Don't rush mom or baby.

• Don’t rush mom or baby (in the short-term or long-term) so that life can get back to "normal." (Normal will have a new definition every 6 months for the next few years, anyway!)
• Breastfeeding is natural, but doesn't always come easily. Often moms and babies need several days to get in the groove.

Learn about the benefits of breastfeeding for mom, baby, and the whole family.

• Baby - food that is specifically designed FOR baby. Easily digested, and helps prevent illness better than any other feeding option.
• Mom - helps fight off ovarian and breast cancers, often helps with postpartum recovery and weight loss, and helps protect against postpartum depression.
• Family - lower cost, less space, and less time. No need to buy formula, mix bottles safely, shop for special formula if baby has a sensitive stomach, or to lug around bags full of bottle supplies.

It can take a while to get the hang of breastfeeding, and you can be really helpful during this time!

• Be supportive. Let her know she's doing a great job.
• Keep her well fed and well hydrated. Keep a snack basket handy!
• Understand that it is a process, and DON'T say things like, "the baby's eating AGAIN?!"
• Understand that while her bosom likely looks delightful right now, she probably won't want any extra attention in that department for quite some time, and that's OK. The baby won't go off to college still breastfeeding.
• If she's in pain or discomfort, help find a lactation specialist to talk to. Breastfeeding SHOULDN'T hurt, and early help can be crucial to its success.

• Guide to Breastfeeding for Dads
• A Dad's Guide to Breastfeding

Tongue ties can affect breastfeeding negatively by limiting the proper movement of the infants mouth so they cannot properly nurse.

If an infant cannot move their tongue and mouth freely, they may experience any of the following:

• May not be able to latch on the breast, or may have poor latch
• May breastfeed non-stop in an effort to get enough milk (note, cluster feeding is COMMON in all infants, so if this is the only symptom, then cluster feeding is most likely the cause)
• Poor weight gain

A mother’s symptoms are often uncomfortable, and if unresolved, may lead to her ending breastfeeding sooner than she desired. Symptoms may include:

• list items go between these li tags
• Pain during feeding sessions
• Nipple getting compressed, may look like “lipstick” at the end of the feed
• White stripe across the tip of the nipple from compression
• Low milk production or blocked ducts due to poor milk removal
• Oversupply due to frequent nursing for baby to get enough milk

If the infant cannot extend or lift their tongue, or if it becomes misshapen during movement, this may indicate a tongue tie. You may be able to see or feel tissue under the tongue restricting movement. A visit to a lactation consultant or pediatric dentist is the best way to confirm the existence of a tie, and they can help you decide the best way to treat it. Ties are often the most visible sign of body and fascia restrictions that can lead to difficulty moving, problems with breastfeeding, tooth decay, and may even impact speech later.

List of pediatric dentists coming soon.

• La Lechge League - Tongue and Lip Ties

Breastfeeding is (in most cases) the best option for feeding an infant. The number on obstacle to breastfeeding is not usually a woman's own body - it's the support and knowledge (or lack there-of) of those around her. Having accurate, up-to-date information and ample support from family, employers, and healthcare professionals makes the process much easier. Check back soon to see our guide for more information. In the meantime, there are links below for more breastfeeding subjects.

When breastfeeding is NOT an option, there are a variety of options available. See below for Formula Feeding information, and check back soon for our alternatives guide.

Tips for bottle-feeding

• Pick a time when your baby is calm and not too hungry or full
• Start by offering small amounts of breast milk or infant formula in the bottle. You can offer more if he/she is showing signs of hunger until you figure out how much your baby usually eats in a feeding
• If you are breastfeeding, your baby may be more willing to take a bottle from someone other than you.

How to bottle-feed:

• Position the bottle at an angle (not straight up & down) so milk only comes out when your baby sucks
• Let your baby take breaks from drinking when they seem to want them
• Stop when your baby cues that they are full, even if the bottle is not empty
• Get Skin-to-skin with baby! Skin-to-skin is a wonderful tool, and not just for exclusive breastfeeding. Getting skin-to-skin with baby helps regulate their breathing, heart rate, and nervous systems.
• Make eye contact with baby. Let feedings be a bonding time, no matter the method of feeding. Newborns can see roughly 12 inches away - the common distance to their mother's face when feeding.

