baby led weaning essentials Archives

5 Baby Led Weaning Tips For Success

OphiraLeave a commentDecember 21, 2021June 14, 2018

Read time: 7 minutes

Ever since I started this blog and wrote about our success with baby led weaning many moms have written to me asking for baby led weaning tips. Everyone wants to know what it is that we do at home that leads to a non-fussy eater at age 2.

Yes, baby led weaning plays a huge role in independence and confidence at the table from the very beginning. In fact I spoke about the many benefits of baby led weaning in a recent post.

But there were also things we did as parents that set him up for success.

I will share here my top 5 tips to baby led weaning success.

BABY LED WEANING TIPS FOR SUCCESS

Educate yourself

Before you start baby led weaning, educate yourself on the basics of infant nutrition. As parents, you should know which foods are rich in iron, calcium, protein. Which foods are easy for baby to digest?

Plan your family meals keeping in mind your baby’s need for a well-balanced meal. Read the previous post for baby led weaning ideas for first foods.

Just because its okay to give finger foods to baby led weaning babies does not mean you toss other infant nutrition advice out the window.

Many baby led weaning families modify their diets to a more balanced and clean eating one, in order to set an example for their children. In turn, you gain some new healthy eating habits yourself. It’s a win-win for all.

Offer a variety of fruits and veggies at meal time and expose the baby to a variety of textures and flavors of foods.

Research about the different allergenic foods and your own family history with these foods in order to avoid any last minute doctor visits.

Rules like no salt, sugar or honey before age 1 should be followed regardless of weaning styles. In short, in order to succeed at baby led weaning, do your research before you start the weaning process.

Prepare for the mess

No spoon feeding equals to a lot of mess. Prepare in advance. Buy crumb catching bibs, easy to clean high chairs and splash mats.

Carve out a routine for meal times, so it doesn’t end up becoming overwhelming for you to handle the mess.

Sometimes, well if I am honest, many a time you may need to give your child a mini shower after the meal. Food gets stuck in hair and behind the ears.

Once you go in mentally prepared for anything you are more relaxed and willing to continue on the baby led weaning route.

Non-choking foods

Personally, I didn’t risk it with any food that felt even a little hard when pressed between my fingers. The rule was offer foods that can be smushed between your thumb and forefinger.

Do not shove your finger in the babies mouth to place or remove any pieces. This can in fact cause choking. They need to move their own tongue and manage it.

Always check that baby is sitting upright when eating. I found it easier to keep straps off the high chair to facilitate quick movement in case I needed to pat him on the back.

Here is a list of foods that are considered a choking hazard.

Whole Nuts
Whole Seeds
Hard raw fruits (e.g. Apples and Pears)
Foods with thick peel (e.g. grapes, plums, tomatoes)
Popcorn
Chips
Lotus Seeds (e.g. Makhane)
Raw salad leaves
Big chunks of meat
Bony Fish

For a more detailed idea of what foods to avoid, I found this link by the New Zealand Ministry of Health very helpful.

It is also highly recommended you take an infant CPR class. Just so you can calm those anxious nerves.

There will be gagging and lots of it. But it’s important to note that this is a normal part of learning how to chew. When babies take a big bite of food the gag reflex helps protect them from choking and pushes food out.

You need to sit close and watch how your baby is managing. As long as baby is coughing and making sounds it’s a normal gag reflex. When choking the baby stops making sounds and may turn blue. Read here to understand choking signs in infants under 1.

Choking rarely happens in baby led weaning babies that are offered appropriate foods.

Parental modeling of good eating behavior

This is the key to success with baby led weaning. Sit with your baby at the table and model eating behaviors. Show them how you dip the patty in the sauce and then eat. How you mix the dal and rice with a spoon and feed yourself.

Your baby will learn how to eat correctly and even use cutlery just by observing you every day at the table. By 11 months of age, our son was eating his oat porridge with a spoon. We had great success with this mirroring technique.

Parental modeling shows how you enjoy different foods on the plate too, be it beans and rice or veggies. Your child sees you eat a variety of foods and this encourages him to try everything you try.

