r/BabyLedWeaning • u/cptn_carrot • Jul 20 '25
I learned about BLW from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, who presented it as a book to read rather than a hashtag. While my wife was pregnant, we bought and read Gill Rapley's “Baby-Led Weaning.” We have now weaned two children following BLW, The book was the only resource we used, and both of us felt well-enough equipped that we never needed anything else.
It seems to me that many of the complaints or struggles people post about on this sub are products of an approach to weaning that comes from social media, rather than Baby-Led Weaning. In my opinion, BLW makes for pretty terrible social media. "I'm having fajitas, so my baby is chewing on a couple pieces of bell pepper" isn't super interesting, and you can't make a full day's content out of it. I think a lot of people would find more success steering away from the social media trends and fully embracing BLW.
I’ve noted six trends that I feel are common on social media, and contrasted them with quotes from “Baby-Led Weaning.”
Influencers preparing elaborate meals specifically for their children is probably the biggest gulf between social media and BLW. One of the fundamental assumptions of BLW is that you are eating the same meal as your child. Sharing meals is a great way to encourage babies to try new food. It can help lower stress by distracting parents away from micromanaging their baby’s meal. And for my money, the best reason to share meals was that it’s easier than cooking two different meals.
"Baby-led weaning babies are included in family mealtimes from the start, eating the same food and joining in the social time." ("Baby-Led Weaning," page 23)
“Normal, healthy family foods can be adapted easily so that your baby can manage them, so there’s no need to buy or prepare special foods” (p. 63)
A full plate of food looks appealing to most adults, but that doesn't make it right for your baby. There’s no need to give them more than they can eat or give them more ammunition when they’re in a throwing mood. And even when our kids could eat significant amounts, sometimes the full plate was still overwhelming and they needed the pieces a few at a time.
“Many babies can be overwhelmed by too much choice and too much quantity in the early stages. Some push all food away, others focus on one piece of food and throw everything off the high tray; some simply turn away.” (p. 71)
Many posts here ask if their kids are eating enough, because they see babies on social media eating more. Our kids took 6-8 weeks to start consuming any measurable amount of food. We expected that going in and never felt stressed by it, but if your feed is full of 6-month-olds who supposedly eat an entire hamburger, your opinion might be influenced.
“Eating very little and playing a lot.” (p. 70)
“Don’t expect your baby to eat much food at first. She doesn’t suddenly need extra food because she reached six months.“ (p. 90)
It seems to have become a standard recommendation that food should be cooked to the point of disintegration for BLW. Of course It’s important that foods be prepared in a safe way, but that doesn’t mean it’s all mush. Texture is important and enjoyable, and they can only learn to chew if given foods that need chewing. (Also, teeth are not needed for chewing, which should be obvious to anyone who’s gotten a bite from their kid’s gums.)
“If you are offering vegetables, bear in mind they shouldn’t be too soft (or they’ll turn to mush when your baby tries to handle them)” (p. 67)
It seems that a large number of people combo feed purees, or use purees to "ease into solids." Starting with purees is very common, and has been the traditional approach to weaning for decades. However, spending time teaching your baby to eat purees isn't very helpful in moving them toward the ultimate goal of eating table food. Every child will need to learn to chew and swallow food at some point. Starting early takes advantage of the gag reflex being farther forward in the mouths. It also gets it out of the way sooner and doesn’t develop the habit of swallowing food without chewing.
“When babies start with BLW at six months they have a chance to experiment with food and develop self-feeding skills while all their nutrition is still coming from breast milk or formula. This means they can practice feeding themselves before they really need much food” (p. 93)
“You may find [...] that she gets frustrated because she can’t feed herself as fast as she wants to. Babies who have been spoon-fed can get used to swallowing large quantities of food quickly when they are hungry because pureed food doesn’t need to be chewed.” (p. 93)
Somewhat distressingly, people post here who feel like they have no choice but to do BLW. I loved doing BLW and wouldn't use another method if I had the choice, but it is still just one possible approach. Most Americans of my generation were puree fed, and it’s clearly possible to raise healthy, well-adjusted children on purees. Baby-led weaning jumps to self-feeding table food at 6 months. Traditional weaning starts offering solids around 9 months and has purees phased out around 12 months. Claiming that the 3 to 6 month period of BLW will determine a child’s life is obvious nonsense.
Everyone knows social media isn’t reality. And yet, it seems to have an outsized impact on people’s ideas of what BLW should look like. Basically, I think influencers are incentivized to make BLW look harder and more complicated than it really is, in order to generate enough content to keep their timelines full.
