Which type of weaning to choose – Baby Led Weaning or Spoon Feeding?

Spoon feeding is the introduction of purees from a spoon from the start of weaning, with the gradual transition from smooth purees through to mashed, minced and then chopped family foods.

In general, moving on from textures should be led by your baby’s ability rather than an age (much like when to start). If your baby is closing their mouth, swallowing easily then leaning forward with their mouth open for more, they may be ready to move on to more textures. You should aim to move through the textures as quickly as your baby seems able and should keep in mind that your baby should have moved on from purees by 9 months of age. This is because there may be an increased risk of fussy eating later in childhood if purees are given for too long.

Stage 1: purees and mashed foods

Stage 2: mashed foods with soft lumps

Stage 3: minced and chopped foods

There are different ways to increase the texture in your baby’s food. You could blend it less or stop blending all together and mash instead. Alternatively you could start to add some very small grains or mashed vegetables into the purees that you have. HiPP’s range of jars offers different textures, starting with smoother recipes at 4-6 months and moving onto foods with small soft lumps from 7 months.

Some of the benefits of spoon feeding include being able to offer a range of different foods with each spoonful, getting food in right from the start and being able to blend down and give foods that might otherwise be difficult to offer at first.

Negatives of spoon feeding are more based around the way it is done than negatives with the process itself. There can be a tendency to overfeed spoon-fed babies and some babies stay on purees for too long and do not eat as wide a range of textures as necessary to become skilled at eating. However, if you listen to your baby’s fullness cues, move through textures and ensure you give a good range of foods including finger foods, there is no reason for there to be any issues with your weaning journey.

BLW: things to consider

There is some research to show that babies weaning in this way eat more salt than spoon-fed babies. This is because normal family foods are often offered earlier and more regularly.

Spoon feeding: things to consider

Spoon-fed babies sometimes grow at a faster rate than BLW. So if you’re spoon feeding make sure you’re feeding responsively so that your baby is only eating the amount that they want and need. This will help them to develop a healthy relationship with their food as they grow. You can read more about that HERE.

It can be easier to get a greater range of nutrients and textures into a spoon-fed baby because you are more in control of what is put into the mouth.