How do I know my baby is full at meal time?

Written By Julie Laux

Written by Written by Catherine Callahan, MS, CCC-SLP, CLC, Speech-language Pathologist, Pediatric Feeding Therapist, and Certified Lactation Counselor



Baby Led Weaning Q&A Series



Q: What is responsive feeding? How do we make sure we are following this method?


Responsive feeding means watching and listening, reading baby’s cues, and responding to those cues. It is the back and forth, give and take, between a caregiver and child during mealtime.

Sometimes understanding what baby is telling you can be the hardest part. Sometimes you will know exactly what baby wants or needs, and sometimes you will have to guess. Either way, if you are following responsive feeding, you are sitting with your baby and responding to them in the best way you can.



For success in responsive feeding, do these two key things:

1. Sit down with your baby during all meals

2. Take time to observe your baby



If you see your baby:

  • opening his mouth

  • reaching for the spoon or piece of food

  • leaning his body toward the food

  • looking at the food or you

  • happy, smiling, vocalizing

Then, keep going! Give your baby more food as they finish the food on their tray.



If you see your baby:

  • crying, whining, screaming, or mad

  • turning head away

  • looking away with eyes

  • pushing away or swatting with hands

  • closing mouth

  • leaning back or away from you

  • covering mouth

  • throwing everything

Then, end the meal. Baby is communicating with you that they are finished. 




Sometimes parents hesitate to end the meal because they worry their baby has not eaten enough. Their worry over their baby’s nutrition supersedes baby's cues. It’s important in this case to listen to your baby. While you may feel your baby needs to eat more, ignoring their cues will not help you in the long run. It’s important for your baby to learn that they can trust you. That you will listen to their cues and support them. If baby doesn’t want more, you need to trust that they are not hungry for more or they are not ready to eat right now. Remind yourself that another meal or snack will come in two to three hours and your baby will have time to consume more.

 

Need more confidence following baby led weaning? We’re here to help!

Follow our 6-Steps to Starting Solids Success inside the 101 before one program, where we’ll show you exactly how to introduce 101 foods to your baby safely with Family meals from the start®

Julie Laux
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