Baby Led Weaning vs Purees
Confused about the baby-led weaning vs purees debate?
This one has gotten more and more heated in recent years, leaving many parents even more overwhelmed about starting solids. So, what’s the deal - which one is best?
First, what exactly is baby-led weaning?
Traditionally, parents have been told to start their babies on pureed foods and gradually work up to chunkier textures and eventually finger foods and family foods.
But in recent years an alternative way of introducing solids called ‘baby-led weaning’ has been gaining popularity. Baby-led weaning (BLW) is a way of introducing solids where babies basically feed themselves right from the start (weaning means starting solids in the UK, where the term was coined).
It generally involves offering soft finger foods for babies 6 months+ that are easy to hold, for example, a wedge of avocado, a strip of steak or a steamed finger of sweet potato.
Some potential advantages of baby-led weaning are:
Increased independence and self-regulation of food intake
More opportunities to practice important motor and oral skills
Exposure to a wider variety of foods as babies are often more likely to eat family meals
Greater convenience and ease for parents as there's less need to prepare special foods for baby
Potential disadvantages of baby-led weaning:
Fear of choking - many parents feel too fearful about choking to be comfortable giving their baby finger foods right from the start. It’s worth noting, however, that studies have shown there is no greater risk of choking with baby-led weaning compared to spoon-feeding
Less control over how much your baby eats and this can present an issue in terms of ensuring they have an adequate intake of important nutrients such as iron
Hungry babies can get frustrated while learning how to self-feed (when they just want the food in their tummy now!)
It can be very messy!
Potential advantages of spoon-feeding:
More control over what your baby eats and their intake of important nutrients such as iron
Less concern about choking
Less mess (although it can still get pretty messy!)
Potential disadvantages of spoon-feeding:
Can require a lot of time to cook and prepare purees
May need to prepare separate meals for baby as family meals may not be suitable
Less self-regulation of intake (however, you can still practice ‘responsive feeding’ when spoon-feeding, allowing your baby to be in control of what and how much they eat - more on this later)
So should everyone be doing baby-led weaning?
Not necessarily. While there are advantages to baby-led weaning, the truth is that many parents just don't feel comfortable starting with finger foods - even if they had intended to do baby-led weaning prior to starting solids. They may feel anxious about choking or worry that their baby isn't getting enough food.
While these aren’t necessarily issues parents need to be worried about, they are nonetheless understandable concerns and ones I experienced myself while introducing solids to my babies.
If this is you too, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with starting your baby on purees, or a combination of both, or whatever works for you, your baby and your family.
While food, nutrition and the development of eating skills are important, it’s equally important that you and your baby feel comfortable and relaxed and that mealtimes are an enjoyable activity rather than an anxiety-ridden ordeal.
The good news is you don’t have to choose
Despite the heated debate about BLW vs purees, the good news is that you don’t actually have to choose between the two.
In general, I find that a combination of purées/spoon-feeding and finger foods (from 6 months) works really well for most babies and parents and allows them to have the benefits of both options.
And no, combining finger foods with purees doesn’t confuse babies! There are some BLW advocates who claim that combining the two is dangerous, but there is no evidence to support this theory.
It’s also worth remembering that baby-led weaning doesn’t mean you can’t offer purees - in fact, it’s a good idea to give some purees so that your baby learns to manage a range of textures.
And while we often think of purees as being only for babies, we actually continue to eat purees throughout our adult life - think about pumpkin soup, (smooth) mashed potato and dips for example.
Purees can be loaded onto a spoon for babies to feed themselves - your baby is still in full control of what is going in their mouth and can choose to eat the puree or not.
Overall, it's up to parents to choose whichever method you are most comfortable with, purées and spoon-feeding, baby-led weaning or a combination are all safe and healthy ways to introduce solids.
The most important thing is to make sure you offer a wide variety of foods and textures so that your baby gets the nutrients they need, while also developing the skills needed to eat a range of different foods.
Responsive Feeding
Whichever way you choose to feed your baby, I always recommend a ‘responsive feeding’ style, which means allowing your baby to take the lead and decide whether and how much to eat.
Babies are born with a natural ability to regulate their intake and know what their body needs. Ideally we want to nurture this ability as much as possible instead of overriding it, so that we can encourage lifelong healthy eating habits and a positive relationship with food. This is where responsive feeding comes in.
This approach involves looking out for and responding to your baby’s cues and letting them to signal when they’re hungry and when they’re full.
Signs your baby is hungry can include:
Getting excited when they see food
Reaching for food
Leaning towards the spoon and opening their mouth when offered food
Signs your baby has had enough can include:
Turning their head away
Closing their mouth or pursing their lips when food is offered
Pushing food away or spitting it out
Getting distracted (e.g. looking down at the floor)
Or the dreaded throwing food on the floor!