Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro
Is your baby ready to start solid foods but you’re feeling overwhelmed or confused about baby-led weaning? Babies can eat so many more foods than we give them credit for and you don’t have to force-feed or spoon-feed to get them to eat real food!
I’m Katie Ferraro, Registered Dietitian specializing in infant feeding and baby-led weaning. I’m a college nutrition professor and mom of 7, and my goal is to help you start solid foods safely using baby-led weaning.
On this podcast I share practical tips on safe food preparation and starting solid foods, as well as in-depth interviews with other feeding experts. Listen to learn how you can get your baby to safely enjoy real food so that you can start enjoying mealtimes again too!
276
Nitrates in My Baby's Food: Do I Need to Worry?
Nitrates and nitrites are all around us in our environment, food and water supply. But are they something worth worrying about when it comes to your baby ingesting nitrates? In this episode we’re exploring what nitrates are, where they come from, what they can do to babies in high quantities and what precautions can be taken to minimize risk of nitrates in your baby’s food.
12 min
277
Managing Blood Sugar + Gestational Diabetes wit...
Do you remember that gross sugary drink you had to swallow when you were pregnant to screen for gestational diabetes? My guest is Casey Seiden, a dietitian and diabetes educator who works with women who have and previously had gestational diabetes. She is going to be teaching about how to manage blood sugar levels, choose carbohydrate foods and how to space those carbohydrates throughout the day for optimal glycemic control.
26 min
278
BLW on the Go: How to Pack a Feeding Bag for Tr...
Taking baby-led weaning babies on the road! In this episode I walk you through my essentials for feeding babies outside of the house. These are my favorite pieces of feeding gear and foods to take to-go, plus I’m giving you my best tips to reduce the travel stress. Whether you’re going on a long trip or just over to the grandparents’ for dinner, your baby can still explore food!
11 min
279
Pediatric Feeding Disorder: A History with Shan...
This is Part 2 of an interview with Shannon Goldwater, founder of Feeding Matters. In this interview Shannon explains the origins of her organization, how Pediatric Feeding Disorder came to be a universally recognized diagnosis and the work that Feeding Matters is doing to improve the system of care for children with pediatric feeding disorder.
30 min
280
Whole Foods: 10 BLW Foods to Buy from Whole Foods
Bring this grocery list if you’re headed to Whole Foods Market. In this episode we’re going through ten foods from Whole Foods that you can buy for your baby to try this week. There are some surprising food finds at Whole Foods - some that are even pretty affordable - and they come from all over the grocery store.
17 min
281
When Your Babies Won't Eat with Shannon Goldwat...
Shannon Goldwater was a first time mom with micro preemie triplets who would not - and could not eat. She spent years with her babies getting bumped around various inpatient feeding programs while getting increasingly frustrated with their fractured care. All of this led her to found Feeding Matters, the first organization in the world uniting families and healthcare professionals to improve the system of care for children with pediatric feeding disorder. In this first of two episodes, Shannon shares her personal story and immense feeding challenges that she experienced with her own children.
35 min
282
Walmart: 10 BLW Foods to Buy from Walmart
Say what you will about Walmart…there ARE a lot of affordable foods there your baby can safely learn how to eat. In this episode I’m walking you through a grocery list of 10 foods you can buy from Walmart that your baby can safely learn how to eat now.
16 min
283
3 Easy Ways to Connect with Your Baby at Mealti...
By the time you get food on the table, is connecting with your baby top of mind? Mealtimes can be mayhem, and it’s easy to get distracted or disconnected from what our babies are experiencing when they are learning to eat. In this episode I’m interviewing Anna Lutz, MPH, RD, LDN, CEDRD-S about some easy ways to stay connected with your baby at mealtimes…and why the total amount of food your baby is or isn’t eating doesn’t really matter!
20 min
284
Sprouts Farmer's Market: 10 BLW Foods to Buy fr...
Do you have a Sprouts Farmer’s Market in your town? If so, you probably know that Sprouts is a pretty affordable place to pick up some produce. And there are lots of other ideal infant foods at Sprouts too. In this episode I’m sharing a grocery list of 10 foods to buy from Sprouts that your baby can safely eat.
22 min
285
Supporting Your Baby: Empathy, Readiness and Co...
How do we support our baby’s internal motivation to feed themself? In this interview Marsha Dunn Klein shares some very practical tips for connecting with your baby at mealtimes, especially when your baby is hesitant or appears worried when trying new foods.
26 min
286
Costco: 10 BLW Foods to Buy from Costco
If you’re a Costco fan, there are some great food finds in there that your baby can start eating today. In this episode I’m sharing 10 Costco foods that babies can safely learn how to eat.
17 min
287
Mom Has Food Allergies: How Can Her Baby Eat Th...
