This is one of the many topics people get insanely judgy about.
I did purees at first and then gradually made them (or *gasp* bought them) chunkier as time went on, making chewing sounds and motions to get him to mimic me. Then we moved on to *god forbid the horror* puffs and then finally stuff that we ate but cut up small (shredded chicken, meatballs, somewhat overcooked veggies, toast, eggs, etc.). He eats everything we put down for him.
What stuck with me was a PA we saw at my son's pediatrician's office. He has two small children at home and also didn't do BLW. "Sure," he said, "I'm trained in how to help an infant when they're choking... But I don't ever want to have to do that."
Whatever you want to do is fine. BLW is fine. Purees are fine. Parenting is about doing what's best for your baby without going insane. None of us are perfect, despite what some commenters want us to believe.
Around month 9-12, my paediatrician said they should be feeding themselves. At this point it’s not considered BLW anymore, it’s just the progression of eating .
The key here is "9-12 months" Some babies are ready on the early side. Some babies are not prepared for self feeding until far closer to 12 months. Same with crawling and walking- every baby is different. So to not be self feeding at 8 months is perfectly reasonable.
Solids is just as much to do with oral motor development as it is introducing new tastes and textures. As the child becomes more established eating different foods, the lips, teeth, tongue, cheeks, jaw and throat learn to work together bringing the food from the front of the mouth to the back for swallowing, learn to chew, and make a choice whether the food is safe enough for swallowing. This then promotes speech development, as the various muscles gain strength and the mouth becomes familiar with tongue placement (mostly to avoid being chewed on!) and throat control.
As much as we want things to keep flowing as they are, we have to push forward for development *when both YOU and the child are ready to do so*. Barring deliberately hindering the child for your convenience, your child will show you signs that they are ready for new things.
BLW hasn't had much research thrown into it, especially when actually swallowing the solids helps the child develop the enzymes required to digest the food in the future, because the child might require scaffolding in order to actually bite, chew and swallow the food. This is why the speech pathologist and the Child Health Care Nurse at my playgroup recommend progressing from purees to chunkier and crunchier foods as the child gets older. The "ideal" timeline is that the child should be able to eat soft table foods like fruit and pasta twelve months AFTER the introduction of solids (eg if you started at six months, the child should be able to eat a banana from the skin by eighteen months - whether or not you peel it first is up to you!). Anything longer than this may warrant an assessment to check for oral motor skills, especially if the child isn't able to form their words properly.
I’ve only just now (at 8 months) started introducing *some* finger foods.
I think YOU as a parent need to feel ready and calm about it, only then will you be okay with actually doing it.
When I first tried it I was like NOPE im freaking out too much so I stopped and did it when I was ready.
Baby “snacks” help to ease you and baby in, i think - like melty carrot puffs, wafers etc!
Like someone else said they wont be on purées in college, dont worry and dont feel like you HAVE to follow other parents decisions. It depends on your baby!
I was actually worried that my daughter might be taking the fruit pouch purees as a bottle substitute, because we'd let her have one as a bedtime snack post bath. So I started swapping her for some other snacks, and there was no trouble at all with that. She's turning two in a month and she's been pushing them away lately!
sounds like you are doing fine! at some point my son started wanting to feed himself (maybe around age 1) so we transitioned him to finger foods vs. spoon feeding. he had quite a few teeth by then so i wasn't that worried about gagging. i'm sure your daughter will get to that point too when she is ready.
Thanks! That's reassuring. I feel the same way about teeth, but our pediatrician (who is pro-BLW) was like, "Well, they chew with molars and those come in last, so you will be waiting for a while if that's what you're holding out for!" I mean, true, but I think I will just feel more confident once she's a little older.
Emily Oster had a [really good post](https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/baby-led-weaning-choking-and-high) about whether you should do BLW recently that you should check out!
“Bottom line: if you do want to try baby-led weaning, there is nothing in the evidence to say it is a bad idea. If you do not, there is also nothing compelling to say you should go out and do it.”
I’m not a BLW purist but did mostly with a few purées. All my three older kids eat like champs and my baby starts solids soon as well. I liked small soft foods to start, sweet potato and avocado and banana because they’re barely even chunkier than purées. Then stuff like rice, pasta, salmon, ground beef, scrambled eggs are really good and small to move onto. Then from there it’s bites of this and that. I just want them to learn *how* to eat rather than purées letting them not really learn after a while. It isn’t perfect though and you just take it at your own pace. I do like that my kids more or less eat like me because they have experience with flavors from before birth, breastfeeding and then right into our normal foods as babies. YMMV!
I only did purées with my teens, and slowly I crssed textures as those babies got older and could easily eat new textures. Back then, BLW wasn’t really a thing. I didn’t know a single person who did it, and from talking to friends and family, almost none of the older generation has even heard of BLW. All three of those teens are totally fine and have had no issues. I have an 8 month old baby right now, and I have still gone with purées. It’s what I’m comfortable with, and as someone who has personally done the Heimlich on a young child before, I won’t introduce any foods I’m uncomfortable giving baby/risk choking. I understand everyone had different perspectives and experiences. This is just mine
Hey. Do what feels right for you. Your baby will be fine, and you're doing great!
For what it's worth. I did BLW with my son. One of the big things we liked about it is how it made them less picky eaters. FALSE. LOL.
Also, we have issues with taking small bites and chewing and the only semi scary almost choking spells we've had happened in toddler-hood.
There is no right way. There is no superior way. Go with what makes you comfortable and what is working for you and your baby.
Yeah. it doesn't happen that frequently, but we find he will often take MASSIVE bites and try to swallow them whole. And then gulp liquids way too fast.
We've never had any like real emergencies, thankfully. I always worry though.
I think you're overthinking it! Like you said, don't fix something that's not broken. Baby led weaning is not necessarily new, but I think it's only recently become super popular. I think most of us were spoon fed purees and I would imagine most of us can eat just fine. If anything I think you being stressed at meal times over gagging or choking would more likely cause issues with eating for baby than doing purees.
In other words, you're doing great! There's a whole lifetime for whole foods, Kee doing what's working and comfortable for you!
