Baby Leads the Way: Starting Solid Foods with Cinthia Scott

Starting Solids: Evidence-Based Baby-Led Feeding with Cindy the Baby Dietician

In this episode, Jacqueline chats with Cindy, an experienced dietician and lactation consultant, about safe and effective methods for introducing solid foods to babies. Cindy discusses the general recommendations for starting solids at around six months, the signs of readiness, and debunks common myths about baby-led feeding. She shares practical tips on choosing nutrient-dense foods and stresses the importance of not pressuring children, which can lead to picky eating. Cindy also emphasizes the need for allergy prevention and the benefits of letting babies self-feed. The discussion includes insights from the book Cindy co-authored, 'Baby Leads the Way,' published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which offers evidence-based guidance on starting solids.

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Cinthia Scott, RD, IBCLC:

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EPISODE BREAKDOWN:

01:26 Starting Solids: Expectations and Practices

03:59 Introducing Food Allergens

05:20 Benefits of Baby-Led Feeding

08:00 Safety Tips for Baby-Led Weaning

12:33 Nutrient-Packed First Foods

15:56 Preventing Picky Eating

21:49 Creating a Positive Mealtime Environment

26:03 Understanding Baby-Led Feeding Myths

29:12 Practical Tips for Family Meals

32:11 Introducing 'Baby Leads The Way'

Transcript

 Hey friend, it's Jacqueline. Not that I need to explain this because you can definitely hear it in my voice. Um, I'm a little under the weather.  I cannot breathe. Un I, I'm all stuffed up. It is not fun. My oldest son is home sick. He's been sick for like five days with a cough, congestion, fever.

We did do a covid test at home. He does not have covid. But yeah, it is not fun. It is not what we had in mind for our spring break week. The boys were supposed to do a couple fun camps. I was gonna take them to do some fun activities and just kind of like do some things local since last month we went to Florida. But that, that is not what this week looks like. This week looks like. A lot of coughing, a lot of Lysol, lot of washing hands and a lot of rain for us. It's been a lot of rain. April showers are in full force. But you know, that's life. It doesn't go to plan. And I definitely didn't want this episode to get pushed to the wayside because it's a good one.

So bear with my nasally introduction. And I'll promise we'll get to the good stuff that I prerecorded when I did not sound like this  anyway if you are a mom of a little baby or you're pregnant, or heck, even if you're not yet pregnant and you are just curious about this baby led weaning, you keep hearing of, listen up because this episode I found so helpful. Lorelei's about to be one and for the last six months we started solids and have been trying different foods and I still have questions. I truly wish I could have talked to my guest six months ago, but I'm glad to know her now.

And even in a half hour conversation, I have learned so much. So I am delighted to share this conversation with you today. My guest for this episode is Cynthia Scott, and she is a pediatric registered dietician and international board certified lactation consultant with over seven years of experience as the founder of the baby dietician, she specializes in guiding parents of children ages zero to five to establish healthy eating patterns from the start.

Cindy co-authored 101 before one starting Solids, and she created the Starting Solids 1 0 1 program, which offers personalized support for optimal early nutrition. And she's also a co-author of a new book called Baby Leads the Way. It's an evidence-based guide to introducing solids and it's backed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Cindy understands how overwhelming it can be to introduce solid foods to babies safely. So this comprehensive guide empowers families with a step-by-step research back approach to build healthy, adventurous eating habits right from the start. Take a listen as we dive even further into this topic.

 Cindy, I'm so excited to pick your brain today about all things healthy eating habits for our kids, our babies, starting solids in a safe way. Very excited to tap into your knowledge today. So let's just get to it. I already gave your whole intro. Um, so everybody knows all of your certifications and all the amazing work that you're doing, and I do wanna get into that later.

But first I just have to know for my own curiosity and for everybody else when it comes to starting to feed your baby solids, like what are the signs that a baby is ready to start and what age is best? 

Yeah, that's a great question. I feel like that's like the most common question we probably get asked, the team at 1 0 1 before one, and the team that wrote Baby Leads the Way.  So the general recommendations are around six months of age, so it's not like a hard and fast age. It's more so we're looking for around six months, and we're also looking for the signs of readiness. So is our child sitting up at all unassisted?

Do they have good head and neck support? Are they able to pick up objects and bring it to their mouth on their own? These are just a few signs we're looking for. So.  If your child's meeting all of these signs of readiness and they're like a week before turning six months, then it's okay to go ahead and start.

It's not like you have to start on exactly the day they turn six months, but around that time is when children actually need to be introduced to solid foods. Before then milk feeds are providing all the nutrition they need, so there's not really a need to introduce them until six months of age. 

Okay, and at that time, is it just for like experimentation or are you expecting them to like, eat so many meals a day or? That's what I struggled with when I started,  the baby led feeding. This time around with my 11 month old,  I was like, are we just playing around here or should I be concerned that you're like eating three whole meals a day at six months?

