Have you ever noticed that our tiny babies come with a TON of stuff?
It seems like the second we found out we were expecting, our house exploded with baby gear for every situation.
Starting solid food with our baby was no exception and I remember feeling so overwhelmed searching for the best baby-led weaning equipment as we started this exciting, new milestone.
We loved baby-led weaning (BLW) and I literally talk to all new parents about how awesome it is.
But we also quickly learned that certain supplies and products made our baby-led weaning experience more successful and much less stressful.
As you get started with baby-led weaning, stock up on supplies that are specifically designed to make your transition to solid foods easier. Look for a high chair, bibs, plates, bowls, cups, and silverware to make baby-led weaning as fun and simple as possible with your baby. You can also stock up on cooking gear that helps you to prep and cook your new foods in ways that are safest for you baby.
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I put together this all-inclusive guide of all of the best baby-led weaning equipment and must-haves to help you on your journey to starting baby-led weaning.
I want you to have firsthand tips and experience from someone who has already been through the baby-led feeding process so I can give you advice on exactly what you should look for as you begin introducing solid foods to your baby.
If you’re just getting started on your baby-led weaning journey, keep reading these specific tips on what to look for when making these purchases and my favorite recommendations for BLW utensils and gear for your family.
Jump to:
💺Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning High Chair 👍 Best BLW High Chair Recommendations 😋 Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Bibs 👍 Best BLW Bib Recommendations 🍽️ Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Plates and Bowls 👍 Best BLW Plate and Bowl Recommendations 🥛 Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Cups 👍 Best BLW Cup Recommendations 🍴 Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Silverware 👍 Best BLW Silverware Recommendations 🍳 Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Cooking Supplies 👍 Best BLW Cooking Supplies Recommendations 🚗 Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Travel Supplies 👍 Best BLW Travel Recommendations 💭 Final Thoughts
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning High Chair
Any high chair will work, so if you already have something, that is perfectly fine. You certainly don’t need to buy a new one.
But if you haven’t gotten a high chair yet, there are a few things to keep in mind:
The biggest thing to remember is that baby led weaning is all about independence for your baby. When you let babies explore their own foods, things can get messy!
So when looking for the best highchair for baby led weaning, think of ways to help to minimize the mess and make clean up easier for you.
Minimal cracks and crannies:
Throughout your baby led weaning experience, your baby will smash, smear, throw, and drop food.
Try to find a high chair with the fewest crevices and separations in order to prevent food from getting stuck in these tiny places.
Easy clean up:
Again, things often get MESSY with baby led weaning.
To make things much easier for you, try to find a high chair with a removable tray that is dishwasher safe, has washable straps, and includes a removable seat cover that you can throw in the washing machine.
Easy to pull up to the table:
One of the best parts of baby led weaning is that it promotes sharing meals together as a family.
This means you want to find a high chair that you can bring up to your family table so your baby can eat with you.
Try to find a compact high chair that is easy to move around or one specifically designed without a tray so your baby can literally eat at the dinner table with the rest of the family.
Grows with your baby:
As you add in more meals and snacks, your baby will spend lots of time in the high chair. In fact, many kids continue to use a high chair for 2-3 years.
Look for options that have different settings and sizes to grow with your baby and get the most out of your investment in your high chair.
Best BLW High Chair Recommendations
ELENKER Wooden High Chair with Tray:
This chair has such a beautiful modern style and 3 adjustable heights to grow with your baby.
It also folds up to only 8 inches wide and perfectly slides into the smallest spaces in your home when you’re not using it, making it perfect for smaller spaces.
Strokke Tripp Trapp High Chair:
I absolutely adore this high chair! I think it is beautiful and I love that you can add the tray for your baby to eat off of or take off the tray and pull it right up to your table.
It also grows with your baby from the day you start baby led weaning around 6 months up until adulthood (it holds up to 300 pounds!) so you really get the most out of your investment.
Asunflower Wood High Chair Toddlers 3 in 1:
This is a convertible high chair which can be a full size high chair, grounded booster seat, or little stool chair for your baby and toddler.
The stylish harness and seat insert are also easy to clean after every mess, which is perfect for baby led weaning!