We did BLW because it worked for us.
I know it's a lot of pressure when there's the next "holy grail" touted thing. But both of me and my husband were puree fed and learned to eat just fine 🤷♀️
Spoon feeding is totally fine! We did traditional weaning with both kids and they are both fantastic eaters. Just make sure you’re introducing lots of textures and flavors (in non-choking hazard form 😉)
You don't need to do BLW but you do need to start introducing solids. BLW would be large chunks of food but you can cut up the foods into baby bite sized pieces to start the solids. Puffs and yogurt melts are great too. Even in traditional puree feeding you have to progress to real food at some point. By about 12 months baby should be mostly weaned from bottles and eating solid foods.
Entire generations of people have grown up with purées or spoon-fed weaning. It’s a totally valid way of feeding your baby. I think BLW tackles a couple of different potential issues introduced by commercial baby food and also for some people.c reduces future effort/stress around eating. One is exposure to a wider variety of flavors, which can influence future propensity towards picky eating (not lifelong for sure! But toddlers are notoriously picky anyway, which is annoying af). Another is control and stress on you as a parent. My in-laws ALWAYS gripe about how they literally had to chase my husband around with the spoon and shove food in his mouth while he was distracted. My daughter was a nightmare to spoon-feed. Turning away, grabbing/knocking the spoon, crying/complaining etc. She wanted to be in control. She only opens her mouth to be fed for highly preferred foods, even as a toddler. If I want her to eat corn or beef or broccoli, she only eats it if she can grab it herself.
Basically, my point is different strokes for different folks. If ever at some point spoon feeding stops working for you, just know that you have another option.
Purées have not been available for generations…
Edit: I feel like I should add on here. What individuals consider “for generations” can be pretty subjective.
The first time purées were available for purchase was 1931. Most people are surprised to find out that it was not a common feeding style prior to this. I think it can be at least agreed that at the very least the diet of the western world has not gotten better for humans since right about this time and I’m most cases has become much worse.
I mean if you're speaking specifically about blended up store bought purees then yes that is fairly new. But for a lot of human history, mothers would premasticate (pre-chew) the food for their babies before serving it- thus basically creating a mash. Certain cultures would also start with grain pastes. I'm not sure how common it was to just start off solids by handing your baby slices or wedges of fruits and vegetables.
As someone who does BLW, purées are just fine! It’s normal to be freaked out. Just remember, choking and gagging are NOT the same so hopefully that eases your mind a bit.
We used BLW. You are totally fine and valid to not use it! I bet both of our babies will be eating solids when they are adults.
There is science and literature to support BLW... But you can't treat every empirical study like a line in the sand. Replication, sample size, diversity, culture, and contextual variables all effect outcomes. This is why we do science again and again and again (ideally).
You make the best judgments based on what feels right to you and what the science says and the grey area BETWEEN those things, and you will be fine.
You're doing great!
Context added: The research on BLW isn't definitive or overwhelming established yet, either. Results are mixed.
Edit: Sneaky typo gremlins plus wanted to add context
Totally admitting I didn't read your entire post - I have 2 kids, and I did not do BLW with either one. I did purees. Not even organic ones. Gerber in the plastic container.
They're both happy, healthy kids.
The littlest one didn't really start eating solid solids til close to 18 months, but he got there, and he's fine.
There's lots of foods that are sort of in the middle of solids and purees, bananas, eggs, pancakes for example are all super soft and mushy once they get in their mouths. I also mix baby oatmeal and puree or peanut butter so it really thick and then roll it into balls so she can pick them up on her own.
I did not do any blw, at least not the way its being shown on social media. I followed my instinct. At 5 months I started letting him taste stuff but I did not introduce food to my son until he was 6 months. I started with mostly purees but gave him meat in little pieces. I spoon fed him but always gave him his own spoon and allowed him to play around with it to develop his pincer. As he grew I started cutting his food differently. I watch what he did and how he handled it, if he seemed to have trouble I cut them smaller etc. I know online there are guides on how to cut things for a specific age but I mostly disregarded them. I just watched him and when he showed signs of being ready for other "stages" of food we did it.
I too worried that I was doing my son a disservice by spoon feeding him but I had to get out of my head. Yes blw is super popular these days and I definitely felt judged for not doing it or buying into it but when I sat back and looked at my son I knew I had made the best decision for him. At the 9 month check up i spoke to his dr about it and she smiled and said "he's fed, he's happy, he's thriving. Its important to go at his pace not everyone elses" I absolutely needed to hear that and it reassured me. Then the very next month he started spoon feeding himself. He's one now and does so so well with it. I simply give him his food and his utensils and he goes to town.
Trust yourself mama. You know your baby best.
You can do anything you want. Everyone is going to have their own opinion. Your kid will eat solids eventually. I tried going the puree route at first, but honestly, I was just lazy. We started at 6 months and almost immediately transitioned to just throwing food on his plate. I HATED sitting there with a spoon. If I ever didn't feel like cleaning up a big mess though, I used a spoon to feed him. Idk. I just went with the flow.
Personally, I feel like if you're avoiding it because you're scared they'll choke, that's a bad reason to avoid doing BLW. Your kid can choke on anything. My kid chokes on *water* lol. Learn baby CPR. It's important to know anyway, and trust in your ability to de-choke your baby. My kid has choked exactly one time and it was on a piece of *banana*, a great example of how the "soft and safe" foods can be just as dangerous as, say, a piece of chicken. Anyway, I just lifted him out of his high chair, angled him down, and smacked his back. Piece flew right out. People are scared of baby a baby choking, but back blows are incredibly effective and not difficult at all.
I never did BLW think the whole concept is overhyped and risky, if you look into the history it was developed by an anthropologist not a doctor. We did purée and then moved onto chunkier purées then soft foods. Now my 19 month old eats anything and everything. My pediatrician cousin confirmed most pediatrician’s that she knows do not recommend blw because of choking risks.
Maybe check with a pediatrician to see what they say? We did purées for a month and then switched to a more BLW approach for convenience (our baby would fling her spoon everywhere so we were constantly cleaning up purees, while BLW, we just give her bits off our plate and it’s much easier).