Yeah, great question again. Yeah. So, so there is a need for solids at six months, but we're not expecting huge portions. So we're expecting for the first couple weeks of introducing solids. For it to be more of exposure and play, almost like a sensory experience because that builds up to them actually being comfortable with eating the food. We're really only wanting to start with one meal a day, not more than that. So we're just offering that one meal a day when we have time to let them play, feel, and you know, really explore that food.

And if they get a couple bites in, that's great. A lot of times, you know. We're really focusing on offering iron rich food. So even if they only take a couple bites here or there, we know they're getting a nutrient dense food that their body needs a lot of, but we don't expect milk feeds to decrease. We don't expect them to sit down on their first meal and consume a huge portion.

We're just wanting to slowly start the transition from them meeting all of their nutrient needs from a milk-based diet, slowly transitioning to meeting the majority of their nutrient needs from a solid food diet around 12 months of age. 

Okay. That's good to know. I, it takes a lot of the pressure off because truly, I remember starting  at about six months with my daughter and I was like, you know, you do the mom math where I'm like, okay, so how many bottles has she had today? How many ounces and how many meals? And that's good to know that  it's a transition. It's not like, all right, we're doing solids.  

I think a lot of people are told inaccurately that, you know, as soon as we start solids, we need to drop a bottle.  No, that's like, evidence doesn't say that. Science doesn't say that. We need time to build up skills with anything. And so food, you know, learning how to pick up a food and self feed is like a huge developmental milestone right there. And then actually like moving the food around your mouth and forming a bolus and safely swallowing that food.

Like, that's a big deal too. There's like so much going into this that we just wanna give our kids a lot of time to be able to learn how to do that. And we also, of course, you know, we wanna offer food allergens so that we can prevent food allergies. So even if they're just getting a a, like some thinned out peanut butter with some milk or formula and they're just licking that off the spoon, like that's still food allergy exposure. So that's another great reason to be introducing solids too. 

And when it comes to like these food allergens is it better to do it sooner than later? Does it matter when you do it in that like transitional period? Should they all be tried by one or what does that look like?  

Yeah, so we have a pediatric allergist on our team and so she's really gung-ho about, you know, doing all that we can, that we know via research can help prevent the risk of food allergies.

And so currently the data shows early introduction is better for preventing allergens. It's not a hundred percent. There's a lot of different factors that go into your kid. Having a food allergy, but early exposure to these are encouraged by like all top, top health organizations. So that doesn't mean that like on day one, we're feeding them on all top nine allergens and we're expecting them to consume a huge portion, but it's just a reminder to be mindful of when you're picking the foods that you're gonna offer your baby that you are including those foods.

Okay. That's always been my weak spot. I'm always like nervous to try the allergens, but like you said, you're not doing 'em all in one day.  

And I would rather, I think when moms get stressed about that, I'm like, well, I would be more worried if I did not introduce food allergies for like the first year or two, and then I introduced, right?

Because then we may have a higher risk of the child having allergies. It should be like,  kind of turned around as it's less risky now than it is later. 

Yeah, that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. So when it comes to baby led feeding, this was a new concept to me. With my seven and 5-year-old, I just, I didn't even know that was a thing. You know, I was one of the first of my friends to have kids, the oldest in my family, and so I started with like the baby cereal and was spoonfeeding them. And then as the years went on, and now, you know, with my third I've learned a lot about it, what are the benefits of, allowing your baby to self-feed versus like spoonfeeding them?

 I think as a dietician, the biggest benefit I feel like in my occupation is the fact that we're letting baby self feed and stop eating when they're full and eat more when they're hungry. And children are born intuitive eaters. And if we foster that and you know, encourage them to trust their body and to stop eating when they're full, I think we're gonna see more studies down the road, hopefully.

That children that are brought up in this manner of where they don't have to finish a pouch or they don't have to finish a jar of baby food just because we opened it and we think that's their portion that they're gonna grow up to maybe have less difficulties with their relationship with food.  Less maybe emotional eating or things of that nature that kind of come with people imposing their views of how much our kids need on them versus actually listening to their innate. Body cues. So I think that's my biggest benefit that I like to talk about a lot is just like the responsive feeding. We're not pressuring them to eat more. We're not pushing them past their hunger cues.  But of course there's so many other benefits, just like I said before, like the gross motor skills of feeding yourself, you know?

That's great. And then,  I think most parents that do baby led feeding. Do tend to introduce more variety from the get go. So not only is more variety, meaning that we're probably getting more variety of nutrients in their diet, but they're also getting exposed to more flavors. So we might be preventing some taste preferences further down the road.

Yeah. That's so interesting. I feel like we don't give babies enough credit. Like they, they do have this innate sense of like knowing when they're full, when they're hungry, and we know that when it comes to their bottles, you know, baby cries, here's your bottle. Yep. And so it's funny,  it makes so much sense to me now that I know this information, like.

