Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro

#225: We have now hit the two year anniversary of the BABY-LED WEANING MADE EASY Podcast! To celebrate, I am giving you a behind the scenes look into the making of the podcast. I will share with you the HOW and WHEN it all started and my overall reason for creating this podcast whose goal has been to help parents and caregivers gain competence and knowledge to be able to safely start solids with b...

#224: How much sugar is OK for my baby? According to the current dietary guidelines, it is recommended to avoid any added sugars for babies zero to twenty-four months old. To get a better understanding of why these recommendations are given, I am interviewing, professor, director and co-author Dr. Michael I. Goran, PhD who will be touching on the downsides of added sugars in baby food during the d...

#223: Is ground meat safe for babies to eat? Of course! In this episode we’re looking at ways to offer different types of ground meat to babies but also how to make sure it is cooked and offered safely for baby-led weaning.   Shownotes with all the links mentioned in this episode are here: https://blwpodcast.com/223 Other episode related to this topic: • Episode 177 “Red Meat Your Baby Can Safely...

#222: Ever wondered what helped other parents and caregivers be successful at baby-led weaning? It is often common for all parents to experience the same feelings of stress and fear while introducing their babies to solids but what better thing than to ask the parents who have been there for their best piece of advice? In this episode, I will share a number of great suggestions from parents to par...

#221: Gagging vs. choking: What’s the difference and when should you worry? It is important to understand that gagging is part of the feeding process when introducing a baby to solid foods and a gagging baby may often be confused with a choking one. In this episode, we are touching on some of the ways to recognize the differences between choking and gagging to help parents and caregivers get over...

#220: For those who are currently WIC participants or WIC educators there may be LOTS of great nutritional changes in the horizon for the food package issued to babies. WIC is the US Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a program that is designed to offer nutritious foods and nutrition education to income-eligible pregnant, breastfeed...

#219: Ever wonder what other ways you can use to cook meat for your baby during baby-led weaning? In this episode Iliana Cruz, an owner of a meat processing plant specializing in the sous vide cooking method is here to describe how using this method of cooking can help prepare meat with perfect texture and consistency for BLW.    Shownotes with all the links mentioned in this episode are here: htt...

#218: What are some feeding challenges for babies with Down syndrome? Can baby-led weaning work if my baby has Down syndrome? In this episode speech-language pathologist Sabrina Smiley Evans, MS, CCC-SLP is joining me to discuss some of the feeding challenges that babies with Down syndrome may encounter but also the ways in which parents and caregivers can moderate and create a safe environment fo...

#217: Are crackers safe for early eaters to eat? When can babies safely eat crackers? In this episode we will be discussing when it is safe to offer crackers to babies while baby-led weaning. We will be looking at common ingredients that are found in crackers, ways to carefully select and offer them and reasons why crackers are not necessarily the ideal choice for early BLW babies.   Shownotes wit...

#216: Just in case you are wondering if there are any updates in the pediatric food allergy world…Dr. Ron Sunog, who is a pediatrician specializing in preventing food allergy with food, joined me in this episode to give us an update on food allergy in babies. He discusses recent studies that have been published and also talks about the recently added ninth major food allergen: sesame.   Shownotes...

#215: What portion sizes should I be offering my baby when starting solids? Reality is that there is no clear or definitive guideline to what an exact portion size of food should look like for a baby. In this episode I will share some ideas of how much a baby might eat but also share some tips about things you can do to help your baby learn how to eat. At the end of the day there are really no rul...

#214: Feeling anxious about starting solids? Although it's pretty common for parents and caretakers to experience feelings of anxiety when facing the transition into solids with their babies, it does not have to be terrifying. In this episode I am joined by Jo Cormack, PhD who is a researcher, child feeding specialist, and award winning author. Jo is here to talk about the psychology of feeding an...

#213: Do I have to wait until my baby has teeth to offer solids? Nope!..And although teething is often a time when babies begin to experience a change, it is really not necessary to make any drastic adjustments to solid foods during the teething process. In this episode I discuss the idea that having teeth is not a prerequisite for introducing solids and share some recommendations for teething bab...