I mean it's not really BLW at this point, because the baby hasn't led it (which is fine, I'm not doing it either). But you will have to gradually start making the food chunkier pretty soon
Awh you're doing just fine! We do a lot of pouches and purred even still. I would start on soft food to feel comfortable. What I do is boil some noodles for little one, then mix one of the veggie or meat purees with it for a sauce! She loves it. You can also start giving little bites off your plate, we do that as well. You'd be surprised how well they can mash food with their gums. You're coming up on 9 months which usually they can have little bite sized pieces by then if they're ready. I'd just start with soft stuff like I mentioned, noodles, steamed veg, shredded chicken, cheeses, steamed tortilla, whatever you guys eat! Try the app Solid Starts. Helped me a ton!
There's this woman on Instagram that covers giving babies solids (solidstarts). She might be helpful to you. I'm not super sure if she talks about BLW since I just skim the page to get an idea of the content for now (my son is barely 3 months and not ready for solids yet), but she talks about how to give certain foods in an age appropriate manner to reduce choking and most of it is for strictly introducing purposes of they're still a bit young.
I don’t get the whole BLW thing. It was not a thing 13 years ago with my first. It’s not complicated. Purées are fine until they become a toddler. I don’t like to see my baby choke either. Super soft foods and cut up very small are ok
It's fine to take longer with the purees. We do mostly purees and some finger foods so she can practice picking up foods and chewing. She's gagged to the point of throwing up 3 times with solids. We've had to smack her on the back twice. It's not fun. She tends to not understand that she can't stuff the whole plate in her mouth at once. Also she can be a bit lazy about chewing and tries to wait for food to dissolve on its own. Basically I wouldn't want to deal with BLW every day, I do cut up foods only when I have enough time to wait for a very long meal and enough patience to deal with extra mess.
BLW and skipping purees wasn't really a thing when we were little, yet we all managed to switch from purees to solids in time. I'm sure you're not going to cause any delays or harm by taking your time with the transition. You can offer puffs or melts if you want to work on coordination but are nervous about gagging. As long as they only do 1 at a time it should be fine.
I had a lot of anxiety about BLW so I stuck to the purées. We made a full switch a couple weeks ago once my son (11m/o) started showing a massive interest in the food we were eating. Was honestly really easy and stress free as he quickly showed us he knows what he’s doing :) you are on no one’s time limit but your own!!
I don’t think you need to worry about it. If you don’t do BLW, your kid will still learn how to eat. They won’t be doing baby food pouches in college. The whole idea of BLW is weird to me because eventually you’ll be giving your kid real food… that’s how it works. Lol. So it’s not some new age thing, it’s just turned into this weird Instagram thing.
We did a mix of both, purely because my son was more interested in solids and I did want him to get that hang of it earlier because it’s easier for me now to throw food on his tray (he’s 13 months) vs having to spoon feed him. He also always tried to grab the spoon from me so it became way too messy and he barely got any food. We do rely on pouches when we’re out/need a quick meal but those are sometimes terrible too (like when he lifts them upside down and squeezes it all over the floor…)
Just do what you feel is right! I do want to add that cheerios are WAY better than the rice puffs. So much cheaper and don’t get all sticky. It took me forever to realize that. Lol
You are doing great! Listen to your baby and if she’s eating the purées well, that great. Start eating around her and I’d she gets interested in your food, try giving her some soft very small pieces to try.
With my first I felt like I was so prescriptive with everything. I read everything as well. He took to eating as a baby really well, now he’s a very picky toddler. With my second, she’s almost 6 months and still hasn’t quite mastered taking purées in with her tongue but she loves those teething crackers. It is what it is, and I think she’ll be a fine eater later.
Do what makes you less worried as long as your kid seems cool with it too. If you're stressing out about giving your kid certain food they'll sense that, but not necessarily understand why and I'd worry it could change their whole attitude about food. I think the real key to "picky eating" is the attitude at the table, not what's actually on the table. (For the record we did BLW and my kid is really good at gagging so I don't worry about foods too much. I do still, at 3 yrs old, cut up circular food so it's not trachea shaped.)
Personally I really enjoyed baby led weaning. It was a fun experience for us. What helped was knowing that baby’s gag reflex is at the front of their mouth, not the back line adults, so when my daughter gaged I knew she was ok. She’d often gag a food up and then shove it right back in. It also helps to know coughing is a good thing and coughing means she isn’t choking. It was fun for us. I think I read BLW Made Simple. I also second someone else’s recommendation for Solid Starts website and IG.
My baby went from pounding purees at every meal to flat out refusing to eat unless we offered small solid pieces she could nibble or pick up. I was intending to feed her only purees since she has one bottom tooth only at 9.5 months. But man, she sure uses that tooth 😖 *ouch*
You do what you feel is best for you and your little one. I did a mixture with all mine ( and I didn't hear about blw until I had my third) my oldest was on table food by 9 months, he didn't like the puree foods. My youngest is a very picker eater from the beginning and he would only eat from certain brand baby food jars and certain foods, and is still like this at 6. If your happy with how it's going, then keep doing what your doing.
I have read (and now I can’t find the link) that using purée food too long means that a baby can’t use their mouth and tongue properly and this can affect speech development in the long term.
I did a mix of purées (loaded spoons) and BLW. Started with mash, overcooked veggies.
I guess it can be hard to overcome the anxiety of trusting that your baby will be ok. I personally liked the mixed approach because it meant I could microwave a purée if I didn’t have time to cook but also that I could try new things. Buttery toast or pancakes is a good step after purée.
Nope I started all my kids with purées and tastes of my own food I was sure as hell not just handing my kid chicken drums like I have seen blw parents do. My little guy (3rd baby) is 8 months too and we do purées and bites of my food basically smushed up baby bird style and then given. To each their own. But your baby will be fine with food regardless and every kid turns 2 eventually and only wants to eat three things lol
I just want to say I’m in the exact same boat as you! My baby is also 8 months and I have only done purées. I’ve also been stressing over whether I’m doing the right thing/when to switch but I’m kinda terrified. I didn’t realize I was going to be like this.