Your baby's gonna know when they're full too, when it comes to food. The biggest thing I've noticed too, that's been really fun and interesting watching my daughter eat is like,  instead of just doing purees and spoonfed,  she's getting all these different textures and I've cut things. Different ways, you know, not just like chopping everything out small, but she's have like, holding onto things and like taking bites and,  it's amazing. I, I was very nervous at first 'cause I'm like, oh my gosh, she's gonna choke  on everything. Which is why I love the work that you do because you help people realize like how to safely do this.

What are some of the biggest things to kind of keep in mind when you are starting this journey and,  handing over food to your baby and. You know, if it's a parent like me who's like just super nervous about them choking, how do you help with that? 

I think there's like some big things I always wanna educate, my patients on, and my clients, and we talk about it a lot in this book, but knowing the difference between choking and gagging. How they're totally different mechanisms. Like choking is obviously a medical emergency. Your child's not gonna be making any sounds, they're gonna turn blue, we are calling 9 1 1. Gagging, on the other hand, is considered developmentally normal. And it's what happens  when babies are first exposed to foods other than milk, um, gag, reflex is really far forward in their mouth.

And so even if you're just doing purees. You might notice some gagging because , their reflex is right here. And as we grow and we eat more foods,  oral awareness increases and the gag reflex moves back further into our mouth to where it isn't as an adult. So it's the natural mechanism to prevent choking.

So we're gonna expect to see some of that when first starting solids. And that doesn't mean that something's wrong. That doesn't mean that. The baby's not ready for solids. It's just a normal thing. So knowing the difference, you know, with gagging, they're gonna be making sounds,  it's not gonna be a silent thing.

Like you'll see them just trying to push the food out with their tongue. These are normal things and they're very different. From choking. And so like, I, I encourage all parents, whether or not you're doing finger foods or purees to be CPR certified and first aid, trained because kids can choke on anything, right?

 Little toys they find on the floor from their older brother or sibling. And so I think  if you're concerned or anxious about it. Get trained, get educated on what to do if your child does choke. Know the difference between choking and gagging, and then know how to properly serve foods for baby led weaning in a safe way. I can get into that more if you want, or we can kind of go onto another question. 

Yeah, I would love to get into that , just honestly for my own personal knowledge, but also I know listeners will be interested as well.  

Okay, so from six to nine months of age, if we're gonna be doing finger foods, I wanna backtrack for a second. You can do baby led feeding with purees too. Okay. If you are letting them self feed, that is baby led feeding, whether that's preloading a puree and handing it over to them and letting them self feed, that's still baby led weaning. Okay. So I think people get a little caught up on like, it has to be finger foods.

It cannot be purees. It can be a mixture. It doesn't have to be one or the other. It doesn't have to be a hundred percent, one or the other. So anyways, but if we're doing finger foods, the bigger pieces are considered safer. So that's like the length and width of two fingers together. And that's kind of the shape and size we're looking for.

And the reason we're doing bigger pieces is because babies can't pick up little tiny pieces when we're starting solids. So we need to give them something that they have a lot of control over and can actually pick up and bring to mouth.  They have the oral awareness to take off a bite, and if it's too big of a bite for them to safely swallow, they can spit it out.

Yeah, get back out, push it out. If we're doing a tiny, itty bitty bite, they don't have the oral awareness to kind of figure out where that tiny piece of food is in their mouth and  might actually increase their risk of. Choking or not being able to remove the food safely. So the bigger pieces are due to how we pick up the food, and also oral awareness.

They're more likely to be able to push something out that's too big than too small. 

Okay. See, I didn't even know that. I knew about  obviously being able to like pick it up and handle it better, but I didn't think about it that way  like. They'll know  what kind of piece to chew off. And if not, like you said, they'll  spit it out. I think it's just like this mindset shift. 'cause you think little pieces are like, okay, this is safe.  Okay. That's very helpful.  I've been learning this all, I'm doing all the reading and of course I downloaded the 1 0 1 before one, like I've been checking things off and it's been so, so helpful. Cause I would've never known how to serve these foods to my baby.  

We have Catherine, the speech language pathologist and feeding therapist that helped write baby leads the way she has a whole full section all about like developmentally what's appropriate and the reasoning behind it. It was super eye-opening for me.

Even as somebody who does this daily, I think like the feeding therapy aspect, the speech language aspect is huge to like really know. What can my baby do at this age? What's appropriate for my baby to do at this age and what's totally not? And so I may have butchered a little bit of that explanation for you, but if you want a really concrete explanation of like the bigger, smaller, great section in the book on that. 

That's awesome. I love the combination of all of it. It's so helpful. So when it comes to  the diet specifically, what are some of the first easy nutrient packed foods that we should be serving our babies? 

