Knox turned 6 months old this weekend and we started him on his first solid food… avocados, yuummm!
We are doing Baby-Led Weaning with him. Basically, the idea behind Baby-Led Weaning (BLW) is that babies start on solids from the start, no puree or spoon-feeding. In short, the main benefits are as follows:
- The baby will develop new abilities, including hand-eye coördination and chewing that doesn’t come from being spoon fed puree.
- The baby will learn to love a variety of foods and to enjoy mealtimes since they are eating ‘adult’ food from day one. No bland baby food or rice cereal.
- The baby learns to participate in family meals right from the start.
- As you are preparing new foods for yourself, the baby can experiment with new foods at his or her own pace.
Knox’s first meal was more of a (messy) learning experience than anything. We are not sure how much he actually swallowed, but I think it’s safe to say he had fun!
He wasn’t completely sure how this worked at first so it took a little help from Mom & Dad to get things going.
Our plan is to start out with only veggies and then gradually start incorporating some fruit and whole grains. We will add new foods every 3 days to make sure he doesn’t have any allergies. We plan to add in squash, green beans and sweet potatoes next (per a friend’s recommendation).
Once you have tested a few foods, there is a cookbook with recipes that are appropriate for the baby and for the family so Mom (or Dad) only has to make one meal for the whole family. No special baby food needed.
Did anyone else try this? I would LOVE to hear your experience in the comments below! Did you buy the cookbook, is it worth it? Any good blogs out there to read for recipe ideas?
After an eventful dinner, it was most definitely time for a bath! (Our little piggy was still licking his fingers!)
A huge thank you to Stokke for the Stokke Steps, Knox loves it and it is so easy to clean! Not to mention I love how it looks with the rest of our furniture. (You know, the important stuff.)
We just stick our meal in the baby bullet, jar it up and there you go! Nora likes it so much better! We spoon it to her and let her try to pick up shell noodles, avocado and bananas! Veggies are great but fruits help with constipation so we tend to give apples or grapes at every meal! I cannot believe how big he has gotten! And hey, I am not opposed to a purée pouch for on the go! Haha! Mexican restaurants are awesome bc we order fajitas and Liam gets a fajita and Nora rice and beans and chews on a tortilla with her two teeth! Happy feeding!!
Thanks for sharing, Kate! Nora has gotten so big and is precious! I love the Tex-Mex idea, start em out early! 😉
Great! Looks like he loved the avocado! Can’t wait to see what he devours next. Love you all!
We are started BLW later with our daughter but she absolutely loves it. It is easier than purees, which is how we started off. The website Little Grazers have some great recipes for them and also attached is a fabulous pancake recipe that has no added sugar.
Good Luck!
Little Grazers – http://littlegrazers.com/
Pancakes – http://foodsnobstl.com/2012/12/snobby-mommy-baby-cereal-pancakes/
Glad to hear it is working for your family! Thanks for sharing the recipes!
He looks so cute!! I care for a 10 month old baby boy a few days a week and he loves avocados! We also feed him sweet and regular mashed potatoes a lot and diced cantaloupe or watermelon.
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We did (are doing?) baby led weaning with our now 14 month old, and it has been great for us! The food has been easy, and her hand eye coordination is well above that of her peers. We didn’t buy any sort of cookbook, but I did some google searching for ideas. Since she takes a packed lunch to daycare each day, I also try to be creative and fix some thing especially for that. You can buy frozen, cubed organic butternut squash… I’ve found that works great as an easy vegetable. I also microwave or bake sweet potatoes and cube those (I think the cubes work best, shapewise). She has also eaten grilled chicken from the start. At first, I gave her large strips of chicken breast and she mostly sucked on those. Now I frequently buy a rotisserie chicken from the store and pull it apart for her. Bananas, blueberries, and avocados are also staples 🙂 Oh, and whole milk yogurt. She loves to dip bread in that!
That all sounds perfect, thanks for sharing. I love the cube idea, smart!