Other tips:

• Give your baby only breast milk or infant formula in a bottle
• Hold your baby close when you feed him or her a bottle
• Do not prop or leave the bottle in your baby’s mouth. This can increase your baby’s risk of choking, ear infections, and tooth decay
• Do not put your baby to bed with a bottle
• Do not force your baby to finish the bottle
• Don’t put cereal or other food in a bottle (choking hazard)
• Keeping your bottle feeding supplies clean is very important to keep germs from getting into the milk or formula - Learn more about how to clean your feeding supplies.

Explore the below links to learn some important information about feeding your baby infant formula:

When your child is about 6 months old, you can start introducing him or her to foods and drinks other than breast milk and infant formula - sometimes called complementary foods.

Between the first and second year, your child will develop the skills needed to participate in meals with the family. By 2 years old, your child will be able to eat most of the same foods as the family. Explore the pages below to learn more:

Your infant (0-5 months) may be hungry if he/she:

• Puts hands to mouth.
• Turns head towards breast or bottle.
• Puckers, smacks, or licks lips.
• Has clenched hands.

Your infant may be full if he/she:

• Closes mouth.
• Turns head away from breast or bottle.
• Relaxes hands.

Let your child decide how much to eat - they do not have to finish all the food on the plate or drink all the liquid in the cup/bottle.

• Having a routine can help children know what to expect when it is time for meals or snacks.
• Wash your child’s hands before mealtime.
• Sit your child in a safe place (high chair or booster seat)
• Watch children at all times to make sure they are safe.
• Face your child toward you or other family members at the table.
• Limit distractions (TV, videos, cell phones, pets) from both you & your child.
• Sitting down as a family for mealtime can teach your child how to eat and helps your child develop social skills.
• Model healthy eating and offer healthy food options at each meal
• Talk with your child during mealtimes
• Mealtimes do not have to be long - they can last 10 or 15 minutes sometimes
• As children get older, they will develop different skills to help with mealtimes. Learn more about when children will begin to use their fingers, spoons, forks, and cups.

At age two, your child:

• Should be eating 3 healthy meals a day plus 1-2 snacks
• Can eat the same food your family does
• Should be able to use a spoon
• Can drink from a cup with just one hand
• Feed themselves a wide variety of finger foods
• Is still learning to chew and swallow efficiently
• Can become an active participant at family mealtimes

Make sure your toddler eats from each of the basic four food groups each day:

• Meat, fish, poultry, eggs
• Milk, cheese, and other dairy products
• Fruits and vegetables
• Cereals, potatoes, rice, flour products

• Hot dogs (unless cut in quarters lengthwise before sliced)
• Chunks of peanut butter (can be spread thinly on a cracker)
• Nuts, especially peanuts
• Raw cherries with pits
• Round, hard candies
• Gum
• Whole grapes (cut into quarters)
• Whole cherry tomatoes (cut into quarters)
• Marshmallows
• Raw carrots, green beans, celery
• Popcorn
• Seeds (pumpkin, sunflower)
• Large chunks of any food; meat, potatoes, fruits, raw vegetables

Your 6 to 23-month-old may be hungry if he/she:

• Reaches for or points to food
• Opens his or her mouth when offered a spoon or food
• Gets excited when he or she sees food
• Uses hand motions or makes sounds to let you know they are still hungry

They may be full if he/she:

• Pushes food away
• Closes his or her mouth when food is offered
• Turns his or her head away from food
• Uses hand motions or makes sounds to let you know they are full

Vitamin supplements are rarely necessary for toddlers who eat a varied diet. Supplemental iron may be needed if your child eats very little meat, iron-fortified cereal, or iron-rich vegetables.

Your toddler should drink 16 ounces of low-fat or nonfat milk each day for adequate calcium for bone growth

• More than 32 ounces of milk per day may interfere with the proper absorption of iron
• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children stay on whole milk until they are two years of age

Do not fixate on amounts, but instead healthy food choices.

Avoid making mealtime a battle - the more you struggle with your child over his or her eating preferences, the more determined they will be to defy you.

Offer a variety of foods and leave the choices up to your child, it will allow him or her to eat a balanced diet on their own. 