Okay. Some of my favorites are just gonna throw off a list. Yeah. I love eggs. 'cause not only are those like super nutrient dense and energy dense, but they're also a top nine allergen. And I feel like they're pretty easy to serve. Like you can do scrambled, you can do puree, or you could do like an egg omelet strip if you're doing baby led weaning.  I love sweet potatoes, bananas, and broccoli because I feel like those. Our nutrient dense and have a lot of the nutrients we're looking for like iron and fiber and vitamin C, but they're also super simple to make like soft and squishy and appropriate for a baby.

If you are a family that does consume animal-based products, animal-based products are very high in heme iron, which is a very important nutrient for baby to get enough of for neurodevelopment. So doing things like meatballs, or salmon patties. Seafood. You could do mashed up salmon mixed into some sweet potatoes and make it kind of like a thicker textured puree. Things like that, if you are doing meat, are great, and if not, there's lots of plant-based foods like beans and lentils and quinoa that can be easily made appropriate for a baby. 

I love the idea of combining things.  Like you said with like the salmon and the sweet potato, serving food that way to my daughter has been so helpful  in trying the different things, but also like easy for her to maneuver and get like a whole nutrient dense meal.

And I just wouldn't have thought of that otherwise I, because, you know, I personally wouldn't. You know, mash that all together. But I eat both of those things and that's something that we're all eating at the table. Which is also something I really wanted to ask you about. Should we be making separate meals for our children?

Should we be giving them, you know, a variation of what we're having or what's kind of the best. Way to approach that because it's been top of mind for me these last six months as I'm, you know, feeding a family of five with varying ages and tastes and, you know, my sons are, are a bit, I would call them pickier eaters.

My middle child does have some sensory things when it comes to food and is done feeding therapy and things like that. Um, so there's just like a lot of different preferences at the table. When it comes to adding baby to the table, you know, what's the best way to kind of go about that?

We really encourage if the family is eating foods that can be easily modified for baby to include them in those meals from the get go. Okay. So that we have less transition, right? So we're not going from, okay, for six months I'm gonna feed them purees and now I'm gonna offer them all the foods that we've been eating.

Yeah. And they're like, whoa. I don't know these things. What's happening here, we're not used to these foods  and around one is when we start to see some taste preferences. No matter what type of way we feed, we're always gonna see some food. Neo phobia, which is just some taste preferences, some fears of new food around 12 months of age.

It's considered developmentally normal. So if we can kind of get our kids exposed to the types of foods that we want them to be consuming at 12 months. Between six to 12 months. Like we really recommend that it also takes a lot of stress off of the parent,  because you don't have to make two separate meals.

You can just figure out whatever you're making. Maybe we add a side or something if there's not a hundred percent everything that the baby can eat, right? We can add a quick side, like steamed broccoli or a mashed sweet potato or whatever that is. But we want them to know the flavors that we like and to like those flavors too. So yes, definitely include them if possible. 

Okay. And  by doing this, I assume that this would help foster, a better relationship with food. What is the best way to kind of prevent picky eating as they go into toddlerhood? You know, once they're one, you know, they're eating everything at the table, they are getting their nutrients from their meals. As they go into toddlerhood, are there certain things that we should or shouldn't be doing as parents to kind of help prevent a quote unquote picky eater? 

Yeah, I, I always like to start with, you know, picky eating. First off, it doesn't have like a legit definition. Yeah, we throw that term around a lot, but we actually don't have like a legit definition of like, what that really is.

So I think it's a term used very widely and we need more data, on that or like a concrete definition, but. Picky eating can be caused by many different aspects. So it's not just, you know, the way we start solids, there's a genetic component to it. As you kind of mentioned before, there's sensory components.

Yeah. So if a child does have some sensory issues, that's gonna cause probably a little bit of some food challenges. I think the best thing we can do for picky eating when our child is around 12 months of age and we're starting to notice that, is to not just only serve them the foods they want.

It can be really overwhelming to cook a meal and give it to your toddler and they don't wanna eat any of it. And you wanna make sure your kid is fed, you're overwhelmed, and you're like, fine, I'll just give them whatever they want. This can get us into a cycle where the foods they're eating are dwindling down to like a set five or six.

And then we're really stressed out because we don't think they're meeting their nutrient needs. We're concerned about weight gain you know, it's just a stressful time. And so of course, we always want there to be a safe food on the plate. We never wanna give them a.

Plate of food that's just new foods or foods that we know they don't really like. We always wanna have a safe food that's gonna help our child feel more comfortable coming to the table. They're like, okay, I see something I like. I know I'm gonna enjoy it. I'm gonna come to the table. This will be fine. So we always wanna safe food and we really wanna avoid pressuring.

So many studies show that pressuring is leading to the opposite reaction. We want. It increases picky eating. It increases a negative mealtime experience, and it doesn't end up doing what we want it to do. We're pressuring to get 'em to eat more, and it ends up doing the opposite. So really trying to find more.

