Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro

#141: How do I know if my baby is ready to start solid foods with baby-led weaning? What are the reliable signs of readiness to self-feed that we should be looking out for as the baby approaches 6 months? In this episode as part of our BLW Basics series we’re going through the signs of readiness to start solid foods for babies.Listen to this episode to learn: What if my baby isn’t sitting independently at or around 6 months of age? How do I adjust my baby’s age if the baby was born preterm? Do all babies lose their tongue thrust reflex before 6 months of age? What if my baby is interested in mouthing objects or looking at food before 6 months of age? Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/141Links from This Episode: Episode 2: 5 Things Your Baby Should Be Able to Do Before Starting Baby-Led Weaning Episode 3: 5 Things Parents & Caregivers Should Do Before Starting Baby-Led Weaning Episode 119:  Premature Babies: How to Estimate & Adjust Age for Starting Solids Episode 109: I Started Purees Too Early: Should I Stop Before Switching to BLW? Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first ever NATIONAL BABY-LED WEANING DAY is July 1, 2021. But why? Well, July 1 is right at the 6 month mark in the calendar year. If your baby was born January 1, on July 1 your baby would be 6 months of age. In this episode Gill Rapley is going to explain the other reliable signs of readiness to eat that your baby should be demonstrating, but with BLW day we’re driving awareness to the importance of waiting until the 6 month mark to start solid foods.We’re also chatting about the history of introducing solid foods and why historically doctors and health professionals have recommended starting before 6 months of age. And Gill and I discuss why we don’t celebrate this important readiness to start solid foods milestone in Western food culture...but how BLW Day can help us start doing so!Listen to this episode to learn: The evolution over time regarding the age at which to start solid foods for babies. At one point babies as young as 6 WEEKS of age were being fed solids (and we cover why this was a horrible idea and what the research now shows us about a safe age to start solid foods!) Why Western food culture does not historically celebrate this important transition to solid foods during infancy, but how BLW Day can raise awareness about safety and appropriate introduction of first foods beyond breastmilk and/or commercial infant formula How to identify the reliable signs of readiness to feed. And why Gill Rapley thinks observing for the disappearance of your baby’s tongue thrust reflex is a waste of time if you’re really waiting until 6 months to start solid food Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/140Links from This Episode: Gill Rapley is the co-author of the original baby-led weaning book called “Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide”. Be sure to get the fully revised 2019 edition and you can read it here on Amazon (this is an affiliate link). Amy Bentley’s book Inventing Baby Food was mentioned in this podcast episode regarding the history of the timing of introduction of solid foods. Here is a link to Bentley’s Inventing Baby Food book on Amazon (affiliate link) and she will be on the podcast in Episode 144 “What Did Babies Eat Before Baby Food was Invented? with Amy Bentley, PhD”. Listen to past interviews with Katie & Gill Rapley in Episode 100 “The History of BLW with its Founding Philosopher Gill Rapley, PhD (Part 1)” and Episode 102 “The Future of BLW with its Founding Philosopher Gill Rapley, PhD (Part 2)” Gill Rapley will also be on the podcast in Episode 142 “Debunking the Biggest BLW Myths with Gill Rapley, PhD” Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover what changes in nutrition when your baby turns one year old and transitions to toddlerhood. Key topics include how to effectively wean your little one off the bottle and ensure they get enough iron for growth. Learn the balance of milk intake with solid foods and the surprising pitfalls of too many snacks and added sugars. Gain insights on how to maintain a consistent feeding schedule that fosters healthy eating habits. It's all about navigating this exciting new stage in your child's development!