Many parents show great interest and give huge applause when their babies taste ice creams or chocolates the first time.

Why not try this technique of positive reinforcement with vegetables and other foods too. Applaud their efforts when they try a new food for the first time.

It all boils down to your own personal likes and dislikes when it comes to healthy eating. Your children are going to follow suit. They learn about foods from you. So let’s encourage healthy eating and participate as a family to make it long lasting.

Don’t stress

I was a fussy eater myself as a child, so I know first hand what effect parental stress can have on a child’s eating behavior. Relax, no baby is going to eat everything in the exact same quantity every time.

There will be days with no appetite, there will be days with no interest. Learn to go with the flow. This is one of the biggest baby led weaning tips I can give as an experienced mother.

The more you stress, the more you start to exert control and from there on it’s a never-ending battle with fussy eating.

It takes babies and toddlers up to 10 exposures to start enjoying a new flavor. So give them time to learn to like things on their plate. Don’t be in a rush to make them eat everything.

Trust me when I say this, the less you stress on the quantity of food your child eats, the more your child eats.

Even when baby led weaning babies enter their toddler years, understand common toddler eating problems and learn to tackle them skillfully.

These are the 5 baby led weaning tips that I can give you as an experienced mom. Like everything else in parenting, baby led weaning also requires patience and a relaxed attitude by the parent for true success.

Related reading : Baby led weaning ideas for lazy/buzy days

I hope this article helps calm your nerves as you start the process of baby led weaning. Are you an experienced baby led weaning mom, what points do you believe contributed to success with baby led weaning in your home? Drop me a line below.

Avanchy Bamboo Stay Put Suction Bowl And Divided Plate Review

Ophira4 CommentsJune 29, 2018January 3, 2018

Read time: 5 minutes

Avanchy bamboo wood suction bowl and plate

If there is one product I have been asked about repeatedly over and over again on the blog and my social media platforms its the Avanchy Bowl and Plate set. It’s time to give my honest review on the blog. I exclusively used this set ever since I started weaning my son on to solids, that’s a good 14 months of product use. So let’s begin.

Avanchy Bowl And Plate In India

Avanchy Baby Toddler Infant Feeding Bamboo Stay Put Suction Bowl

Avanchy Baby Toddler Feeding Bamboo Stay Put Suction Divided Plate

Company Claims And Features

Made of organic bamboo wood.
FDA approved food grade silicone suction base and spoon head material.
Comes in 6 attractive colors (blue, green, magenta, orange, yellow and pink).
The removable suction rubber piece easily attaches to the bottom of the serving plate and latches onto the tabletop with a gentle touch.
Unlike other baby food dishware, the suction plate grips the table and won’t be knocked around or flipped by little hands. The small vacuum relief lever is childproof, especially when aligned on the backside of the bowl, away from the child. With a gentle pull, adults can release the serving plate suction like magic!
Cannot be used in the microwave or dishwasher.
Can be used to serve hot foods.

New products and features released by the brand in the US not yet available in India

Black colored baby bowl and divided plate.
A larger sized toddler divided plate.
Stainless steel bowl.

Review of Avanchy Bamboo Stay Put Suction Bowl And Divided Plate

If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I am passionate about researching and buying natural, organic and eco-friendly products for home and baby. I spent months researching different brands of baby food dishes and bottles for my son. I wanted baby dishes in bamboo wood along with a suction base because we were planning on going the baby led weaning route. A suction base helps contain the mess and bamboo wood is non-toxic and eco-friendly.

At the time Avanchy and other similar companies were not available in India and I ordered this product with a relative returning from the US.

Currently, Avanchy is available in India on Amazon.in and Flipkart.

Since most foods in baby led weaning are finger sized, I didn’t need the bowl or plate initially. I would just place the food on the high chair tray. In time I started offering porridge in the bowl. My son could use it easily and now as a toddler asks for his Avanchy plate and bowl at every meal.

Features that I am impressed with as a mom

In the initial days when babies aren’t very adept with their self-feeding skills, I found the spoon to be a great size to perfectly scoop out thick porridge and not have it slip in the process of self-feeding.