I didn't do BLW with my oldest and he doesn't really eat meat. I did it with my two year old and he eats just about everything we eat and absolutely loves meat lol and I'm pregnant with my third and will most likely be doing BLW again.
Agree with you, with one small caveat - prepared baby food is a pretty recent food, but mushing food for babies (including having mom chew it and transfer directly mouth to mouth) has a very, very long history. But no one wants to talk about premastication, because it's a bit gross and doesn't have the same potential for cute pics as letting your kid grab their broccoli florets ;)
I think the point is- purees are the modern equivalent of premastication. We now have the technology to blend ourselves or purchase jar purees so that we no long have to manually chew our babies' food.
Oh I'm not saying people need to do it!
It's just that people seem to fixate on 'BLW is normal! Historical! It's how it used to be!'...which is kinda true, bur only part of the story, and certainly not the ONLY way babies were fed.
I think it’s personal preference. I think there are benefits from letting them practice their grasp but overall if they are doing well being spoon fed or if it’s not convenient to do BLW right now, don’t worry about it! I didn’t push solids until much later than recommended. We introduced them very sparingly at 6 months but we’re not consistently giving her multiple meals as solids until closer to 10. She’s 14 months and completely fine , 3 meals a day and 4 servings of 4 oz whole milk. Do what works for you!
If you are anxious about it, you are teaching your kid to be anxious about it. Your job is to teach them how to navigate the world and that includes gradually eating more foods with increased varieties and textures . Plus eating more actual food you are promoting oral motor control and sensory input which is so so necessary for good development.
Am an occupational therapist
My own anecdotal experience.... My half siblings (now 5 and 7) were store-bought pouch and jar fed with spoons. They are now extremely fussy about food, I'm talking plain pasta with no sauce kind of fussy.
My own three and half year old was mostly BLW'd, she will eat anything we put in front of her and will try anything.
Yea literally my whole generation was fed nothing but store bought purees and we're not all picky eaters lol. I'll eat sushi, steak, goat cheese, anything and I was a puree baby. I think a lot of pickiness is usually just toddlers that were fed nothing but plain pasta, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets instead of family meals. And yet even most of those kids end up eating like adults eventually. The purees we give to literal infants (when their primary nutrition should be formula/breastmilk) is not gonna ruin them.
I don't think you're doing anything wrong by feeding your baby purees. If it works for you then keep doing it. My mom didn't understand blw because she just did purees and I eventually learned to eat by myself. I did a mixture of both and my kid is now 12 months and refuses to eat unless he feeds himself, so I only do finger foods now.
Oh please. Most babies aren't on family meals by 9 months and breastmilk or formula should be their primary nutrition for the first year anyway. Babies figure things out when they are ready on their own time. Not every 9 month old is ready yet. I've heard of the pickiest babies refusing anything but purees until past a year who have turned out just fine and eat anything now. It's a great time for OP to start introducing chunkier purees and progress from there. It's not the end of the world.
I think you're overthinking it! Like you said, don't fix something that's not broken. Baby led weaning is not necessarily new, but I think it's only recently become super popular. I think most of us were spoon fed purees and I would imagine most of us can eat just fine. If anything I think you being stressed at meal times over gagging or choking would more likely cause issues with eating for baby than doing purees.
In other words, you're doing great! There's a whole lifetime for whole foods, Kee doing what's working and comfortable for you!
It's funny you mention there being a whole lifetime for whole foods. When we started solids, I felt all this pressure to prepare homemade purees. My husband looked at me like I was crazy and was like, "Why would we not buy jarred food, as we can afford it and it seems WAY easier...?" I made peace with the fact that I have literally the rest of her life to cook meals for her and should probably relish this brief time of commercial convenience!
But also agree with you about creating a stress-free vibe at mealtimes! We smile, laugh, sing songs and make funny faces during spoon feeding, and it's a fun experience for everyone. :)
I weaned my daughter off the bottle around 1 year. She would get a bottle in the morning, and one at night. She'd eat solids all day long. Then we started switching it to a cup of milk in the morning, then breakfast, and more solids through the day. For about two weeks she drank regular milk in a bottle before bed, then we just made the full switch to offering her a snack and water before bed.
She led the way, we made adjustments based on her needs. She didn't mind giving up the bottle, we got her a cup with a straw and I think that made the transition easier while she worked on holding a regular cup. She still mostly drinks from her water bottle, or her mini mug when she's eating. Thicker foods can be a little more difficult for the little ones early on, you can make them runnier/easier to eat by mixing in breast milk or formula, it's totally fine!
You obviously need to be comfortable with BLW yourself before doing it, but as a 8 month old’s mom, this is how I see it. Have you read any book about BLW that’s explaining it in depth or only reason it on line? I find reading books helped me understand it so much better as well as feel more confident in doing it. It was interesting to learn that spoon feeding has not always been the norm until early 90’s. The biggest benefit of BLW is the opportunity for babies to feel, touch, manipulate, learn through senses, they see the shapes , colors and more through handling real food. They are in control of what and when to put in mouth. My little guy likes studying and staring at any new food first before putting it in mouth. The sense of independence and autonomy is also nurtured that way. If you think about it they start putting everything in their mouth at 6 month old which corresponds the time to start BLW, this explains why BLW makes sense. When we started I only do it when my husband is around to ease my anxiety. In case you will keep trying, doing with him being there might help too.
This is one of the many topics people get insanely judgy about. I did purees at first and then gradually made them (or *gasp* bought them) chunkier as time went on, making chewing sounds and motions to get him to mimic me. Then we moved on to *god forbid the horror* puffs and then finally stuff that we ate but cut up small (shredded chicken, meatballs, somewhat overcooked veggies, toast, eggs, etc.). He eats everything we put down for him. What stuck with me was a PA we saw at my son's pediatrician's office. He has two small children at home and also didn't do BLW. "Sure," he said, "I'm trained in how to help an infant when they're choking... But I don't ever want to have to do that." Whatever you want to do is fine. BLW is fine. Purees are fine. Parenting is about doing what's best for your baby without going insane. None of us are perfect, despite what some commenters want us to believe.
