How do I offer foods safely with BLW?

If you are looking for a full library of foods to feed your baby, check out BLW Meals app. We show you how safely prepare foods and how to serve almost any food along with preparation tips for each stage of your baby’s development.

How to Offer Foods Safely BLW style

Food should be easy to pick up

Around the age of 6 months, babies develop the ability to pick up objects with the palm of their hand in what is known as the “palmar grasp”¹.

The food you serve should:

• Fit in your baby’s closed fist.
• Be long enough that the ends are slightly outside their closed hand so that the can suck and chew.
• Be cut to about the width of an adult’s index finger (or larger). Any food smaller than this — like a grape, for example — can be offered around 9 months, cut into lengthwise quarters to avoid choking, when your baby has developed their pincer grasp.

What if they bite big chunks?

It’s okay if your baby puts the whole thing in their mouth or bites off large bits. If it’s too much, they’ll chew and swallow it or spit it out. Babies will learn how to manage their bites as they progress through the eating process. If this worries you, be sure to read the guide in our app that talks about gagging and choking.

Offering Slippery Foods

You also need to be mindful when offering slippery foods like avocado, papaya, and mango. Sometimes babies can become frustrated when they have a difficult time picking up slippery fruits and veggies. In these cases, you can leave on part of the peel so that there is more friction for your baby to grab it. Be sure to always wash it well.

You may also like: How to Transition to Finger Foods

How much should I offer?

Babies are born with an innate ability to regulate their hunger and fullness based on their gastric capacity. They naturally stop eating when they have had enough, signaling their satiety through cues such as turning away or refusing the spoon. This self-regulation helps ensure they consume the right amount of food for their growth and development. When introducing solids you should pay close attention to these signals rather than encouraging a set portion size.

Pressuring a baby to eat beyond their natural limits can disrupt their ability to recognize hunger and fullness cues later in life. Therefore, when offering food, it is important to respect their internal cues and trust their ability to regulate intake.

It helps to offer 1 teaspoon or 1 piece of each food and, as your baby explores and eats, add a little more.

Remember, your baby may eat more or less depending on the meal or time of day. 

The goal of this stage and knowing how to offer foods is to expose your baby to a variety of tastes and textures and not to fill his belly with food, since milk (breast or formula) continues to be the main food until the first year and the caloric and nutritional intake does not yet come from food.

Prepare food so it’s easy to chew

At this stage, all foods should be soft and easy to smash between your fingers as babies don’t always have exposed teeth when they start solids. 

Babies have firm gums which are strong enough to crush pieces of food but only if it is prepared properly.

Usually, steaming, boiling, or baking is enough to soften harder vegetables (and fruits like apple) for baby-led weaning. This ensures they are tender enough for babies to gum while still holding their shape for easy grasping.

The ideal texture for babies

Try not to let the foods get too soft, since babies don’t have much control over their hand strength yet. It’s common for babies to end up mashing softer foods before they can put them in their mouths.

The texture should be soft and firm at the same time, like a banana.

The best tip for knowing if the cooking time is right and the food is soft is to think about when you’re going to cook a vegetable to make a puree: when you put a fork into the vegetable, it should go in easily, but not fall apart.

Offer a variety of food

Don’t worry about including all the food groups in every meal, just try to offer a variety throughout the day.

Adapt the foods you are already feeding your family!

With the BLW method, babies can share the same food the family eats, as long as it is age-appropriate and adapted to the ideal shape and texture for your baby.

Offering the same food as yours makes the baby feel like they are truly part of the mealtime.

It’s amazing how families reconnect with food and start eating much better after starting BLW.

There’s also the convenience of not having to prepare food for your baby that’s completely different from what’s planned for the rest of the family.

Want to know how to offer each food to your baby? Download the BLW Meals app for free, available for Android and iOS.

References

1. Futagi, Y., Toribe, Y., and Suzuki, Y. (2012). The grasp reflex and moro reflex in infants: hierarchy of primitive reflex responses. International Journal of Pediatrics, 2012.

2. Daniels, L., Heath, A. M., Williams, S.M. et al. (2015). Baby led introduction to solids (BLISS) study: a randomized controlled trial of a baby-led approach to complementary feeding. BMC Pediatrics 12(15), 179.

Do you have questions about how to offer foods BLW style? Leave a comment!