You may wish to combine spoon feeding and ‘baby led’ feeding, the choice is yours.

Gill Rapley, a UK health visitor is the author of ‘Baby Led Weaning’ and below are tips for safely and successfully following a baby led approach to solids for babies of 6 months and older:

1. Make sure your baby is in an upright position, such as in a high chair.
2. Never leave a baby unsupervised with food.
3. Start with chunks of food the size of a baby’s fist so they can grasp it to suck and eventually chew - not food cut up into small pieces, which is typically recommended for older babies starting with finger foods.
4. Don’t put food in a baby’s mouth or try to hurry the process. Rapley says there is evidence that babies are at less risk of choking if they control what goes into their mouth. By the time they are capable of reaching out and grabbing food, they have developed the ability to chew, she says. A baby struggling to get food into his mouth is probably not ready to eat it. Rapley says even among babies who are ready, gagging is not uncommon because their gag reflex is triggered far forward on the tongue before the food is near the airway.
5. Introduce your baby to a range of foods and textures. By waiting until six months, it’s safe to introduce a variety and the latest research indicates no particular need to delay citrus, strawberries or other foods associated with allergies unless there is a family history.
6. Introduce solids as “playtime” rather than when the baby is very hungry. Instead, make it an opportunity to participate in a family meal, explore and mimic.
7. Consider first solid foods as an addition to milk feedings, rather than a replacement. Milk remains the most important source of nutrition for babies up to one year of age. Many babies don’t eat much for the first couple of months of solids but then reduce milk intake as they begin to consume more foods.
8. Avoid prepared foods or those with added salt and sugar.
Avoid foods typically considered choking hazards such as grapes, nuts, seeds, cherry tomatoes or anything with pips.

Consult your physician on feeding methods in the case of a premature baby, medical issues or history of family allergies.

                                                                                                   Annerley 2010/Deborah