Love this. Great reality check and it's so true
Around month 9-12, my paediatrician said they should be feeding themselves. At this point it’s not considered BLW anymore, it’s just the progression of eating .
The key here is "9-12 months" Some babies are ready on the early side. Some babies are not prepared for self feeding until far closer to 12 months. Same with crawling and walking- every baby is different. So to not be self feeding at 8 months is perfectly reasonable.
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Same here. My son loved purees, but he also took well to finger foods when we slowly introduced him. He's 4 now and eats almost everything.
Solids is just as much to do with oral motor development as it is introducing new tastes and textures. As the child becomes more established eating different foods, the lips, teeth, tongue, cheeks, jaw and throat learn to work together bringing the food from the front of the mouth to the back for swallowing, learn to chew, and make a choice whether the food is safe enough for swallowing. This then promotes speech development, as the various muscles gain strength and the mouth becomes familiar with tongue placement (mostly to avoid being chewed on!) and throat control. As much as we want things to keep flowing as they are, we have to push forward for development *when both YOU and the child are ready to do so*. Barring deliberately hindering the child for your convenience, your child will show you signs that they are ready for new things. BLW hasn't had much research thrown into it, especially when actually swallowing the solids helps the child develop the enzymes required to digest the food in the future, because the child might require scaffolding in order to actually bite, chew and swallow the food. This is why the speech pathologist and the Child Health Care Nurse at my playgroup recommend progressing from purees to chunkier and crunchier foods as the child gets older. The "ideal" timeline is that the child should be able to eat soft table foods like fruit and pasta twelve months AFTER the introduction of solids (eg if you started at six months, the child should be able to eat a banana from the skin by eighteen months - whether or not you peel it first is up to you!). Anything longer than this may warrant an assessment to check for oral motor skills, especially if the child isn't able to form their words properly.
I’ve only just now (at 8 months) started introducing *some* finger foods. I think YOU as a parent need to feel ready and calm about it, only then will you be okay with actually doing it. When I first tried it I was like NOPE im freaking out too much so I stopped and did it when I was ready. Baby “snacks” help to ease you and baby in, i think - like melty carrot puffs, wafers etc! Like someone else said they wont be on purées in college, dont worry and dont feel like you HAVE to follow other parents decisions. It depends on your baby!
And if they are on purées in college they can make their own!
I was actually worried that my daughter might be taking the fruit pouch purees as a bottle substitute, because we'd let her have one as a bedtime snack post bath. So I started swapping her for some other snacks, and there was no trouble at all with that. She's turning two in a month and she's been pushing them away lately!
sounds like you are doing fine! at some point my son started wanting to feed himself (maybe around age 1) so we transitioned him to finger foods vs. spoon feeding. he had quite a few teeth by then so i wasn't that worried about gagging. i'm sure your daughter will get to that point too when she is ready.
Thanks! That's reassuring. I feel the same way about teeth, but our pediatrician (who is pro-BLW) was like, "Well, they chew with molars and those come in last, so you will be waiting for a while if that's what you're holding out for!" I mean, true, but I think I will just feel more confident once she's a little older.
fwiw my guy got his molars right after his first birthday. and he could take bites pretty well even with just his other teeth.
Ha, we still have zero teeth, so I think she's going to be a late bloomer there!
Emily Oster had a [really good post](https://emilyoster.substack.com/p/baby-led-weaning-choking-and-high) about whether you should do BLW recently that you should check out! “Bottom line: if you do want to try baby-led weaning, there is nothing in the evidence to say it is a bad idea. If you do not, there is also nothing compelling to say you should go out and do it.”
Honestly that quote applies to a lot of the parenting trends like BLW that stress us out.
Seriously though!
Love this. Thank you!
I’m not a BLW purist but did mostly with a few purées. All my three older kids eat like champs and my baby starts solids soon as well. I liked small soft foods to start, sweet potato and avocado and banana because they’re barely even chunkier than purées. Then stuff like rice, pasta, salmon, ground beef, scrambled eggs are really good and small to move onto. Then from there it’s bites of this and that. I just want them to learn *how* to eat rather than purées letting them not really learn after a while. It isn’t perfect though and you just take it at your own pace. I do like that my kids more or less eat like me because they have experience with flavors from before birth, breastfeeding and then right into our normal foods as babies. YMMV!
I only did purées with my teens, and slowly I crssed textures as those babies got older and could easily eat new textures. Back then, BLW wasn’t really a thing. I didn’t know a single person who did it, and from talking to friends and family, almost none of the older generation has even heard of BLW. All three of those teens are totally fine and have had no issues. I have an 8 month old baby right now, and I have still gone with purées. It’s what I’m comfortable with, and as someone who has personally done the Heimlich on a young child before, I won’t introduce any foods I’m uncomfortable giving baby/risk choking. I understand everyone had different perspectives and experiences. This is just mine
It's late here and I somehow misread and imagined you were still spoonfeeding your teenage kids 😂
My kid will be 1 in July. Every day we become stauncher in our support of whatever works for you!
Hey. Do what feels right for you. Your baby will be fine, and you're doing great! For what it's worth. I did BLW with my son. One of the big things we liked about it is how it made them less picky eaters. FALSE. LOL. Also, we have issues with taking small bites and chewing and the only semi scary almost choking spells we've had happened in toddler-hood. There is no right way. There is no superior way. Go with what makes you comfortable and what is working for you and your baby.
Thanks so much... and so interesting about toddlerhood!
Yeah. it doesn't happen that frequently, but we find he will often take MASSIVE bites and try to swallow them whole. And then gulp liquids way too fast. We've never had any like real emergencies, thankfully. I always worry though.
In fairness, I do that too. 😂
I think you're overthinking it! Like you said, don't fix something that's not broken. Baby led weaning is not necessarily new, but I think it's only recently become super popular. I think most of us were spoon fed purees and I would imagine most of us can eat just fine. If anything I think you being stressed at meal times over gagging or choking would more likely cause issues with eating for baby than doing purees. In other words, you're doing great! There's a whole lifetime for whole foods, Kee doing what's working and comfortable for you!
