In Season 2, Episode 7 of Kiddos in the Kitchen podcast, I spoke with Malina Malkani, a registered dietitian and author of Simple and Safe Baby-Led Weaning. As you might guess, we spoke about baby-led weaning, which is the practice of feeding infants as young as 6 months whole foods rather than purees.
For a lot of parents, baby-led weaning can be daunting in large part because of the choking risk. But Malina assured me that shouldn’t turn parents off.
“We have this really robust and growing body of evidence about infant feeding, and recent studies show that baby-led weaning is not associated with an increased risk of choking,” she told me. “In fact, in one study — and I think this is fascinating — babies who are offered finger foods the least frequently had the highest frequency of choking episodes. And in another study, it was found that by the time they reach 8 months, baby-led weaning babies gag less frequently than their spoon-fed counterparts.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean parents should just start tossing their 6-month-olds bunches of grapes and whole chicken breasts. As with everything else at this stage, baby-led weaning is all about what’s developmentally appropriate for your child. Here are some suggestions from Malina.
Feeding a Baby Age 6 to 8 Months
“Most infants by about 6 months are picking up objects using something that we call the palmar grasp,” Malina said. “Basically, they’re palming an object and bringing it up to the mouth.
“When babies are using this type of grasp, the best-size food is about the size of an adult pinky finger, so it's stick-shaped and longer than baby’s fist,” she added. “And the reason for that is that babies can grasp it in the fist, and then bring it up to the mouth, and whatever piece is sticking out of that fist, that's what they're going to be able to put into the mouth.”
She went on to say that it’s important for these foods to be the right texture for safety, and should be squishable between your thumb and forefinger. Some examples include avocado, pasta, soft pear, toasted bread, pancake or French toast.
Feeding a Baby Age 9 to 12 Months
“As baby develops, something called the pincer grasp emerges sometime between 7 and 12 months but usually around the 9-month mark,” Malina said. “And this is where baby can pick up smaller pieces of food between the thumb and forefinger and then bring it up to the mouth.
“At this stage, foods should be offered at about the size of a Cheerio or chickpea, and should still be soft and squishy so baby can easily manage them in the mouth.” In addition to the foods mentioned above, think kiwi, steamed broccoli, hard-boiled eggs and raspberries.
More Advice
To learn more about the basics of baby-led weaning, be sure to listen to the podcast. Then check out Malina Malkani’s newest book, Simple & Safe Baby-Led Weaning.