Katie Ferraro (1s):

She says, trust your baby knows how to eat and give them space and time to prove it. Understanding the difference between gagging and choking will make your experience as a parent, much less stressful. And number three, soft food in pinky finger size strips. Hey there I'm Katie Ferraro, Registered Dietitian college nutrition professor and mom of seven specializing in baby-led weaning here on the baby-led weaning made easy podcast. I help you strip out all of the noise and nonsense about feeding, leaving you with the competence and knowledge you need to give your baby a safe start to solid foods using baby-led weaning. I am so excited about today's episode because it is a jam packed with the best, baby-led weaning advice from parents and caregivers who have been there.

Katie Ferraro (50s):

So the impetus for this episode is that we're coming up on the two year anniversary of the baby led weaning made easy podcast. Like if the vodcasts were a baby, it would almost be two years old is another way to think about it. But I don't know about you. I love hearing from other parents who have done the thing that I'm trying to figure out how to do like the parents who are giving us advice in today's episode, they were in the exact same position where you are right now, just a few months ago. And so if you are feeling overwhelmed about introducing new foods or stress about trying to get all the allergenic foods in, or maybe fear about things like gagging and choking, I want you to hear the best pieces of advice from the parents who have been there.

Katie Ferraro (1m 34s):

So sometimes when we do these episodes, we have the parents call in, but what happens then is those submissions get really, really long and they're super hard to edit down. So this time I asked parents on my email list to send me an email with their best short piece of advice. And there was tons and tons and tons of submissions. It was super hard to choose which ones to put into the episode, but I tried to pick really concise tidbits that I hope you will find helpful if you guys are not on my email list, I send out weekly emails with tips on how to safely prepare baby led weaning foods with lots of access to different sales and gear and stuff related to the kind of physical product side of baby Led Weaning. But then I also share recipes on how to do baby Led Weaning as well.

Katie Ferraro (2m 16s):

If you go to a fortified fam.com/newsletter, you can get signed up to join my newsletter. And so now I would like to share some newsletter responses. You always wonder if people read your emails, right? You like send them kind of into this black hole and open rates are kind of all over the board with all the iOS privacy stuff. But apparently some people are getting the emails because I got tons of very, very lovely responses. And I just wanted to say thank you to everybody who submitted their piece of advice for this episode on the best baby led weaning advice from parents and caregivers who have been there. Also, I want to point out that the pieces of advice are in no particular order, they were kind of all over the boards. I'm just going to let it roll. First one, coming from Lee and Kroll.

Katie Ferraro (2m 56s):

And she said, the best advice I have is from a recent interview, you did with us feeding psychologist. And the advice was on baby led weaning and the relationship, and to let your baby eat without added commentary or actions that was so helpful. She said, let them decide how they feel. Don't be a peanut gallery, as hard as that can be so that they can experiment and play as they want to. Wow, so hard to do. But now that I practice it more every day I can see where we really create influence without intending to it was eye opening and helped me understand how we influence our kids' relationship with food. Thanks for offering the information. I love that it's evidence-based and not just someone's opinion that suits their worldview. Thank you, Leanne. The episode you guys she is talking about is episode 2, 0 6.

Katie Ferraro (3m 38s):

It was called stay in your lane, parent and baby roles in infant feeding with Marsha Dunn Klein. If you've never had the opportunity to hear from Marsha or learn from her, she's an incredible volume like mass of knowledge and experience. And she really helps us remind us of what our roles are in parent feeding. We got to stay in our lane. So BLW podcast.com/ 2 0 6 has the details you need. If you're having trouble keeping to your job and baby led weaning. So thank you, Leanne. The next piece of advice is from Madeline edge. She said, my number one tip is to keep canned items in your pantry that you can feed the baby for. When you inevitably forget to plan ahead for the new food that your baby's going to eat that day, or you realize that you're in a hurry and you don't have time to prepare anything, it makes my life so much easier.

Katie Ferraro (4m 25s):

All right, Madeline, thank you for acknowledging that not everybody has time to make fresh wholesome foods every single day, and your pantry can have a lot of great, amazing baby led. Weaning foods actually have an entire free feeding guide called the baby Led Weaning pantry planning guide. And they kind of provide you with grocery lists of some ideas of different canned foods and dry foods and other ingredients that are helpful to have on hand as you start, baby Led Weaning. If you want to grab that free baby led weaning pantry planning guide it's at fortified fam.com/pantry from Heather Newman. She said the best thing we did before our baby started solid foods was to watch videos of other babies, Gagging and recovering on their own. Knowing the difference between gagging and choking made us much more relaxed and able to let our son work through his own gags.