The spoon head is made of food grade silicone material that doesn’t hurt those soft baby gums. In fact, we used the spoon as a teether too!!

The suction base is quite strong compared to a few other bowls I tried. A baby less than a year old cannot move the bowl. Also, it comes with an easy to remove vacuum relief lever. This helps to quickly remove the bowl from the tray once the child is done eating.

I keep the lever away from my son on the opposite side when placing the bowl on the tray. That said he figured how to unlatch the bowl by 14 months of age. Again, by that age I was not that worried about suction base working, it’s purpose was more for the beginning stages of baby led weaning in order to practice his eating with. At the toddler stage, we don’t use the suction base that often anymore.

The fact that it is made of natural bamboo wood made me feel relaxed as a mom. No worries about chemicals leaching out into food.

Care instructions for Avanchy Bowl and plate set

The company clearly mentions that you cannot put this bowl and plate set in the dishwasher or microwave.

You need to be careful about how you use it. I read reviews online by people complaining about cracks developing in the bowl, but we didn’t face this problem until after a year of daily use.

For cleaning, I use gentle dishwashing soaps and hand wash it each time. It’s also important to dry it thoroughly. As moisture accumulating on the wood especially at the base can cause the wood to rot and develop black stains. To take care of this problem I regularly dismantle the bowl and suction base parts wash the base clear of the black stains with a brush and leave it to dry.

The first bowl we bought developed a crack after more than a year of use. That was fine by me since we used it a lot in that first year. We are now using a divided infant plate for complete meals and a second bowl for porridge and soup etc.

As my son grows I feel the need to buy a bigger sized toddler plate for him. Also looking forward to trying out the newly launched steel bowl.

All in all my recommendation for the many moms who have asked me questions about this brand is to Go For It! If you are focussed on staying away from toxic plastic material dishes, then Avanchy is your answer!

This blogpost contains affiliate links. These links provide me with a small percentage commission but don’t cost you anything extra.

Reasons Why You Need To Let Your Child Get Messy Eating

Ophira49 CommentsMarch 25, 2022October 20, 2017

Read time: 7 minutes

We have all seen numerous pictures on social media of messy eating babies with food smeared all over their faces and hands. While these pictures get an “awww” reaction out of us, the parents have a hard time cleaning up these messes.
I know many mothers cringe at the thought of offering potentially messy food to their little ones, fearing the aftermath. But let me put forth my case as to why it’s ok to let your baby make a mess while eating. So the next time you see your little one flinging yogurt across the room or dropping yet another bowl of food from the high chair, you know you are actually helping his/her development in some way.

AZ Tuckerbox sent me the new Burp ‘N Drool Tuckerbox, but the opinions expressed in this article are my own.

Benefits of Messy Eating

Messy eating promotes language development

A recent study shows the influence that the context of everyday activities such as mealtimes has on children’s exploration, attention and word learning. When young children messily eat and explore food at each meal, they are learning both about individual foods and also about non solid substances. This aids in early word learning and language development.

This higher vocabulary generally correlates with a better executive function which means better ability to apply rules to situations and control behavior appropriately.

Messy eating leads to greater acceptance of food

A Reuters article highlighted a study that showed there may be an association between getting children to play with messy substances helping their food acceptance. The researchers suggested that playing with food may actually help kids overcome a fear of new flavors and eat a more varied diet.

The takeaway here is that as parents we need to approach eating as a hands-off approach, allowing our children to explore, touch and feel their food. This quenches their thirst for exploration and curiosity and generates a more positive association with the food they eat.

Messy eating promotes the development of gross motor skills and fine motor skills

From learning gross motor skills like sitting upright at the table to fine motor skills like managing to scoop up a spoonful of soup and bringing to mouth, all these skills involve getting messy in some way. So let them make a mess and learn along the way. You can guide them on how to sit at the table and use their forks and spoons. Then let them go ahead and experiment and use those muscles in their hands to become skilled at eating. Learning to use the spoon and fork is a key skill to becoming less messier eater down the road. Also, these skills are transferable to when they learn to write and color. Once they know how to eat with spoon and fork they are quick to learn how to hold color pencils and crayons correctly too.

