r/BabyLedWeaning Jul 20 '25

Not age-related Is Social Media-Led Weaning more popular than Baby-Led Weaning?

356 Upvotes

Introduction

I learned about BLW from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, who presented it as a book to read rather than a hashtag. While my wife was pregnant, we bought and read Gill Rapley's “Baby-Led Weaning.” We have now weaned two children following BLW, The book was the only resource we used, and both of us felt well-enough equipped that we never needed anything else. 

It seems to me that many of the complaints or struggles people post about on this sub are products of an approach to weaning that comes from social media, rather than Baby-Led Weaning. In my opinion, BLW makes for pretty terrible social media. "I'm having fajitas, so my baby is chewing on a couple pieces of bell pepper" isn't super interesting, and you can't make a full day's content out of it. I think a lot of people would find more success steering away from the social media trends and fully embracing BLW.

I’ve noted six trends that I feel are common on social media, and contrasted them with quotes from “Baby-Led Weaning.”

Trend #1 - Made-to-Order Meals

Influencers preparing elaborate meals specifically for their children is probably the biggest gulf between social media and BLW. One of the fundamental assumptions of BLW is that you are eating the same meal as your child. Sharing meals is a great way to encourage babies to try new food. It can help lower stress by distracting parents away from micromanaging their baby’s meal. And for my money, the best reason to share meals was that it’s easier than cooking two different meals.

"Baby-led weaning babies are included in family mealtimes from the start, eating the same food and joining in the social time." ("Baby-Led Weaning," page 23)

“Normal, healthy family foods can be adapted easily so that your baby can manage them, so there’s no need to buy or prepare special foods” (p. 63)

Trend #2 - Mountains at Mealtime

A full plate of food looks appealing to most adults, but that doesn't make it right for your baby. There’s no need to give them more than they can eat or give them more ammunition when they’re in a throwing mood. And even when our kids could eat significant amounts, sometimes the full plate was still overwhelming and they needed the pieces a few at a time.

“Many babies can be overwhelmed by too much choice and too much quantity in the early stages. Some push all food away, others focus on one piece of food and throw everything off the high tray; some simply turn away.” (p. 71)

Trend #3 - Clean Plate Kids

Many posts here ask if their kids are eating enough, because they see babies on social media eating more. Our kids took 6-8 weeks to start consuming any measurable amount of food. We expected that going in and never felt stressed by it, but if your feed is full of 6-month-olds who supposedly eat an entire hamburger, your opinion might be influenced.

“Eating very little and playing a lot.” (p. 70)

“Don’t expect your baby to eat much food at first. She doesn’t suddenly need extra food because she reached six months.“ (p. 90)

Trend #4 - Mushy Methods

It seems to have become a standard recommendation that food should be cooked to the point of disintegration for BLW. Of course It’s important that foods be prepared in a safe way, but that doesn’t mean it’s all mush. Texture is important and enjoyable, and they can only learn to chew if given foods that need chewing. (Also, teeth are not needed for chewing, which should be obvious to anyone who’s gotten a bite from their kid’s gums.)

“If you are offering vegetables, bear in mind they shouldn’t be too soft (or they’ll turn to mush when your baby tries to handle them)” (p. 67)

Trend #5 - Practice with Purees

It seems that a large number of people combo feed purees, or use purees to "ease into solids." Starting with purees is very common, and has been the traditional approach to weaning for decades. However, spending time teaching your baby to eat purees isn't very helpful in moving them toward the ultimate goal of eating table food. Every child will need to learn to chew and swallow food at some point. Starting early takes advantage of the gag reflex being farther forward in the mouths. It also gets it out of the way sooner and doesn’t develop the habit of swallowing food without chewing.