Fun sensory ways to get our child involved in mealtimes that isn't revolving around. Just take a bite. Yeah. So I talk a lot on my platform 'cause I have a three and a 6-year-old now.  And of course I face challenges with both of them, different challenges, but I think with any child there's just gonna be some foods they're not super receptive to.

And so on my platform I share a lot about like fun. Silly ways that I've sparked interest in food. These could be just as simple as like letting your kids come into the kitchen and give them a colander with some fruits and veggies in it, and their job is to rinse them and dry them. That's a great idea.

Yeah. Something. It's so, it's so simple. But like it's sparking their interest in the food without having to say, let's take a bite. You know? Right. So it can be that simple or it can be really silly. So this is an example I give all the time, but my kids love broccoli because,  they look like trees, right?

Yeah. So comparing the unfamiliar food with a familiar item is really important. So broccoli kind of looks like trees, my boys. We'll cut down the broccoli stalks with their mouth because they're lumberjacks. Does it really make sense? No, but does it, it's cute though. That's,  does it get them excited about the broccoli?

Absolutely. And so I think a lot of parents are like,  I don't have time to make up these games and blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, but what's the alternative? Right? The alternative is if we're having a really stressful mealtime, I'm stressed. As the mom, that's not great to eat while you're stressed.

Yeah. And then also your kids are like not wanting to come to the table. So we have data that shows. Giving our kids autonomy, giving our kids choices, but also role modeling and using food play and food involvement are effective in increasing diet diversity. It's not gonna work a hundred percent of the time, right, but it will work better than pressuring.

Yeah. Okay. I love this so much because any  millennial, I'm sure that's listening is like, yeah, that's not how my childhood went. I had to sit at the table till I finished my meal, or had to try everything on my plate, or whatever it was. That was just not how we were raised.

So it, it's definitely a shift, a mindset shift to like, take this approach. But like you said, I would much rather tell my kids their lumberjacks than, have them not even coming to the table. Because I, I've had that problem in the past with my younger son who he would see his plate and just like, not even sit down.

So that's when I did learn that, you know, put one familiar thing on the plate, I can say that has worked so well. You know, sit with the family and then once they're sitting down, then it's like a lot easier. To give these ideas like, oh, this looks like a tree, and what do you wanna do? You know? So I think that's great advice.

And I love that there's like science to back that up. Yeah. That you don't wanna be pressuring your kids.  

I think we, you know, I, I don't, I wanna, I'm gonna speak for myself, but I feel like many of us moms have struggled with some type of. Negative relationship with food in our lifetime.

Yeah. Whether that's body weight issues, whether that's,  binge eating or emotional eating or, you know, anything like that. And I think like, yeah, we can look back and be like, oh, that's not how it was done in my house. It wasn't how it was done in my house. You know, it was, you know, you needed to finish your plate.

Mm-hmm. 

And I'm wondering, you know, in. 40 years when we're raising kids that do have a different approach, well, we're doing a different approach to meal times. Are we gonna have less of those issues? Yeah. 'cause we gave our child more autonomy and independence and meals were a safe space. Will we see differences?

I would like to think so. I mean, it's gonna be very interesting, you know, looking into the future, but I can only imagine that it will, I mean, giving just, just the confidence alone surrounding food and meals  are just already so different when you take this kind of approach.  I like it a lot 'cause yeah, it's just as moms we're already so stressed and I know for me, meals are my biggest stressor. We're already like decision fatigued with all the things in motherhood. Yes. And now we're like, okay, what are we gonna make for breakfast, lunch, dinner, all the snacks my boys want these days? Like Yep. It's a lot. And so coming to the dinner table and having that be like another stressful thing 

I know it's not what I wanted. I'm sure anyone listening is like, yeah, I wanna end the day calm and happy and like dinner should be a positive experience. I mean any meal should, but Yeah, but dinner comes to mind 'cause that's like the whole family is usually always together for that and it's shared experience.

I think there's also freedom and like, and I personally, I'm saying this for me too, like I think there's freedom and also in like sitting down, giving your kid a plate of food that you know has one or two. Of their favorite foods on it, whether that's even, you know, have they been begging for pretzels all day?

Okay. Mm-hmm. I'm gonna give them some pretzels with their dinner. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna take it outta the package and plate it on the,  plate. So I know that when they come to the table, they're immediately gonna be like, I can do this. Yeah. And then there's freedom in sitting back and eating my meal  and not feeling like I need to pressure them to eat. 

If they just ate those pretzels, that would be a whole, this is gonna be a whole nother topic, but if they just ate those pretzels. Okay. 

Yeah. 

I that, that's their choice tonight. Okay. Is it my favorite choice? No. 

Yeah. 

I Little irritated. Yes. But with time. And work too. It takes work, yeah. Conscious work to, you know, make things fun, but we will create healthier and more adventurous eaters versus the opposite.

