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!

Kids & Family
Parenting
Health & Fitness
101
Is this Picky Eating or ARFID? with Rosan Meyer...
Where does typical picky eating stop and problematic restriction start? Internationally renowned pediatric dietitian and professor Rosan Meyer is here to explain what ARFID (avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder) is and why your baby does not have ARFID.
33 min
102
Are Deli Meats Safe for My Baby to Eat?
Can babies eat lunch meat? In this episode we’ll look at deli meats and explore whether cold cuts like turkey, ham, roast beef or salami are safe for your baby to eat.
20 min
103
The Making of a Documentary About Starting Soli...
Why do we make starting solid foods SO complicated? Documentary filmmaker and mom of 2 Paulina Lagudi is here to talk about the new film project she is making about starting solid foods called A Solid 6 Months. She’s following her own son’s journey with baby-led weaning, interviewing experts and exploring parents’ + babies’ relationship with learning to eat real food.
49 min
104
Donor Milk: How Donating and Receiving Breastmi...
Twenty moms share their stories about how donating extra breastmilk or being recipients of donor human milk helped enriched their family life. Donor milk is essential for reducing the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a deadly bowel disease in premature babies…but there are so many other benefits to donating and utilizing human milk for babies too.
32 min
105
Bananas are Bad for Babies...and Other Historic...
Did you know a common parenting practice of yesteryear involved withholding fruit like bananas from babies because fruit was associated with sin? Author Jennifer Traig joins me to discuss the history of infant feeding practices, how things have changed over the years and why your baby is probably going to be alright whether or not you decide to do baby-led weaning or adult-led spoon feeding of purees
23 min
106
Vomit: What if My Baby Vomits when Eating?
What if my baby vomits when doing baby-led weaning? Is vomiting normal when you start solid foods? It can be scary when your baby vomits, but it is not always a sign of a huge problem. In this episode I cover what you can expect as far as vomiting when your baby starts eating.
11 min
107
Why You Shouldn't Brush Your Baby's Teeth with ...
Do you brush your baby’s teeth? What if they could brush their own teeth? Dawn Winkelmann is here to talk about baby-led oral care and why babies benefit from having more control when it comes to your oral care routine.
22 min
108
Meat: How to Prepare Meat Safely for Baby-Led W...
Are you scared to offer your baby meat? Meat offers a variety of taste, texture and nutrition experiences, but it can be hard to make meat safe for your baby to eat. In this episode I’m sharing my favorite cuts of meat for baby-led weaning, how to make them safe and the best gateway meat to start with if you’re freaked out to feed your baby meat.
14 min
109
Planning for Your Next Pregnancy with Emily Ost...
Pregnancy complications are…complicated. Nobody plans to have a miscarriage or preterm birth or uncontrollable vomiting while pregnant. Emily Oster is here to talk about pregnancy complications and how to use data in preparation for your next pregnancy.
37 min
110
Daycare: How Can I Get Caregivers on Board wit...
How do you do baby-led weaning if your baby goes to daycare? Daycare might say they only do purees, or they won’t offer finger foods. In this episode I share effective strategies for helping your daycare or childcare provider understand baby-led weaning and how and why your baby can safely self-feed even when they are away from home.
15 min
111
7 Reasons Why You Should Look in Your Baby's Mo...
There’s a lot going on inside of your baby’s mouth when they start solid foods. Turns out that looking inside your baby’s mouth can give you a heads up if something is going wrong. Speech Language Pathologist Dawn Winkelmann is here to explain how and why to use a tongue depressor when your baby starts eating.
20 min
112
Feeding Schedules: How Often Should I Feed My B...
How often should babies eat solid food? And do they eat before they have milk or after breastfeeding? Finding a schedule for starting solid foods can be tricky but in this episode I’m sharing my exact feeding schedule for babies in 3 different ages and phases of baby-led weaning.
15 min
113
Help Your Baby Learn to Sit Independently with ...