Let your toddler feed themselves when possible, and offer soft finger foods instead of ones that require a fork or spoon.

• Feeding & Nutrition Tips: Your 2-Year-Old
• Infant and Toddler Nutrition

First coined by Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett in their book Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide to Introducing Solid Foods, Baby-led weaning is an approach to introducing solid food where the baby is allowed and encouraged to self-feed solid finger foods instead of receiving purées via spoon. It is a natural exploration of food, led by your baby.

BLW babies:

• Are encouraged to join the family at mealtime and self-feed appropriate finger foods
• Choose what, how much, and how quickly to eat
• Are given the freedom to explore new tastes & textures without the pressure to eat a specific food or amount
• Continue to nurse or receive a bottle just as often

For Babies

• Self-regulation and self-selection with food
• Early experimentation with a variety of healthy foods, which may improve food choices later in life
• Promote hand-eye and fine motor skills
• Learning how to safely handle food (chewing then swallowing)
• Manage different textures, tastes, sizes, and shapes of food

For Parents

• Your baby eats what you eat, so it’s much easier than pureeing a separate meal
• You can eat at the same time and enjoy your warm meal
• You raise a less picky eater

It is highly recommended you wait until your baby is at least 6 months old to begin baby-led weaning. Before 6 months of age, babies' digestive systems and hand-eye coordination are not yet developed enough.

Your baby is also likely ready for BLW if they:

• Can sit up unsupported in a highchair
• Have good neck strength & can keep their head up
• Have lost the tongue-thrust reflex (automatically pushing solids out of the mouth with tongue)
• Are reaching out & grabbing foods
• Are chewing even if they have no teeth
• Have developed the pincer grasp (baby picks up food between thumb and forefinger, not palm and fingers)

Contact Ellen Gipson, the local BLW expert, if you have any questions!

Really all you need is a baby and soft, solid, healthy foods! But, these items can certainly help:

• A highchair that is easy to clean & can be pulled towards your dining table
• A catch-it-all long-sleeved bib – bibs with long plastic sleeves that also have a pock on the front
• Baby spoon and fork – for pre-loading messy foods
• Suction bowl – as your baby progresses with weaning you will want to put food in a bowl rather than the highchair tray

Commit to the process

Families trying BLW are encouraged to make family mealtime a habit, especially since babies learn best by observation and imitation. Plus, the baby feels included, and mealtime is a fun experience rather than a battle.

Continue giving your baby milk - Breast Milk is the only food/drink a baby needs for the first 6 months of life. Formula is the only alternative to breast milk and should be the only drink you give your baby until they are 1 year old.

From birth to 6 months, milk provides your baby with 100% of all of their nutritional needs. From 6 months to 12 months – baby gets 75% of nutrition from milk 25% from food. When introducing solid food:

• Breastfed babies - continue to breastfeed on demand. Feed your baby approx. 60-90 minutes before offering solid food
• Bottle-fed babies - 210ml beaker 3 times/day (roughly)

Prepare food according to your child's age - At 6 months your baby will not have developed the pincer grasp (picking up food with their index finger and thumb). Once they do, you can start introducing things like squished blueberries, peas, squashed beans, etc.

Keep food soft - You should be able to squash food between your finger and thumb to give it to a baby without teeth.

Baby’s first solids should be a selection of “finger foods” that include fresh fruits, soft-cooked vegetables, healthy carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

The Best First Foods for Baby-Led Weaning

Fruits

• Banana
• Very ripe peaches, pears, plums, and melon
• Soft cooked apples

Vegetables

• Roasted butternut squash
• Steamed broccoli florets
• Potato spears
• Pumpkin
• Green beans
• Roasted peppers (skins removed)
• Avocados
• Sweet potatoes
• Soft cooked carrots, cauliflower, and beet spears

Protein & Meats

• Egg yolk or made into an omelet and sliced
• Mashed chickpeas
• Thinly shredded roasted chicken (preferably the brown meat)
• Hummus spread on veggie spears
• Homemade meatballs or burgers
• Liver
• Beef strips
• Salmon
• Mackerel

Dairy

• Yogurt on a preloaded spoon
• Goat cheese balls

Herbs & Spices

Giving Your Baby Meat

Meat is a great source of protein, iron, vitamins, and minerals. A serving size of meat is about the size of your pinky finger for a baby 6-12 months old.