Yeah. And we'll feel better ourselves. Like you said, you can at least sit back and just be like, okay, that's, that's tonight's meal. But as moms we did our job, my part, we put it on the plate. So it does,  it takes the pressure off of like, not having to be like, oh my gosh, you've all you've had today is pretzels for dinner like.

All right. You know what? Tomorrow's another day. I'm happy you're at the table. Um, yes. Another thing that I have found that has been helpful, and I, I keep referring to my, my 5-year-old because he's just had a lot of challenges, I'd say, surrounding food. One thing that has been helpful is pairing something like that you said pretzels with. 

Something that is a healthier choice and trying to make that fun. That's how I got him to start eating, like mashed avocado and guacamole. I was like, with his veggie chips or his pretzels, you know, whatever snack he enjoys, here's a dip for your snack.  And not only did he start really liking it, but it did make me feel better too. You know, when he is asking for a snack, I'm like, okay, but have this. It.  

Yeah, that's actually, that's, I'm glad you brought that up. 'cause that's called bridging. Oh, okay. And that is where we're taking one food and we're either modifying it in a tiny, tiny way or we're adding something into it to make it more nutrient dense.

So, like, people use the example of like, okay, you take a gold fish cracker. The reason kids love goldfish is 'cause they look the same, right? Mm-hmm. Every single one of them looks exactly the same and they like things to be consistent. But you take the goldfish cracker and then you move maybe to like. 

A simple mills like cheddar,  cracker. Right. You know, like one cracker that might be a little bit more  nutritious. Mm-hmm. And then maybe if we're getting crazy, like we make a homemade cheese cracker. Yeah. This is just, you know what I mean? But  we're not gonna like blow the lid off the thing.

Right. We're not gonna replace goldfish with a piece of broccoli and think that's a great Right. You know, that they're gonna just jump into that. Yeah. But like, there's just like small things that we can do, whether that's in the brands we pick or what we add with it. To kind of get our kids to where they are eating a more nutritious diet.

Yeah, and what did you call that Bridging. 

Bridging. Yeah. Okay. I dunno if it's like a technical science term, but Yeah. Picky eating diets. It's a use it a lot. It's like bridging. It's like, okay, we're gonna make small modifications to reach our end goal. 

Okay. I'm glad that I brought that up then. 'cause again, my, this was just a desperate decision on my part. I was like, I don't know, maybe, maybe I'll just give them some, a little cup of guac and it'll help. 

 No, that was a great job. 

It's a good point that you brought that up, because I know, and this is a whole nother topic that. I'm sure you could get into and we could all get into, but, um, I've been trying to replace my kids' snacks with healthier options, like you said, even if it's a different brand or a more, you know, just organic version of something just to kind of really clean out our house. But that's a good way to do it, like take baby steps, you know, to kind of swap things out. I like that. So circling back to kind of this like baby lead feeding, I could go on about my five-year-old, uh, eating habits all day, and this is so helpful.

Um, but for those listening who are just kind of starting into solids with their kids, what are kind of like the most common myths about baby lead feeding and why do these things persist? Like why do some people kind of resist this whole new idea of feeding our babies?

I think it's because. They feel like it's safer to do the purees and I feel like it's what we're used to.

Yeah. And I.  We're told that is appropriate. So I think, you know, just having a whole mind shift change. But I think the reason the most common myths are babies need teeth to start solids. That's not true. Okay. Their gums are super hard. We're not giving them any foods that require like a full on set of molars.

We're giving them foods that are soft and squishable. If it's not easy to squish between my finger, I'm not giving it to them. So they don't need teeth to start solids.  

That's a good myth because that was my, perception. I was like, how are we all doing this? Like my baby doesn't have teeth.  

Well, and also like molars are the main teeth that we chew with, correct?

Yeah. And babies don't typically get those until like much older. Yeah. And so if we're waiting for molars to come in, we're like missing out on a critical period of a, they need nutrition, they need. Sensory exploration of food. They need food allergen exposure, and they need to learn how to chew and eat, swallow, and all of this stuff.

We're missing out on like a key period of time. So that's a myth. Your baby doesn't need teeth. What if, now I'm segueing. What if like all six month olds had like a huge mouthful of teeth? How terrifying would that be? Yeah, that would be terrifying.  Yes. I think another myth would be. That babies doing. Baby led feeding can have everything an adult can have, and that's not true either. Mm-hmm. I like to see the other side of that. There are definitely some foods that are not in any way appropriate to modify for a baby. There's choking risk foods, like whole grapes or whole cherry tomatoes or, nuts or seeds.

Like those things we can't give baby. There are ways to modify some of those, but also like. Things that contain honey, things that, contain sugar alcohols or a lot of added sugar, like we're not recommended to give those to baby.  Unpasteurized dairy products, you know, things that are super high in sodium, like there are some foods that are off the table.

