Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro

#105: Does the baby-led weaning mess STRESS you out? If you want to know how to prevent the BLW mess...well there’s no way to do that. But you can take steps to minimize the baby-led weaning mess.

In this episode I’m sharing 5 survival skills for MANAGING the BLW mess! We’re chatting about bibs (including the types you DON’T want to use with your baby that are dangerous or interfere with their development), splash mats (what works and what falls apart in the washing machine), best baby plates and bowls for keeping things clean-ish, as well as my kitchen sink soak method for quick cleanup. 

And we’re dishing a bit about non-toxic household cleaners. I’m sharing my favorites that actually get the BLW food mess out and are safe to use around your baby.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1.  Use a full coverage bib (but not the restrictive tent-type contraptions that limit baby’s range of motion as he or she is learning how to eat)

2.  Use a splash mat under the baby’s high chair or table

3.  Use a silicone suction mat or bowl when feeding baby and refrain from feeding off the high chair tray or the table

4.  Try the kitchen sink quick soak method I mention in the episode

5.  Get to the BLW mess when it’s wet (before it dries!) using a non-toxic household cleaner that ACTUALLY gets food mess out! 

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/105

Links from This Episode:

• Bapron Baby bapron bibs are here.

• The “toddler” size says it’s for 6 months to 3 years; I’ve never had babies be able to wear this size after 2 but this is the size you get for infants starting solids

• The “preschool” sizes says it’s for age 3+ but again, my kids and families usually transition to this seize around age 2

• The code KATIE10 gets you 10% off everything at bapronbaby.com 

• Bapron Baby splash mats are here. These are pricier than other splash mats, but definitely worth it. The material is really durable, non-plastic, can rinse in your kitchen sink & reuse and they’re huge, can put under 2 high chairs at a time or use as a picnic blanket. Code KATIE10 works for 10% off at bapronbaby.com for these too.

• The silicone suction mats and bowls I use are from ezpz. The products I like most for BLw are:

• The ezpz First Foods Set: everything you need to get a safe start to solid food, includes a Tiny Bowl, 2-pack of Tiny Spoons and the Tiny Cup

• The Mini Bowl & Mini Mat.

• Everything at ezpzfun.com is 10% off with code KATIE10

• The best non-toxic household cleaners I have used are from Branch Basics. I love that they use the same concentrate to make every product in their lineup. You can get 15% off their starter kits with the code KATIE15 (spend a little more for the premium starter kit with the oxygen boost, it’s AMAZING for getting food stains out of clothes!)

• Blog Post: 5 Benefits of Using a Suction Mat or Bowl is here 

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program 
and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

•  Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱

Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

💯 💯 💯 💯 💯

Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#104: The Lucky Iron Fish is a unique kitchen tool, a piece of iron carved in the shape of a fish that you cook with for 10 minutes to release a significant amount of iron. This product is safe for babies aged 7 months+ to use and in this episode I’m interviewing the founder and CEO of Lucky Iron Fish Gavin Armstrong, PhD to learn more!

If you’ve ever worried about your baby getting enough iron, or if babies who do baby-led weaning can meet their iron needs, you’re going to love what Gavin has to say. The Lucky Iron Fish is easy to use, it’s proven safe and effective and this company and product are working to reverse the devastating effects and global impact of iron deficiency.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1. How the concept of the Lucky Iron Fish evolved out of Armstrong’s research time spent in Cambodia and how it’s helping communities around the world alleviate the impact of iron deficiency.

2. How to use the Lucky Iron Fish when cooking foods and recipes for your baby to help increase the amount of iron in their weaning diets.

3. The impact of iron deficiency and how a few dietary tweaks can help increase the amount of iron release from foods and iron absorption in your baby’s body.

