Baby led weaning help?

Question

My daughter is 6 months and has been on solids since 4 months. I have not used baby led weaning but have been looking into it lately.

Can anyone give me any tips, info.... anything you want to share even if it is just your opinion on the method.

Also... how do you know what is safe/not safe in terms of choking hazards.

Do you think it would be an issue to switch to BLW when my daughter has been having minced/mashed for 2 months now?

Answer 1

It's fine to switch.

Safety-wise, anything that is soft enough for her gums to mash.  Ripe fruits, cooked veggies, avocadoes, well-cooked lentils/beans, couscous or rice, well-cooked chicken.  Really, the possibilities are endless.

Best way to do it:

Place food in front of baby.

That's all there is to it.  Seriously.  Your daughter will eat however much (or little) as she wants.  She will probably take her time to get used to the texture, and to practice moving the food around her mouth.  She may gag (which is not the same as choking), but BLW'ers are actually LESS likely to gag as babies who do purees (a lot of purees are too close to breastmilk/formula, and so babies try to suck it down, instead of swallowing properly).  

I usually cut the food into small pieces for my DD, but other people like giving big pieces that the baby can gnaw off of.  It's really up to you.

Experiment with different foods.  Don't be afraid to give your daughter something straight off your plate - many babies like strongly-flavored or spicy foods.  My daughter LOVES spicy hummus, curried dal, etc.  Mashed potatoes?  Blah.  LOL.

Answer 2

It probably won't be a problem. Just give her some table foods and see what she does with it. If she eats it good, if she doesn't oh well, it isn't the end of the world.

In the beginning she may gag a little, which is normal, it is very different from choking. If she controls what she puts in her mouth she will more than likely be ok. Don't cut pieces to small. Do strip like cuts.

This website has a lot of good info on it, I have read a lot of what they have on there: http://babyledweaning.blogware.com/blog