Most foods can be modified, but I always say if a parent eats like a really not great diet, then maybe. Modifying the family meal for them isn't the best approach. Yeah, maybe we do need to rely on some store-bought purees or store-bought baby foods. So making sure that we're taking that into account too, 

or even using it. I know we as a family, kind of used feeding my daughter Lorelei as an opportunity to kind of check in with our own diet and we were like, maybe we need to make modifications for ourself and so we're not, you know, doing separate meals. That's always, a good option too. But I'm glad you brought that other side of the spectrum up 'cause.

Baby led weeding is not just give your baby whatever you have. There's definitely do your research before diving into this because, so it is safe, you know, you can't just like, yeah, hand your baby whatever. There are guidelines and things to help you for sure. You as a mom, where do you find your inspiration or,  ideas for meals like family meals that both  you and your baby can enjoy? 

That's a good question. Okay. So I honestly, I make it so easy. I'm like, this is so dumb. Why am I even saying this? But like, literally, I just think of the foods that I really wanna eat that night.  

No, 

that's great advice. I want, I want a salad with salmon on it. Okay. Obviously I can't give my six month old. A, a salad, but I can make salmon for them. Mm-hmm. And then we can go back to either like add a soup potato and a slice of, or two of avocados because I have them on hand and I'm gonna also put them on my salad.

You know, our 1 0 1 before one book goes really in depth into cultural dishes. So you know, whether that's like chicken curry. Or a standard like meatloaf and mashed potatoes, like all of these things can be modified for your baby. So we really don't have to like spend a lot of time creating a whole new menu.

We really just, you know, what do you want for dinner? Okay. Can we make that baby friendly or not? 

Yeah, that's great advice. It seems simple, but like as parents, this happens all the time. I know with at least, with me, I kind of overthink everything and it's kind of like. Don't reinvent the wheel. Like, yeah, what do you want to eat tonight and how can baby eat it? 

Yeah. I think just having like a lot of pantry staples too that can be like, yeah, that's good advice. Easily. Like whether that's just like a whole wheat pasta, like maybe you are cooking something that baby can't have, but you have pasta in the pantry, so you make some pasta, put some butter on it, add some steamed broccoli, or even like a chickpea pasta where there's like a lot of iron in it, and there you go.

Like, baby has a meal. It was really not that time consuming to make. It was a separate meal, but it was still easy.  

I love that. That's helpful. And even like, I was just top of mind because we went out to dinner as a family last night and, you know, just looking at what you're ordering even when you're out.

I mean, like, I was able to give Lorelei  things from the salad that we ordered and, you know, I, they were appropriate for her to hold and cut up and like, we just kind of modified what we ordered. I didn't order her like. A kid's meal or anything like that? Um, mostly because again, they're always like chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, which is fine, but I'm like, I have this beautiful salad right in front of us that we're eating, and that worked great for her. She had some chicken and everything. So even when you're going out, I mean, don't overthink it, 

yeah. We loved the salads. When my second we, I did a whole series on Instagram about like how to eat out with a baby. Oh, love that. And it was actually so fun to go into a, like a restaurant and be like, okay. What could I get that's not on the children's menu that they could eat? Right. And it like a really fun game to me.  

Yeah.  Yeah, I like that. But it also like opens up, so many more opportunities for going out with your kids. And it's, at first I thought it seemed harder going out with a baby who was, starting to feed themselves and everything.

I'm like, oh gosh. Like if this was seven years ago, I would probably, I gave my oldest son like a pouch something little to eat or something. Yeah. And now it's, I actually find it easier, like welcoming our daughter to eat what we're eating and just making those modifications or getting creative when we're out.

It's, it's actually easier in my opinion to do that. Okay. For sure. I wanna get into baby leads the way, so for my audience, tell me about this and we'll kind of dive into that a little bit.  

Okay. So this is totally a passion project, so. We as a team. So let me, we have a me the dietician, and I'm an I-B-C-L-C as well. And then we have a pediatric allergist, we have a pediatrician, a speech language pathologist, and then Julie is like our chef. And we all got together 'cause we wanted to spread more evidence-based guidance on starting solids. We didn't want just like, here's how to start solids. We wanted like, here's how to start solids and here's the evidence behind why we're encouraging you to do this and that.

We felt like there was a definite lack. In an evidence-based resource, like there's tons of books out there, but we really wanted, like, evidence-based, we kept saying that. So we got together as a team of medical professionals and pediatric feeding experts, to create baby leads the way it's published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, and it's the first book, like starting solids focused book published by the A. 

So we're really pumped about that because this means that not only do moms have more guidance now, but pediatricians have a handy guidebook too. We know that, you know, when you go for your pediatrician appointment, you're getting like five to 10 minutes in there. Yeah. And they give you a whole spiel on everything like growth, nutrition, development, and all of that.

And so we just wanted a resource to bridge the gap so moms feel more confident when starting solids. 