• Slow cook meat – The slower you cook meat, the more tender it will be
• Make mini burgers – Make patties roughly the size of your baby’s palm
• Shred meat – take a fork and back fork to create safe, shredded meat for your baby
• Meatballs – Make meatballs the size of a golf ball so it is easy for your baby to grab
• Give your baby brown/darker meat whenever possible (higher in Iron)
• Ensure meat is never rare or undercooked

Giving Your Allergen Foods

• Give allergen foods from 6 months – Early exposure may help reduce the risk of developing a food allergy
• Always start introducing allergens when your baby is well
• Introduce one allergen food at a time – giving multiple at once can make it difficult to know which one is causing issues
• If there’s no reaction to the food, continue giving the food to your baby at least 2x/week
• Wait approx 1 week before introducing the next allergen

The most commong major food allergens are:

• Celery
• Cereals containing gluten
• Crustaceans (prawns, crabs, lobsters)
• Eggs
• Fish
• Lupin
• Milk
• Mollusks (mussels, oysters)
• Mustard
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Sesame
• Soybeans
• Sulfur dioxide and sulfites

• High choking risk foods like grapes, cherry/grape tomatoes, nuts, whole hot dogs (full list here)
• Added table salt or sugar

• Don’t let your baby get too hungry - Nurse or bottle-feed up to an hour before offering solids
• Embrace the mess - many parents find a naked baby is easiest to clean up afterward
• Don’t cut food too small - serve pieces of food large enough for the baby to grasp easily
• Rolling pieces of food in oat flour can make pieces easier for the baby to hold
• Make food soft enough - should be able to be smashed between your finger & thumb
• Start with savory foods (non-sweet)
• Give your baby a variety of foods
• Never rush your baby - to keep your baby safe it is important that you are present and not rushing
• Don’t overload your baby’s plate/tray - Too much food will overstimulate your baby
• Start slow & learn your baby’s cues - Begin offering solids once a day, and gradually increase as they show they want or need more.
• Cut fruits & veggies into long thick, french-fry sized spheres - Lay flat on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then drizzle over a small amount of olive oil. Roast at 250ºF for about 30 minutes or until soft.

Choking Vs. Gagging

Close supervision when your child is eating is a must, as choking is a real concern with any supplemental feeding. All parents should understand the signs of choking and know how to respond. It’s equally important that only the baby puts food into their own mouth.

Gagging is a safety mechanism that safeguards against choking by bringing large pieces of food forward to be chewed. As baby grows, this place in the mouth moves further back towards the throat. Baby-led weaning helps babies learn to chew and swallow when this reflex is still very close to the front of the mouth. Gagging will subside as your baby gets better at eating.

If a baby is gagging, they will:

• Be quiet or silent
• Have trouble coughing, or won't cough at all
• Have trouble breathing

How do I know my baby is getting enough to eat?

• Your baby is getting enough to eat if they are gaining normally and thriving.
• Baby-led solid feeding trusts that baby knows when they are hungry, full, and what is required to meet nutritional needs.
• If your baby is struggling with low weight, you can try adding in smoothies, purees, or extra fats like avocado and butter.

Will My Baby Get Enough Iron Without Iron-fortified Baby Cereal?

• Yes, if they are breastfed. The iron in breastmilk is absorbed at 50-70%, while the iron in iron-fortified cereal is absorbed at 4-10%. Formula-fed babies may also get enough iron from iron-rich finger foods such as meat & poultry (especially beef and liver), winter squash, sweet potatoes, sea vegetables, greens, beans, egg yolks

Remember: Progress Not Perfection

If the process is going slow or you feel overwhelmed, you can always try a hybrid approach to feeding. And if your baby doesn’t seem ready, that’s ok too. Give it a week or two, then try again. After all, baby-led weaning doesn’t have to be all or nothing- so work with your physician and experiment with approaches to determine what best works for your family and lifestyle. It is all about being comfortable and enjoying the experience.

• How to start Baby Led Weaning a complete beginners guide
• How to Do Baby Led Weaning (And Why You Should)