I’m Worried about Trying Baby Led Weaning
As you open this post, you may be wondering why is a speech therapist writing about feeding and swallowing? This has nothing to do with talking.
Actually, swallowing and feeding are just some of the areas we speech therapists diagnose and treat.
When my baby was showing readiness signs for eating (beyond breastmilk) I decided to introduce solids in small portion sizes she could grab with hands, rather than purees. This approach, known as Baby Led Weaning is growing in popularity.
Some parents wonder if it is safe to feed babies table food, especially before the baby has teeth to truly chew the foods.
While it is recommended that babies continue getting their primary nutrition and calories from breastmilk or formula for the first 12 months of life, given some of the benefits of solid food introduction,
I like to say food before one is more than just fun.
What is baby-led weaning (BLW)?
Allowing baby’s initial foods to be solids in manageable amounts and sizes, rather than beginning feeding with purees only.
BLW also allows the child to self feed with their hands or utensils.
When is my baby ready for BLW?
From the American Academy of Pediatrics some signs of readiness include
Interest in food, like opening mouth when food comes toward it- we never want to force feed someone, including our babies.
It is recommended to wait until 6 months of age to begin feeding a baby food other than breastmilk, 1 although babies who may be at high-risk for allergic reactions to foods should be introduced to allergens before 6 months of age as exposure may reduce the risk of developing a food allergy later on.
Holding head up and sitting upright in a highchair. From a swallowing perspective, upright positioning will help with airway protection.
A good highchair should provide a supportive back support for baby as well as a footrest. One rule for highchairs is the 90-90-90 rule- hips, knees, and ankles all bent at 90 degrees with feet supported.
We chose the Keekaroo Highchair and infant insert. Highchairs can often be found on local resell pages for a fraction of their buy-new price!
8 month baby in Keekaroo highchair and infant insert
Benefits of BLW
Oral motor skills
Around 6 months a baby may begin exploring items with their mouth. Their oral motor skills are beginning to develop including tongue and jaw coordination. Primary movement for swallowing and chewing is developing, although rotary mastication, the movement of the jaw while chewing, will not begin to emerge til about 18 months.
Fine motor skills
The pincer grasp emerges between 8-11 months. Introduction of table foods helps encourage babies to use their pincer grasp (thumb and pointer finger together) while grabbing foods as well as coordinate their head and neck movements with their hand movements while bringing food to mouth.
Exposure to textures and flavors
A broad exposure of textures and flavors at a young age may minimize picky eating as the child ages.
One study found that infants who were exposed to a variety of vegetables at 5 months ate more vegetables at 6 years of age compared to the control group or infants who were given little to no variety of vegetables in infancy.
It was also found that children who were introduced to solids as infants were more likely to eat chopped foods beyond 12 months.
Early Introduction of Allergens
Early introduction of allergens may reduce the likelihood of allergic reactions later on.
One group of infants who were exposed to common allergens before 6 months of age were found to have less allergic reactions to peanut, milk, and egg allergens compared to a control group without early introduction (before 6 months of age).
Participation in Family Meals
Babies can participate in family meals, allowing them to watch others at the table model novel skills. As a baby sees their mom using a spoon to bring dinner to her mouth, the baby is studying the motor plan and will begin to mimic the motor movements as he develops.
Not to mention, eating meals together provides a prime opportunity for parents to model speech and language to their children.
Allowing babies to self regulate
By letting babies feed themselves, they are in control of when to start and stop eating. If they are hungry they can keep eating their scrambled eggs, but when they are in control of pushing the plate away. Parents don’t need to guess how many more spoonfuls to scoop into baby’s mouth.
Safety in BLW
As baby-led weaning allows babies to feed themselves solids, we may wonder- is it safe? Is my baby at an increased risk of choking when they feed themselves?
While an increase of choking in BLW versus purees has not been found, safety precautions should be taken into account with BLW and traditional puree feeding alike.
Do not walk away while a baby is eating. Adults should be aware of signs of choking and be familiar with infant CPR.
In the event of feeding or swallowing issues, consult with your child’s pediatrician.
If feeding or swallowing is difficult or disordered it can be helpful to request an assessment with a speech-language pathologist or an occupational therapist.
These therapists can help with swallowing difficulties (which may be referred to as dysphagia), feeding aversions, picky eating, or oral motor deficits.
Additional resources for parents:
Some of my favorite resources for feeding and swallowing approaches with more information on BLW:
I love how Solid Starts has demonstrations of how to prepare food safely for babies as they grow, including an app with some free features that detail food preparation, nutrition, nutrition ratings, and allergen alerts.
They also have an app that I use regularly when feeding my own baby, with a free food database made especially for the Baby Led Weaning approach.
In addition to having a hilarious and relatable Instagram, Feeding Littles provides tips on feeding developmental milestones, tips for cup drinking, kid friendly recipes, and table time tips.
WHO . Exclusive Breast Feeding for Six Months Best for Babies Everywhere. (2011). Available online at: https://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2011/breastfeeding_20110115/en/ (accessed January 16, 2024). ↩︎
Food Allergy. Early Introduction of Other Top Allergens. Available online at: https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/early-introduction-other-top-allergens (accessed January 16, 2024). ↩︎
Arvedson JC, Lefton-Greif MA. Anatomy, physiology, and development of feeding. Semin Speech Lang. 1996;17(4):261–8. ↩︎
Meyer M., Braukmann R., Stapel J. C., Bekkering H., Hunnius S. (2016). Monitoring others’ errors: the role of the motor system in early childhood and adulthood. Br. J. Dev. Psychol. 34 66–85. 10.1111/bjdp.12101. Available online at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26183644/ (accessed January 16, 2024). ↩︎
Maier-Noth A, Schaal B, Leathwood P, Issanchou S. The lasting influences of early food-related variety experience: a longitudinal study of vegetable acceptance from 5 months to 6 years in two populations. PLoS ONE. (2016) 11:e0151356. 10.1371/journal.pone.0151356. ↩︎
Blossfeld I, Collins A, Kiely M, Delahunty C. Texture preferences of 12-month-old infants and role of early experiences. Food Qual Pref. (2007) 18:396–404. 10.1016/j.foodqual.2006.03.022. ↩︎
Perkins MR, Logan K, Tsent A, Raji B, Ayis S, Peacock J, et al.. Randomized trial of introduction of allergenic foods in breast-fed infants. NEJM. (2016) 374:1733–43. 10.1056/NEJMoa1514210. ↩︎
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