Katie Ferraro (5m 11s):

Yes, Heather, good for you for figuring it out. Gagging S a natural and necessary part of learning how to eat, but I totally get it that it can be scary for parents. And if you're feeling like the Gagging stuff is holding you back, I teach a weekly workshop called baby LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS, and there's a whole section in there that explains the difference between gagging and choking and then some coping mechanisms for how to get past your fear of Gagging. So if you want to get to where Heather's at, sign up for that baby LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS workshop. That signup is at babyledweaning.com. Next up is the Liz cherry. Okay, this is sweet. I'm going to read you the email. It feels weird to read, cause it starts with, I love you, Katie. I love you too, Liz.

Katie Ferraro (5m 52s):

She says, trust your baby knows how to eat and give them space and time to prove it. Understanding the difference. Gagging and choking will make your experience as a parent, much less stressful. And number three, soft food in pinky finger size strips to literally put in there three tips, but she put a PS. Katie. I had so much trouble breastfeeding my baby. And through your baby led weaning training. I finally had success as a mother. She's jumped up weight and height categories and is such a happy baby, especially at meal times. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for giving us the magic power of baby LED. WEANING love Liz in Charlotte, nine months old from Australia. This just makes me smile so much because who gets such nice e-mails in their work. I feel so fortunate to do the work that I do and to get to help parents all over the world.

Katie Ferraro (6m 35s):

And I love Liz that you pointed out the magic power of baby Led Weaning. I can just feel your success. And I hope that it's translating to other people out there. Stick with it. You guys, our baby's nine months old. It might've taken her two or three months to get to this point, but it will happen for you. And I love Liz that you're feeling success as a mother. You're an awesome mother. Congratulations. And thank you for your advice. The next advice is from Christina Sabatina. She says, trust yourself in the baby. Don't listen to others doubts. Is he eating anything? They're just throwing food around, et cetera, educate yourself and start one food at a time. It pays off pretty fast. Yes it does Christina and good job. One food at a time. There's no need to get crazy right out of the gate.

Katie Ferraro (7m 17s):

Baby steps are really kind of the most important component of baby led weaning. I think one new food a day, they build on each other day after day, week after week. Next thing you know, your baby's out a hundred foods before they turn one. Michelle Smith advised us scoop all the food from the high chair onto the paper and splash mat, and then fold the mat onto itself before shaking it out into the trash. It took me a couple of months to figure out the most efficient way to clean up after mealtimes is this one. And this process is by and large, the fastest and the easiest for me. Thank you for all your do. We are 60 ish foods in an are. Parker turns one in June, born at 36 weeks. So we started at seven months with baby Led Weaning. He is the most joyful eater. Well, Michelle, thank you for sharing.

Katie Ferraro (7m 58s):

I know the mess can be a little bit overwhelming for families. At first. I also use the Bayfront baby splash mat underneath the high chair. It's a clean surface that if the baby drops the food down onto it, you can pick it up and recycle it back up onto the tray. They fold up super small. They're made out of the same amazing waterproof material that the owner Kelsey uses to make the Bape and baby bibs. I'm an affiliate for a beeper and baby. I use their products in my work, but also at home with my own family. And they have a discount code. Katie 10 that works for 10% off everything at bapronbaby B a P R O N baby.com. And if you're interested in learning more about paper and I love supporting small companies, small shops, especially female and mom run ones and Kelsey Larson, the founder of vapor and baby was on the podcast back in episode one 18, it's called why I built a better bib with bapronbaby founder, Kelsey Larson.

Katie Ferraro (8m 51s):

And if you want to support her company, vapor and baby, they make the Best BLW bibs and splash mats they are at bapronbaby.com. And again, that discount code, Katie 10 works for 10% off. So thanks for the cleaning tip. Michelle. Next piece of advice is from Allie. Shimberg this one short eat with your baby is the only thing that got him to figure out how to eat and actually do it. And Allie, I really liked this piece of advice. I think sometimes parents interpreted as, oh my gosh, I have to sit down for an hour or two times a day with my baby. No you don't. I hope that you as a mom or a caregiver or a grandparent or whoever's feeding the baby is also taking a break to sit and eat foods and re nourish yourself. Cause it's a lot of work raising a baby.

Katie Ferraro (9m 32s):

So I want you to sit down and take a break. And when you do, if there's an opportunity to offer your baby solid food, do it, you don't have to eat the same exact foods that your baby does. But there is something to be said about sitting there and modeling how you bring food to your mouth, how you drink out of an open cup. You might have to do some really exaggerated chewing mechanisms, emotions early on until they get the hang, but it really pays off. But the other thing that Allie kind of adds in here maybe without even realizing it is it's a safety concern, right? We never want to leave the baby unattended at mealtime. And sometimes I think are so exhausted from all the things you have to do throughout the day, that when it comes time for the baby to eat solid food, you're like, oh yes, cool. I'm gonna check out, go over here, get on my phone. Not pay attention because the baby's eating. But please remember that if your baby does joke, choking will be silent and you won't hear a choke.