#212: How does baby-led weaning fit into the intuitive eating model? and What can I do to teach my baby mindful eating? In this second part of the 2-part interview series with the authors of the book ‘How to Raise an Intuitive Eater: Raising the Next Generation with Food and Body Confidence’, I have the pleasure of having the second co-author, registered dietitian and intuitive eating counselor, A...

#211: Should I feed my baby less milk after starting solids? Do I feed my baby solids before or after milk? And how much milk should my baby drink when starting food? In this episode I will be sharing some ideas on how you can schedule milk feeds in combination with food patterns throughout the baby-led weaning journey.   Shownotes with all the links mentioned in this episode are here: https://blw...

#210: What is intuitive eating? And how can I raise my baby to be an intuitive eater? Finding a balance between offering a variety of foods and the necessary nutrition is an important key to creating a healthy relationship between a baby and food.  This is a two-part interview series with the co-authors of the book ‘How to Raise an Intuitive Eater: Raising the Next Generation with Food and Body Co...

#209: Ever been on a fruit vacation?...Well, it’s probably not what you think but if you are worried that your baby might be eating too much fruit, then taking a fruit vacation may just be a solution. In this episode I will talk about some tips on what to do when your baby is favoring fruit over other foods and how to effectively balance your baby’s plate for baby-led weaning.    Shownotes with al...

#208: Does baby food really contain heavy metals that are toxic for my baby? Well according to the tests that Consumer Reports conducted on fifty nationally distributed packaged baby and toddler foods, it definitely does! In this episode we are joined by James E. Rogers PhD, he is the Director of Food Safety Research and Testing at Consumer Reports who will be talking about how the heavy metals in...

#207: How can I make my baby’s food safer for baby-led weaning? Dry foods often increase choking risks for babies but one way to make swallowing safer is by adding dippers, toppers, or sauces to add more moisture to foods and help baby swallow easier. In this episode, I will be talking about ways to make foods safer for babies and sharing a free download with 5 low-sodium sauce recipes that I crea...

#206: What is my feeding role as a parent and how do I make sure that I stay in my lane to ensure a healthy feeding relationship with my baby? Oftentimes it is common to feel the need and responsibility to manage what, when, and how much our babies eat but in reality a parent and a baby have different jobs during the transition into solid foods and learning how to eat. In this episode, I am joined...

#205: Positioning a baby properly on a high chair is easier than you may expect, it’s getting the baby to WANT to stay on their high chair that may be the problem!..So what do you do if you have that baby who will not sit in the high chair? In this episode I share a number of different coping mechanisms for babies who do not like to sit in the high chair when starting their solid foods journey.  ...

#204: Ever wonder how you can equip yourself with the tools to make the best decisions for your baby? Being a parent involves an overwhelming number of duties and responsibilities and in this episode Emily Oster, PhD who is an economics professor and very well known author in the parenting field is here to talk about the data that is available to help parents and caregivers make data-driven decisi...

#203: Is it possible to be Vegan but feed your baby meat?...Of course! In this episode Suzy Quebbeman who is a vegan mom, married to a cattle-rancher and offering her baby animal foods while practicing baby-led weaning is here to talk about her family’s feeding dynamics and how she is open to offering her baby a variety of foods. Shownotes with all the links mentioned in this episode are here: htt...

#202: Have you ever wondered how the bacteria present in your baby’s gut can have an effect on allergic reactions? In this episode researcher, professor and immunologist Liam O’Mahony PhD, who specializes in the basic mechanisms by which microbes influence allergic sensitization within the gut, joins me to talk about how a baby’s gut microbiome can play a role in food allergies and how diet divers...

#201 What foods should be introduced first when starting baby-led weaning? Although there are certain situations where some foods need to be introduced later on in the feeding process..Spoiler Alert! The order of baby-led weaning foods introduced to a baby does not matter. In this episode we are exploring the fact that parents and caretakers have all the freedom they need to offer babies the varie...