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Baby-Led Weaning vs. Puree Feeding vs. Combo Feeding: What’s Best for Your Baby?

  • agacke
  • Aug 27
  • 3 min read
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Introducing solids is an exciting milestone! Today’s parents often have questions about the best way to start—should you spoon-feed purees, let your baby self-feed family foods, or combine both? Below is a breakdown of each method and guidance to help you make the right choice for your little one.


What is Baby-Led Weaning (BLW)?

BLW means letting babies feed themselves real, soft finger foods from the start (typically around 6 months), rather than spoon-feeding purees. Examples include steamed veggies, strips of toast, or banana spears. Babies explore food shapes, textures, and flavors on their own.[1][2][3]


Benefits:

·        Encourages fine motor skills and independence with self-feeding.[4][5]

·        May promote a positive relationship with food and help prevent picky eating.[2][1][4]

·        Lets babies join in family meals with the same foods, just prepared safely.[5][1][2]


Concerns:

·        Can be messy and lead to more food waste.[1][2]

·        Harder to track how much your baby is eating.

·        Some parents worry about choking risk (evidence suggests it’s safe when foods are prepared appropriately, with possibly more gagging but not more choking than purees).[2][5]

·        Need to pay attention to offering foods with iron and enough calories.[5]


What is Puree Feeding?

This traditional approach involves spoon-feeding your baby smooth or mashed foods and slowly progressing to chunkier textures and table foods as they grow.[6][1]


Benefits:

·        Easier to know how much baby is eating.[1]

·        Most similar texture to breastmilk/formula.

·        Less mess and less immediate food waste.[1]

·        More familiar to caregivers and easy to provide on the go.


Concerns:

·        Babies get fewer opportunities to practice feeding skills independently.[6][1]

·        May be less exposure to food variety and textures if purees are continued too long, possibly increasing risk for picky eating. [6][1]

·        Transitioning to table food needs to happen around 8-9 months to avoid delays in chewing skills.[1]


What is Combo Feeding?

Combo feeding mixes both approaches: your baby enjoys some self-fed finger foods and some spoon-fed purees. This flexible style can help families feel less pressured to pick just one method.[7][1]


Benefits:

·        Encourages self-feeding and independence but also supports nutrition and monitoring of food intake.[1]

·        Offers the widest variety of flavors and textures early on.[7][1]

·        Lets families adjust the method to suit each meal, situation, or caregiver.[8][1]


Concerns:

·        Still requires supervision to ensure safety and proper texture progression.

·        May be messier than purees alone but gives all the learning benefits of self-feeding.[1]


Summary Table

Feeding Approach

Benefits

Concerns

Baby-Led Weaning

Develops motor skills, independence, family meals, may reduce picky eating

Messy, less control over intake, more gagging, monitoring nutrients [1][2][4][5]

Puree Feeding

Easy to track intake, less mess, familiar to caregivers, easier on the go

Fewer motor practice opportunities, risk of texture/food variety delay, transition needed by 9 months [1][6]

Combo Feeding

Flexibility, widest food exposure, combines benefits of both

Still messy, requires time and supervision, careful progression important [

1][7][8]

 

Most babies can thrive with any of these methods if food is prepared to prevent choking and includes iron-rich options. Always supervise meals, introduce one new food at a time, and seek personalized guidance from your pediatrician or a pediatric feeding specialist if you have concerns. [5][1] 


1.      https://huckleberrycare.com/blog/baby-led-weaning-vs-purees               


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