Baby-led Weaning plus purees … can you do both?
The short answer is - that's not the question. This is where many people get confused, so let's go back to the start:
There are two approaches to introducing solid foods to your baby. Baby-led or Parent-led.
Let's look at Parent-led first, as it's dominated things for the past hundred years.
At a time determined by the adult but hopefully around 6 months but quite possibly as early as 4 months, the infant is presented with food on a spoon. This is probably a dehydrated rice starch, fortified with iron and commonly known as rice cereal. Or perhaps some pureed vegetable or fruit. A small amount is slipped into the baby’s mouth and, depending on their stage of readiness, they either swallow it or poke it back out with their tongue.
Over the following weeks and months, different foods are introduced according to a timetable, with each offered in isolation so any allergies are easily identified. At around 6-8 months, the foods become mashed rather than pureed and additional “finger foods” are included, to allow emerging teeth to chew on them. Around 10-12 months, babies are eating a range of family foods modified for spoon feeding. In the second year, parents gradually transition to the child self-feeding some or all foods.
Baby-led is not a technique but an approach to feeding. Babies begin to explore family foods when they are developmentally ready. They can sit upright in a high chair, grasp food in their fist and bring it to their own mouth. Parents provide food in pieces suited to the grasp of a baby at this stage, roughly the size and shape of an adult finger.
Parents don't place food in the baby's hand or mouth. Foods are not introduced in any particular order. By around 8 months, babies are effectively consuming foods and by 10 months they are regularly feeding themselves. By 12 months they are eating most family meals in the same form as everyone else and are beginning to use cutlery. They will eat pureed foods that the family eat, such as soup, hummus or yoghurt, using other pieces of food to dip into it.
Which is the best way? Which is the right way? Neither. Can you do both at the same time? No - you are leading or the baby is leading. But self-feeding babies can eat off preloaded spoons and parent-led babies can be given finger foods.
It is the intention which distinguishes the two: is the baby being fed or feeding themselves? If your intention is self-feeding, you won't be spoon feeding anything into your baby’s mouth.
Don't get hung up on the “how”. Breastfed babies get most of their nutrition from breastmilk anyway in the first year. The additional iron, zinc and other minerals are going to come from red meat, poultry, beans, leafy green vegetables and wholegrains. A few teaspoons of rice cereal or pureed carrots are not going to contribute very much of anything! Solids aren't replacing milk feeds. They are in addition to breastmilk and their purpose is learning to eat before eating is essential.