By-the-book BLW will not and cannot be perfect for everyone, but the book does predict and troubleshoot a surprising number of common problems that people have, In my view, the book is still underutilized and overshadowed by social media, to the point that people may not even be aware of how simple BLW can be.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/bagelgal04 • Feb 28 '25
Baby just turned one last week. All time faves are squash (any kind), bread, veggie fritters, and nut butter. Least favorite was grits and citrus!
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/unicornmagic111 • 6h ago
We have the mockingbird high chair and I’ve never loved how he sits in it. He’s fairly reclined / slouched and I don’t know how to make him sit up more. Would you invest in a different high chair? I’m not sure how much of an issue this is.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/zezendx • 3h ago
Torn between which ones to start using for my LO. Been using the Nuby spoons for a while but they don’t teach how to scoop food.
What do you use?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/seedsproutleave • 11h ago
Pear slices and local strawberries, egg and cheese omelette, toast with peanut butter, and prune puree to keep it all moving 😂 how’s the nutrition balance? Anything missing??
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Ok_Tank_2433 • 5h ago
Hi everyone. My baby is 15 months old and is lactose intolerant/ having a milk protein allergy. He had severe colic until 3-4 months. Since I have been fully breastfeeding him (and still do apart from solids, but reduced now) I never realized this prior to him turning 6 months. He can take baked goods and butter but not fresh milk or yogurt. He got rashes all over his body, breathing difficulties and cries profusely the first and second time I gave him milk. After he turned one, his pediatrician instructed me to give milk or yogurt again and if those symptoms appear again to treat it with piriton. Unfortunately when he was about 12 months I tried and he got those symptoms again.
If your baby was like this, did he/ she outgrow this and if they did, at what age? Thanks you so much.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Silver_ro • 1h ago
My son has made huge strides with self feeding but anytime i bring a utensil into the mix it becomes a power struggle between he and I for who has the spoon lol. Ive stopped using utensils at all and do all finger foods right now, but what age did you all start introducing utensils regularly?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/gampsandtatters • 6h ago
Not sure if this more for the toddler subreddit, but curious if anyone is in same boat and what advice you have.
My toddler, 2 years, was great when being introduced with stone fruits like peaches, nectarines, plums, etc, skin and all. I introduced the sizes and cuts for appropriate ages per Solid Starts. Now, he’s gotten picky and will not eat the skin. He will either eat it like an orange slice or demand we peel the skin.
I know toddlers get picky. But I also understand that we should be consistent about exposure to foods for them to overcome some pickiness. Would you give in to your toddler’s demands of a special way to prepare foods, like peeling stone fruits? Or would you keep exposing them to the whole fruit?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Hour_Cricket9648 • 11h ago
We started solids at 6 month and was doing a combo of puree and finger foods. Recently he's been refusing to let me feed him at all, so I've just been focusing on finger foods. Stuff like avocado wedges, egg stripes etc are too soft and they tend to mush apart in his hand before he can eat them, then I'm just left with a million tiny little bits that he can not grasp, won't let me feed him, and gets thrown out. He's really loves tomato and orange wedges because they are firm enough he can hold them easily, gnaw on them and suck the juices out. Giving him a pre loaded spoon of mashed food DOES NOT WORK. He almost always dumps it, and for the 2 seconds it takes for me to reload the spoon he cries because he wants it back. I have even tried giving him a decoy spoon to play with. Every time I try to spoon feed him he screams because he wants to hold the spoon lol.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Marshforce • 7h ago
Hi all - my daughter is 6.5 months and is starting solids. She held onto her tongue reflex for a while so I have just been doing purées. I’ve been starting to try giving her solids like squishy fruits and cottage cheese. However, she seems to struggle and as soon as she chokes (as expected) she refuses to swallow and begins screaming and refuses to try any more food. What can I do?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Disastrous_Skin7792 • 13h ago
Hi everyone,
I'm always seeing your wonderfully prepared meals and feel so inspired, but it's so difficult to actually do this myself.
Where is your little one while you prepare the food? This is a serious question, I need help. My daughter is very lively and needs near constant supervision or she'll eat a cable or a shoe or hurt herself in other ways. We baby proofed our home as much as possible, but some things are hard to avoid. And even without anything lying around she'll try to climb up the wall and fall on her face. I just want to make a healthy meal for her without worrying about another bump or swollen lip.
If she's on the floor, she hurts herself. If I let her sit on the kitchen counter to watch me, she'll try to put her hands in the pot, on the stove, lick the knife. If I carry her it's a bit safer, but I'm restricted in what I do. If I baby wear she'll wiggle around like crazy in front of me and I can't really do anything. If I wear her on my back, she cries. If I put her in her playpen, she cries. If I put her down while she sleeps and leave the room, she cries. So far the only option is to leave her with my husband, but he has to work and isn't always there.