Your baby being able to sit relatively on their own is an important sign of readiness to eat. Pediatric occupational therapist Emma Hubbard explains how to help your baby get prepared to sit along with exercises and tips for reducing choking risk when you start solid foods.
35 min
114
10 Easy Starter Foods for Baby-Led Weaning
What is the best baby-led weaning food to start solid foods with? Are some starter foods safer for babies than others? In this episode I’ll share 10 of my favorite easy starter foods for baby-led weaning that your baby can start eating at or around 6 months of age.
24 min
115
The Plastic Chemicals Hiding in Your Baby’s Foo...
Even if you make your baby’s food, there’s still a risk of plastic chemicals making their way in there too. Dr. James Rogers from Consumer Reports recently tested a bunch of baby foods and formulas for plastic chemicals and the results will surprise you…even if you eat organic.
33 min
116
Egg: How to Introduce Your Baby to this Potenti...
What if your baby is allergic to eggs? The only way to know if your baby has an egg allergy is to offer them egg. In this episode I’ll share some easy ways to make eggs safe for babies so your baby can start learning how to safely eat eggs.
13 min
117
Are Purees Making Our Babies Jaws Weak? with Ni...
What if pouches and purees are the problem? Limited texture opportunities can compromise infants’ oral facial development and negatively impact bone development in the mouth. Nicole Goldfarb is an orofacial myofunctional therapist here to talk about maximizing your baby’s potential by pushing their palate past purees.
43 min
118
Peanut: How to Introduce Your Baby to this Pote...
How do you know if your baby is allergic to peanuts? The only way to know is to offer your baby peanut. In this episode I’m sharing 3 easy ways to safely offer your baby peanut with tips on how to reintroduce peanut early and often to help lower the risk of peanut allergy.
20 min
119
You Can't Make Your Baby Eat with Heidi Liefer ...
What if my baby isn’t eating? Is there something I can do to make my baby eat? Heidi Moreland is here to help us stop providing external motivation at mealtimes and start supporting our baby’s internal motivation to feed themselves solid food.
34 min
120
Cow's Milk Protein: How to Introduce Your Baby ...
What if my baby has a milk allergy or can’t eat dairy foods? The only way to know if your baby is allergic to cow’s milk protein is to offer them that food. In this episode we look at milk allergy and how to prevent it, including the easiest way to offer your baby this potentially allergenic food and why it’s particularly important for exclusively breastfed babies.
16 min
121
Is My Baby Eating Enough? Falling Off the Growt...
Is my baby eating enough and what if they start falling off their growth curve? Dietitian Kat Mikelaites talks about failure to thrive, growth faltering and helping babies get enough nutrition, iron and energy to thrive.
28 min
122
Why You Don’t Need to Wait 3-5 Days Between Of...
You do not need to wait 3-5 days between offering new foods to your baby. In fact, waiting that long can actually slow down your baby’s progress and prevent diet diversity. In this episode we look at the research that supports quicker introduction of new foods; it is safe to offer 1 (or more) new food(s) per day and this approach can help reduce the risk of severe picky eating and help your baby learn to safely eat and like real food.
14 min
123
Prenatal Vitamins are Kind of a Hot Mess with H...
How did you pick your prenatal vitamin? A new report found that prenatal vitamins might contain more or less of their stated nutrients like folic acid and iron. Helena Bottemiller Evich joins me to talk about how to choose a prenatal vitamin and how safe they are.
31 min
124
How to Introduce Allergenic Foods to Your Baby
What if your baby has an allergic reaction to a food? The only way to know if your baby is allergic is to offer them that food…but there are some safety guidelines you want to know about. In this episode we’ll look at the recent research and updated guidelines that support early introduction of potentially allergenic foods and then how to safely prepare those foods to help lower your baby’s risk of food allergy.
14 min
125
How to Brush Your Baby's Teeth with @firstgrin ...
Oral care is important but how do you actually brush an infant’s gums or teeth? Pediatric Dentist and mom Ashley Lerman explains the best positioning and technique for brushing your baby’s teeth.
26 min