Fisher-Price Healthy Care Deluxe Booster Seat:
We use this super affordable booster seat for our baby and it works incredibly well!
I love that the tray has two parts, which are both dishwasher safe. This helped us to cut down on dishes and save tons of time for our family.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Bibs
Overall, I think baby-led weaning is amazing and I truly believe this style of introducing solid food to your baby has so many positives.
However, the biggest con of baby-led feeding is that it can be really messy and frustrating to clean up your baby after a messy meal.
That’s why stocking up on a few great bibs (and floor mats) will help you to feel so much happier while doing baby-led feeding.
You won’t have to constantly stress about the mess and instead can enjoy eating with your baby.
Here are a few things to look for in a great bib for baby-led weaning:
Waterproof:
While your baby eats and explores different foods and textures, she is likely to smear and smudge around food and sauces and make a giant mess.
Silicone, waterproof bibs are incredible because they don’t stain, can be easily wiped off, and are usually dishwasher safe.
Have pouches to catch food:
While your baby masters his pincer grasp and learns to pick up food, things will be dropped. A lot of things will be dropped.
Getting a bib with a pouch to catch as much food as possible will keep your baby’s clothes and high chair neater and make clean up much easier.
Look for long sleeves:
If you really want to minimize the mess while your baby is eating, look for a long-sleeve bib. This will completely cover your baby’s clothes and keep everything clean and stain-free.
To be really pro-active, look for a bib that suctions to your highchair and catches everything that is dropped.
This keeps your baby’s clothes clean and prevents a build-up of dropped food in the seat of your baby’s high chair.
Add in a floor mat:
A very classic sign of a baby led weaning home is a bunch of food on the floor around your baby’s high chair after mealtime.
I recommend finding a large, machine washable floor mat that you can put under the high chair so you can easily collect all of the dropped food and clean your kitchen without having to spend tons of time sweeping and mopping after every meal and snack.
Best BLW Bib Recommendations
Baby Feeding Silicone Bib Set:
I think this is the best silicone baby bib and it has been one of our favorite purchases for our baby.
The bibs are easy to snap on and then catch all of the food that your baby drops into it. (If your baby is like ours, they’ll then pick the food out of the bib and eat that too!)
Baby Bibs Waterproof and Wipeable – Eat and Play Smock Apron:
We get asked about these bibs on a daily basis because they are awesome!
They are super affordable and completely cover our baby’s clothes.
Best of all, after a particularly messy meal, we just wipe off the food and throw it in the wash. It is so easy!
Clean Cub 6-12 Month BLW Apron Bib with Suction Cups:
This bib literally suctions to your high chair and wraps around the entire area around your baby.
This makes it the perfect BLW bib because it catches everything your baby drops around them and makes clean up a breeze.
Paw Legend Washable High Chair Splat Floor Mat:
This large mat completely covers the space under your baby’s high chair so you can catch any mess that falls around them and easily clean up afterwards.
It comes in tons of different patterns so you can choose which one you like the most.
Best of all, it’s machine washable so you can just pop it into the washing machine when you’re done eating for a quick and easy clean up.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Plates and Bowls
I initially didn’t think we needed plates and bowls and figured our baby could just eat off of the high chair tray or table.
But after going through the process, I firmly believe that investing in a few quality plates and bowls with help you to be more successful with baby-led feeding.
Using plates and bowls actually minimizes messes because your baby’s food is more compartmentalized. Everything has a specific spot so it isn’t so tempting to push and smear food all over the entire high chair tray.
Best of all, using plates and bowls actually supports development of the pincer grasp because your baby can use their plate and bowl to help pick up food.
Here are a few things to consider when looking for the best plates and bowls for baby-led weaning:
Suctions to the table:
Babies love to pick up plates and bowls and dump them out or throw them over the edge of the high chair.
Although frustrating, this is a normal part of development as they learn cause and effect.
If you want to minimize meal time frustrations as you begin introducing solid foods with your baby, aim to buy plates and bowls with a great suction so you don’t have to worry about these extra messes.
Multiple separators:
It is super easy for us parents to forget how small baby portions are as you fill up baby’s plate.
