If you read my first post about BLW, you already know I am 100% sold on this method. Once I had decided to try BLW, I wanted to know how to do it. Not just how, I wanted a step by step explanation of how, literally, to start feeding my baby solid foods. That doesn’t exist. So, here it is:
WHEN TO START?
Usually, 6 months is the optimal time to start. Your baby should be sitting up unassisted and show some interest in food. At this point, BB had been sitting with us for family meal time for about a month. As soon as she was sitting up, we started putting her in her high chair for dinner time. She would watch us eat and love every second. Around 5 1/2 months, she started reaching for our food and actually opening her mouth when we went to take bites, which was pretty freaking cute. So, we figure it was time to give it a try!
WHAT DO YOU NEED?
You don’t need much. A GREAT highchair is key. We love the Boon. It is easy to clean and move around. It is on wheels, which makes it really easy to wheel from the kitchen to dining room table, depending on where we are feeding her. A great sippy cup. We try to avoid plastic when we can, so we use the Lifefactory bottles which can be converted to sippy cups. I would also recommend a dog, a real-life cordless vacuum. BLW can be MESSY!
WHAT TO FEED FIRST?
Something soft and easy to grab. This is the challenge. It needs to be soft enough to mash with their gums, but hard enough to grasp. Blake’s very first food was steamed carrots. Other good first foods are: banana, avocado, sweet potato or squash. For your first attempt with solids, pick a time of day when your baby is wide awake and happy. It is so important that babies learn to love food, so we have to do everything in our power to set them up for success.
HOW TO CUT AND PREPARE?
There are many different ways to serve food for your baby. Diehard BLW mamas will give their babies large pieces the baby can grasp and knaw on. This made me a little nervous, so we cut BB’s food into bite-size pieces. BB developed the pincher grasp pretty early, so she didn’t have a problem with this.
HOW OFTEN TO FEED?
The first month will be all about learning to love food. It might take a couple weeks before your baby starts to actually swallow any food. At this point, and up until 1 year, food should not be replacing formula or breast milk. We started with one meal a day and gradually progressed to two, three and now three meals plus a snack on hungry days. Here is a sample timeline for progressing from 1 meal a day to 3 meals a day:
6-7 months: 1 meal a day
8-9 months: 2 meals a day
9-10 months: 3 meals a day
10-12 months: 3 meals a day + a snack
HOW MUCH TO FEED?
One of the great things about BLW is allowing your baby to tell you how much they want. Start small and continue feeding them until they are full. Our rule of thumb is, when BB starts throwing food on the floor or playing with her food, she is full. Now, she tells us “all done” when she is ready to get out of her high chair.
HOW DO YOU ADJUST BREAST MILK/FORMULA AMOUNTS?
Talk to your pediatrician about how much breast milk or formula your baby should be getting at different stages. Right now, BB should still be getting 22-32 oz a day. Then, along with your baby’s naps, figure out a meal schedule that works for you. Every baby is different, but we have fallen into a schedule that works really well for us. At 11 months, this is BB’s daily food and formula schedule (I also included an example of a daily menu for BB):
7:30am: wakeup & 6 oz bottle
9am: breakfast 1 egg and blueberries & 6 oz bottle (we give her water in a sippy cup during her meals and then offer the bottle after she is done)
12pm: lunch avocado, black beans, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese & 6 oz bottle
3pm: snack (on hungry days) peanut butter toast
5pm: dinner ground beef, quinoa, broccoli and carrots
7pm: 6 oz bottle & bedtime
HOW TO INTRODUCE FOODS:
I was very overwhelmed when it came to introducing new foods. So here are three rules to follow:
(1) Foods should be introduced slowly over time. Our rule of thumb was a new item of food every three days until she was about 10 months. Now, we let her try anything at any time.
(2) Be extra careful with high allergen foods. A big concern for me was high allergen foods, like eggs, peanut butter, strawberries, and shellfish. For those types of foods, we always tried them first in the beginning of the day, so we could watch her carefully all day for signs of an allergic reaction. For eggs, start with the yolk around 7 months. If your baby handles the yolk, then introduce the egg whites. With peanut butter, water down the peanut butter for the first try, and only give your baby about a teaspoon of watered down peanut butter. We tried peanut butter for the first time at 8 months.
(3) Follow the three phases of food rule. I found it easiest to group foods into phase I, II, and III foods. This made it easy to know when to introduce which foods. Now that BB is 11 months and (knock on wood) has not had any problems, we let her try just about anything while avoiding sodium, honey and spicy foods.
Phase I (6-7 months)
Banana, avocado, sweet potato, carrot, pear, blueberries, peas, salmon, eggs
Phase II (8-9 months)
quinoa, whole wheat bread, peanut butter, rice, ground beef, ground turkey, melon, strawberries, tomatoes, kiwi, zucchini, spinach, oatmeal
Phase III (10-11 months)
shrimp, crab, tuna, asparagus, peppers, beans, pasta, cheese, chicken, yogurt, onion, mushrooms
There you have it, BLW made simple!