#138 What do you do if other people don’t agree with the way you have decided to feed your baby? It can be especially hurtful when you’re feeling judged by other moms about doing baby-led weaning or bypassing traditional spoon-feeding.In this episode Chriselle Lim is joining me to talk about how to deal when others don’t get why you are choosing to feed your kids a certain way. Chriselle is a stylist and digital content creator in the fashion, family and lifestyle space. Whether you have 1 follower or millions like Chriselle, it still hurts when people criticize your parenting decisions...but there are steps we can take to move past hurtful comments and criticisms that get in our way of raising independent eaters. Listen to this episode to learn: How to deal when other moms criticize your feeding choices What techniques she employs to move past negative comments Why the people you surround yourself with - online and in real-life - affect your outlook and abilities as a parent Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/138Links from This Episode: Chrisells is the co-founder of a number of Bumo businesses: BÜMO means “parents” in Korean.  Bumoparent: founded in 2019 it is a digital/physical community for parents Bumowork: Offers a well-designed work space and licensed, on-site childcare under one roof.  YouTube Channel Catching Up with Chris Link Chriselle Lim IG page HERE Podcast Being Bümo with Chrisele Lim TikTok Channel: @chrisellelim   Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#137: Will my baby get enough iron if I do baby-led weaning? And what are the best high iron foods for babies to eat? Your baby can eat real foods that have iron (and you do not have to feed iron-fortified baby foods foods if you don’t want to!)Babies CAN get adequate iron from natural food sources of iron, including both plants and animal foods. In this episode we’re looking at some of the myths and facts about high iron foods for baby-led weaning. Also covered is a list of high iron foods for babies.Listen to this episode to learn: Where does iron come from? How much iron do babies need? Which foods have iron? How do I know if my baby is getting enough iron? What does the research say about baby-led weaning and iron? Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/137Links from This Episode: Episode 21 “3 Easy Ways to Boost Your Baby's Iron Absorption” Episode 95 “Make Slippery Foods Easier to Pick Up (+ Add Iron) with these 5 Ingredient Hacks” Episode 104 “How the Lucky Iron Fish Can Increase Iron Absorption with Founder & CEO Gavin Armstrong, PhD” Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners Other Episodes Related to This Topic:Episode 70 “The Evidence Behind Baby-Led Weaning with Amy Brown, PhD”🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#136 Early introduction of peanut protein for babies helps prevent against peanut allergy. But how do you safely introduce peanuts if thick globs of peanut butter are a choking hazard for babies? Greg Murphy, serial entrepreneur and food allergy dad is the founder and President of Puffworks, a company he started when he decided he wanted to improve on existing puffed peanut butter snack foods. Little did Greg know how important Puffworks Baby would become as an ideal way to use food to help prevent food allergies in babies! In addition to the Puffworks Baby peanut butter puffs, the company recently launched an almond baby product, ideal for introducing babies to another of the potentially allergenic food categories: tree nuts. In this episode Greg is chatting about the ups and downs of running a small but mighty food business, why he prefers using food vs. supplements or powders to introduce babies to allergenic foods and other innovative ways to use foods to help prevent food allergies in babies. Listen to this episode to learn:  Why food is preferable to supplements and powders when it comes to helping babies prevent food allergy How Puffworks baby ingredient line and manufacturing process differs from other puffs on the market What steps parents can take to help babies prevent food allergy with food Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/136Links from This Episode: Check out Puffworks line of products on their site www.puffworks.com and use code 20BABYLED for 20% off (this is my affiliate code).  Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

##135: Does my baby need a toddler milk or a toddler formula after turning 1? What if you’re worried about growth or brain development or immunity, do these products make toddlers healthier? The answer is no, you don’t need to be buying these formula products and I’m breaking down every reason why.In this episode we’re looking at toddler milks, the fastest growing sector of the US formula market...and for good reason. The marketing behind these products is INSANE and you’ll be amazed at how brazen the formula companies are in pushing these products (that your toddler does not need!)Listen to this episode to learn:  What are they and how are they different from infant formula? What ingredients are in toddler formulas and why shouldn’t children have them? But if my toddler isn’t eating great, aren’t these just like extra nutrition insurance? What SHOULD 1 year olds be drinking (and HOW should they be drinking)?  Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/135Links from This Episode: My favorite open cup for BLW: the Tiny Cup from ezpz - this is for babies 6-12 months and you can get 10% off with my affiliate discount code KATIE10 and click here to shop the Tiny Cup to start practice open cup drinking as early as 6 months of age Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners Other Episodes Related to This Topic: Episode 13- Milk Protein: How to Introduce Your Baby to this Potentially Allergenic Food Episode 113 - Transitioning to Cow's Milk: How Do I Do This? 