We have quite the controversial topic for this week, so let’s dive right in!

First, let’s start with some definitions. Solid Starts (solidstarts.com) defines BLW as “a method of introducing solid food to babies whereby purées and spoon-feeding are skipped entirely in favor of finger foods that a baby self-feeds.” These solids are typically introduced around 6 months of age. The counter approach to BLW is starting with a puree on a spoon, such as rice cereal or a pureed fruit/vegetable, and the parent/guardian offers the food to the baby. Purees are typically introduced around 4-5 months of age.

So, what are you supposed to do?

This is a good question, but there’s more to it than that. I think it’s important to know the Pros and Cons of each so that you can make a decision that’s best for your baby.

Baby led weaning (BLW) has been considered a “feeding fad” to some and a “feeding lifestyle” to others. Regardless of how you want to label it, it has some good underlying principles, but also some limitations. Let’s break down the Pros and Cons of BLW.

BLW Pros:

Encourages independence, self-feeding, and hand-to-mouth experience with foods.
Encourages baby to communicate when they want to eat food and when they are finished eating by ways of gesturing.
Provides baby with exposure to individual foods as opposed to a blended puree of different foods.
Usually started closer to 6 months, so baby’s gross motor skills are more developed (e.g., greater trunk stability and neck control), which is important for a good eating experience.

BLW Cons:

BLW can be strict (e.g., start at 6 months, no spoons), which can be pressuring to parents and restrictive to littles.
Baby does not usually get exposure to the spoon, which can negatively impact their speech-language skills (remember spoon feeding supports bilabial sounds like “ma” and “ba”).
Babies can be ready for food experiences prior to 6 months, so it isn’t best for all babies to wait until 6 months for their first introduction to food.
Some parents expect babies to self-feed at 6 months of age, when their baby may not yet be developmentally ready to self-feed. This can place inappropriate demands and expectations on the baby and lead to negative eating experiences.
Sometimes parents offer baby foods that are not developmentally appropriate for their skill level, which can cause a negative experience with food (e.g., excessive gagging, choking episode).

Purees

Now let’s switch gears and talk about purees. Spoon feeding purees first has been considered the “traditional feeding approach” and “what our parents did.” Regardless of the label, spoon feeding purees also has pros and cons.

Puree Pros:

Purees are usually most developmentally appropriate for babies who are able to sit up in the high chair. Babies are less likely to have a negative experience with this more developmentally appropriate texture.
Spoon feeding supports speech-language skills. When babies use a spoon, they tend to find their lips, which then leads to producing more sounds like “ma” and “ba” and raspberries.
Purees help teach baby how to mash food, so that they learn the skills needed to manage other solid foods when they are introduced (e.g., banana, avocado, peanut butter).

Puree Cons:

Parents sometimes end up “doing all the work” and scraping the spoon of puree on the baby’s upper lip instead of waiting for top and bottom lip closure on the spoon. Baby ends up not being as active a participant in eating and waits for the parent/guardian to initiate.
Purees provide baby with less opportunities to self-feed, as utensil use is a harder skill to achieve than grasping food in the hand and bringing it to the mouth.
Parents may take longer to expose their child to higher textures (e.g., lumpy or mashed solids) and continue to feed baby purees because it is “easier” and “faster.” This can delay their oral motor skill progression.
Some parents get in the habit of hiding foods (e.g., pureed vegetables) in a puree food combination, which doesn’t allow baby to taste each food individually and can lead to later refusal of foods when they are presented alone.

What do I recommend?

Looking at development, it is more appropriate for baby’s first food to be a puree on the spoon.

HOWEVER, the foundational principles of BLW are solid (ha, get it- solid?), so it is very important to encourage sensory and individual food exploration with baby’s hands as soon as they start sitting in the high chair.

I recommend that while spoon feeding, offer the same puree or some soft mashable solid foods on the tray, so that baby learns the skill of spoon feeding AND has an opportunity to bring hands to mouth. Baby can learn independence and self-feeding skills AND learn how to eat from a spoon and support speech-language skills. After baby’s oral motor skills mature with spoon feeding, you can slowly replace purees with more solid foods and help baby self-feed as needed. You can still take a baby-led approach with purees, as long as you are letting baby be an active participant in eating.