I love that so much. I'm so glad you guys put this out into the world. It is so helpful for moms and you're right, going to the pediatrician there, there is kind of,  depending on your pediatrician, we've been at two different practices over the last handful of years and, um, I.

You know, one practice  had no idea what I was talking about a little bit, and the other one was like, oh yeah, you can do that. You can either way. Whatever you wanna do. Yeah. Like here's, just start it. Just start feeding baby. And I'm like, okay, great. If they have 

a lot of opinions or they have none at all.

Yes. Yeah. They're like very like, this is the way we do it. Or they're like. Whatever feels right. 

Yes. That is the vibe I got. And so, yeah. Yeah. Something to bridge the gap is so helpful. Yes. 'cause  it's a lot of work on, and the mom and the parents to like, go out there and be like, okay, what do I wanna do and how do I do this? And why do I wanna do this? You know? So, uh, I love that. That's awesome. 

So I already said that it was evidence-based, but I wanna make sure that readers know that it's also a super easy read.

So it's not like we're not gonna make you read research articles in it. It's got lots of charts, it's got lots of pictures, really practical tips and examples. It's color, it's really fun. So like if you're nursing your baby or giving them a bottle, like you can read a chapter here and there. So while it is full of evidence-based guidance, it's a fun book to read too.

That's great. That's awesome. It's not like homework. You're gonna be interested in reading this. It's gonna be so helpful. I love that. So where can we find baby leads? The way, where can listeners, dive more into this, connect with you, all of that? 

Yeah, so you can find me on Instagram at the baby dietician, well on all social media at the baby Dietician. You can purchase our book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble and really any mass booksellers. And it's called Baby Leads The Way. 

Fantastic.  This would be a good book to like gift a mom too. I'm thinking of like, you know, even to read it before you even are at that stage. I mean, we all know how quickly those first six months fly by.  You can even read it when you're pregnant, just to be prepared. I love it.

 And then refer back to the sections you need, you know? Exactly. 

Then it's just like this reference that you have on hand. Yep. Yeah. I'm like, is it too late for me? My baby's 11 and a half months. I think I still need to read this. It would be helpful. 

We'll always find it helpful. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Well, Cindy, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today. I could talk your ear off because I just find this topic so interesting. I really appreciate all the knowledge that you shared, and I hope it, resonates with my audience as well. So thank you for joining me.

Thank you so much for having me. It was super fun to talk.

 Thanks for hitting play and taking time out of your day to listen to this episode. I personally found a lot of value in it, and I hope you did too. Some key takeaways. One, don't be overwhelmed with baby led weaning. You're really only starting with one meal a day, no more than that, so you're just offering baby that one meal to let them play, feel, and really explore the food.

Two, offer food allergens so that you can prevent food allergies, even if you just get some thinned out peanut butter with some milk or formula, and they're licking it off the spoon, that's still food allergen exposure and it can only benefit them in the long run.

Three children are born intuitive eaters. If we foster that and encourage them to trust their bodies and to stop eating when they're full, they will grow up to have less difficulties with the relationship with food.

Four, know the difference between choking and gagging. For me, this was always a big nerve wracking part of the whole baby led feeding situation. Know the difference. Choking and gagging are two totally different mechanisms. Choking is obviously a medical emergency.

Your child's not gonna be making any sounds. They're gonna turn blue. You're gonna wanna call 9 1 1. Gagging, on the other hand, is considered developmentally normal, and it's what happens when babies are first exposed to foods other than milk.

And lastly, baby-led weaning is not just giving your baby whatever you have. You definitely have to do your research before diving in so you know how to safely feed your baby. That's why I am so excited about. This new guide Baby Leads the Way, especially because it is bridging the gap between parents and pediatricians so we can all come together with education on how to create a feeding experience for our children that is going to last a lifetime.

Before you click out of your podcast app, be sure to check the show notes. Will link contact information for Cindy there. You can find her on Instagram. You can purchase the baby leads the Way book and of course, any other resources are linked in there as well. If you enjoyed this episode, please hit the fifth star, write a review, share the episode with a friend. It is the best way to support the Motherhood Intended podcast share the show, leave a review. It gives the podcast more exposure which allows us to reach more women on the journey of fertility and motherhood.  That's all I have for today. Next week, you're gonna hear my conversation with Betsy, who is a local mom to me, that I have the pleasure of knowing.

She's a mom of four and she shares the story of her youngest who was born with a birth defect, what that looked like, her birth experience, and all the medical needs that followed. She is so brave for sharing her story,  I hope it can make at least one other woman not feel alone in their experiences and even more so.

I hope it will educate listeners on. This heart defect and what some moms have to go through when faced with unexpected medical challenges with their kids and how that affects the rest of their family and parenting moving forward. It is such an inspiring episode. So hit the follow button on the podcast so you don't miss it.

All right, I'm gonna get back to my tea and taking care of my sick kids. I hope you stay healthy. Enjoy the rest of the week and I will talk to you again next time. Bye for now.