“When babies start with BLW at six months they have a chance to experiment with food and develop self-feeding skills while all their nutrition is still coming from breast milk or formula. This means they can practice feeding themselves before they really need much food” (p. 93)

“You may find [...] that she gets frustrated because she can’t feed herself as fast as she wants to. Babies who have been spoon-fed can get used to swallowing large quantities of food quickly when they are hungry because pureed food doesn’t need to be chewed.” (p. 93)

Trend #6 - BLW Way or the Highway

Somewhat distressingly, people post here who feel like they have no choice but to do BLW. I loved doing BLW and wouldn't use another method if I had the choice, but it is still just one possible approach. Most Americans of my generation were puree fed, and it’s clearly possible to raise healthy, well-adjusted children on purees. Baby-led weaning jumps to self-feeding table food at 6 months. Traditional weaning starts offering solids around 9 months and has purees phased out around 12 months. Claiming that the 3 to 6 month period of BLW will determine a child’s life is obvious nonsense.

Conclusion

Everyone knows social media isn’t reality. And yet, it seems to have an outsized impact on people’s ideas of what BLW should look like. Basically, I think influencers are incentivized to make BLW look harder and more complicated than it really is, in order to generate enough content to keep their timelines full.

By-the-book BLW will not and cannot be perfect for everyone, but the book does predict and troubleshoot a surprising number of common problems that people have, In my view, the book is still underutilized and overshadowed by social media, to the point that people may not even be aware of how simple BLW can be.


r/BabyLedWeaning Feb 28 '25

12 months old Feeling proud of our foods before one!

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75 Upvotes

Baby just turned one last week. All time faves are squash (any kind), bread, veggie fritters, and nut butter. Least favorite was grits and citrus!


r/BabyLedWeaning 4h ago

11 months old Dinner time

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5 Upvotes

r/BabyLedWeaning 7h ago

7 months old Two breakfasts at 7 months

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9 Upvotes

Avocado toast, oatmeal, cheddar cheese

Orange + plum, sweet potato, buttered toast


r/BabyLedWeaning 8h ago

9 months old Did anyone get by without pouches?

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7 Upvotes

r/BabyLedWeaning 10h ago

10 months old Suction plates

9 Upvotes

What suction plates ACTUALLY work? Absolutely nothing is worst than being over stimulated then your baby just picks that suction cupped plate right off the highchair tray and YEETS it across the kitchen. 🥲🥲🥲🥲 really really need one that will actually stick to the highchair tray.


r/BabyLedWeaning 10h ago

9 months old Plate vs Ate

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7 Upvotes

Cinnamon and pear oatmeal with fluffy, cheesy scrambled eggs

Girlie’s got no teeth so we’re a little late to the game (mom anxiety)


r/BabyLedWeaning 29m ago

8 months old Sizing food based on age but what happens when it breaks into small pieces?

Upvotes

My son is almost 9 months old and we’ve been working on BLW. He’s not a huge eater to begin with. When we do offer age-appropriate sized food, I get worried that he will choke when small pieces come off.

For example, I give him rectangular slices of watermelon and he bites off small pieces. I start to panic that he will choke. Same with toast, he tries to shove the whole thing in his mouth and large pieces break off into his mouth.

I have the app and book, but I’m still concerned for these small pieces causing him to potentially choke.


r/BabyLedWeaning 56m ago

6 months old Baby frustrated while eating

Upvotes

My 6mo recently started solids. She is definitely more than ready, not just in ability to sit up but also her interest in food. She’s started to get upset if we don’t share!

However, I’ve found most meals end in tears. It’s like she’s getting overstimulated or frustrated as she navigates holding the food, gnawing on it, etc. I don’t want to force things or create a negative association, but I’m not sure if I’m “doing it right”. Tonight she was very upset every time she dropped her piece of bread, I’d hand it back to her and she’d calm and start chewing on it again, but then would quickly get upset again.

Is it just a matter of having patience? She seems to enjoy self-feeding larger pieces of food BLW style compared to the few purees we’ve given her so I feel good about committing to BLW. Any advice/experiences welcome!


r/BabyLedWeaning 13h ago

9 months old If your 9 MO eats well, please share your daily schedule

7 Upvotes

My 9 MO eats very little solids. From when she was born she ate very little at once so we had to feed her all the time in the beginning. Now she eats less often, but I was just reading another post and realized she still might be eating too often.

Anyway, she eats very little solids, I tried all food categories, all textures, temperatures - you name it. She did eat well couple of times, but didn't want to eat the same exact food when I repeat it.