Messy eating is a form of sensory play

Children eat their food with both hands, squishing at peas, smearing the soup across the table, licking it off their fingers, then going back to dipping their fingers in the soup for some more smearing.

While all this looks messy, what is happening at the brain level is something amazing. They are getting feedback from their food about different textures, volumes, and differentiation between solid foods and non solid foods. Learning about food through this type of sensory play is an exercise in exploration, curiosity and self feeding which ultimately helps build a positive environment around the food they eat.

Some foods are hot, some cold, some are sticky, some are smooth, some liquid and some hard to touch. Imagine the excitement they experience on using their senses to discover new flavors and textures of foods.

Read here to learn more about the importance of sensory play in child development.

Messy eating promotes independent eating

As I just mentioned in the point above getting messy while eating helps their curiosity which in turn promotes self feeding. Once they have touched and tasted the food, the sense of achievement they feel every time they can guide the spoon skilfully from bowl to their mouths is something else.

Okay, now these were some of the benefits of allowing children to get messy eating at the table. But you must be thinking, it’s easy for you to say so, I am the one cleaning up after every meal.

I have been there! being a baby led weaning mom. Mess is a part of every meal time for us. Along the way, I have come up with a few strategies to reduce the mess. Let me tell you all about them.

Tips to reduce the mess

Serve finger foods whenever possible. Pancakes, oats fingers, fruits are easy finger foods to offer a baby. Also reduces the number of messes to clean later.
Make a thicker version of oats and dals that don’t slide off the spoon easily. This helps them get good at scooping up the food in their spoons and aids initial learning of self feeding with spoons. Once they become skilled at it you can move on to smoother and thinner textures of liquid food.
Lay a splash mat or newspapers on the floor. This catches most of the messes and reduces half the workload.
Keep a spray bottle with natural cleaner or water at hand. Helps to wipe down the high chair easily.
Use highchair and booster seats that are made of easy to clean materials. I highly recommend, Chicco Pocket Lunch Highchair especially because it has a large tray that helps limit the messes to the table and Fisher-Price Quick Clean N’ Go Booster because it is made of easy to clean materials, lightweight and comes with a travel-friendly strap.
Use bowls and plates with a suction base to minimize messes. Those who follow me on Instagram know how much I love my Avanchy bowl and plate set. This set is made of bamboo wood and comes with a silicone suction base. A boon for baby led weaning families.
A new product I love is the AZ Tuckerbox bib and burp cloth set. The bibs help catch any messes my toddler makes when he eats. They come in stylish patterns and colors. I find them great to use especially when we travel outside, as they look like a part of his outfit and not like I put him in some sort of contraption and help with keeping his outfit clean.

The Burp ‘N Drool Tuckerbox also comes with a burp cloth that is nice and big in size, easy to carry in the diaper bag and use it for cleaning those messy fingers on the go. The material used is soft cotton and washes well too. AZ Tuckerbox curates cool subscription boxes right from newborn stage to older kids and now moms too. Be sure to check them out, its a one of a kind unique service available to Indian mothers.

So go ahead let your little ones make some messes as they eat. Rest assured they are learning some great things along the way.

AZ Tuckerbox was kind enough to send me the new Burp ‘N Drool Tuckerbox, but the opinions expressed in this article are my own.

This blog post contains affiliate links. These links provide me with a small percentage commission but don’t cost you anything extra.

Baby Led Weaning Guide For Indian Mothers

Ophira20 CommentsSeptember 3, 2021June 15, 2017

Read time: 10 minutes

Baby led weaning child holding a bowl of food

I stumbled upon baby led weaning when my son was 4 months old. Being a rather unfamiliar method of weaning in India; the literature was sparse in the Indian context. In this post I’ll address some of the concerns Indian moms might have regarding first foods, choking, appropriate gear for baby led weaning, nutrition and much more. Let this post be your baby led weaning guide.