Katie Ferraro (10m 16s):

So it's very important to be observing your baby at all times. Although I do agree, you definitely need a break at some point. So thank you, Allie. Kristin Woodrow has the following advice and she says, or he says, I'm not sure. I think the biggest shocker or eye-opener for me was knowing that I didn't have to wait three to five days for each new food exposure. And Christian, thank you for sharing that because we know that parents are still hearing this advice. Unfortunately, it's very outdated advice. It's not based on any scientific evidence. If this is news to you, that you don't need to wait three to five days between meals go listen to episode 84, it's called why you don't need to wait three to five days between new foods with Kareena Venter, PhD RD and Corina is a pediatric dietician.

Katie Ferraro (10m 57s):

And she's a PhD Dietitian rather. And she does a lot of the researchers on all the international guidelines and committees for the introduction of allergenic foods. And she helps write the guidelines for introducing allergenic foods, but she also is involved in a lot of the research that's coming out. Now that's showing the importance of diet diversity, okay? We can not get our babies to achieve diet diversity. If we're waiting three to five days between new foods, you absolutely do not need to do that. So good for you, Christian, for getting that message in pushing on with a much faster progression of foods because your babies can handle it. Lauren Eisman advises us. Don't be scared. I was so worried initially that my baby would joke. I watched gagging videos on repeat so I could desensitize myself to it.

Katie Ferraro (11m 37s):

I listened to every word you said and promised myself I would not overreact or scare my baby in return. He still gags occasionally, but I find myself trusting him to do and what he has learned to do, which still work it out. He really can do it. This is my biggest recommendation. This really has been such a great process. Lauren, I love that you took us from scared to confident in a very short piece of advice, watching babies gag and recover on their own can give you so much confidence in your baby's ability to do the same. That's why I spent a ton of time on Instagram sharing videos of other babies, gagging and recovering on their own. Parents send me these videos and say, let other parents see this so that they know what is possible.

Katie Ferraro (12m 17s):

So if you're on Instagram, the hashtags kind of weird, but I started it back when I started my Instagram account at baby led wean team. I was documenting my baby twins guts and Hannah they're my sixth and seventh babies. And I did my a hundred FIRST FOODS program with them for the second formalized time to kind of work out some of the kinks before I turned it into a digital program and the hashtag Gus and Hannah gag, H a N N a H. I tagged as many gagging videos that you guys have sent me with that hashtag. And if you go and check that out, you'll see all the Vivi gagging videos that your heart can handle, but it really can help give you confidence. So thank you so much, Lauren, for reminding us that we can move from fear to a place of confidence. And you've definitely done it with your baby. Tracey butcher says the messiest meals bring the most joy.

Katie Ferraro (12m 59s):

So let go and enjoy the ride. Thank you, Tracy. From a type a mom who talks to a lot of other type a moms, I know that being at peace with a mess can be hard, but you guys, the point of baby led weaning is not to prevent the mess. We have a few tools to minimize the mess and hope you're fully. You're learning them as part of your journey, but I love that you recognize that there's joy for your baby in the mess, right? Getting messy as part of the whole sensory experience that is learning how to eat. Debra says spitting out food does not mean your baby. Doesn't like the food for just learning to move food around in their mouth and use their tongues to swallow. Keep on offering it. Amen. Deborah. I think sometimes parents are like, oh my gosh, he doesn't like it. I got to get out of his mouth. We're never going to try that again. Practice makes progress.

Katie Ferraro (13m 39s):

Maybe you've heard babies need to try a new food 10 or 15 times before they like are accepted. It's really hard to nail down exactly how many times. And to be honest, it doesn't really matter. The point is we've got to try it more than once. So keep introducing those new foods, but remember to continue to reintroduce the familiar foods from previous days, I have a whole system where I show you how to start moving forward with a new foods while also incorporating and recycling. The previous days foods, I teach that in my free online workshop, which is called baby LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS. The signup for that is that baby led weaning dot C O. If you want more invites on how to keep moving forward with new foods while continuing to reincorporate the foods you've already done. So thank you, Debra. Devin Ben says I really appreciated the info that I heard in your podcast, that it takes about eight to 12 weeks for some babies to click.

Katie Ferraro (14m 23s):

I was initially worried that I was doing something wrong or my baby wasn't ready to eat. And then I heard that podcast and it coincided with me at about the six to eight week mark. My baby really is eating. Now. She finally looks like the baby's in your videos. It's amazing knowing to be patient and stick with it is really helpful. So Devin, thank you for acknowledging that not all babies take to infant feeding or self feeding right away. And I always encourage parents do not compare your baby to any other baby, even your other previous babies or your friend's babies who were born in the same week and are eating more foods in your babies. It doesn't matter. All babies develop their abilities to feed themselves at different paces. It can take six, eight, sometimes even 12 weeks for your baby to get the hang of self-feeding.