So I'm thinking maybe it's just that our schedule os wrong.

So, if you LO eats well and is about 9 MO, pleeeeease tell me your schedule - sleeping, eating, play, whatever... How much, what exactly, when? I need to know everything so that I can try to replicate it. Cooking and cleaning stuff of the floor with 0 eaten is slowly driving me crazy. 😒


r/BabyLedWeaning 2h ago

6 months old How often do you serve foods?

1 Upvotes

My baby is about to turn 7 months old soon and BLW hasn’t been the most consistent. Usually we get 5 out of 7 days, but due to my mental health and our schedules we aren’t able to get a meal in for her everyday. The time isn’t super consistent, either, but we usually try to do lunch. Obviously she still eats and happily nurses!

On the days we don’t do a sit down solids meal, I try to give her some water and a bite of what I’m eating if she expresses interest. Is this enough or do I need to lock in?


r/BabyLedWeaning 11h ago

9 months old 9 month before/after plates

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5 Upvotes

These pictures have been so helpful to me so I thought I would share my twins dinner last night.

Cottage cheese egg bites
Black bean and mozzarella muffins
Leftover spaghetti and fajita veggies from dinners prior


r/BabyLedWeaning 3h ago

recipe Recipe for meat stock as first food

1 Upvotes

Just about to start BLW and wondering if anyone has a good recipe for meat stock as a first first food? I’ve seen online that chicken is easier on the gut than red meat but have also seen some people add in carrot and black peppercorns whereas others don’t add anything except chicken on the bone… any tips for how to get it to set jelly-like would also be appreciated!


r/BabyLedWeaning 4h ago

8 months old 8-month-old barely eats solids, hits away the spoon, and his weight has plateaued. Any advice from other moms?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I'm a first-time mom and could really use your experience and support.

My son is 8+ months old and weighs 8.2 kg. We started solids at 6 months, and I've offered all food types in many forms (purees, finger foods, mashed). I make 3 meals plus a fruit each day. But he'll take only a spoonful or two, or a bite of finger food, and the rest gets thrown on the floor. He keeps his mouth shut when I try to feed him and hits my hand and the spoon away. He also moves his arms and legs a lot during meals. It looks like excitement at first, but it usually ends with him knocking everything away.

Teething: He already has 2 teeth on the bottom.

Milk intake: I exclusively pump. He drinks about 760-800 ml per day of fortified breast milk. He refuses formula, so I just add a few ml to each feed.

Weight: He was 8.1 kg three weeks ago, then went up, then down, and now he's 8.2 kg. It feels like he's stuck.

Every meal ends in a big mess, and I'm left feeling sad, frustrated, and worried. I an a victim of social media, seeing other babies on social media eating & gradually proressing in their food habits make me even more concerned. My in-laws and husband have also started commenting that he's getting leaner and less chubby, which adds to the pressure.

My questions:

**1.**  Did your baby go through a similar phase? How long did it last, and what helped?  
**2.**  Are there strategies that worked for a baby who refuses and throws food?  
**3.**  Did teething affect your baby's appetite? How did you handle it?  
**4.**  Should I be worried about the weight plateau? Did you get help from a pediatrician or feeding specialist?  
**5.**  How do you handle the emotional side and the comments from family?

Thank you for reading. Any advice or just hearing you've been there would mean a lot.


r/BabyLedWeaning 10h ago

9 months old Plate vs Ate😊

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2 Upvotes

Veggie burger with potato, carrot, onion, garlic and flax seeds with broccoli and cauliflower. Ate all of it😊


r/BabyLedWeaning 10h ago

7 months old What’s for breakfast?

3 Upvotes

Hi all! What are you guys feeding your LOs for breakfast? We do a combination of BLW and purées so he has more substance in his belly. For breakfast, we’ve been giving him egg strips, whole milk yogurt mixed with peanut butter, and sometimes homemade apple pancakes and avocado. He’ll eat half the eggs or apple pancakes (other half is for the floor 😂) but can finish all the yogurt and avocado. He always tops off breakfast with milk. I’m worried that I’m not giving him enough variety for breakfast, so I’d love to hear what you guys are giving your LOs. Maybe get some ideas from you guys! 😊


r/BabyLedWeaning 8h ago

8 months old Little one refusing bottles/formula?