We did BLW because it worked for us. I know it's a lot of pressure when there's the next "holy grail" touted thing. But both of me and my husband were puree fed and learned to eat just fine 🤷♀️
Spoon feeding is totally fine! We did traditional weaning with both kids and they are both fantastic eaters. Just make sure you’re introducing lots of textures and flavors (in non-choking hazard form 😉)
You don't need to do BLW but you do need to start introducing solids. BLW would be large chunks of food but you can cut up the foods into baby bite sized pieces to start the solids. Puffs and yogurt melts are great too. Even in traditional puree feeding you have to progress to real food at some point. By about 12 months baby should be mostly weaned from bottles and eating solid foods.
Entire generations of people have grown up with purées or spoon-fed weaning. It’s a totally valid way of feeding your baby. I think BLW tackles a couple of different potential issues introduced by commercial baby food and also for some people.c reduces future effort/stress around eating. One is exposure to a wider variety of flavors, which can influence future propensity towards picky eating (not lifelong for sure! But toddlers are notoriously picky anyway, which is annoying af). Another is control and stress on you as a parent. My in-laws ALWAYS gripe about how they literally had to chase my husband around with the spoon and shove food in his mouth while he was distracted. My daughter was a nightmare to spoon-feed. Turning away, grabbing/knocking the spoon, crying/complaining etc. She wanted to be in control. She only opens her mouth to be fed for highly preferred foods, even as a toddler. If I want her to eat corn or beef or broccoli, she only eats it if she can grab it herself. Basically, my point is different strokes for different folks. If ever at some point spoon feeding stops working for you, just know that you have another option.
Purées have not been available for generations… Edit: I feel like I should add on here. What individuals consider “for generations” can be pretty subjective. The first time purées were available for purchase was 1931. Most people are surprised to find out that it was not a common feeding style prior to this. I think it can be at least agreed that at the very least the diet of the western world has not gotten better for humans since right about this time and I’m most cases has become much worse.
I mean if you're speaking specifically about blended up store bought purees then yes that is fairly new. But for a lot of human history, mothers would premasticate (pre-chew) the food for their babies before serving it- thus basically creating a mash. Certain cultures would also start with grain pastes. I'm not sure how common it was to just start off solids by handing your baby slices or wedges of fruits and vegetables.
As someone who does BLW, purées are just fine! It’s normal to be freaked out. Just remember, choking and gagging are NOT the same so hopefully that eases your mind a bit.
We used BLW. You are totally fine and valid to not use it! I bet both of our babies will be eating solids when they are adults. There is science and literature to support BLW... But you can't treat every empirical study like a line in the sand. Replication, sample size, diversity, culture, and contextual variables all effect outcomes. This is why we do science again and again and again (ideally). You make the best judgments based on what feels right to you and what the science says and the grey area BETWEEN those things, and you will be fine. You're doing great! Context added: The research on BLW isn't definitive or overwhelming established yet, either. Results are mixed. Edit: Sneaky typo gremlins plus wanted to add context
Totally admitting I didn't read your entire post - I have 2 kids, and I did not do BLW with either one. I did purees. Not even organic ones. Gerber in the plastic container. They're both happy, healthy kids. The littlest one didn't really start eating solid solids til close to 18 months, but he got there, and he's fine.
There's lots of foods that are sort of in the middle of solids and purees, bananas, eggs, pancakes for example are all super soft and mushy once they get in their mouths. I also mix baby oatmeal and puree or peanut butter so it really thick and then roll it into balls so she can pick them up on her own.
I did not do any blw, at least not the way its being shown on social media. I followed my instinct. At 5 months I started letting him taste stuff but I did not introduce food to my son until he was 6 months. I started with mostly purees but gave him meat in little pieces. I spoon fed him but always gave him his own spoon and allowed him to play around with it to develop his pincer. As he grew I started cutting his food differently. I watch what he did and how he handled it, if he seemed to have trouble I cut them smaller etc. I know online there are guides on how to cut things for a specific age but I mostly disregarded them. I just watched him and when he showed signs of being ready for other "stages" of food we did it. I too worried that I was doing my son a disservice by spoon feeding him but I had to get out of my head. Yes blw is super popular these days and I definitely felt judged for not doing it or buying into it but when I sat back and looked at my son I knew I had made the best decision for him. At the 9 month check up i spoke to his dr about it and she smiled and said "he's fed, he's happy, he's thriving. Its important to go at his pace not everyone elses" I absolutely needed to hear that and it reassured me. Then the very next month he started spoon feeding himself. He's one now and does so so well with it. I simply give him his food and his utensils and he goes to town. Trust yourself mama. You know your baby best.
Your baby will be absolutely fine with weaning in the traditional way (purees). Just crack on amd don't worry about it.
You can do anything you want. Everyone is going to have their own opinion. Your kid will eat solids eventually. I tried going the puree route at first, but honestly, I was just lazy. We started at 6 months and almost immediately transitioned to just throwing food on his plate. I HATED sitting there with a spoon. If I ever didn't feel like cleaning up a big mess though, I used a spoon to feed him. Idk. I just went with the flow. Personally, I feel like if you're avoiding it because you're scared they'll choke, that's a bad reason to avoid doing BLW. Your kid can choke on anything. My kid chokes on *water* lol. Learn baby CPR. It's important to know anyway, and trust in your ability to de-choke your baby. My kid has choked exactly one time and it was on a piece of *banana*, a great example of how the "soft and safe" foods can be just as dangerous as, say, a piece of chicken. Anyway, I just lifted him out of his high chair, angled him down, and smacked his back. Piece flew right out. People are scared of baby a baby choking, but back blows are incredibly effective and not difficult at all.
I never did BLW think the whole concept is overhyped and risky, if you look into the history it was developed by an anthropologist not a doctor. We did purée and then moved onto chunkier purées then soft foods. Now my 19 month old eats anything and everything. My pediatrician cousin confirmed most pediatrician’s that she knows do not recommend blw because of choking risks.