What if an adult in the house has a food allergy? Can babies learn to eat the same foods their parents or caregivers are allergic to? In this episode I’m interviewing two baby-led weaning moms who figured out how to safely introduce their babies to some of the same foods they are allergic to. Special thanks to Deena Neuman and Talia Emm-Goodall for sharing their stories and experiences with food allergies in this episode.
35 min
288
Trader Joe's: 10 BLW Foods to Buy from Trader J...
Don’t go to Trader Joe’s without this baby-led weaning shopping list! I’m sharing 5 new foods you can safely feed your baby from Trader Joe’s this week along with 5 other grab bag ingredients I always like to have on hand when I am grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s.
25 min
289
Taste Preferences in Babies: When and How do Th...
When do babies start learning about taste? And how can I help my baby learn to like a wide variety of foods? In this episode I interview Alison Ventura, PhD a researcher who worked at the Monnell Center and studied how taste preferences develop in infancy. We cover some of the research that studies fetal learning when babies react to their pregnant mom’s diet as well as the transfer of flavor compounds through breastmilk.
34 min
290
Poaching Foods: Make These 5 Foods Safer for Yo...
Poaching is a moist-heat cooking method that can be your secret weapon in the kitchen for making foods safer for your baby to self-feed. In this episode I’m sharing 5 of my favorite foods that I regularly poach as part of basic baby-led weaning food preparation.
12 min
291
Montessori Weaning Table Explained by Jeanne-Ma...
What’s the deal with the Montessori weaning table? Is it just a glorified kids’ table or are there real benefits from having your child eat at a small table from a small chair? I’ve always been curious about this idea of the weaning table…because there are a lot of overlaps with the baby-led weaning approach and the Montessori methods - so I wanted to speak with a Montessori specialist and my guest today is Jeanne-Marie Paynel…she is a Montesorri parenting mentor with a Masters Degree in Montessori education and she’s going to break down the basic arrangement of the Montessori feeding area of the house with or without use of the weaning table.
24 min
292
Dietitian vs. Nutritionist: Where Should I Get ...
Do you know the difference between a nutritionist and a dietitian? In this episode I’m sharing about the dietitian career path and why it’s important to get feeding info for your baby from a credentialed feeding expert.
14 min
293
3 Easy Responsive Feeding Techniques when Start...
How good are you at reading your baby’s hunger and fullness cues? Do you observe your baby at mealtimes or are you pressuring baby to eat? In this episode my guest Stephanie Cohen, MA, CCC-SLP, CLC is sharing 3 easy techniques we can all start using at mealtimes to ensure we are being responsive feeders.
12 min
294
What is a Combination Food?
When can my baby start eating combination foods? And what is a combination food anyway? In this episode we’re talking about multi-textured foods for baby-led weaning - and when it’s safe for your baby to make this transition with solid foods.
12 min
295
Healthy Bottle Feeding: How to Be Responsive wi...
What is responsive bottle feeding? How can you be a more responsive bottle feeder with your baby and how does that impact infant health and development? My guest is Alison Ventura, PhD a researcher who studies responsive bottle feeding and who will be sharing some easy tips for implementing responsive feeding throughout infancy, whether that’s breastfeeding, bottle feeding or when you start solid foods.
28 min
296
Added Sugars: Which Ones to Avoid for BLW
What are added sugars and why are they bad for babies? In this episode we’re looking at all of the many ways sugar may be hidden in your baby’s food - and how you can avoid added sugars when your baby is learning how to eat real food.
13 min
297
What if My Baby Won’t Swallow Food? Pocketing w...
Have you ever finished a meal and found food hanging out in your baby’s mouth? Are you supposed to go in there with your finger and get it out? How does pocketing happen and what can we do to help babies actually swallow their food? In this episode guest Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP will be walking us through what pocketing is and how we can help babies who don’t want to seem to swallow.
17 min
298
Doing BLW When Someone Else Helps Watch Your Baby
What if someone else helps watch your baby…can THEY do baby-led weaning? If you have a spouse or partner, grandparent or childcare provider who is with your baby during mealtimes, you might be on the fence about letting them feed your baby. In this episode we’re looking at how you can succeed with baby-led weaning whether your baby goes to daycare, stays home with a nanny or if you just need a break!
12 min
299
Picky Eating Prevention Tips with Stephanie Coh...
Does the term “picky eating” make your skin crawl? My guest Stephanie Cohen, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC isn’t a fan of it either - but picky eating IS something parents ask about and as a feeding therapist, she has thoughts. In this episode Stephanie is sharing some easy ways we can foster independence at mealtimes even from our babies’ first bites.
27 min
300
Coconut: How to Safely Offer Coconut to Your Baby
How do you make coconut safe for babies? Can they eat raw coconut…or flaked…and what about coconut milk? In this episode we’re breaking down a few easy ways to offer your baby coconut.
13 min