Quick Summary of What I’ve Learned About BLW

So in my reading, research, and anecdotes from other Mamas/Papas/Caregivers I learned a lot about what BLW is.

Basically, baby eats what you eat.

More complex is, baby needs limited salt and it is suggested that you also limit sugar and spicy foods but neither is mandatory.

Aside from that you avoid honey (even if it’s been baked or cooked, because botulism poisoning is really bad and not worth the possible risk) for the first year and avoid whole nuts, popcorn, unpasteurized milk products, and raw/undercooked meats (including eggs unless in UK where they have Red Lion stamp) until age 5. Reasoning behind 5 years old seems to be related to further development of esophagus reflexes as well as immune system improvements. But I’m not a doctor and so if the general consensus is to not do a thing I’m going to try and follow it.

This is the info-graph I reference when in doubt or when I need a refresher:

The other important thing is how you cut and serve foods. You want pinky finger length and halved width size pieces in the beginning when baby does not have pincer grasp and then later you upgrade to small baby bite sized pieces (think small cubes) when baby can use pincer grasp, somewhere after 8 months old.

Again I have nice references I use for this from Jenna Helwig’s book “Baby-Led Feeding” –

After that things get more varied opinion wise. What I’ve taken away though is as follows: experiment with seasonings (minus salt, sugar, and spicy spices), experiment with textures (for example, baked is different from steamed) and that does also include smoother and chunkier purée type foods, and just let baby try things over and over again because sometimes they don’t want the carrot unless it’s smooshed, cold, and covered in rosemary.

Also, relax buddy. No one has the right to tell you how to do this or judge you for your choices, it’s hard enough doing that to ourselves as parents.

You are doing great and you’ve got this!

– Erica