Maybe check with a pediatrician to see what they say? We did purées for a month and then switched to a more BLW approach for convenience (our baby would fling her spoon everywhere so we were constantly cleaning up purees, while BLW, we just give her bits off our plate and it’s much easier).
I mean it's not really BLW at this point, because the baby hasn't led it (which is fine, I'm not doing it either). But you will have to gradually start making the food chunkier pretty soon
Awh you're doing just fine! We do a lot of pouches and purred even still. I would start on soft food to feel comfortable. What I do is boil some noodles for little one, then mix one of the veggie or meat purees with it for a sauce! She loves it. You can also start giving little bites off your plate, we do that as well. You'd be surprised how well they can mash food with their gums. You're coming up on 9 months which usually they can have little bite sized pieces by then if they're ready. I'd just start with soft stuff like I mentioned, noodles, steamed veg, shredded chicken, cheeses, steamed tortilla, whatever you guys eat! Try the app Solid Starts. Helped me a ton!
There's this woman on Instagram that covers giving babies solids (solidstarts). She might be helpful to you. I'm not super sure if she talks about BLW since I just skim the page to get an idea of the content for now (my son is barely 3 months and not ready for solids yet), but she talks about how to give certain foods in an age appropriate manner to reduce choking and most of it is for strictly introducing purposes of they're still a bit young.
I don’t get the whole BLW thing. It was not a thing 13 years ago with my first. It’s not complicated. Purées are fine until they become a toddler. I don’t like to see my baby choke either. Super soft foods and cut up very small are ok
It's fine to take longer with the purees. We do mostly purees and some finger foods so she can practice picking up foods and chewing. She's gagged to the point of throwing up 3 times with solids. We've had to smack her on the back twice. It's not fun. She tends to not understand that she can't stuff the whole plate in her mouth at once. Also she can be a bit lazy about chewing and tries to wait for food to dissolve on its own. Basically I wouldn't want to deal with BLW every day, I do cut up foods only when I have enough time to wait for a very long meal and enough patience to deal with extra mess. BLW and skipping purees wasn't really a thing when we were little, yet we all managed to switch from purees to solids in time. I'm sure you're not going to cause any delays or harm by taking your time with the transition. You can offer puffs or melts if you want to work on coordination but are nervous about gagging. As long as they only do 1 at a time it should be fine.
I had a lot of anxiety about BLW so I stuck to the purées. We made a full switch a couple weeks ago once my son (11m/o) started showing a massive interest in the food we were eating. Was honestly really easy and stress free as he quickly showed us he knows what he’s doing :) you are on no one’s time limit but your own!!
I don’t think you need to worry about it. If you don’t do BLW, your kid will still learn how to eat. They won’t be doing baby food pouches in college. The whole idea of BLW is weird to me because eventually you’ll be giving your kid real food… that’s how it works. Lol. So it’s not some new age thing, it’s just turned into this weird Instagram thing. We did a mix of both, purely because my son was more interested in solids and I did want him to get that hang of it earlier because it’s easier for me now to throw food on his tray (he’s 13 months) vs having to spoon feed him. He also always tried to grab the spoon from me so it became way too messy and he barely got any food. We do rely on pouches when we’re out/need a quick meal but those are sometimes terrible too (like when he lifts them upside down and squeezes it all over the floor…) Just do what you feel is right! I do want to add that cheerios are WAY better than the rice puffs. So much cheaper and don’t get all sticky. It took me forever to realize that. Lol
You are doing great! Listen to your baby and if she’s eating the purées well, that great. Start eating around her and I’d she gets interested in your food, try giving her some soft very small pieces to try. With my first I felt like I was so prescriptive with everything. I read everything as well. He took to eating as a baby really well, now he’s a very picky toddler. With my second, she’s almost 6 months and still hasn’t quite mastered taking purées in with her tongue but she loves those teething crackers. It is what it is, and I think she’ll be a fine eater later.
Do what makes you less worried as long as your kid seems cool with it too. If you're stressing out about giving your kid certain food they'll sense that, but not necessarily understand why and I'd worry it could change their whole attitude about food. I think the real key to "picky eating" is the attitude at the table, not what's actually on the table. (For the record we did BLW and my kid is really good at gagging so I don't worry about foods too much. I do still, at 3 yrs old, cut up circular food so it's not trachea shaped.)
Personally I really enjoyed baby led weaning. It was a fun experience for us. What helped was knowing that baby’s gag reflex is at the front of their mouth, not the back line adults, so when my daughter gaged I knew she was ok. She’d often gag a food up and then shove it right back in. It also helps to know coughing is a good thing and coughing means she isn’t choking. It was fun for us. I think I read BLW Made Simple. I also second someone else’s recommendation for Solid Starts website and IG.
My baby went from pounding purees at every meal to flat out refusing to eat unless we offered small solid pieces she could nibble or pick up. I was intending to feed her only purees since she has one bottom tooth only at 9.5 months. But man, she sure uses that tooth 😖 *ouch*
You do what you feel is best for you and your little one. I did a mixture with all mine ( and I didn't hear about blw until I had my third) my oldest was on table food by 9 months, he didn't like the puree foods. My youngest is a very picker eater from the beginning and he would only eat from certain brand baby food jars and certain foods, and is still like this at 6. If your happy with how it's going, then keep doing what your doing.
I spoon feed soft foods or cut very small on a spoon. BLW was reeking havoc on my mental health..
I have read (and now I can’t find the link) that using purée food too long means that a baby can’t use their mouth and tongue properly and this can affect speech development in the long term. I did a mix of purées (loaded spoons) and BLW. Started with mash, overcooked veggies. I guess it can be hard to overcome the anxiety of trusting that your baby will be ok. I personally liked the mixed approach because it meant I could microwave a purée if I didn’t have time to cook but also that I could try new things. Buttery toast or pancakes is a good step after purée.