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#134 - Dry meats and breads can be a choking hazard...but adding sauces, dippers and toppers is an easy way to make these foods safer for baby-led weaning. I’m joined by Aileen Cox Blundell of @babyledfeeding who is sharing some super sauce ideas for BLW.The commercial sauces you buy at the store also tend to be too high in sodium for babies to eat, so Aileen is dishing on making dips and homemade sauces that are affordable, easy to put together and that you can freeze for future use.Be sure to check out the shownotes page for this episode to grab 2 of Aileen’s BLW sauce recipes: her Easy-Peasy Basil & Spinach Pesto and The Best Ever Curry-in-a-Hurry recipe. I’m also sharing a free download with additional recipes for BLW friendly sauces and dippers and toppers that will have your baby safely swallowing in no time!Listen to this episode to learn:  What kind of sauces babies can eat and how to make low salt sauces for baby-led weaning Ideas for sauce to go on top of fish...which can be dry and flaky and present a choking hazard if not sauced up the right way! How freezing even small amounts of sauces can help with busy days for meal prep and which of Aileen’s sauces free best Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/134Links from This Episode: The Jamie Oliver TED Talk “Teach Every Child About Food” with over 10 million views that originally inspired Aileen to start her Baby-Led Feeding business Check out Aileen’s 2 BLW cookbooks on Amazon: The Baby-Led Feeding Cookbook is here The Baby-Friendly Family Cookbook is here Follow Aileen Cox Blundell on IG @babyledfeeding Follow Aileen Cox Blundell on Facebook HERE Aileen’s brand new website babyledfeeding.com is linked HERE  Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#133: What’s the deal with dripping food? Dripping food is our control-freak way of regulating the pace of baby’s eating...and while it may seem harmless (and cleaner!) dripping can actually interfere with your baby’s ability to learn HOW to eat independently and to recognize and respond to their own hunger and fullness cues.In this episode we’re talking about the draw-backs of dripping food piece by piece for baby-led weaning. Learning how to appropriately pre-portion your baby’s food is a better alternative to dripping and here’s how you do it!Listen to this episode to learn: What is dripping and why does it remove baby’s autonomy from the eating process? How do we pre-portion a meal appropriately if there are no hard & fast baby portion sizes for foods? Why we want babies driving the pace of intake and how that helps them learn to recognize & respond to their own hunger & fullness cues  Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/133Links from This Episode: TRY the ezpz Mini Mats, the 3-portion silicone suction mat mentioned in this episode. I use the 4-oz portion for the starchy/carbohydrate foods and each of the smaller 2 oz portions for 1 small serving of protein and 1 small serving of fruit or vegetable. You can get 10% off everything at ezpzfun.com with the code KATIE10 and this is my affiliate code.  Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners ] Other Episodes Related to This Topic:  Episode 6: What Shape & Size Should My Baby’s Food Be at First? Episode 16: 10 Easy Starter Foods for Baby-Led Weaning Episode 25: Schedule for First 5 Days of Baby-Led Weaning 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#132: What can you do to get ready for starting solid foods before your baby is ready? Take an infant refresher CPR course. Getting your infant CPR skills up to snuff is incredibly important when preparing to start solid foods and baby-led weaning. Choking is a very rare - but real - risk, and knowing CPR can save your baby’s life.In this episode I’m interviewing Brandon Doersken, who along with his wife Caitlyn run an online CPR training institute. I’ve been a huge fan of their courses since COVID forced all learning online and having CPR skills gives you the confidence that you’ll know what to do if your baby does choke on food when starting solid foods.If you’re just getting ready to start solid foods and you have not (yet) taken a refresher infant CPR course, come check out some of the benefits along with ideas on how to implement the safety information you’ll use when you also begin baby-led weaning with your baby.Listen to this episode to learn:  How online CPR can give you the confidence that you’ll know what to do in the event your baby does have a choking incident. Which household items we all have laying around that are actually a big choking risk and we don’t even realize it. Why taking an online infant CPR course + First Aid + choking prevention can help you be prepared for starting solids and what you can expect when you’re there!  Shownotes for this episode can be found here:https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/132Links from This Episode: The code KATIE10 works for $10 off all of these online courses. That is my affiliate discount code and these are affiliate links: Online CPR course Online First Aid course Online CPR + First Aid course bundle Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program   Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners 🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.💯 💯 💯 💯 💯Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.👀 👀 👀 👀 👀Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices