Baby Led Weaning (BLW) – Why We’re Skipping Purees Altogether

We started a new step in our parenting journey last week – introducing Ariana to solid food! We decided to try something called Baby Led Weaning (BLW) instead of going the standard puree route.

I’m going to talk about what BLW is, how our first week has gone, what foods we’ve introduced to Ariana so far, and some of the benefits of BLW!

If you aren’t already following our journey (Japan, sustainability, parenting, you name it!) on Instagram, follow along at @littlesustainablesteps.

What is BLW?

Baby led weaning, or BLW, is a feeding method where you skip purees altogether and jump straight to solid foods. The baby learns how to eat by watching you at mealtime. Monkey see, monkey do! Instead of offering purees, you offer appropriately sized pieces that the baby can easily grab and feed to herself. This puts the ball in your baby’s court (and we all know how independent babies like to be). It may sound unconventional, but it really just made more sense to us than purees.

Although I went back and forth trying to decide whether to try BLW out, this book is what finally persuaded me! It’s super straight forward, a quick read, and is written by the one of the main pioneers of BLW.

So far, our experience has been nothing short of amazing! Ariana has astounded us with how capable of an eater she is. In our first week, she tried so many new foods. Her favorites are orange slices, banana pancakes, cabbage (weirdo), spaghetti, quiche, and bread. Anything that resembles bread. Pita bread, toast, garlic bread, grilled cheese, scones, pancakes. That whole carb family, she loves.

She’s established clear communication with us when she doesn’t like something or when she’s done – she throws both hands in the air.

I always make sure to nurse her before we eat, so that she’s more interested in the food and doesn’t get frustrated from being hungry. If we’re home, we strip her down to her diaper so that she can make as much of a mess as she wants! We make sure to line up spaghetti meals with bath day.

Raising a foodie!

Since babies can taste in utero and also taste hints of food through breastmilk, Ariana has already been exposed to a wide variety of flavors. Strong flavors such as garlic, curry, carrots and mint are detectable in utero as well as through breastmilk. BLW is just building on that. It’s exciting to expose her palate to such a wide range of tastes early on. Excuse me, make way, we have a foodie in the making coming through! 

Aren’t you concerned about her choking?

Quite frankly, no. We cut all of her food correctly. No chunks or bite size pieces. A general rule of thumb is to cut food in the shape of french fries. Then, she can grab onto the food and gnaw off as much as she can handle. When she gets too large of a piece, she usually keeps it in her mouth for awhile. She moves it around trying to figure out what to do, and then spits it out. We never interfere with this process – trying to remove food from her mouth increases the risk of choking. Studies show that babies who learn to eat via BLW have no increased risk of choking compared to spoon fed babies.

How do you know she’s getting enough food?

Until age one, the main source of nutrition for a baby is milk. You don’t have to worry about how much baby is eating. This time period is more about learning to eat than anything. I figure if she learns how to eat in this six month time frame, she’ll be well on her way to being an expert eater and a little foodie by the age of one!

Benefits of BLW

I first heard of BLW through an online mom support group I am in. I was surprised to learn that there were a lot of moms who were planning to take this avenue. Here are some of the benefits that got my attention.

• • Less processed food. I like knowing what ingredients are present in the food I make! I’ve seen Gerber’s baby food in the news recently for having high levels of arsenic in their rice cereal. Sweet potato puree also tested for extremely high metal levels (even when buying organic). No, thank you.

• • It’s easy. Skipping purees means you don’t have to buy or make baby food. Plus, you can eat at the same time as your baby so mealtimes are more enjoyable for everyone.

• • Baby learns to self regulate. According to this study, babies who learn to self regulate their food intake have a healthier BMI in early childhood.

• • Baby learns to trust food. BLW babies typically don’t show the same suspicion of food that many other babies and toddlers exhibit. They have a positive relationship with a wide variety of different food.

• Baby learns how to safely handle food. From the beginning, babies learn that they need to chew, then swallow. They also learn what size pieces food should be before they swallow it. 

Pasta is a favorite in our house because since it’s soft, it isn’t a choking hazard. Ariana loves pasta in all forms (just like her mama). Here’s a recipe we tried with her recently too. I omitted the salt and hot peppers to make it baby friendly.

The Downside

So far I’ve only noticed a couple of drawbacks. First of all, BLW is messy. Like, it can get really messy. That’s half the fun of it though! We put a large piece of cloth under her highchair, took the cover off her highchair, and jumped in the deep end. 

The other is that it’s hard to watch your baby gag! I was able to get CPR certified on base though, which helped my self-confidence a lot. Now I feel well equipped to handle whatever mealtime brings. I learned that babies’ gag reflex is actually in the middle of their mouth instead of at the back. This keeps large pieces of food away from their airway. Gagging rarely means they are in danger of choking – it’s actually good. It’s just part of babies’ learning how to handle food safely!

Is BLW a good fit for your family?

If this sounds like something you want to do, I highly recommend joining a Facebook group for BLW to get more information! The Beginner’s Guide to Baby Led Weaning is my personal favorite. They have tons of informative pictures, it’s a great community of parents, and questions are answered quickly. I often see moms post pictures of meals they have prepared for their babies: “Is this cut safely?” with the group answering back quickly to reassure the parent! Another great one is Baby Led Weaning for Beginners and Beyond. It’s really helpful to have these resources on hand.

Of course, BLW isn’t for everyone. Some babies might be mouth stuffers and fill their mouths all the way up. For a single parents or parents who have to do most mealtimes alone, that might be too stressful. Some daycares might not be willing to do BLW with your baby during mealtime. Some parents might not be comfortable with it. And you know what, that’s okay! We were all raised eating purees and turned out just fine. We eat lots of different foods and enjoy varying textures all the same. Listen to your parental instinct – is it a good fit for your family? If so, do your research, join some FB groups, read the BLW book and get started! You got this!