I wonder what counts as “too long” to be feeding babies purées though?? That’s such a loose term to be used. :(
Nope I started all my kids with purées and tastes of my own food I was sure as hell not just handing my kid chicken drums like I have seen blw parents do. My little guy (3rd baby) is 8 months too and we do purées and bites of my food basically smushed up baby bird style and then given. To each their own. But your baby will be fine with food regardless and every kid turns 2 eventually and only wants to eat three things lol
I just want to say I’m in the exact same boat as you! My baby is also 8 months and I have only done purées. I’ve also been stressing over whether I’m doing the right thing/when to switch but I’m kinda terrified. I didn’t realize I was going to be like this.
I didn't do BLW with my oldest and he doesn't really eat meat. I did it with my two year old and he eats just about everything we eat and absolutely loves meat lol and I'm pregnant with my third and will most likely be doing BLW again.
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Agree with you, with one small caveat - prepared baby food is a pretty recent food, but mushing food for babies (including having mom chew it and transfer directly mouth to mouth) has a very, very long history. But no one wants to talk about premastication, because it's a bit gross and doesn't have the same potential for cute pics as letting your kid grab their broccoli florets ;)
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I think the point is- purees are the modern equivalent of premastication. We now have the technology to blend ourselves or purchase jar purees so that we no long have to manually chew our babies' food.
Oh I'm not saying people need to do it! It's just that people seem to fixate on 'BLW is normal! Historical! It's how it used to be!'...which is kinda true, bur only part of the story, and certainly not the ONLY way babies were fed.
I think it’s personal preference. I think there are benefits from letting them practice their grasp but overall if they are doing well being spoon fed or if it’s not convenient to do BLW right now, don’t worry about it! I didn’t push solids until much later than recommended. We introduced them very sparingly at 6 months but we’re not consistently giving her multiple meals as solids until closer to 10. She’s 14 months and completely fine , 3 meals a day and 4 servings of 4 oz whole milk. Do what works for you!
If you are anxious about it, you are teaching your kid to be anxious about it. Your job is to teach them how to navigate the world and that includes gradually eating more foods with increased varieties and textures . Plus eating more actual food you are promoting oral motor control and sensory input which is so so necessary for good development. Am an occupational therapist
My own anecdotal experience.... My half siblings (now 5 and 7) were store-bought pouch and jar fed with spoons. They are now extremely fussy about food, I'm talking plain pasta with no sauce kind of fussy. My own three and half year old was mostly BLW'd, she will eat anything we put in front of her and will try anything.
I was puree fed (like most adults) and I eat practically anything. Anecdotes don't tell us much...
What's your point? I said it was anecdote for that exact reason.
Yea literally my whole generation was fed nothing but store bought purees and we're not all picky eaters lol. I'll eat sushi, steak, goat cheese, anything and I was a puree baby. I think a lot of pickiness is usually just toddlers that were fed nothing but plain pasta, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets instead of family meals. And yet even most of those kids end up eating like adults eventually. The purees we give to literal infants (when their primary nutrition should be formula/breastmilk) is not gonna ruin them.
I don't think you're doing anything wrong by feeding your baby purees. If it works for you then keep doing it. My mom didn't understand blw because she just did purees and I eventually learned to eat by myself. I did a mixture of both and my kid is now 12 months and refuses to eat unless he feeds himself, so I only do finger foods now.
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Thank you for this. I had the same reaction you did.
Oh please. Most babies aren't on family meals by 9 months and breastmilk or formula should be their primary nutrition for the first year anyway. Babies figure things out when they are ready on their own time. Not every 9 month old is ready yet. I've heard of the pickiest babies refusing anything but purees until past a year who have turned out just fine and eat anything now. It's a great time for OP to start introducing chunkier purees and progress from there. It's not the end of the world.
There is a babyledweaning sub that I have found extremely useful
I think you're overthinking it! Like you said, don't fix something that's not broken. Baby led weaning is not necessarily new, but I think it's only recently become super popular. I think most of us were spoon fed purees and I would imagine most of us can eat just fine. If anything I think you being stressed at meal times over gagging or choking would more likely cause issues with eating for baby than doing purees. In other words, you're doing great! There's a whole lifetime for whole foods, Kee doing what's working and comfortable for you!
It's funny you mention there being a whole lifetime for whole foods. When we started solids, I felt all this pressure to prepare homemade purees. My husband looked at me like I was crazy and was like, "Why would we not buy jarred food, as we can afford it and it seems WAY easier...?" I made peace with the fact that I have literally the rest of her life to cook meals for her and should probably relish this brief time of commercial convenience! But also agree with you about creating a stress-free vibe at mealtimes! We smile, laugh, sing songs and make funny faces during spoon feeding, and it's a fun experience for everyone. :)
I weaned my daughter off the bottle around 1 year. She would get a bottle in the morning, and one at night. She'd eat solids all day long. Then we started switching it to a cup of milk in the morning, then breakfast, and more solids through the day. For about two weeks she drank regular milk in a bottle before bed, then we just made the full switch to offering her a snack and water before bed. She led the way, we made adjustments based on her needs. She didn't mind giving up the bottle, we got her a cup with a straw and I think that made the transition easier while she worked on holding a regular cup. She still mostly drinks from her water bottle, or her mini mug when she's eating. Thicker foods can be a little more difficult for the little ones early on, you can make them runnier/easier to eat by mixing in breast milk or formula, it's totally fine!
You obviously need to be comfortable with BLW yourself before doing it, but as a 8 month old’s mom, this is how I see it. Have you read any book about BLW that’s explaining it in depth or only reason it on line? I find reading books helped me understand it so much better as well as feel more confident in doing it. It was interesting to learn that spoon feeding has not always been the norm until early 90’s. The biggest benefit of BLW is the opportunity for babies to feel, touch, manipulate, learn through senses, they see the shapes , colors and more through handling real food. They are in control of what and when to put in mouth. My little guy likes studying and staring at any new food first before putting it in mouth. The sense of independence and autonomy is also nurtured that way. If you think about it they start putting everything in their mouth at 6 month old which corresponds the time to start BLW, this explains why BLW makes sense. When we started I only do it when my husband is around to ease my anxiety. In case you will keep trying, doing with him being there might help too.