She's still eating mostly purrees and I feel so bad. Help, please!
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Minionlv2626 • 10h ago
My baby is 6 months old now and I’ve been trying to introduce as many vegetables as possible. Please tell me what vegetables you gave to your little one so far, also tell me your little one‘s favourite vegetable and least favourite vegetable!
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Critical-Affect2200 • 8h ago
Okay the title might be a bit dramatic, but I am feeling like I am ruining my sons food experience. He just turned 8 months today and hates pretty much any food we’ve given him. For context - he aspirated meconium when he was born and had to be intubated and on oxygen in the nicu for a month, as well as has really bad eczema which is an indication of an allergy, we started BLW with eggs and he broke out in hives after just touching it to his mouth and we now know he has an egg allergy and had to get a baby epi pen. All that being said, I still try to give him a new food to try at least once a week, but he wants nothing to do with it. He does the typical exploration of the food by squishing it and rubbing it around everywhere lol but rarely ever brings it to his mouth voluntarily. I am following all the protocol for BLW and trying to keep it a happy environment and let him make a mess and do his thing, but it’s starting to worry me that he doesn’t like food. He also has brought a few things to his mouth but gags (I was a nanny for 15 years and introduced solids to almost all my babies and extensively know infant CPR/ the difference between gagging and choking AND my husband is a physician) but I panic everytime he gags or struggles. I don’t outwardly panic and just watch closely but it deters me from ever wanting to give him anything again. This was kind of all over the place but I am stressed that he’s not getting enough exposure to food and I want him to be comfortable and confident (and I would like to be as well) with food especially while his gag reflex is the most sensitive. I have tried so many of the solid starts tips, and none seem to work for him. I tried a pouch yesterday and he seemed to enjoy it / actually swallowed it but that’s not teaching him any of the things I want him to learn! Harsh truth is welcome here, or just any positive stories of someone who has gone through something like this.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/SStrong5792 • 22h ago
My babies plate today!!!
My baby is 6 months and I feel like she’s eating avocado every single day. She’s only been introduced to about 5-6 different things still so far so she keeps eating the same things every day. We introduced egg this past week and we are doing dairy tomorrow. I feel like allergens make it take forever to introduce new foods. I don’t want to delay allergens, but then is it bad if she has like avocado (as an example) daily in the meantime since it’s a safe food??? Are we behind?? I have no idea what I’m doing lol.
So far she’s had:
Egg
Banana
Avocado
Sweet potato
Carrot
A taste of pineapple
A taste of mandarin
Olive oil
We are adding yogurt tomorrow and steak on Thursday
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Working-Card4329 • 15h ago
My daughter is 14 months old, and we haven't used a blender from the very beginning. We started by mashing food with a fork and then tried to transition to lumpy/textured foods. She is very eager to eat everything, but she cannot fully move the food inside her mouth or chew it properly. She tries to chew a little bit or crush it with her gums and then swallow it, which causes bloating, burping, and triggers her silent reflux from infancy. Sometimes she gets hiccups after meals. I bought chewing tubes, but she refuses to bite them at all. I try to do oral-motor massages, but she doesn't allow it much. I am at a point where I don't know what to do. She tries to leave the meal even if she isn't full because she gets tired of chewing after tasting a little bit of everything. She will start daycare this month, and I am worried about her nutrition, especially since she is already in the lower percentiles. I would greatly appreciate any advice or recommendations.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/happynbaby • 12h ago
My baby is 9 months, i started to feed her since 6 months, she hates everything except ceralac and gerber puree pouches.
I have tried all kind of mix up pures but nothing works. She zip her mouth and move her head the other side.
I tried playing with her, TV, dancing and i came to a point of forcing her also but nothing works.
I need help pleaseee!!! I feel like i am a bad mom and i am scared she will be bery picky and hate food once she turns 1
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Askfslfjrv • 10h ago
My daughter is seven months old and we’ve been doing solids since she was about five months old (by recommendation from her paediatrician) and she still has zero interest in solids unless they are in purée form. It actually blows my mind because this girl puts EVERYTHING in her mouth constantly, but it’s like she just doesn’t even know what to do when I had a solid piece of food in front of her lol
Any advice? Should I just keep trying? Purées are going great. She’s tried 25 foods. But I’m so sick of puréeing everything just so she’ll try it lol. She will grab it and sometimes bring it to her mouth, but 9 times out of 10 she ends up just dropping it in her lap or on the floor for the dog to eat lol
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/ali__cat • 1d ago
For context, my baby is almost 9 months old and in the 3rd percentile for weight (up from the 1st). She had had weight gain and reflux issues which are just starting to get better within the past month or 2. We started solids between 5-6 months trying to do a combo of purées and BLW. She doesn’t seem to love solids. She will take a few spoonfuls of yogurt or oatmeal and then refuse the rest. She will occasionally put a pre-loaded spoon in her mouth but to me it seems like it’s mostly to teethe, not to eat.
