Baby Led Weaning Starter Foods Uk
How do i start baby led weaning.
Baby led weaning starter foods uk. The recommended age to start baby led weaning is from six months onwards nhs choices 2018. Welcome to babyled food. Your baby s first solid foods. At babyled food our aim is to make available to babies and toddlers the same if not better range of tastes textures and food types that we as adults have become accustomed to.
According to the most recent research most babies reach for food at around six months which is also the time that mothers are being encouraged to wean by their health visitors in accordance with the who. Introducing your baby to solid foods also referred to as weaning or complementary feeding starts when your baby is around 6 months old. The feeding approach known as baby led weaning or blw for short is a style of feeding infants that allows them to feed themselves right from the start. To try baby led weaning your baby will need to be able to grasp whole pieces of food and bring them to their mouth.
There s no right or wrong way. Baby led weaning means giving your baby only finger foods and letting them feed themselves from the start instead of feeding them puréed or mashed food on a spoon. The term was originally coined by gill rapley a former health visitor and midwife. Baby led weaning in this method babies are encouraged to self feed from the start.
Baby led weaning quite simply means letting your child feed themselves from the very start of weaning. The food is offered in thick finger size pieces and is soft and easily squishable between your fingers. Wait until your baby is ready before you start baby led weaning your baby should be able to stay in a seated position and hold their head steadily. Before you start baby led weaning it s important to understand the nhs advice when it comes to weaning your six month old baby with solid food.
You can introduce solid foods as finger foods and allow your child to explore solids at their own pace. Babyled food stands for good quality healthy food products that can be enjoyed from. Some parents prefer baby led weaning to spoon feeding while others do a combination of both. This is the same age as the alternative spoon feeding dodds 2013.
Baby led weaning is associated with less parental control of children s eating and lower body mass index. Baby led weaning or blw is where handheld finger foods are introduced to babies when they start solids rather than spoon fed purees. Www nhs uk accessed may 2014 reeves s. It can be confusing knowing when and how to start.