When you start baby-led weaning, you may find that your baby seems more interested in playing with their food than eating it in the first few weeks. This is entirely normal. Your baby’s food intake will increase the more confident they become and as their pincer skills develop.
Carry on giving your baby their normal breastfeeds or bottle feeds, so they will still be getting the nutrients they need.
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Your baby’s tummy is only the size of their two fists together, so they don’t need much food to make them feel full. A huge portion will be overwhelming for them, so simply place a few different options on their highchair tray and let them explore.
You may want to start with easy-to-grab foods such as broccoli florets, toast fingers and chunks of banana, with a beaker of water on the side.
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When working out how much food to give your baby, aim for portions the same size as their fist, with one fistful of protein, one fistful of carbohydrates and two fistfuls of vegetables or fruits.
Your baby will enjoy sitting and eating with you and your family, so share family mealtimes with them as much as possible. And try to eat something similar to the foods you are giving your baby as they will be taking the lead from you while they learn about eating.
Most babies will tend to play around with food up until eight months or nine months. This is usually when your baby develops their pincer grip (the use of thumb and forefinger) and finds handling food a little easier. It is also common for your baby’s weight to plateau or drop a little before they really master the skill of self-feeding.
It is very common during the early phase of weaning for your baby to miss out on some meals. They may be asleep, too tired, or simply not interested. Try not to worry about this. They will still be getting all of the nutrients they need from their milk feeds.
Carry on with your baby’s usual milk feeds when you start BLW. As they eventually start to eat more food they will naturally want less milk.
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One of the advantages of BLW is that it‘s very difficult to overfeed your baby. As long as you’re providing a good variety of nutritious food it will be up to your baby to decide whether or not they want to eat it.
Until your baby starts to get on the move and is more active, there is no need to introduce a snack during the first couple of months of weaning.
More baby-led weaning advice:
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