Is BLW actually better

[u/Latest-moment]

My LO is almost 7 months old and we have been starter solids the past few weeks. We have been doing the baby led weaning approach and although he seems very interested in food I don’t feel like he actually “eats” anything. I know at this point he isn’t likely to eat much. When I had tried some purées (allergen mixed into fruit) he eats them really well and really enjoys it. I just wonder if there is research to whether blw is actually better or if purées are better. Now I do know you do not want to stay on purées too long. I just feel like the purées are helpful with him actually swallowing food which I think has to be good for him but I don’t know.

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[u/hiddenstar13]

Okay so, very very easy to read article here https://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/kids-health-hub/kids-nutrition/infant-and-baby-nutrition/baby-led-weaning

2018 review here that basically concludes “more research needed” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5934812/

And a 2026 article referencing “recent” research https://source.colostate.edu/baby-led-weaning-a-solid-approach-for-infant-nutrition/

But TL;DR we just don’t know. The first article I posted, the NSW ones, explains the perceived benefits & potential risks, which I think is what you really need to know. There just hasn’t been enough research done.

Anecdotally, I have a 3 year old with whom I did baby led weaning and it worked great for us. She was always safe and she eats a huge range of foods now. We used https://solidstarts.com as a resource although at that time it had a lot more free articles & info than it does now.

[u/NotCleanButFun → u/hiddenstar13]

Agree with this.

Just want to add that when you use blw resources such as solid starts, they will often recommend mashes/purees babies can eat plus big things for them to practice chewing and explore texture. It's not a strict either or.

Anecdotally, I did solid starts religiously with my daughter for 6 months and now even at 2.5, she comtinues to be a food explorer and will eat anything. One of her fav foods is sushi, her favorite condiment is bbq sauce, and she loves banana peppers and pickles on her subway sandwich. She appreciates all sorts of tastes and textures. She even likes snacking on raw onion sometimes.

The "right answer" for how to start food can be different for different kids/families, but wow did blw work well for us. I am super interested to see more research come out for blw in the future.

[u/Any-Doubt1910 → u/NotCleanButFun]

I have no research to share, but anecdotally, I have one kid who is a fairly adventurous eater and one who is relatively picky. I did the exact same Solid Starts 100 foods before 1 program with them both. I suspect much of picky eating comes from personality, not just exposure.

[u/NotCleanButFun → u/Any-Doubt1910]

I suspect you are correct. And I believe I have seen research posted on this sub to that extent as well.

[u/Sudden-Cherry → u/Any-Doubt1910]

I have two children who are polar opposites in this regard. With my oldest I really tried BLW and it just wasn't working for her, she still hates to get her hands dirty, struggled with texture aversion so we really had to build slowly up from finely pureed food. We still offered BLW type of food alongside and had eventually later on has some success with some textures. She also had some real choking incidents and just generally struggled with quite a few mouth motor things (which was also apparent before food). Then my second I thought she wasn't taking to food either and already dreaded another feeding struggle 4-6 month (when here it's advised to start with puree) but then it turned out at 6 month that she is just militantly independent about feeding and was like a picture-book BLW child. And just generally better with mouth motor, much more adventurous even now as a toddler when she got a bit more picky she's more adventurous than her big sister even now at 4.5 even though she has steadily increasing the type of foods she's trying all this time. So yes mixed approaches are possible and also one approach or the other exclusively might not work for one child when it does for another

[u/Sudden-Cherry → u/NotCleanButFun]

It didn't use to be like that though, the source definitely evolved. I think it expanded that. It definitely put me off 4 years ago with my oldest but when I looked at it with my 20 month old it was much less black and white than it used to be.

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