Tips and tricks on baby-led weaning (BLW) : a mother of two shares her experiences.

I first knew about BLW in 2010 before my eldest was born in 2012. I was first introduced to this concept after reading a book entitled “Baby-led Weaning, Helping your baby to love good food” written by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett that was first published in 2008. Being a community nutritionist by profession, I am eager to learn more and explore how to implement BLW. When people think about introducing solid foods to a baby, they usually imagine an adult spoon-feeding a child with a few teaspoonfuls of pureed carrot or apple. On the other hand, BLW refers to the child sitting down with the rest of the family at the table during mealtimes. The baby joins in to explore the food by picking up finger size pieces to feed herself/ himself rather than being spoon-fed by adults.

With the baby-led weaning inception in mind, I was eager to try this concept when my eldest started solid foods. Initially, just like other first-time mothers, I was cautious and started giving avocado purees to her. On one fine day, when she was about 6.5 months, I was brave enough to provide her with a peeled steamed sweet potato. I let her explore while sitting in her highchair. I was so nervous when she gagged, as the sweet potato was very starchy and she had bitten off a big chunk.

Choking is uncommon in BLW but gagging is common as it is a safety mechanism to protect the baby from choking. Food that has not been sufficiently pulverised in order to be swallowed easily is returned to the front of the mouth for further chewing. Babies at six months of age gag relatively easy compared to the one-year-olds. I gave a variety of finger foods such as cut vegetables (steamed carrot, broccoli), cut fruits (papaya, dragon fruit), and chicken drumstick for my daughter to explore. Bearing in mind, a baby learning how to eat at the initial stage can be messy. My husband used to complain about food wastage as my daughter would sometimes play with food rather than eating all that were served.

When my second daughter was born in 2016, I started her with traditional spoon-fed food such as homecooked porridge and waited until she was around 7 to 8 months to start with BLW. She was more matured with her hand to mouth coordination that time and I became more confident compared to my first child.

Although her journey to BLW was rather late compared to her eldest sister, she was a fast learner. She used to observe us eating together at the dining table during mealtimes. She learnt how to feed herself with chopsticks at a rather young age before 1 year old. Whenever we eat out, other diners were amazed by her “skill”. Some elders even shared their experiences; they used to feed their children until 3-4 years old and have to chase the children during feeding time as the children would run here and there and not sit properly at mealtimes.

From my personal experience, my conclusion is responsive feeding is the most important key message to be implemented when starting solids for children. Normal infant development supports a safe transition to solid foods, whereby babies are allowed to control their own pace, supported by on-going adequate milk intake. After one-year-old, the aim is to have our children trust their own satiety and hunger cues. They can enjoy whatever the rest of the family members eat. However, not all babies are suitable for BLW. Babies whose development is delayed, or those who have conditions such as feeding difficulties that interfere with their ability to get food into their mouths or to chew and swallow, may not be able to rely on self-feeding. Premature babies will be late in developing self-feeding skills as compared to full-term babies. If there is malnutrition to support optimal growth and development, pureed foods may be needed. There is no right or wrong way to weaning; traditional spoon feeding (TSF) or baby-led weaning (BLW) or a mix of both ways. It has to be individualised. Having a routine mealtime and sitting together, enjoying mealtimes are the way to go in order to inculcate healthy eating since young.

With this, here are some of the key points and tips for your reference if you wish to implement baby-led weaning (Rapley and Murkett, 2008, 2010, Rapley, 2011):

• Baby-led weaning refers to the introduction of solid foods using a self-feeding approach, and it is developmentally and nutritionally appropriate for most infants

• Breastmilk (or formula) should continue to be the main source of nutrition up to one year old

• From six months, babies need to practise the skills involved in self-feeding

• Make sure that the meals are nutritious if you wish to share those meals with the baby

• Cook meals from scratch whenever possible – avoid added salt and sugar, commercial baby food, honey, shellfish, shark, marlin and undercooked eggs

• Include the baby whenever someone is eating

• Try to make sure that the baby is neither hungry nor sleepy at mealtimes, so that they can concentrate and enjoy this new ‘game’

• Ensure that the baby is sitting upright, supported if necessary, so that they can use their hands and arms freely

• Cover the floor with something clean (such as a plastic sheet) so that dropped food can be handed back

• Prepare foods so that they can be picked up and held easily, with some sticking out of the baby’s fist – chunks of fruit, sticks of vegetables (cooked so that they are soft but not soggy), strips of meat, fingers of toast and sticks of cheese are all good first foods

• Aim to offer a gradual increase of variety of colours, flavours and textures to make eating interesting, promote fine motor and vision development and provide a balanced diet

• Continue to offer milk feeds on demand and in between the shared mealtimes. The baby will reduce milk intake by themselves as their intake of solid foods increases

• Offer water with meals (formula-fed babies are more likely to need this than breastfed babies, but all babies will enjoy the chance to try it – a shot-sized cup is useful)

• Avoid small hard foods such as nuts, and cut small round foods in half (grapes and cherry tomatoes)

• Make sure that no one other than the baby puts food into their mouth

• Never leave the baby alone with food

• Provided basic safety rules are followed, self-feeding does not present any greater risk of choking than spoon-feeding

• This method of feeding during the weaning period has the potential to influence the infant’s dietary choices and relationship with food in future

Sharing my daughters’ pictures during their starting solid journey, you can access them at the following link https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=Nutrilact&set=a.3722299304503605

- Jess, Wong Hui Juan, a mother of two girls, nutritionist & IBCLC

References:

1. Rapley, G. (2011). Baby-led weaning: transitioning to solid foods at the baby’s own pace. Community Practitioner, 84(6), 20–24. https://byebyepurees.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/15.-Baby-led-weaning-transitioning-to-solid-foods-at-the-baby’s-own-pace.pdf

2. Rapley & Murkett (2008, 2010). Baby-led Weaning, Helping your baby to love good food.