July 08, 2021

Debunking the Biggest BLW Myths with Gill Rapley, PhD

43 minutes

#142: You should wait 3-5 days between introducing new foods. You should cut up food really small to reduce choking risk. Babies have to learn to chew before they swallow and baby-led weaning means no spoons and no purees. Myths about baby-led weaning are ENDLESS, and there’s nobody better than Gill Rapley to help debunk these BLW myths!

Gill Rapley is the co-author of the original baby-led weaning book and the founding philosopher of the baby-led weaning movement. In this episode Dr. Rapley is walking us through 5 “legacy myths” (those that have been around since the first edition of her BLW book) and newer “current myths” that have cropped up in recent years.

If you’ve ever wondered, “I wonder what Gill Rapley would think about this?...” then this is the episode for you. We’re diving deep into the most persistent BLW myths and debunking them one by one...and these are Gill’s words: “right from the horse’s mouth!”

Listen to this episode to learn:

LEGACY BLW MYTHS

You should start with one meal a day and work up to three

Baby must be able to swallow food and pass the tongue thrust reflex “test” to qualify as ready to eat

You should introduce one new food at a time and wait 3-5 days between foods

First foods should be cut in small pieces

Fruits and vegetables are the ideal starter foods

CURRENT BLW MYTHS

Babies need to be able to sit for X amount of time unsupported to qualify as ready-to-eat

Babies learn to chew before they learn to swallow

BLW means no purees and no spoon-feeding

BLW increases the risk of choking

You can combine traditional spoon-feeding with BLW

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/142

Links from This Episode:

Gill Rapley is the co-author of the original baby-led weaning book called “Baby-Led Weaning: The Essential Guide”. Be sure to get the fully revised 2019 edition and you can read it here on Amazon (this is an affiliate link).

Amy Brown’s research was mentioned in this episode. You can find my interview with BLW researcher Amy Brown at episode 70 “The Evidence Behind Baby-Led Weaning with Amy Brown, PhD”

Listen to past interviews with Katie & Gill Rapley in Episode 100 “The History of BLW with its Founding Philosopher Gill Rapley, PhD (Part 1)” and Episode 102 “The Future of BLW with its Founding Philosopher Gill Rapley, PhD (Part 2)”

Gill Rapley was also on the podcast in episode 140 “National Baby-Led Weaning Day: It's a Thing with Gill Rapley, PhD”

Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: https://babyledweaning.co/program

Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners

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Not sure about which foods to offer your baby next? Get your copy of my original 100 FIRST FOODS list on my free online video workshop called BABY-LED WEANING FOR BEGINNERS.

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Want guided help on how to make all of the 100 FIRST FOODS™ safely for your baby? My program BABY-LED WEANING WITH KATIE FERRARO has a 100 FIRST FOODS daily meal plan and everything else you need to start solid foods safely with baby-led weaning. CLICK HERE TO JOIN.

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Be sure to follow @babyledweanteam on Instagram and our Baby-Led Weaning YouTube channel for more information about helping your baby transition to solid foods safely.

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If you learned something from this episode and like this podcast, your review means the WORLD to us and helps other parents find this important evidence-based infant feeding info. Click here to leave a review on Apple podcasts or rate this show on Spotify podcasts and thanks for being a part of this amazing and supportive baby-led weaning community!

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By Katie Ferraro

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