Buying baby bowls and plates with built in separators is great for baby-led weaning because this helps to remind you to keep the servings small and makes it easier to offer a variety of healthy foods for your baby during every meal.
If you’re not sure what meals you should serve your baby, or how to get started with baby led weaning, check out this amazing course with everything you need to know to get started!
High Walls:
Look for plates and bowls with a bit of a lip or ledge on them.
This makes it easier for your baby to pick up food because she can push the food up against the ledge and then pick it up more easily.
Best BLW Plate and Bowl Recommendations
Ezpz Mini Mat:
These are known for having a great suction that fits perfectly on your high chair or table.
They also have 3 different sections to remind you to serve your baby a well-balanced meal.
Ezpz Mini Play Mat:
I think these are the coolest when you want to offer even more choices for your baby’s meal and they really help your baby to grasp food as she learns this skill.
You can use for meals or snacks or even order a few extra for painting and craft time!
Avanchy Baby Feeding Bowl and Plate Set:
I think this bamboo set is absolutely beautiful and I love that it is made with sustainable materials that are safe for your baby.
This is the set I plan on buying for baby number two so we can take even more cute pictures during mealtimes with our pretty plates and bowls.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Cups
Did you know that your baby can begin using an open cup right when they start baby led weaning at (approximately) six months old?
Although it sounds intimidating and messy, switching directly to an open cup instead of a sippy cup is much better for your baby’s teeth and oral care and it means you don’t have to wean off a sippy cup later on.
Here are a few things to consider when looking for the right cup to start using with your baby.
Made for babies:
The best baby cups are the ones that are made with your baby’s little hands in mind.
Think about how much easier it is for you to drink out of a normal cup instead of a giant gallon container.
This is the same for your baby. Look for a smaller cup designed for babies so that it is easier for her to lift to her mouth and control the water flow while she is drinking.
Straws are good too!
I had no idea that our 6 month old baby could start drinking out of straws until I look this baby-led weaning course.
This is great because it is much better for your baby’s teeth alignment than a traditional sippy cup, but it’s also less messy than using an open cup.
Click here if you want to take this course too!
Best BLW Cup Recommendations
Ezpz Tiny Cup:
This baby led weaning cup is specifically designed to fit your baby’s tiny hands and mouth and the soft silicone protects your baby’s developing teeth.
It is also safe for both cold and warm beverages, so it will work with all of your baby’s favorite beverages.
Munchkin Miracle 360 Trainer Cup:
These cups are the coolest!
They have handles to make it even easier for your baby to hold on and the 360 degree design prevents the cup from spilling if your baby drops it or flips it upside down.
Thinkbaby Thinkster of Ultra Polished Stainless Steel:
If you don’t feel ready for an open cup, another great option is to give your baby a cup with a straw.
This cup is free of harmful chemicals and is built with a no spill straw to prevent accidents.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Silverware
When parents think about baby-led weaning products, they often don’t think about silverware.
You aren’t feeding your baby like traditional feeding methods and are training your baby to eat by himself.
But, you also want to teach and encourage your baby to use silverware, so it’s important to find the best baby spoons and forks for self feeding.
This is where I think it is the most helpful to look for specific baby led weaning tools.
Because most baby spoons and forks are designed for the parent to feed the baby, they aren’t as easy for your baby to use independently.
Here are a few tips when looking for baby led feeding spoons and forks:
Start with forks:
You might think that spoons are the natural starting point for your baby’s first silverware, but forks are actually easier for your baby to use.
With a spoon, your baby has to carefully twist and maneuver the food, and they often become frustrating when things fall off the spoon.
But with a fork, your baby learns to poke the food and it stays in place until it gets to their mouth.
Choose options that fit your baby’s hands:
There are hundreds of different styles of baby silverware that you can use, but the best silverware is silverware that your baby can use independently.
Look for smaller spoons with stubby handles so your baby doesn’t have to maneuver long spoons and forks.
Anti-choking silverware:
If you give your baby a long, thin spoon, they’re destined to stick it down their throat and gag a bit.
This isn’t the end of the world, and with a little practice they’ll get better. But if can be scary for both you and your baby.
