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Baby led weaning at 9 months is so fun and such an exciting time with your baby. Read on for tips and tricks, and our favorite baby led weaning 9 month recipes.

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Here we are at 9 months, and Sawyer is a great little eater.

At this point, I feel comfortable pretty much serving him anything (except honey and added sugars, of course).

Baby led weaning at 9 months has been SO fun. He uses his baby spoon, but he also digs in with his hands and I love it.

I’m much less anxious or nervous, and more excited to watch him explore his food, ask for more, and see what he is starting to prefer.

Every baby is different, and he is different than my first two girls. We’re following his lead on baby led weaning recipes and offerings, and I’m loving it.

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In fact, they didn’t really start “eating” in our baby led weaning introductions until 10.5-11 months.

Sawyer, on the other hand, will eat anything and everything I offer to him.

He eats many of these 12 month old lunch ideas!

Stressed about feeding your baby?
Unsure what foods to offer?

Check out our baby led weaning ebook that has several recipes for every time of day and a sample feeding schedule!

Grab Your BLW Guide

He’s a hungry little dude, so our blw meals at 9 months are almost as much as what my 3-year-old and 5-year-olds are eating (maybe just cut differently).

Here’s what our baby led weaning at 9 months looks like (they can use a baby spoon!), and if you’re curious about previous months or what’s in store for future months, check out:

• starting solids with baby led weaning
• 6 months baby led weaning
• 7 month foods for baby led weaning
• Baby led weaning 8 months
• Baby led weaning recipes for 10 months
• Meal ideas for 1 year old
  

Baby Led Weaning 9 Month Schedule

7am – Wakeup and milk

730/8am – For our baby led weaning breakfast at 9 months, we usually do oatmeal or eggs, and I sometimes pair it with this blueberry baby food on a baby spoon.

930/10am – Milk and Nap – Not all babies will need milk but for us, it’s more for comfort and to help him fall asleep.

12pm – Lunch – Scroll down for lunch ideas for baby led weaning 9 months.

2:30 pm – Nap

4:00-4:30 – Milk or snack

5:30 – Dinner

6:45 – Milk and bed

For many, blw lunch ideas for 9 months can be challenging.

I’ll say that lunch is usually leftovers from the night before, or a fruit/veg with beans, eggs, tuna or a My Serenity Kids pouch.

Here’s a video of serving lunch to my 9 month old.

Baby Led Weaning Foods for 9 Month Old

Our baby led weaning foods for 9 months look very much similar to those of earlier posts, at 6 months and 7 months.

However, Sawyer continues to eat more, so generally, portions for baby led weaning recipes for 9 months are larger.

He now has two bottom teeth, so that helps a bit more with chewing our favorite 9 month old blw recipes.

We’ve added Cheerios in, since he can crunch more now. He doesn’t do many purees anymore (all babies are different!), but I did write this guide about doing baby led weaning and purees together.

I’ll usually put cheerios or puffs on his high chair tray to give me some time to prepare his meal.

He is always hungry and starts to make noise when he knows food is coming, as you can see from the above video.

So, cheerios or peanut puffs come in handy!

I want to learn more about baby led weaning!

Here are some of the other baby led weaning foods for 9 months we serve:

• oatmeal (good iron source) – I like to cook it more so it’s easier for baby to chew, or make oatmeal balls or use them in meatballs
• raspberries – mashed, pureed or cut in half
• asparagus – a great finger food for 7 months old!
• mashed avocado and avocado slices with flax seed (see photo below)
• cantaloupe (we also love serving cantaloupe puree on a preloaded ezpz spoon!)
• baby led weaning meatballs & various other meats (chicken meatballs for baby are also good!)
• sweet potato (several recipes for sweet potatoes for babies and kids!)
• broccoli – Here are some ideas for baby led weaning broccoli
• roasted or pureed carrots
• carrots – just baked carrot sticks or these cheesy carrot bites
• air fried acorn squash with cinnamon
• liver and other cooked/pureed meats
• bison or beef (great iron source) – We love these air fryer bison burgers and ALWAYS use Butcher Box organic meat.
• yogurt and other full fat dairy products
• Air fryer parsnips – lots of different spice ideas for giving spices to babies here
• thinly sliced steak – great iron source
• beans – another great iron source with so many ways to serve beans for babies
• eggs – Make sure to cook them fully. We do scrambled or egg strips, egg muffins for baby, or mix eggs into meatballs.
• strawberries
• kiwi – This easy kiwi puree for baby is great and we make them into popsicles!
• peanut butter – Here are several peanut butter recipes for babies.
• watermelon cubes or strips – his favorite
• pesto – I love to make spinach pesto without nuts, since I have a tree nut allergy.
• soft grains – rice, cous cous, quinoa, barley, farro
• lentils – we mash or puree them. So many great lentil recipes for baby here!
• salmon and salmon patties 
• all types of pasta – I reduce the salt and serve with a little butter or tomato sauce – always a hit!
• chicken – Chicken for babies has so many important nutrients!

