Can I Mix Purees And BLW? (Solved)

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Yes Absolutely! Behind Baby- Led-Weaning is a principle of watching your baby’s cues and responding to their unique needs. I used BLW techniques and pureed food whilst weaning my oldest daughter.

Starting solids at 6 months, or the age of readiness, can be an exciting milestone for your infant.

With the right guidance and some patience, you can introduce solid foods in a way that’s safe and beneficial for your baby.

It’s likely that you have heard about the growing trend of Baby-led- weaning but not but feel confused about how to make it work for you.

This guide will provide you with my tips and the most important information you need to know about introducing solid foods to your 6-month-old baby.

What Types of Food Can You Give At 6 Months?

When introducing solid foods to your 6-month-old, it is best to start with single ingredient items.

At this age your baby can eat most things you do, but it’s recommended to stay away from unprocessed cheese, raw fish, shellfish, honey, uncooked meats, highly sugary food or small hard foods they can choke on.

Also Read: What Are The Best Foods To Start BLW

Many people start with blander pureed vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes and squash, blended fruits like apples and pears, cooked avocado or banana mashes or prepared infant cereals.

However, there’s no reason why your baby can’t eat softer solid foods straight away. In fact it’s really good for them to start with finger foods form six months.

Steaming vegetables such as broccoli and giving deseeded soft fruits such as pear or cucumber is a great ways to start, but its unlikely to quench a hungry babies appetite so you might want to introduce pureed food as well.

Make sure you wash fruit before giving it to your baby.

When Should You Introduce Solid Foods?

It is recommended that solid foods be introduced to infants once they have developed the skills necessary to eat them properly.

This usually happens around six months of age, when a baby is able to sit upright and hold their head steady, grasp and pick up food with their hands and co-ordinate hand-to-mouth movements effectively.

If you are unsure if your baby is ready for solids, it may be wise to check with your doctor or health practitioner.

How to Transition To Solids Safely

When you do start giving solids to your baby, it’s important to do it safely. Begin slowly with a small amount once or twice a day.

Avoid foods that are high in sugar, salt, or fat and be sure to always feed your baby while seated. Proper supervision and guidance is also important.

Studies show that there are no more incidents of choking from baby’s weaning using BLW method or traditional puree to solid method or in fact a mixture of the two.

Whereas independent eating is a key concept of BLW it’s important that your baby is not left unsupervised and that foods are soft enough for them to break down or they may put themselves at risk of choking.

What Is Baby-Led-Weaning?

Baby led weaning is a popular way to start introducing solid food to your baby – it means allowing your baby to feed themselves solid food with their hands and being led by their choices , which can encourage self-feeding and independence.

To make it work for you and your baby, try an approach that’s not completely hands off: give steamed or boiled vegetables cut into long strips, small soft fruits like banana or avocado wedges, or pieces of toast or teething crackers.

Ensure all foods are ready for your baby to pick up and easily chewable.

Let them explore the food and offer guidance as needed, but let them do the feeding themselves with as little intervention from you as possible.

My Personal Experience Of Baby-Led-Weaning

I used this method as a starting point with both my children but adapted it to suit their (and my) current needs.

For example, my oldest was premature so I was a little more cautious allowing her to eat solid food. She was showing all the signs of being ready just before she was six months, I was holding off on the solid food until the day came.

She was sitting on my knee whilst I was eating a hot- cross bun, and she picked it up and looking at me started sucking on it. (This was not an ideal first food as wheat can be a common allergen and it contained raisins which are not recommended for infants).

Also Read: Best Wooden Highchairs For Baby Led Weaning

From the start she was an assertive child. This was something I celebrated. She would not allow anyone to spoon feed her even when hungry unless she had hold of the spoon and she was hungry!

At the start self feeding took a long time so after about ten days of introducing food, I simply kept back a portion of what I had eaten for supper ( I cooked from scratch and didn’t add salt or spices to the meals) and blended it to a lumpy texture, this way she’d have a spoon in one hand and clumps of food in the other.

It was a messy business, but I had a very happy baby and now a very healthy teen with a full and varied diet.

I chose to use some of the methods of baby led weaning because having worked with a lot of young children and their families I had witnessed the benefits to children of families who eat a main meal together.

Not only were they less fussy eaters as they got older, they tended to be more confident and generally speaking had better communication skills. Which I attributed to eating together with their families.

I didn’t want to get into battles around eating that I saw some parents get into, which placed a lot of tension around mealtimes.

Having my little ones eat with me in a natural way just appeared less stressful despite the mess. However, the mess is not for the faint hearted if you let them eat own their own as I did.

I would recommend a highchair that can sit right at the table, such as a Stokke, this helps the baby feel part of the family and allows you to sit with them at the table whilst you eat, allowing your baby to copy you and their siblings.

More recommended essentials are, a wipe- clean splash mat, lots of bibs and a table tray is also a great idea to reduce waste.

When Do Babies Stop Eating Purees?

From six months most baby’s don’t need pureed food. If they are showing all the signs of readiness for eating solid food. Across the world parents use different techniques to wean their babies.

It have only been a western tradition in the past few decades to take baby’s through three weaning stages from puree, lumpy to solid food.

Pureed food id essential to give to babies who are being weaning after 4 months and before they show signs of readiness for self feeding.

Also Read: Do Babies Know When To Stop Eating?

Its important to allow a baby from 6 months the opportunity to touch their food as this helps develop hand eye cordination, motor skills and allows the baby to grow in independence and confidence in makeing healthy food choices.

They also need to learn to chew and pass food around their mouth. Technically adults can stiil eat purees, for example yogurt, smoothies, soups and sauces, but we would be very limited in our food choices if we resitricted our diets in this way.

We would not have enough roughage to digest well and keep our bowels healthy. Therefore between Six months age a year a normally developing baby should eat mostly solid food.

The Pros and Cons of Suction Feeders / Dispensers

Although baby led weaning is popular for introducing solids to infants, suction feeders/dispensers may be a viable option for parents who are looking for an easier way to introduce their baby to new flavors and textures.

Suction feeders/dispensers work by allowing small amounts of thin food purees to escape the spoon as your baby puck at it, getting your infant used to the new flavors and textures while they learn how to eat.

However, this technique has its pros and cons – some parents worry that it could lead to babies rejecting healthy food or becoming over-reliant on feeders instead of learning how to properly feed themselves.

It’s certainly not a method to use with a normally developing infant beyond the first few months of weaning as a baby past six months should be able to hold foods and explore the texture.

Doing this with their hands helps them to coordinate their senses. In fact as they feel the food in their fingers and smell it they actually start to produce the right chemicals to break the food down in their body. Mostly it removes the fun of eating for your baby!

Dispensers can be useful however for small slippery food of foods your baby could choke on such as berries and grapes, as they allow baby to explore new flavours without this risk.

Another fun use could be making frozen yogurt or frozen smoothie lollipops for a slightly older baby allowing them the joy of a lollipop on a warm day without the additives of shop bought ice-pops.

Whatever method you decide to use for your baby, enjoy it, this is a fun time.