Your Essential Guide to Baby-Led Weaning

On-Demand Class · Feeding & Nutrition

In this course, we’ll learn about infant-safe food sizing, how to build a balanced baby meal, the important nutrients for infant growth and development, the differences between gagging and choking, and much, much more…

Class Description

In this course, we’ll learn about infant-safe food sizing, how to build a balanced baby meal, the important nutrients for infant growth and development, the differences between gagging and choking, and much, much more…

Sessions Overview

  1. What You Really Need to Feed: An Essential Baby-Led Weaning Feeding Checklist: What items do you need to get started? The truth is, you really don’t need much at all...get the lowdown here on the top things that will make your life easier during this fun stage.
  2. Food Safety 101: Foodborne illness happens more often than you might think. If you’re not someone who is familiar with food safety guidelines, this lesson is meant to educate you on the basics and help you make food safety a consistent part of your routine as you prepare foods for yourself and your family.
  3. Safe Food Sizing and Texture, Plus Top First Foods: In this lesson, we'll explore some great options for first foods, and we'll cover how to cut and prepare food to make the size and texture safe and appropriate for babies.
  4. How to Build Balanced Baby Meals: When it comes to starting your baby on solid foods, we want to maximize the nutrition in every bite. In this lesson, we'll talk about how to build balanced, nourishing baby meals that include the important nutrients babies need to thrive and grow.
  5. All About Portion Sizes for Babies: Can you overfeed a baby during baby-led weaning? What are appropriate portion sizes for babies? How much should your baby eat? How much should you serve? We'll cover the answers to these questions and more in this lesson...
  6. Feeding Schedules and How to Balance Solids & Milk: It's totally normal if the first several weeks of baby-led feeding end up being less about actual eating and more about playing with and exploring food! In Lesson 6, we'll talk about what to expect when it comes to feeding schedules, balancing milk and solid foods, and when to offer each.
  7. Best Cups for Babies and What to Put in Them: In Lesson 7, we'll talk about all about water - whether, when and how much to offer, as well as which cups are recommended and which types to avoid and/or limit.
  8. What You Need to Know About Baby Gagging and Choking: In Lesson 8, we'll cover which foods, food shapes and textures increase choking risk and how to offer finger foods of an appropriate size and texture for babies. We'll also go into detail about the differences between gagging and choking and what to do when your baby gags.
  9. Choking Hazards and How to Avoid Them: In Lesson 9, find out which specific foods and which types of foods increase choking risk, whether to avoid them altogether during infancy, or whether you can modify them in an appropriate way for babies.
  10. Top Tips for Successful BLW Meals: In Lesson 10, I'll teach you my top 10 tips for successful meals so that straight out of the gate, you can avoid some of the pitfalls and mistakes that can end up complicating things a bit down the road.
  11. Foods to Avoid During the First Year: In this lesson, we'll talk about which specific foods to avoid and/or limit during baby’s first year of life.

Your Instructor

Malina Malkani

Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, is the pediatric registered dietitian, best-selling author, speaker, and single mom of three behind the Instagram and TikTok handle @healthy.mom.healthy.kids. A top nutrition influencer dedicated to educating her combined audience of over 140,000 followers about infant and childhood nutrition, Malina is a trusted expert in local and national media outlets and owns a nutrition consulting company and private practice that helps caregivers feed their babies and kids with confidence. She is the author of Simple and Safe Baby-Led Weaning: How to Integrate Foods, Manage Portion Sizes, and Identify Allergies and the creator of two online courses: Safe & Simple Baby-Led Feeding and Solve Picky Eating. A 2022 and 2023 Forbes Health Advisory Board Member, member of the Advisory Council for the RWJF Reframing Child Health and Obesity project, and former national media spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Malina completed her undergraduate degrees at Northwestern University and master's degree in clinical nutrition at New York University.

Degrees and Certifications

Master’s degree in Clinical Nutrition, New York University Clinical Dietetic Internship, Bronx VA Hospital Commission on Dietetic Registration’s two certificates of training in adult weight management Undergraduate degrees (BM, BA) in literature and music from Northwestern University

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