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/104

Links from This Episode:

• Learn more about Founder & CEO Gavin Armstrong on his Webpage and Linkedin here

• Additional information about the clinical research related to the Lucky Iron Fish is here

• Follow Lucky Iron Fish on IG and Twitter 

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program 
and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱

Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

💯 💯 💯 💯 💯

Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#103: Not sure what to feed your baby in the very first week of starting solid foods? In this episode, I’m walking you through a simple 7-day syllabus featuring 5 easy baby-led weaning foods every baby can easily eat. I call it a syllabus because, just like any good course, this week gives you a clear structure, a logical starting point, and a step-by-step roadmap so you can begin with less overwhelm and more confidence.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1. How to take the guesswork out of the first week of starting solid foods so that you can just sit down and enjoy this special time with your baby

2. Which 5 foods to offer during that first week from this structured syllabus that will make you feel more confident

3. How offering 1 new food a day + reintroducing familiar foods from previous days builds your baby’s diet diversity 

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/103

Links from This Episode:

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: ⁠https://babyledweaning.co/program⁠ 
and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: ⁠https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱

Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

💯 💯 💯 💯 💯

Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN
and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#102 In Part 2 of this conversation with Gill Rapley, PhD, the founding philosopher of the baby-led weaning approach, we look ahead at the future of baby-led weaning. Gill shares where she hopes the research will go, how social media has both helped and complicated the conversation around baby-led weaning, and why trust, respect, and shared family meals remain at the heart of the philosophy. We also explore how healthcare providers, therapists, and parents can better support your baby’s ability to self-feed, while rethinking outdated ideas about spoon-feeding, oral skill development, and how babies learn to eat.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1.  How parents can step back from controlling feeding and start trusting your baby’s natural ability to self-feed from 6 months on

2. Why Gill Rapley challenges the idea of repeatedly pushing foods until a baby “accepts” them, and how that changes the way we think about starting solid foods

3. What role social media has played in shaping the future of baby-led weaning, for better and for worse, and why Gill chooses not to police online baby-led weaning conversations

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/102

Links from This Episode:

• Listen to part 1 of this interview with Gill Rapley in episode 100 “The History of Baby-Led Weaning with its Founding Philosopher Gill Rapley, PhD” (Part 1) here

• The original BLW book “Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide” that Gill Rapley co-authored has been completely overhauled and updated for its 10th anniversary edition and is available here 

• Her website is rapleyweaning.com.

• She spoke at length about the importance of Amy Brown’s research on baby-led weaning. My podcast interview with her “The Evidence Behind Baby-Led Weaning with Amy Brown, PhD” is available here.

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program 
and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱

Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

💯 💯 💯 💯 💯

Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

#101: Should your baby learn to drink from an open cup or a straw cup first? In this episode, pediatric swallowing specialist Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP, explains why open cup drinking comes first, how it supports feeding and speech development, and when to introduce a straw cup. You’ll learn the developmental reasons behind both skills and how to help your baby build confidence with drinking at mealtimes.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1. What feeding and speech milestones are tied to open cup and straw cup drinking, and why open cup practice comes first

2. Why Dawn’s straw cup design includes a beginner side and an advanced side, and how both support safer, more independent drinking

3. How Dawn’s 3-phase developmental drinking approach helps your baby build age-appropriate cup drinking skills step by step.

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/101

Links from This Episode:

• Check out Dawn’s website at msdawnslp.com and follow her on Instagram @msdawnslp

• Ezpz Mini Cup + Straw System use code BABYLED for 15% off at ezpzfun.com 

• This is the ezpz Developmental Cup Set that parents love and get 15% off with the code BABYLED here (this is an affiliate link)
• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program and save $50 when you sign up using the code BLWPOD50

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

Other Episodes Related to This Topic:

• Episode 24 - Water: When to Offer Your Baby Water and How Much

• Episode 40 - 6 Reasons to Skip the Sippy Cup with Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP

🌱 🌱🌱🌱 🌱

Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

💯 💯 💯 💯 💯

Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN and use the code BLWPOD50 to save $50 when you sign up.

👀 👀 👀 👀 👀

Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices