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!
301
Are you REALLY doing Baby-Led Weaning? Developm...
How do you know if you’re REALLY doing baby-led weaning? Is there a way to MEASURE whether or not you’re adhering to the tenets of baby-led weaning? Emma Studer-Perez is a PhD student in a psychology who recently co-authored a research article about the development of a BLW scale to measure adherence to the core principles of baby-led weaning. In this interview we’re exploring her findings that feeding practices centered around exploration, independence and family are central to success with baby-led weaning.
19 min
302
BLW at Restaurants: Order or Bring Your Own Food?
How do you do baby-led weaning at a restaurant? Do you bring your own food? Do you order food for your baby? Or do you order food for yourself and offer some of that for your baby? There are lots of ways to make baby-led weaning work at restaurants and in this episode we are talking about the pros and cons of bringing your own food vs. ordering food your baby can eat.
5 min
303
How to Handle Misinformation in the Baby Space ...
How do you handle people who spew misinformation when it comes to parenting or raising your baby? In this episode I’m interviewing Jessica Steier, DrPH, PMP and Andrea Love, PhD from the Unbiased Science Podcast about how to handle misinformation in the baby space.
35 min
304
Naturally Low Sodium Foods Babies Can Safely Eat
How can I help my baby have a positive relationship with food? And what should I avoid to help reduce negative associations with food and feeding for my baby? In this episode we’re going through some easy ways to help reduce vomiting, choking, anxiety and stress at mealtimes so that your baby can have the most positive eating experience possible.
24 min
305
How to Use Oral Development Tools for Your Baby...
How strong is your baby’s mouth? Are there exercises or tools you can use to help strengthen your baby’s jaw or help them with tongue elevation or tongue lateralization? In this episode I’m interviewing Dawn Winkelmann, MS, CCC-SLP who is the mastermind behind ezpz’s brand new Oral Development Tools.
22 min
306
How to Reduce Negative Associations with Food &...
How can I help my baby have a positive relationship with food? And what should I avoid to help reduce negative associations with food and feeding for my baby? In this episode we’re going through some easy ways to help reduce vomiting, choking, anxiety and stress at mealtimes so that your baby can have the most positive eating experience possible.
17 min
307
Waste Free Kitchen Tips with Dana Gunders
Almost one-third of all food purchases in the United States go to waste. I know you are spending precious time and money prepping all these BLW foods for your baby and our guest Dana Gunders is intent on making sure you don’t waste food. Dana is a mom of 2 BLW grads, the Executive Director of ReFed and author of the Waste Free Kitchen Handbook. In this interview she’s sharing real actions you can take right now to lower waste in your kitchen. From how to freeze foods for your baby to the right way to store herbs and how to know which expired food is safe to eat, Dana is on a mission to help us lower waste in our home kitchens.
30 min
308
3 Ways You Could Be Holding Your Baby Back at M...
Nobody holds their baby’s development back on purpose…but there are feeding practices that can inadvertently be delaying your baby’s progression towards important milestones. In this episode I’m sharing 3 ways you could be holding your baby back at mealtimes - and then brainstorming on simple tweaks to help get your baby back on track with independent self-feeding.
11 min
309
Top 5 BLW Questions Answered
What’s YOUR biggest burning baby-led weaning question?! Wondering about gagging vs. choking, what to do if your baby breaks off a big bite in their mouth, switching from purees or how to handle allergic reactions? In this episode I’m answering 5 of the most asked baby-led weaning questions from all of 2022.
13 min
310
Will Baby-Led Weaning Work for My Baby
Does baby-led weaning work? Is baby-led weaning safe? And how do I know if this is the right approach for starting solid foods with MY baby?
12 min
311
5 Foods You Can Grow and Your Baby Can Eat with...
What if you could grow the food that your baby eats? Even if you don’t have a green thumb, Brian Brigantti from @redleafranch is pretty convinced you CAN grow some of the super easy starter foods your baby is learning how to eat.
35 min
312
2023 Infant Feeding Trends & Predictions
Nobody really knows what’s going to happen in the next year, but we do know that there will be so many babies getting ready to start solid foods! In this episode, I’m walking you through all of the infant feeding trends and predictions that I see happening in 2023. Here’s to another year of babies starting solid foods safely with baby-led weaning!
14 min
313
Holiday Food Stress Stuff: Coping Tips from @di...
As if food stuff and feeding families wasn’t stressful enough, tack the holidays on and in some families, it’s a recipe for disaster. My guest Libby Ward from @diaryofanhonestmom is here to help us with some coping tips when you hear things like, “I spoon-fed you and you turned out fine…” and other greatest hits from people who don’t fully understand or respect your parenting decisions.
35 min
314
3 Things Most People Forget about Baby-Led Weaning
There are a few things that people forget about baby-led weaning…but your baby can learn to self-feed safely! In this episode we’re looking at 3 things to help you stay in a positive mindset about baby-led weaning so that your baby can be successful at self-feeding when they start solid foods!
10 min
315
Pre-Feeding Skills: What Can My Baby Do Before ...
Pre-feeding skills are a set of accomplishments your baby is going to achieve prior to the time where they are able to independently self-feed. Marsha Dunn Klein, OTR/L, MEd, FAOTA literally wrote the book on pediatric feeding called Pre-Feeding Skills and she’s here to share some activities you and your baby can engage in even before they’re ready to start solid foods.
34 min
316
5 Feeding Practices to Avoid for Baby-Led Weaning
There are so many foods your baby CAN eat…but a few feeding practices that can put them in danger or should be avoided. In this episode we’re looking at 5 feeding practices to avoid for baby-led weaning in order to keep your baby safe and successful at self-feeding when they start solid foods!
14 min
317
BLW Holiday Homework
Got some downtime over the holidays to squeeze in learning about starting solid foods safely?! If you’ve been meaning to figure out baby-led weaning, this episode has a few good ideas for getting yourself up to speed and helping your baby get ready to start solid foods.
11 min
318
Constipation: How to Safely Use Prunes for Babies
Can babies eat prunes? Dried sticky fruits like prunes (...the fruit formerly known as “dried plums”) can be a choking hazard for early eaters.
8 min
319
Is My Baby Dairy Intolerant? Food Protein Induc...
Can babies be intolerant to dairy foods and cow’s milk protein? If your baby had blood and/or mucous in the stool early on in infancy you may have switched to a hypoallergenic formula or if breastfeeding then mom started cutting things out of her diet like dairy or soy.
32 min
320
Are Plant-Based Milks Safe for Babies?
Can babies drink plant based milks? And what are the best plant based milks for toddlers? In this episode we’re looking at the pros and cons of soy milk, pea milk, almond milk, rice drink, coconut milk and oat milk for children.
17 min
321
Postural Support when Starting Solid Foods with...
In order to safely start solid foods, babies should be able to sit on their own - relatively unassisted. But what does that mean? How long should they be able to sit for? What if they tripod?...does that count?
42 min
322
Meat: 5 Cuts of Meat I Never Offer Babies
Babies can definitely eat meat…but there are a few CUTS of meat I steer clear of for early eaters. In this episode I’m walking you through the cuts of meat I don’t offer babies when it comes to beef, pork, poultry, lamb and shellfish.
10 min
323
Teaching Your Baby Sign Language: Do's & Don'ts...
Did you know you shouldn’t cover your baby’s hands when they are practicing signs? Mary Smith from Sign ‘n Grow is on the podcast with great information about what to do and what to avoid when it comes to teaching baby’s sign language.
20 min
324
Water: Why Offering Water to Early Eaters Can b...
When should I offer my baby water out of the open cup? How much water do babies need? Does my baby even NEED any additional water?
13 min
325
Salvage Food: How to Save Money and Safely Feed...
If your grocery bill is breaking the bank, Hope Ware from Under the Median can help. Hope and her husband create content that help families “live abundantly…on a budget.”
32 min