We have done some BLW-style foods like a large strip of steak, broccoli floret, pasta and pre-made patties.
The issue is when she does more solid food she bites off a piece and then just lets it sit on her tongue until it gets to the back of her mouth. Then she will gag and either swallow it (rare), spit it out (most common) or throw up (has happened 4-5 times at this point). I know gagging is normal but it doesn’t seem to be getting better and throwing up her stomach contents when she already has weight gain issues is not something I want.
We have talked to a speech and language pathologist who specializes in feeding and are trying to get her early intervention support as well. They suggested doing those teething crackers/sticks that dissolve or the mesh teethers that you can stick frozen fruit inside. Those seem to work okay but I worry she’s not learning how to swallow chunks of food properly.
She is still on 5-6 bottles a day and usually has yogurt with a mixed in purée for lunch and then a BLW-style dinner that usually just winds up on the floor. She doesn’t seem remotely ready for finger foods and I know at 9 months our ped will want us to start doing 3 meals a day. I’m a little overwhelmed!
I guess my question are:
When you present food to your baby, do you just put it on a plate in front of them at the dinner table with you? Should I be encouraging her to eat or just letting her do her thing? Sometimes it seems like the more I pay attention or pressure her, the less she wants to eat.
How do I know she is developmentally ready for finger foods or more bite-sized pieces? To me, she doesn’t feel ready due to the gagging.
Is there a way to encourage interest in food? She seems pretty tentatively interested right now. Definitely more exploring as opposed to actually eating for sustenance.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/Icy-Valuable-9106 • 21h ago
For reference we have seen a speech path and I have booked in to see the dr.. she has a history of bottle aversion and now I fear due to her gagging and vomiting episodes with solids she's scared and stressed when it comes to meal time. It's breaking my heart and I feel like an utter failure. Is it bad she is surviving on pouches? I am such a broken human. Any advice would be so
Appreciated.
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/SaltEnvironment7589 • 1d ago
FTM here and my baby just started solids. I’m already so exhausted from work, and then I have to think about cooking baby food when I get home
I really want to make homemade food for him, but doing all the steaming, blending and cleaning after a long workday feels like a lot.
For working parents, how do you balance work and making baby food?
Do you meal prep on weekends, keep it super simple, or is a baby food maker actually worth getting?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/themomentisme • 1d ago
Baby eats 3 meals a day. We end daycare at 5 and are home by 5:15 for dinner. Bedtime is at 7. Are we just giving up on after work/daycare activities? I'd like to go to the park or go shopping after, but eating takes so long. How are we handling this?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/ispyamy • 1d ago
Where are you finding the time and energy to do this multiple times a day???
My baby is still on 3 naps. 10 months old but 7 months adjusted (born at 28 weeks) and we are still doing 1 meal per day most days.
I’m a partial stay at home mom, but I also babysit other kids often at their houses and I don’t feel comfortable doing such a messy meal time while I’m “on the clock” with someone else’s kids.
We started purées about 2 months ago and went more towards BLW in the last 3-4 weeks. I feel like we “should” be doing 2 meals a day now. I’m primarily offering breakfast or lunch as my partner and I don’t eat dinner until after baby’s bedtime due to his work schedule. He cooks while I’m doing bath/bed.
Is this something that I just need to be patient for? I assume on a solid 2 nap schedule it will be easier. Our wake windows max out at 2.75-3hr right now and I can’t imagine spending so much time eating/cleaning up when we also have PT exercises to do multiple times a day plus just letting baby be a baby!
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/brownriceislife • 1d ago
My 9 month old appetite has been growing and I am starting to offer more food. Now there are just crumbs left, i would say 70% of the time. I usually wait on the high chair until she's done (hitting the table or wiping everything off or screams) - she 's on there already 30 -40 mins! When I put her down, she starts eating from the catchy. This has been happening for a week or so.
And it never finished, she will be playing on the side and then coming back to the high chair to eat the crumbs. Food gets everywhere....
This makes alot of mess 😅 I am too overwhelmed to do this 3 times a day. I guess it's normal and I am not creating some bad habits?
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/ButterCup_3391 • 1d ago
Rice balls
Broccoli
Mandarin
Pot roast
r/BabyLedWeaning • u/likelylightbulb • 22h ago
Hi! I’ve seen lots of posts with book recommendations for just baby led weaning/finger foods or just purées but I’d like to do a combo and I’m looking for a book that gives guidance on this!
(And yes I know baby led weaning by definition means no purées but humor me!! lol)
