Weaning can be a daunting experience, but it is a great opportunity to bond with your baby. In this article, Annabel shares her top tips for baby led weaning. These tips will help you and your little one get started on your journey.
Weaning can be a daunting experience, but it is a great opportunity to bond with your baby. In this article, Annabel shares her top tips for baby led weaning. These tips will help you and your little one get started on your journey.
Top tips for baby led weaning
1. You don’t have to choose one method
I’ve always believed that you don’t have to choose between one method or the other. From around six months, you can incorporate baby-led weaning into your baby’s diet. So, you’ll have the freedom to combine an element of this alongside spoon feeding. Just use your intuition here, and follow what you feel is right for both you and your baby.
2. Combining both methods is very popular
In speaking to other parents, dietitians, nutritionists and healthcare professionals about the various approaches to weaning, combining both methods is a popular option and one that many parents are finding the most realistic to adopt.
Offering a mix of pureed foods as well as soft fingers foods at the beginning is also advocated by the likes of the Department of Health and the NHS and the British Nutrition Foundation.
3. Having a guide with whichever option of weaning you choose is wise
Both methods can be adopted on their own – and lots of parents enjoy real success with both when adopted exclusively.The introduction of my new Baby-Led Weaning Recipe Book equips families with the option to do what they feel is best. This book can be used on its own for exclusive baby-led weaning. Or, it can be used as a companion cookbook to my original feeding guide – The New Complete Baby and Toddler Meal Planner. This is filled with my most popular puree recipes.
4. Shared mealtimes are to be enjoyed
Baby-led weaning encourages shared family mealtimes, and whilst I’m a big advocator of everyone sitting down together and eating a variety of foods, this is not always realistic for busy families. It’s of course a positive principle to adopt, albeit if only a few times a week, but having purees as an option at the very beginning, gives parents even more flexibility.
5. There is no right or wrong
What’s important is that there is no right or wrong to weaning. Some babies thrive on purees, others on finger foods and yet some on both. Instead of committing to a certain feeding method, it’s ok to be flexible in your approach. Follow your intuition and your baby’s developmental signs.
Annabel’s Baby-Led Weaning Recipe Book equips families with the option to do what they feel is best. This book can be used on its own for exclusive baby-led weaning, or it can be used as a companion cookbook to Annabel’s original feeding guide, the New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner, which is filled with her popular puree recipes.
As well as being packed with useful advice and top tips, the book is filled with 120 recipes which the whole family can enjoy together – from breakfast and snacks, to vegetables, poultry, fish, meat and more.