I thought I would a post about baby led weaning first foods. What food would a parent consider to feed a baby as part of the baby led weaning process?

Baby led weaning advantages

Baby led weaning is a growing trend of allowing the baby to feed themselves from around 6 months onwards. It is thought to teach them how to control their own appetite, allowing them to eat when they’re hungry and stop when they feel full. It also encourages the baby’s natural curiosity to experience different flavours, textures and colours.

It is generally considered safe to try the baby led weaning technique only when the baby can sit upright themselves and have good enough motor skills to pick up, hold, and put things in their mouths. They should already show an interest in trying to reach for food and put it in their mouth.

Baby led weaning food

There are a number of foods you can start to offer at this stage. The most obvious and nutritious being soft fruit such as banana, avocado, melon and pears. Try to cut them up into ‘batons’ which are a handy size for your baby to pick up and munch on.

You can also try batons of carrots, florets of broccolli, florets of cauliflower, batons of butternut squash or batons of peeled cucumber. You can soften the harder vegetables by briskly par-boiling them and cooling them thoroughly before giving to you baby.

Another possibility is baby rice . It is easily digestible and provides a good dose of nutrients and vitamins. If this is the first time, try making the mixture a little thinner to make it easy for your baby to digest.

Don’t be perturbed by your baby’s refusal to eat a certain food. Your baby’s likes and dislikes will always change as the baby discovers different foods and their palette improves. You can always try again in a week or so.

To ensure the best start for your baby, try and make you source organic food. It may cost a little more but it’s worth it to give your little ones a healthy and nutritious start to life!

We would recommend limiting your baby’s intake of sugar by only feeding them one or less sweet foods per day.

If there is a history of allergies, asthma or eczema in your or your partner’s family, try to avoid milk products (cow’s milk, cheeses and yogurts), any fish including shellfish, citrus fruit and their juices or eggs, until your baby is around eight months old. We would also recommend avoiding peanuts or sesame seeds if your family suffers from such allergies, until up to the age of three years.

You may also want to consider avoiding foods containing gluten such as wheat, oats and rye in order to reduce the risk of coeliac disease. This includes any breads, pastas or cereals made from these ingredients until eight months old. Honey is also a no-no.

Note : Please do NOT add salt or sugar to your babies food or to any of the baby weaning recipes found on this site. Your baby’s kidneys cannot process it effectively and may cause damage. There is plenty of natural salt in the food for now.

If you have any suggestions for baby led weaning first food, please post your comments. I will be coming up with some handy baby finger food recipes very soon. This baby led weaning recipe using chicken would be a good place to start!
Happy Weaning!