Baby Led Weaning Update

Little Miss Addie is a little bit obsessed with food. If she spies a cracker that Lincoln dropped on the floor, she can hightail it to that crumb faster than anything! Ever since she had her first taste of solid foods at seven months old, she has been intrigued by anything that looks appetizing.

Since she had an obvious dairy sensitivity when she was very small, I have been hesitant to introduce her tummy to dairy directly. She has had a smidgen here or there (half a noodle covered in cheese, a bite of mashed potatoes with cream in them), but by far the vast majority of things she eats are fresh fruits and veggies. We decided to take a baby-led weaning approach with her, and I love the way this decision has turned out for us!

What is baby-led weaning? The best way I can define it is, a more relaxed introduction to solid foods. No jars of baby food, no spoons. I give her small pieces of some foods (chicken, baked potato, broccoli) and let her hold and take bites of others (pears, peaches, bananas, avocados). I do still give her some pureed foods - like homemade pear sauce - as I have found that too many solids tend to stop up her system.

Peaches are a favorite.

If nothing else, this approach to learning to eat has proved to me that baby-led weaning may actually make for less picky kids. This little girl loves almost everything that comes her way! Some of her favorites are broccoli (which Lincoln won't touch) and prunes.

Banana

Sure, there are some messes. Have you ever picked up a banana after it's been handled, mashed and thrown to the floor by a baby? Super gross! But she's so adorable that I don't mind.

Corn on the Cob

Chubby hands!

Spaghetti noodles

Watermelon

Do you have any experience with baby-led weaning? I love it and will definitely be going this route with any future kids we are blessed to have!