WHY DID I WANT TO START WEANING THE BABY LED WAY?

As a child, I was a fussy eater and know firsthand how much I hated being cajoled into eating. This became the primary reason why I wanted my son to be in control of how much he wanted to eat.

So,

What is Baby Led Weaning?

Baby led weaning is a method of weaning where the baby is allowed to explore his/her food and self-feed from the age of 6 months. The baby controls how much he/she eats, dines with family and eats what the family eats.

The method seemed perfect in my setup – a nuclear family with a traveling husband. It would cut down on special food preparations and the idea of my kid becoming an independent eater was very appealing.

On a side note – I hold nothing against traditional weaning as long as your child isn’t force-fed and his/her hunger limits are respected. I believe that a basic respect of child’s hunger cues is more important than the ongoing debate on the internet about pros and cons of traditional weaning versus baby led weaning.

Now, let’s address the two elephants in the room:

Choking

Choking is by far the biggest concern for any parent. It is important to note that a baby’s gag reflex is in the front of the mouth which prevents them from choking on food. Babies gag when they are not ready to swallow a big chunk of food.

When a baby chokes their entire airway is blocked, they go silent and may change color in face. Whereas in gagging they cough and look uncomfortable. Make sure never to offer high risk choking foods. Check that every food offered is soft enough to turn to mush between your thumb and forefinger.

A September 2016 study published in the Journal of Pediatrics found that baby-led weaning did not cause more choking than traditional spoon-feeding. (Fangupo et al., 2016).

I have provided an exhaustive list of foods that should be avoided below.

It is very important to understand the difference between choking and gagging. I found this article very helpful in understanding the difference between the two.

Iron rich foods for Baby led weaning

Iron becomes a hot topic of discussion in baby led weaning groups. Breastmilk stores of iron start to drop post 6 months, therefore, it is important to incorporate iron rich foods into your baby’s diet.

Examples of iron rich foods for baby led weaning are Cereals, lentils, legumes, chicken, red meat, egg yolk. Check this post for more detailed ideas about iron rich foods for baby led weaning.

And always remember, if you have concerns about any specific nutrient deficiency you must consult your pediatrician and get blood work done.

What are the first foods for Baby Led Weaning?

As a guideline, cut all foods in long strips so it’s easier for baby to grasp in their tiny palms. Here are a few examples of foods to offer a 6 to 9-month-old:

Ripened: Banana, Papaya, Mango, Sapota (Chikoo), Muskmelon, Avocado;
Steamed: Apple, Pear, Pumpkin, Cauliflower & Brocolli Florets, Idli;
Boiled: Dal, Potato, Sweet Potato, Egg Yolk
Cooked: Chicken Liver, Oats, Ragi & Oats Pancake, Scrambled Egg Yolk.

Around 9-10-month-old babies get better at eating due to development of pincer grasp. This is a good time to offer family food in sizes appropriate for pincer grasp.

Always start weaning by introducing one new food at a time and trying it for 3-5 days depending on allergy history of that food in your family.

Choking risk foods

I steered clear from offering any hard raw fruits like apples, pears, grapes etc. for more than a year of baby’s life. Also, I didn’t feel comfortable offering steamed carrots as they always felt to be not soft enough.

It is best to avoid,

Whole Nuts
Whole Seeds
Hard raw fruits (e.g. Apples and Pears)
Foods with thick peel (e.g. grapes, plums, tomatoes)
Popcorn
Chips
Lotus Seeds (e.g. Makhane)
Raw salad leaves
Big chunks of meat
Bony Fish

For a more detailed idea of what foods to avoid, I found this link by the New Zealand Ministry of Health very helpful. (Ministry of Health NZ, 2012)

Baby Led Weaning Essentials

High chair:

One that is easy to clean. Expect a lot of mess with baby led weaning. So it’s best to have an easy to manage chair.
- I would recommend the Chicco Pocket Lunch High chair. We used this from the beginning of our BLW journey. It is easy to clean by spraying some water and wiping off. Once a week I pull out the cover and wash under hot water with some soap. The chair comes with a large tray so a lot of the mess stays on the tray itself.
- Another very popular option is the Ikea Antilop High chair. You can find similar designs to the Ikea Antilop in the Indian market on all the leading retail websites.

