Oakley is almost 8 months old and I have been receiving a ton of questions on how we are feeding her now! If you follow me on Instagram (@sarah_bowmar), you have probably witnessed her in her high chair either eating steak, sweet potatoes, yogurt, etc! If you aren’t following me on Instagram- you probably should, babies eating is the cutest thing ever.

Before we dive further into the blog, I wanted to mention that I am not an expert when it comes to baby led weaning, but I will share the resources I have been learning from. If you have questions or concerns, please always direct them to your child’s doctor!

What Is Baby Led Weaning

In short, it’s skipping purees and going straight to “real” food for babies. You can also do this even if you have been feeding purees, you can really start at any time as long as baby is old enough to sit in a high chair and eat food (usually around 6 months). Why? I personally don’t like the idea of all the heavy metals that are in store bought purees. I do have some appliances to make my own but so far- she has been loving the solids! My goal is to have her try 100 foods before she turns 1. It’s also been proven that the sooner they can start on the 8 top allergen foods, the less likely they will develop an allergy to it over time. Again, if you have concerns over allergies- please consult with your child’s doctor.

Resources

The best book I read on BLW (baby led weaning), is linked HERE. It is a great ready on the why, how, and when! I also love that it gives a ton of food ideas and how to cut them based on how old baby is and their ability to grab- who knew there were two types of grips! I also love the book because it discusses allergens, differences in gagging and choking, how to prep food, etc. It also has pictures on how the different foods should look based on the above age differences. I highly recommend reading this book before starting BLW- it gave us such amazing peace of mind.

Speaking of choking, I think it’s vital that all parents and caregivers know how to handle a choking child, even if you aren’t doing BLW. The choking and CPR course we did is linked here

There are also a ton of amazing BLW Instagram accounts, I recommend going to the search feature of the app and simply searching BLW or baby led weaning. I will say that I refer to the above book 95% of the time and Instagram 5% of the time.

We started Oakley on solids, as stated. She has never consumed a store bought puree. So far, her favorite foods include eggs, steak, yogurt, avocado, peanut butter, and strawberries! It has made life so much easier when we go out to eat because she eats what we eat- we just cut it differently for her. There’s no need to have to worry about bringing something special for her from home! I also have a BLW highlight on my Instagram if you would like to follow along on our journey! Oakley still gets majority of her calories from formula but she is eating more and more solid food at each meal!

The Stuff

Bibs– who knew I would be so obsessed with silicone bibs? These have been a game changer as you don’t have to do a ton of laundry! They also don’t get crusty or sticky like regular cotton or cloth bibs!

Spoons– I am actually obsessed with these spoons. We have tried a few brands but this design, for the stage she is in right now, are beyond amazing!

High Chair– this is definitely a pricey item but it was her big Christmas gift this year! I also love the aesthetics of it and it can be converted to a normal chart when she no longer needs the tray

Meals– I cannot talk about these pre-made meals enough. They are extremely convenient and right now we are getting 2 meals out of each packet. They have the most unique ingredients and I don’t have to worry about trying to come up with a ton of different foods for her to try. I also love that everything is pre-cut to the perfect size for her!

Suction Bowls– I never would have imagined being so blown away with suction bowls- seriously, what genius came up with these??

Sippy Cups– no spill and come in tons of colors when you are ready to transition from the bottle!

Choking Rescue Device- just in case, regardless if you do BLW or not

I hope this blog was helpful in compiling all of the resources I used to feel comfortable with this method of feeding!