To start baby-led feeding, first look for signs your baby is ready for solids. Typically, this will be around six months. They need to be able to sit up with some support, and have enough head and neck control to keep them both still. For more guidance on what to think about when introducing solid foods to your baby, see here.
Once they are ready for solids, you can choose to start spoon feeding puree or offer them some stick-shaped finger foods that they can pick up and feed themselves.
At each mealtime, make sure you offer your baby an iron-rich food. This may be easier to do with purees—for example, a red-meat-based puree such as blended spaghetti with meat sauce, or an iron-fortified infant whole grain cereal. Feed your baby smooth purees using a spoon to start with, but you can quickly move onto chunkier textures as they get used to these.
You can also use iron fortified infant cereal as thickener in fruit/veggie purees – or an ingredient in other recipes like muffins or breads.
You can also offer small amounts of protein foods, such as eggs and dairy products, for example unsweetened yogurt. Plus one high-energy food per meal, such as banana. The main focus of combining baby-led weaning and purees is on developing your baby’s self-feeding skills at their own pace and in a safe way. It’s important to let your baby lead when spoon-feeding and not overfeed your baby if they are showing you signs that they are full or not interested. If you’re wondering how to spoon-feed your baby, see here.
Check out Baby-led feeding in 5 steps to see how to combine baby-led weaning and purees in practice, and get helpful food examples to offer your baby.
Give these Gerber Products a Taste
| Food Groups | Serving Size Examples | Total Daily Goals: |
|---|---|---|
| Milk | ½ - ⅔ cup milk or yogurt 1 slice American cheese |
16 fl. oz. |
| Vegetables | ¼ cup soft, peeled and cooked, mashed or cut to bite-size pieces | ¾ cup |
| Fruits (Limit juice to 4 fl. oz. of 100% juice, only once a day) |
¼ cup soft peeled, mashed or chopped fruit; 4 fl. oz. 100% fruit juice | 1 cup |
| Meat/Beans | 1-3 tablespoons cooked; mashed or easy-to-chew chopped meat, beans or eggs | 1½ oz. |
| Grains (Choose whole grains whenever you can) |
¼ cup cereal, rice or pasta or ½ slice bread, ½ cup hot cereal | 2 oz. equivalent |
| Fats/Oils | ½-1 tablespoon dressing, cooking oil or soft margarine | 2 tablespoons |
