinnerware

If you don’t want more messes than what you can handle, you will want suction dinnerware options. Some silicone plates don’t stick to the tray or table very well, and if you go with the Abiie High Chair, some plates may be too big for the high chair tray at all. Luckily for you, I’ve already tried out all the options on Amazon and know which suction plates fit on the Abiie tray, my favorite ones were the TOPGOMES Silicone Suction Plate, mushie Silicone Suction Bowl, and the WeeSprout Suction Plates. I also do Montessori options when I can, and in this instance, I picked out realistic, stainless steel cutlery for my toddler to use when he got older. They are so much more practical for learning at mealtime anyway.

Cup with straw

I skipped sippy cups entirely for my babies and they went straight from nursing to drinking with a straw, to open cups. Drinking from a sippy cup is not beneficial for natural teeth and tongue placement when drinking, and you don’t use those methods anyway as you get older. Sucking is a perfectly natural mouth movement and you would be surprised how easy it is for them to catch on when it comes to learning how to drink from a straw. My toddler’s favorite to use was LUOWAN’s straw cup, as the lid had ridges and wasn’t easy to pop off if it fell on the floor. Other great options are mushie’s and WeeSprout’s glass cups if you don’t want to use silicone.

Kai, Age 1, eating breakfast

Bibs or Coveralls

BLW is messy! And if you are going to do it, be prepared to clean your floors, child, and clothes 3x a day. It gets easier though and it does pay off! Bibs with food catch pockets were a lifesaver, I wouldn’t choose anything different, for super messy meals like spaghetti, coveralls were the way to go. Food is going to get on your child though, no matter what you try, so be prepared and don’t stress. He is learning so much and his brain is hard at work, this won’t be forever so enjoy exploring food with him. To make messes easier to clean up, you can also feed them in just a diaper and pop them in the bathtub after mealtimes or feed them in a onesie that you throw into the laundry afterwards.

Aquaphor (Skin protectant)

Any preferred skin protectant will do. Juice from citrus or acidic fruits can make your child’s face red, irritated, and itchy during and after meal times. To combat this, apply the protectant on their cheeks and around their mouths prior to meal time to create a protective barrier between the acid and their skin. They will grow out of it, but if your child has sensitive skin, it is a lifesaver until they get older.

Floor Mat

Food is going to fall to the floor, there’s not much you can do about it. But having a splat mat like this one to catch the majority of it makes the clean up job easy and fast. After meal times I would pick up the mat and dump the chunks into the garbage and do a quick wipe up. Every few days I would throw it into the washing machine and hang dry. You can also get a faux leather one if you want to get fancy and wipe up afterwards, but I use my faux leather mat for outdoor picnics instead.

A Plan

Don’t just jump into BLW thinking you just feed your child whatever you eat at dinner. Educate yourself first and then make your decision. Some BLW holistic approaches advise vegetables first, followed by proteins, before feeding grains and dairy. Certain foods need to be prepared a certain way, depending on your child’s age and stage of development. If your child has a sensitivity, you might want to BLW with a GAPs diet. For my methods, I pull a little bit of everything from the websites of Solid Starts, Thriving Foundations, Feeding Littles, and The Fresh Tummy.

BLW may seem overwhelming to first time parents, but with research and the right tools, it is so much fun and very rewarding. There is nothing better than being that parent who has their kids eating vegetables when their peers only want crackers. Plus this method reduces the chances of having a picky eater with sensory issues.

Have fun, trust your instincts, and follow your child’s cues.

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