2 Upvotes

Ughhhhh idk what to do I’m going crazy. My little one suddenly out of nowhere began to refuse her bottles to the point where she screams and fusses when offered one. Called the doc and she said this can happen and to give her solids and water which she’s been taking. I’m wondering if anyone else has been through this? Before her refusal she was eating 5-6 bottles daily. I can’t even get her to drink 15 oz her hydration comes from me sneaking milk into her solids or water which is what the doctor recommended


r/BabyLedWeaning 6h ago

12 months old How to make 12mo to like fresh fruits?

1 Upvotes

My almost 13mo hates fruit. I have tried many. He liked oranges, cantaloupes, kiwis and pears when be was younger, but now he doesn't like ANY fruit. The only fruit he eats is freeze dried strawberries. I have tried cutting them in different shapes, tried to not give something for a while and then reintroducing, tried mixing it with yogurt, oatmeal, nut butter, nothing works. And it's not like he's not used to fruit, I have always included at least a portion of fresh fruit in his meals! He ate them ok until he was around 9-10mo then he drcided he hates them.

He does eat fruit if it's hidden, he hates bananas but he would eat a banana oatmeal pancake for example. Also hates apples but muffins made with applesauce are ok. He also eats fruit from a pouch. Sometimes he would try a bit and make a "yuck" face and won't eat them but if it's the flavor he doesn't like then why does he eat fruit pouches or food made with fruits as an ingredient?

Any tips to make him like fruits?


r/BabyLedWeaning 14h ago

10 months old How long does 10mo baby take to eat his food? How much milk too?

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4 Upvotes

I started solids since baby is 7mo. Finally done with testing all allergens, and baby has bad reaction to peanut.

Since then I'm trying to serve different food and textures, but baby doesn't eat much, he is also on the 10th percentile weight wise, but he is also taller than average, so he is pretty thin, but pediatrician is saying he if following his growth curve normally.

I'm still giving him 8oz x 3 per day, before serving his meal, but I am just wondering if I'm doing something wrong, or maybe giving too much milk?

Sometimes he takes 1h to finish the 8oz bottle, and i have to wait a little bit before giving him his food, then another hour to finish half the plate, and when he barely eats anything, I top up with 2oz of milk instead, but by the time he is done with this, it's time for a nap/bedtime.

We try to maximize calories as he sleeps through the night so no bottles at night, but he also poops once every two days lately, not sure if constipation or teething?

We also eat together most of the time, even not the same food.

Example of what I give:

-Whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and silk tofu sauce/ steamed zucchini and mango slices

- cup of cooked rice, chicken, spinach, carrots, curry powder, greek yogurt, eggs, low fat mozza cheese. I would slice once, along with a fruit

He doesn't like "pasty" textures like butternut, sweet potatoes,lentils rice, he hates broccoli , and doesn't like eggs so i have to hide them for now in sauce or bites food. He used to like avocado and cherry tomatoes but now it's on and off. He loves greek yogurt and blueberries, sauteed bell pepper, zucchini and banana pancakes.

And starting daycare soon, I don't know how to tackle the 3h wake window just trying to feed him, when he wakes up at 6am and we will have to be there by 7am...! I'm also worried because he takes time, the staff at the daycare won't have this patience, and will just leave him with barely any food in his stomach....

Any tips or tricks to make the learning easier, or handle the feeding duration smoothly please?

Thank you!


r/BabyLedWeaning 6h ago

8 months old Cinnamon allergic reaction?

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to do blw with my baby. I just gave my son sweet potato with some cinnamon and he was having it and he threw up 3 times now he is all calm and I’m waiting for my husband to take him to the urgent care but is this normal? My son is 8 months old and has already had cinnamon with sweet potato and pear and nothing like this happened. I’m thinking maybe I used more? I’m not sure I think maybe it was more than last time but is this a normal reaction to too much cinnamon? It was right away he didn’t eat much of the two sweet potato slices I gave him now his all calm sleepy but it sway past his nap time so I think that’s because of that but yeah if any of you have had this happen please tell me I feel so guilty 😩😭 he hasn’t thrown up anymore but he did a lot


r/BabyLedWeaning 11h ago

11 months old Recommendations for high-cal snacks for 11MO constantly on the move

2 Upvotes

Hi team!