Favorite Equipment for Baby Led Weaning

We pretty much use all of the EZPZ products since they have an awesome development team that creates things based on baby’s needs for their age and developmental milestones.

The mini cup, utensils, bowl and tiny placemat are all great for babies just starting solids!

Everyone may have their own forms of these things that work for them, but these are what we love!

• CPR class – While this doesn’t technically fall under equipment, it DEFINITELY falls under proper preparation. Make sure you have taken this in the rare instances that your baby chokes and you feel confident in knowing what to do!
• Born to Eat book – This has fun recipes and tips for serving solids to babies to create a good relationship with food.
• Sturdy high chair with foot rest – Since your baby needs to be sitting independently, you want something sturdy for them to be sitting in. It is not safe to feed them on your lap. You want to be looking at them always. I love this one since it transforms into a helper for the toddler years!
• Long sleeved waterproof bibs with a pocket (you’ll be surprised at how much food goes in that pocket!) or any bib with a pocket (I find silicone bibs easiest to clean)
• Splat Mat – essentially to make clean up easier below the high chair (or a good dog 🙂 )
• Mesh Feeders – These can be great for those who want a modified BLW or just some easier to swallow options before doing full-on solids
• Silicone plates and bowls – this works great for feeding oatmeal
• Tiny cup – This is great for starting to introduce water
• 360 Cup – One baby can hold and tip the cup, this is wonderful and will last until toddler years. 

BLW Dinner Ideas 9 Months

Here are some of my favorite baby led weaning dinner ideas for 9 month olds and 10 month olds.

Check out 40+ baby led weaning recipes for 10 months if you need more inspiration.

Of course, you are likely eating the same foods, making dinner prep easier. You can cut baby’s food appropriately but still serve the same meal for all.

This is the basis of baby led weaning. Here are our favorite dinners that offer several nutrients for babies.

• Chicken or beef with baked carrot sticks
• Air Fryer Turkey Burgers or Sweet potato turkey burgers with his cut into strips
• Fish with baked parsnips 
• Sweet potato spaghetti with black beans
• Ground turkey quinoa skillet – This one can get messy but so delicious. You can use chicken or beef as well. I offer a pre-loaded quinoa ezpz spoon for my 9 month old.
• Zucchini Sweet potato fritters, paired with avocado
• Really any type of pasta with a protein thrown in
• Egg strips, toast and sauteed pears
• Beef strips with green beans and potatoes with butter

How to Properly Cut Food at 9 Months

Most babies will have the pincer grasp at 9 months, meaning they can pick up food between their two fingers.

• You can continue to serve food in strips, but also offer smaller pieces to test their pincer grasp.
• We do this by serving cut-up blueberries or raspberries for him to grasp. The Cheerios help with this too, and keep him entertained for longer.
• Remember, you still want food to be “squishable” so baby can mash it with teeth or gums. Nothing hard or raw.
• Still cook most veggies and fruits (like hard apples or pear slices), or if I let him gnaw on something hard, I’m constantly watching him.

Other Table Tips For 9 Month Olds

• Sign Language – You can start teaching baby sign language now.
• Babies still need breastmilk or formula at this time. You can always offer them milk/formula first to ensure they get those necessary nutrients before offering solids.
• Don’t be discouraged if your baby isn’t eating a lot – babies are SO different. That’s why breastmilk or formula is still the main source of nutrition at this age.
• Continue serving new foods each week – you are exposing your baby to all of the textures, flavors and seasonings.
• Keep in mind that babies should still NOT be given honey, added sugars, or large amounts of salt.
• We love pouches for on the go! My Serenity Kids are my absolute favorite since they have protein and fat, unlike most pouches which are just fruits and veggies.

I want to learn more about baby led weaning!