I recommend looking for silverware made to prevent choking for a smoother transition to using silverware independently.
Best BLW Silverware Recommendations
Grabease BLW Starter Kit:
I love these baby spoons and forks because they are perfect to use when your baby starts using silverware.
They are specifically designed for your baby’s vertical grip, which means she can start using them at a younger age and develop skills more quickly with these baby forks and spoons than many other brands.
ChooMee FlexiDip Starter Spoon:
This spoon is also a great option for babies as they learn to use silverware because it is made with little food channels to grip onto your baby’s food.
This has helped our baby to be more successful when he tries to eat applesauce and yogurt independently.
Olabay Training Spoon:
I love that this spoon is easy for your baby to grasp and use.
It is also soothing for your teething baby to chew on and has a special silicone base which allows you to store the spoon upright on the table without getting messy.
This is perfect for when your baby takes a break from using their spoon so it doesn’t get thrown on the floor before the next bite.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Cooking Supplies
My favorite part of baby-led weaning BY FAR is that you don’t need to buy anything special or stock up on baby food. Your baby can just eat what you’re eating.
But it is important to know how to prep and cook foods as well as how to cut them as you begin baby-led weaning.
I know I mentioned it earlier, but if you’re not sure exactly what to do, I HIGHLY recommend this super affordable course from My Little Eater. I learned everything I needed to know to feel super confident and be successful with baby-led weaning with our baby.
Remember, you don’t need any special equipment when you start baby-led feeding with your baby.
However, here are a few cooking supplies that can be super handy to make cooking and meal prep even easier for your family and your BLW baby.
Best BLW Cooking Supplies Recommendations
Philips Avent Baby Food Steamer and Blender:
This is perfect for you to steam your foods and ensure that you have the right texture with your baby’s food.
It also has a built-in blender so you can super easily blend up the food if you are doing a mix of baby-led weaning and purees.
Silicone Mini Muffin Pan:
One of the easiest meals you can prep for your baby are little omelets and this is the perfect pan to prep a batch and be ready for the week.
Oxo Good Grips Spiralizer:
We have eaten a ton of spiralized veggies during our baby led feeding journey.
You can make such healthy food that is both fun and delicious for your little one and it is so easy to prep with this spiralizer.
Slicer Tool by Tuscom:
We spent so much time cutting our vegetables into long, thin strips when we were just getting started with BLW because this prevented choking and made it easier for our baby to hold onto his food.
But this slicer tool is perfect to save a ton of time and quickly chop up your baby’s vegetables for meals and snacks.
Features of the Best Baby-Led Weaning Travel Supplies
I think BLW is the BEST when it comes to traveling because you don’t need to back a ton of extra food and supplies.
Your baby can eat whatever you eat so you always know that you have food options when baby is hungry.
But there are a few amazing products that made it even easier and more convenient to feed your baby when your on-to-go.
Best BLW Travel Recommendations
Suction Go Bowl:
These bowls are so cool!
You can use them separately as baby bowls or put them together to have a lid when you’re traveling with your baby.
Best of all, they have a suction on them as well so you can snap off the lid, suction it to the surface, and let your baby eat on the go.
Skip Hop Silicone Placemat:
I never realized how gross tables can be until our baby had to start eating off of them. 😳
In a pinch, we just wipe them off and he can eat off of them, but this placemat is perfect to always know that your baby is eating on a clean surface.
I love that it rolls up and has a built-in loop to easily stash in your diaper bag and always bring it with you.
Totseat Chair Harness:
This is super helpful to bring along when you travel or go to restaurants.
You don’t need to use those grimy high chairs in restaurants or try to balance your baby on your lap and fend off those busy hands while they try to grab your food.
Instead, your baby can use their own chair and this washable harness.
Final Thoughts:
Starting solids is a massive milestone for our baby.
Although it’s exciting, it’s also stressful to figure exactly what to do and what supplies you need to get started.
Use this guide to help you know what qualities to look for in all of the baby-led weaning supplies you need.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed and confused about how to start feeding your baby solids, check out this Baby-Led Feeding Course to feel confident raising a healthy, happy eater.