Booster chairs:
- I recommend Fisher Price Quick Clean N’ Go Booster. It’s cheap, lightweight, easy to clean, comes with a shoulder strap and has a built-in wipes compartment. This makes this booster the ideal travel companion. Amazon always runs deals on this booster.
- My second recommendation is Mastela Deluxe Comfort Folding Booster Seat . It’s also easy to clean and lightweight. Additionally, it has a two-level height adjustment which can be used for older toddlers (up to 30 months of age). The only con is that it doesn’t come with a shoulder strap so it’s inconvenient to use for travel.

A plastic spray bottle:
- To clean any leftover messes on the chair. Fill it with water and white vinegar (Ratio 3:1) or use an all-purpose disinfectant like Chicco Multipurpose Disinfectant.

Feeding plates:
- Buy plates and bowls with a suction bottom. Babies end up throwing the bowl on the floor and suction bottom is a real effort saver. These bowl and plate sets by Avanchy are very sturdy, made of bamboo wood with silicon headed spoons. The spoon is wonderful for those soft gums and also double up as a teether. To know about our experience using this set head to my post on Avanchy bowl and plate review.

Cups:
- There are varied types of cups available in the market. There will be a lot of trial and error and you have to figure out which one works best for your baby.
- My recommendations are; 1) Regular stainless steel cup: works from 6 months up, 2) Philips Avent Classic Soft Spout: 6-12 months, 3) Philips Avent Straw cup: 12 months up.
- For a more detailed review of available Sippy cups in India read this post of mine.

Crumb catching bibs:
- I absolutely love the Chicco Soft Bib With Crumbcatcher. It’s perfect for baby led weaning. We have two of these.

Other Points To Consider

One of the basic tenants of baby led weaning – “The baby eats what the family eats” is not without its caveats because not all families follow healthy diets. The food offered to the baby maybe heavily processed, devoid of nutrition and high in sodium. Parents need to be aware of their children’s nutritional needs and plan healthier family meals.

Most family foods can be modified for your baby by cutting out salt, sugar and reducing spice. An easy alternative is to steam the vegetables separately if you are making a spicy version for yourself.

Also baby requires more fat than adults; if your household follows a low-fat diet then consider adding a side of grated coconut chutney, ghee on chapattis/dal/rice or avocados just for baby.

A 6 to 9-month-old baby is still mastering the pincer grasp making it difficult to properly eat a typical Indian meal. Start out with finger food versions of family meals and slowly ease into a complete family meal as the pincer grasp improves.

Another point that comes up repeatedly is, explaining baby led weaning to the extended Indian family. Here you may have to hold your ground more than a few times. Once non-consenters see the baby eat on their own, they too are proud. Stay patient, its best not to get stressed. Ultimately only the parents are the best judge of what suits them and their baby.

Our Experience With Baby Led Weaning

The idea of a self-feeding baby always appealed to me. There are videos online of 6 to 7-month-old babies eating big chunks of meat off the bone, while its quite an attention getter – I wanted to proceed more gently.

What I loved about our experience with baby led weaning was the freedom from elaborate meal making for me and independence it offered my child from the onset. We introduced him to a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in the first year. And it is amazing watching just how quickly our little humans pick up all the skills. Baby led weaning and “no pressure tactics at the table” allowed him to be a great eater and a happier child.

To sum it up

Feeding your child should focus on sharing in the joy of eating healthy and nutrient-rich foods. Don’t worry too much about the rules!
If your baby is having a difficult time with baby led weaning you can always try pre-loaded spoons or switch to traditional weaning.

Whatever ways you choose to wean you need to be respectful of your baby’s hunger. If they squirm and move their head side to side, spitting out what you feed, stop the session. Try again later. An unhappy baby at the table will never learn to associate food time with positive interactions. You have to be patient and let your child lead.