21 Picture Examples Of How To Serve Foods For Baby Led Weaning
The idea of serving your tiny little baby who’s only ever had milk go down their throats and are just barely sitting up on their own, can feel overwhelming and mind-boggling.
To help answer your questions about how to start, here are 21 pictures of foods that have been safely served to 6 month olds. Take this as inspiration, and experiment with which size and shape works best for your little one.
Always consult your pediatrician with questions about when to start your baby on solids.
For my complete Low Stress BLW Starter Guide, you can download it here for FREE.
*And, as a general rule of thumb, always make sure that ALL food – both fresh and cooked – is the softness of a banana when you serve it.
Serving more than one food at a time
There’s no scientific need to wait 3-5 days to introduce a new food, as previously thought. In fact, you can start with 1-3 foods for baby’s first meal if you’d like. With that said, allergens need to be carefully considered and knowing what to look for and do if an allergic reaction were to happen, should be planned before serving. Additionally, there are some foods that you don’t want to serve at all. You can see that list here.
As for serving multiple food items at once, in an article published by Parents they talk about why waiting 3-5 days between foods is not necessary: “The recommendation to start new foods every three to five days is based on tradition versus medical evidence.”
Choose to pair foods depending on your comfort level and your child’s abilities. Consult your pediatrician with any questions your might have, and read this article about introducing allergens.
5 food pairing ideas:
Think about how you can incorporate the food groups – fruit, vegetable, grain, protein.
Once your baby has been introduced and handled a handful of foods well, and you feel more comfortable with their eating abilities and lack of allergic reactions and/or sensitivities (beans, legumes and citrus can be rough on same babies’ digestive systems for the first few months), you can begin pairings.
Iron-rich is important and pairing with foods that have Vitamin C helps babies absorb iron best.
- beef, potato, broccoli, strawberry
- chicken, banana, cauliflower, rice
- turkey, cheese, bread, carrot, blueberry
- Scrambled eggs, avocado, squash, kiwi
- Salmon, pasta, raspberries, peas
For my complete Low Stress Baby Led Weaning Starter Guide, you can download it here.
Now that you know size, softness, and pairings, here are a few other things you want to consider when serving your baby solids with baby-led weaning:
- Are they getting foods with iron in them? According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, iron deficiency is one of the most common problems among children. It is frequently not detected and it has long-term health implications for development. Don’t stress. Now that you know, you can ensure you’re providing iron-rich foods. If you need ideas, you can read this article.
- Are they eating foods from all the recommended food groups?
- Are we making sure we don’t serve foods that are unsafe including, over processed foods and honey. For a complete list of what to avoid, read this article.
- Are we allowing them to grab and explore foods on their own, even if it means they are hardly consuming anything. Remember, they are just beginning to learn how to do this and are tasting all sorts of new flavors. It may be a slow process for your child, meaning weeks or months. They will soon understand intake and in the meantime, they are still getting the nutrition they need from breastmilk and/or formula.
So, in summation:
- Choose a variety of foods from different food groups.
- Prepare to safe sizes.
- Prepare to safe softness.
- Let baby explore foods independently.
- Prepare yourself before offering allergens.
- Enjoy watching your baby discover what they like.
I hope this was helpful! For more great reading on baby led weaning, check out these resources:
