Baby-Led Weaning Part I: The 6 requirements and Why.

After many have loved our little prince and his baby-led weaning (BLW) journey (check it out at @naturalistic_momma on Instagram) so far we figured it was time to spill. This will be a BLW series so follow us and you will see more posts ahead regarding BLW and your baby.

So, we wanted to start with a blog about how to even start this journey, if it’s right for your baby, and when.

1. The first thing to know about BLW is everyone will tell you to start at 6 months....but wait! 6 months is not the ONLY qualifier. It is the only time specific requirement. This is based off of the fact that we believe the gut and immune health of a baby are prepared to accept foods beyond formula or breastmilk (this includes purees, rice cereal, rice rusks, etc.) but developmentally your baby needs to achieve a few other things before they can safely partake in BLW.

2. They must be able to sit UNASSISTED: This is because your baby needs to be able to have good trunk control to ensure his airway is properly clear. Also if your baby has to use a hand to support themself they are not ready to self-feed safely and may be more concerned with attempting not to fall over than the food they just put in their mouths. The average baby sits unassisted somewhere between 4 and 7 months of age.

3. Be interested in food. This is one that many parents label too early and think they should start feeding at 3 or 4 months. Typically many babies will reach for things at around 3 months which isn’t actually a sign that they are ready for meals. I will say this was the earliest sign we had for our little prince around 2 months (yikes). He wasn’t just reaching for food. He was leaning in, making chewing mouth gestures, and nothing I ate or drank could get to my mouth without him trying to grab it first. But remember one criterion met doesn’t mean to begin.

4. Developing a Pincer Grasp. The pincer grasp is a baby’s ability to pick up an object between their thumb and pointer finger. It is actually said to develop, on average, between 8 and 12 months. However, for BLW watch for a “crude” pincer grasp to begin the BLW process. This is when your little one may use the ends of multiple fingers to push an object against with their thumb to pick it up. This pincer grasp stage occurs between 6 and 8 months.

5. Loss of the Tongue-Thrust Reflex (also called the Extrusion Reflex). This is a common requirement that people glaze over and try anyway but I don’t recommend it. Say all other steps are met and you try to feed your baby those mashed potatoes but for some reason she just keeps pushing them back out of her mouth. It isn’t because she doesn’t like it, it’s just too soon. This reflex is like a safeguard the body develops to ensure foreign objects the body isn’t ready for isn’t ingested. So, if your baby is still don’t this she is not ready for BLW. Give her a week and try again, if all other signs are met. Typically This reflex will fade away between 4 and 6 months of age.

6. Ready and Willing to Chew. This one is not always super easy to tell with infants but is very important with BLW. If all other signs are met and you attempt to feed your baby and they keep gagging on the broccoli because they aren’t trying to chew it it may just be too early to try and do foods. Want to help guide your baby there? Exaggerate your chewing when at the meal table, have them try rice rusks (they will learn to chew but it melts in their mouth so less concern over them gagging or choking).