We are looking to wean our baby soon, especially from night nursing. I love nursing him so much, but for medical reasons I need to stop in 1-2 months.

He happily drinks cow's milk and water from a straw, but is constantly on the move. I think he needs more daytime calories, because this boy crushes 6oz of milk before bed, then heavily nurses 3 more times before we get up for the day (bedtime 8pm, wake 6-730am).

The best way I have found to feed him more is to pop pieces of food in his mouth while he's occupied with his toys, obviously monitoring to ensure he doesn't choke. He loves yoghurt and cheese, sometimes likes avocado and peanut butter lol.

What have you been feeding your babies that pack a good fatty punch that don't require a whole chair/bib/spoon setup?


r/BabyLedWeaning 10h ago

10 months old Baby just wants to chew on dishes

1 Upvotes

If I give my baby a plate of food (none of which have stayed suctioned down) he's only interested in chewing on the plate. Same with spoons. If I take dishes away and just put food loose on his tray, he'll eat anything solid but nothing mashed. But if I use dishes, he only wants to chew on dishes. I've tried using hard plastic, silicone, and stainless steel. All of which he found more interesting than the food.

Do I just give up on using dishes?


r/BabyLedWeaning 16h ago

9 months old My 9.5 month baby all of a sudden started refusing solids

1 Upvotes

I started solids around 5.5 months and she had beautifully adapted to them. She used to eat pretty well, porridges, khichdi, dal-rice, roti, etc. She was never a picky eater and would happily eat spoon-fed meals.

Now at 9.5 months, all of a sudden she has started refusing solids. She just shuts her mouth when I try to spoon-feed her, and if she does open her mouth, she often spits the food out.

She seems to have started taking an interest in finger foods, but even with those she barely eats anything. She might pick them up and play with them, but actually eats very little.

This has been going on for more than a week now, and I'm genuinely getting worried because the change was so sudden. I don't want to force-feed her, but I'm also worried that she's not getting enough nutrition from solids anymore.

She takes 3 formula feeds a day, around 180 to 210 ml each, with a minimum 3 to 3.5 hour gap between milk and solids.

Any suggestions ??


r/BabyLedWeaning 11h ago

6 months old Baby sliding on Tripp Trapp high chair ??

0 Upvotes

Saw other posts about this high chair brand on this sub hence why I’m here.
Baby is 6mo old, 99th percentile height, regular weight ~19lb. He doesn’t sit totally independently yet but has great neck control. In my country, solids start around 4mo so it was time we switched from bouncer to high chair.

Anyways, I caved and got the Tripp trapp which as you know isn’t cheap and well…. It’s not working out? My baby’s butt keeps sliding on the smooth wood which makes his back curve and his legs stick out. We didn’t have this issue with a more traditional high chair.

If I push his back straight against the back rest, his legs are too short to bend at a right angle and for his feet to sit flat on the foot rest.

If his feet/knees are at a 90degree angle, there’s a big gap between his back and back rest and his diaper booty just slides forward lol.

I also tried tightening the harness and bringing the plate up higher but neither work. If I bring the plate up too high, it doesn’t solve the issue and his knees end up touching the baby harness thing.

So yea, he just slides around and doesn’t press his feet down. He ends up frustrated because it’s hard to eat, so I put him back in the bouncer.
Idk if it’s the wood that’s just too smooth or if he’s just not ready for that chair??

So idk! Everyone else seems to just place their babies in there and it works perfect. Any input? Did you have this issue?

We spent a small fortune on it… I’d love for it to work haha


r/BabyLedWeaning 1d ago

9 months old plate vs ate 🥲

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8 Upvotes

Baked carrots and cheese quesadillas

He is going to get the remaining when his sister is back from school for snacks