Baby-led weaning can be a fun way to introduce your baby to solid foods. When your baby starts reaching for food, at about 6 months old, you just let her feed herself (with supervision!). Start with finger foods right away – like soft-cooked vegetables or ripe bananas, which your baby can mush with his gums.
With baby-led weaning, you just hand him food in a baby-sized piece, and you don’t offer pureed, jarred, or spoon-fed baby food. As you start to introduce solid foods, make sure that foods will not cause choking. Cut foods like grapes, cheese sticks, or hot dogs into small, bite-size pieces.
At 6 months, a baby is usually physically able to feed himself. If he likes it, he will eat it. If he doesn’t eat it, don’t force it! Try again another day. It can take up to 15 tries before a child develops a taste for certain foods.
Babies still need to get most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula through their first year. Be sure to offer other nutritious food choices, too.