Katie Ferraro (15m 4s):

If you have been doing BABY-LED WEANING for longer than 12 weeks and your baby is not taking to it. And you're worried that there's a problem, it might be time to consider feeding therapy. And we did an episode episode, 152 is called, how do I know if my baby needs feeding therapy? And that's what my friend and colleague Dawn Winkelmann. She's a speech language pathologist and feeding therapist. And she talks through when it is time to get worried. And that's again, episode 152. If you want to check it out and learn more about feeding therapy, Sarah Bechtel says her advice. Don't force it just because your child is six months. There's a switch. When you can tell that your child is uninterested to when they become interested in and ready for food.

Katie Ferraro (15m 45s):

So be patient and wait and don't force it. And also try not to do too much, try to make it simple for yourself. Okay, Sarah, I don't know if there's an actual switch. I feel like it's kind of a gradual progression and we're like, huh? Well, less of that. Food is going on the floor and more of it's going in their mouth, but it definitely does happen where you're like, whoa, that baby who wasn't interested in food a week ago is kind of more interested in it today. And you might not notice it, but it might take awhile, but be patient. So thank you for reminding us that this is a process and a continuum. I don't think it happens overnight, maybe for your baby. It did, but thanks for the reminder to be patient. Next advice is from Alana. You said Katie, your podcast is a lifesaver. My friends and family are so amazed at how well my little boy eats. I think if I was saying this to me before I started, it would be chill.

Katie Ferraro (16m 28s):

Relax. Your baby is going to manipulate food around his mouth and he won't choke. But if this does happen to you, you have the education to deal with it. I think that fear can be such a hindrance, but like everything you just can't live life that way. And then Alana finished. I'm so happy. I found your handle, your page, your podcast. It gave me all the confidence I needed. I'd listened to it whenever I could. So thank you and Alana, I'm doing this episode because we're coming up on the two year anniversary of the podcast. And the reason why I even wanted to do the podcast in the first place was because I love learning from podcasts. And I don't always have the time to sit around on social media and watch videos or read all the long research. So having it show up in my earbuds is amazing. And I'm glad that it's helping you as well on a thank you, Kyla hill, my best piece of advice.

Katie Ferraro (17m 9s):

Don't underestimate the power of teaching your baby to drink from an open cup. This is especially helped after my baby, especially when she was gagging a bit. Okay. Kyla, good point to remind us that. In addition to trying foods, if you can start doing an open cup around six months of age year, it's only going to help your baby. The cup that I use is from the company, easy peasy, Dawn who's the speech-language pathologist who developed that cup. She's been on the podcast a lot, talking about the benefits of open cup drinking and why we avoid sippy cups. If you guys want to try out the tiny cup, that's the one for six to 12 month olds. I have an easy peasy affiliate discount code, and that's Katie 10 against the tiny cup at easy-peasy fund.com. Trista Ingram liked the fruit vacation. So herpes of advices, the fruit vacation fruit just steals the show around here with my baby.

Katie Ferraro (17m 52s):

I made sure to offer as many vegetables as fruits, but I didn't serve fruit with every meal. Why did I think that was necessary before? Take a fruit vacation when needed this kid loves his veggies and goes nuts over Brussels sprouts. So if you guys have not heard episode 2 0 9, it's all about a fruit vacation and how to help babies who overly favor fruit Trista also added that diet diversity was huge. She said, I focused so hard on diet diversity. Introducing tons of new foods. We reached a hundred food somewhere around the nine month mark and didn't stop there. Our families tried new foods, hated some of them loved many like Brussels sprouts. My kiddo is now 16 months indefinitely working on his picky eating game, but because we introduced so many foods losing, some has not been stressful.

Katie Ferraro (18m 33s):

So Trista, thank you for the reminder about diet diversity. If you guys need a copy of my a hundred FIRST FOODS list, it's on that same free baby led weaning training@babyledweaning.com. I love to see you guys crossing out the foods on your a hundred FIRST FOODS list. Thank you for tagging me in social media. Cause I love to reshare the list and parents can realize, oh my gosh, Babies can eat so many more foods than we give them credit for. So thank you Trista. And thank you everybody who contributed pieces of advice for this episode. I know there's kind of a lot of other episodes and resources and downloads and codes mentioned throughout today's episode. So I'm going to link to all of them in the show notes page for this episode, which you can find@blwpodcast.com forward slash 2, 2, 2.

Katie Ferraro (19m 16s):

Thanks so much for listening. And I hope some of that advice was helpful for you by now.