When my first daughter was ready to begin solid foods I assumed I would start with purées. That’s what everyone does, right? It wasn’t until someone in my mum’s group mentioned baby led weaning * that I realised there was an alternative.
Traditional weaning is when you gradually introduce solid foods to your baby, starting with purées. After a few months you might move to mashed food and then larger chopped bits. This typically happens from 6 months old and baby is primarily spoon fed.
When you opt for baby led weaning, you allow your baby to indicate when they are ready to begin weaning and you go straight to solid, finger foods. You offer a variety of food and baby chooses what to eat. This could be around 6 months old but could be earlier or later. Baby needs to be able to sit unaided.
I have opted for a different approach with each of my girls and the outcome seems mostly the same.
THE PROS AND CONS
If I wrote this after weaning my first child I would have struggled to find any disadvantages of baby led weaning. She loved anything I put in front of her and ate like a champ from week one of starting solids.
Not so with my second. I tried relentlessly to get her to feed herself but she just wanted to be spoon fed. I felt really disappointed as I’d had such success the first time around. She eventually took to finger foods but this was probably closer to a year old.
My third was all over the place. She had terrible reflux which lasted until at least a year old. Any solid food aggravated her tummy until I read that pawpaw (or papaya) might help…and it did. The poor child ate so much pawpaw I think she turned pink. We resorted to a combo of baby led and traditional weaning and eventually, things settled down.
From my experience these are the pros and cons of both:
| TRADITIONAL WEANING | BABY LED WEANING | |
| PROS | Gentle on baby’s tummy as purée consistency is close to milk. You have more control over when, what and how much baby eats. Introducing only one food at a time helps to pinpoint any food allergies more easily. | Baby learns to chew first which reduces the risk of choking. The child chooses how much to eat and is given more choice over what they eat. You don’t have to spend hours cooking and pureeing food. You just offer a soft version of what you are all eating. Teaches independence from an early age. Young children love any opportunity to do things for themselves. You can set the baby up in their chair and leave them to it (while monitoring closely). It is really fun watching a tiny baby shove food in their mouth and explore this new sensation. |
| CONS | Baby might not like the purée you offer and you’ve gone and made two litres of the stuff! It is time consuming having to spoon feed a baby a number of times a day while maintaining milk feeds too. | In my experience, the more solid foods do not agree with all little tummies. Especially at the start of weaning, baby might be quite unsettled as their stomach adapts. Baby might take longer to decide they want solids so weaning could begin later than anticipated. |
WHICH APPROACH HAS BETTER LONG TERM BENEFITS?
Advocates for baby led weaning will tell you this approach fosters a good relationship with food from an early age. It’s suggested children are less likely to become fussy eaters. They get used to different tastes and textures and are more likely to try new things.
In my experience, my eldest – who is my only child who was exclusively baby led weaned – is not significantly less fussy than her sisters. All three will regularly turn their noses up at an unfamiliar meal or new vegetable. However, overall they are all pretty good eaters.
Although I weaned them all differently, my approach has always been to keep it relaxed and never force a child to eat something. If they don’t like it, that’s okay. I keep offering and sometimes they will come around to a particular food (like raw carrots…woohoo!) and sometimes they won’t. Giving them a degree of choice and independence over the food they eat, from a young age, will help them to develop a healthy relationship with food.
CAN I DO BOTH AT ONCE?
Yes, you can combine both approaches. I do feel it can be a bit confusing for a baby. One minute they are experiencing independence and the next you’re coaxing a spoon into their mouth. However, that is just my experience and I know many people have successfully used both weaning methods at the same time.
You might find your baby prefers one approach over the other and you may end up doing one of them exclusively.
TRADITIONAL OR BABY LED WEANING FOR THE WIN?
I would have opted for baby led weaning exclusively for all three girls. It was so enjoyable introducing my first baby to solids. Watching her face as she discovered new foods and textures and marveling at the natural instincts of such a small person.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t suit all my babies. I learned quickly that there isn’t one right way when it comes to raising children and you need to be open to going with the flow.
Although baby led weaning does feel more natural, traditional weaning still has its place.
If you’re not sure, do a bit of research on both and then go with your gut (see what I did there?). Staying relaxed no matter which approach you decide on will help your baby to enjoy the experience more too.
How did you wean your baby? If you are yet to start the weaning journey, which approach do you think you’ll take? Let me know in the comments.
Further reading on the blog:
What is the Healthiest Diet for Your Family?
Simple Meal Planning
*When I talk about weaning I am referencing the time when a baby starts solid foods rather than when they wean off milk completely.