Yay for BLW! Our now 13 month old loved eating the same things we did. We also started with avocado. We then did sweet potatoes, steamed (and somewhat mushy) broccoli, and baby peas. I would put chicken in the crockpot and let it cook for 6-8 hours. It is super easy to shred with a fork and she loved it. Happy eating Knox!
Thanks Kris! I can’t wait to try more foods and the chicken is a great idea!
He is sooooo cute 😀 I am waiting for the news about the BLW from you after some time. 🙂
I have always done the same thing but had no idea there was a book. I like to be as natural as possible so feeding my baby a jar of food that can sit on the shelf for years doesn’t seem right. Sweet potatoes and Avocado were always the firsts then bananas! I then would move on to scrambled eggs which I know is completely against any doctor so I am not advising anyone but they are a wonderful source of protein that they can pick up and chew with gums. I know that is a NO NO but, I have 5 children from 3 months- 10 years and not one has an allergy to anything! I may have to get that book for my last little one. Enjoy your little man, he is precious!
Thanks Elisabeth! I have heard other moms say eggs too. Thanks for sharing!
Ahhhh!!! He is too cute for words!! LOVE BLW! I did this with my first, and have been doing it with my 9 month old. She doesn’t always get it in her mouth, but she enjoys being with us at the table and learning about the foods through touch and taste. My oldest had a strong gag reflex, so it was a little scary at first when she was exploring new foods, but she did grow out of it. I was introduced to the idea through Ellen Satter’s “Child of Mine”. Meal times should be enjoyable for the whole family. I would love to hear more about your experience and what you learn! Enjoy this time with Knox, thank you for sharing your sweet baby with us 🙂
I am glad to hear Knox isn’t the only one getting more food on the the table than his mouth. 😉 The gag reflex scared me to death the first feeding, but after two nights he seems to have it down. I am excited to keep trying new foods… I will keep y’all posted along the way!
We did this with Will, I love the blw philosophy. The coordination thing is definately true, Will was using silverware on his own by 9 months! (Skip hop makes perfect sized/shaped spoons/forks.) Cooked Squash, potato, carrot, & apple, ripe banana, kiwi, mango, pear were some early go-tos we always had on hand. Shredded cheese, sautéed spinach, whole grain rice, chicken and fish were some of his favorites too. You can shape into a ring then boil any bread dough recipe a few minutes until it floats then bake it to make a hard biscuit type snack too, Will loved those. Sautéeing pear & chopped prunes together in coconut oil worked every time for constipation as their diets change. Such a fun stage, enjoy! Love seeing y’all doing so well
Aw, thanks Anne! Great advice and good to know about the prunes. 😉 We miss you guys and hope all is well with you! xo
Just wanted to stop by to say I love your blog! Its very relatable. I tried BLW with my 9 month old, but she has just not taken to the textures. She physically throws up, so I just purée everything for now and we will try again soon! I notice that you travel a lot and was wondering if you thought about doing a post on traveling with baby. Kind of like you have done for your vacations outlining what’s in your bag and how you make traveling with baby easier on you. It would be great info!
First off your son is adorable and I love your blog. Its a great balance between fashion and motherhood.
I have a 5 year old and a 10 month old and I BLW with my 10 month old. It was just easier for me to come home after work and make dinner we could all eat. I started off with avocados, bananas, and peas. Once she got the hang of things, she was eating everything we ere eating. We have a Tripp Trapp and we love having her at the table with us. It can get messy but we love watching her eat!
I have a non baby related questions for you. I have had my eye on the cuyana tote you have and just wanted to ask your opinion on it. Is it large enough that it would fit baby items and snacks and activities for my 5 year old?
Thanks!
Hi Caroline, Knox is adorable! I have never heard of BLW but I will definetely check it out. I have a 2month old right now, so I still have several months. I was wondering is he still being BF along with the solids or does he get a bottle as well? Thanks for the info and I can’t wait to look into this book.
I am still nursing in addition to the one meal of solids at dinner. I also nurse before and after the solids at dinner (before so he isn’t too hungry and frustrated when eating and after to make sure he got enough and help him fall asleep). Enjoy your little one!