Baby-Led Weaning: Tips, Tricks and Ideas

I wrote in this post a little while ago about how we decided to use baby-led weaning to start out little one on solids. I am so happy with that decision. Our meal times are so much fun! Watching William carefully pick out foods to put in his mouth, skilfully spit out skins that he doesn't want and carelessly remove from his table [throw on the floor] any foods he doesn't want. We're watching his personality unfold at the kitchen table, that is for sure. Anyway, I have learned a thing or two along the way - little things that make my life easier, ensure more food ends up in his mouth instead of on the floor, and [possibly] reducing the mess to be cleaned up after each meal. It's definitely a messy business, no doubt about it. All worth it though. Here's a couple of things I've learned.

Sticky rice.

I cannot emphasise enough how good sticky rice is. Think risotto, think brown rice that is cooked much longer than usual with more liquid added, and rice porridge with milk for breakfast. Once the cooking is finished, you can add a little more liquid and let it stand for a few minutes, to thicken it up some more. Sticky rice sticks to a spoon! So baby can turn the spoon upside down, inside out, this way and that, and usually, still have rice stuck to the spoon by the time it makes it to their mouth. Rice that doesn't stick to the spoon is much messier to clean up. Which brings me to my next tip...

Use cutlery.

Our baby was using a spoon from the word go with solids. He knew enough from having watched us eat to know roughly what to do with it. The very first time he used a spoon, he poked it in his mouth a bit too far. That was the one and only time he's done that. Now he happily waves it around and will eat from it if he wants to, or throw it on the floor if that's what he feels like doing. After a couple of months I started letting him use a fork as well [the little baby spoons and forks only]. We watch him closely with it, and remove it from his hands if it doesn't have food on it, but he has learned how to eat food from a fork remarkably well. We just load up the spoon or fork and hand it to him, and he feeds himself.

Roast vegetables.

Roasting vegies has provided a very easy way for William to feed himself, particularly in the early days when his coordination was still developing. Roasting generally gives a tougher outside 'skin' and a soft cooked inside, great for baby eating. Think roast sweet potato fingers, oven cooked potato chips, roast pumpkin, roast fingers of zucchini. If the outside gets too tough from oven roasting, I just break it open a bit, and he will suck all the good bits out and discard the skins. The skin gives a nice solid base that baby can hang on to while sucking out the softer food inside.

Cooked apples.
Cooked apples are good for baby's digestion, particularly when solids are first introduced. Plus, they're easy for a baby to handle when cut into slices. In the early days, William used to suck on them and didn't actually eat much apple; now he happily eats plenty [if he wants to]. The skin again gives a good structure that is easy for baby to hold on to while the flesh is easily eaten. Simply slice up apple quarters and cook in water until soft, usually 5-10 minutes or so. Sometimes I add raisins or chopped up prunes to the cooking water, to soften them up and for something different; these are also excellent for helping digestion along.  

Make the clean-up easy.

I think one of the biggest reasons people sometimes avoid baby-led weaning is the mess and the necessary cleaning up. I won't lie, it is messy and the cleaning up gets pretty repetitive. So I make it as easy as I can. A wash of baby with a face washer, and a wipe of the high chair with the same washer. We have a plastic mat under the high chair where most of the food lands. I collect all pieces of food from the floor into the chook bucket [those girls do very well out of baby-led weaning] and give the floor a wipe. I have a stash of dedicated floor-cleaning rags for this job which I keep close at hand and which can be washed and re-used. I also use a citrus-infused vinegar cleaner in the clean up.

Relax.
Sometimes I catch myself during meal times and realise how tense I am through my entire body, waiting to catch a spoon that's been turfed or trying to prevent the spoon from being dropped or catch the last piece of broccoli before it hits the floor. Or make sure he's eaten enough, and not just playing and throwing food around. And then I have to remember to breathe. William is happiest and eats best when he's left to get on with it without too much interference. It can be hard to relax and trust the process, but then I stop and remind myself that it's all fun and experience at this stage. And the chooks will always eat what he doesn't. And it's only a mess, it can be cleaned up. And just allow him to do his thing. It's not always easy but I think it's worth it.

That's just a summary of some of the things I've learned to make this whole baby-led weaning thing easier. It is a very rewarding thing to do, I love watching him eating up by himself and improving his coordination and motor skills at the same time. Plus the inclusiveness aspect, whereby he eats what we eat, and we all sit at the table together. So lovely.

Oh, and one more tip. When you have a delicious morsel on your plate and you want to give it to baby [because you love your baby and you want the best for them, obviously], don't. Eat it instead. There's nothing like seeing that yummy delicious piece that you have forgone yourself, get turfed off the tray and onto the floor, without so much as a look at it. Best just eat it yourself.

Oh, and of course, use common sense and trust your judgement. I'm no expert, just a mum for whom these methods are working.