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There are many things to consider when it comes to baby-led weaning.
What foods are best? How do I prepare them? What if my baby doesn't like them?
One food that's often overlooked is pears. They're usually not as sweet as apples. And they're very hard before they're perfectly ripe. But pears are loaded with vitamins and minerals, ideal in texture when super soft, and definitely worth a closer look!
Here's everything you need to know about baby-led weaning with pears for your little one.
What Are the Benefits of Feeding Pears to a Baby?
Pears are an excellent source of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. In addition, fruit in general contains antioxidants and phytonutrients which can help support a baby's developing immune system. These nutrients are important for a baby's growth and development, so pears are a great addition to any baby-led weaning meal plan.
Babies 6 to 12 months get most of their nutrients from breast milk and/or formula. That age window is an optimal period of time to experiment with new flavors and textures. You can offer different nutrient-packed foods to help expand the palate while knowing babies are getting the majority of nutrients they need for healthy development and growth through milk.
Pears are a great snack to serve instead of foods with added sugars, or high sodium processed snack foods. According to USDA’s MyPlate Plan, babies 1 to 2 years old should be eating about ½ to 1 cup of fruit daily. And at 2 to 3 years old, babies need about 1 to 1 ½ cups of fruit daily.
What Are the Pear Varieties?
There are 10 varieties of pears in the U.S. with overlapping seasons, so pears are in season all year round. The most common pears in your grocery store are Bartlett, Bosc, and Green Anjou pears depending on the season or region.
Bartlett pears are the juiciest and sweetest, making this pear variety an excellent choice for pear recipes, pear purees or pear finger foods for babies.
Are Pears Safe for Baby-Led Weaning?
Around 6 months of age, most babies have good head and neck control and an ability to sit up independently, as well as the ability to grasp larger objects and bring them up to the mouth (all signs of readiness for starting solids.)
Baby-led weaning involves letting your child feed themselves. Mealtime can be more laid back with this feeding style, allowing babies to self-feed when hungry and stop eating when full and supporting their internal self-regulation systems. Another benefit of baby-led weaning is that it helps babies develop and practice fine motor skills. Picking up pieces of food and getting them into the mouth requires coordination and dexterity.
There are some considerations, though, when introducing solid foods. Some early foods don't need much modification to make them safe for a 6-month-old to eat. For example, avocados and bananas are soft, making them two of my favorite starter foods for baby-led weaning. When super soft and peeled, pears are another great option.
How to Cut Pear for Baby-Led Weaning
Pears are a choking hazard when raw and hard, so unless they are very soft and ripe, they'll need to be cooked until tender and cut into wedges or bite-size pieces for an older baby.
As a pediatric registered dietitian, I recommend avoiding serving raw, hard fruits and vegetables during the first year (although some are fine when shredded or sliced paper-thin) and sometimes longer to reduce the risk of choking. Raw pears are hard with tough peels - similar to apples. However, you can also modify pears so they're safe to serve your little one by peeling, grating, and cooking pears until tender.
The type of grasp your baby uses helps you determine what size and shape to cut soft pears.
Choking episodes are rare. But it’s important for anyone feeding an infant to be trained in infant CPR and first aid just in case. Get trained by a nationally certified Red Cross and Lifesaving Society First Aid Instructor using this EXCELLENT, 2-hour, self-paced online course from Safe Beginnings* - for 20% off, use my code: MALINA.
Palmar grasp
This type of grasp develops first. When babies grasp food in their palm, the piece needs to be large and long enough so the baby can access the portion that extends past the fist.
For babies using a palmar grasp, slice a soft, ripe or cooked pear in half and offer it to your baby to hold and munch on. The pear can be peeled or unpeeled - most important is that the fruit is tender cooked or very soft and ripe (so that it squishes easily when you apply gentle pressure and squeeze between your thumb and forefinger).
Another option is to offer very thin sheets or slices of soft pear, peeled or unpeeled.
Pincer grasp
The pincer grasp develops between 9 and 12 months old. Typically, once a baby develops a pincer grasp you can serve pear cut into small bite-sized cubes, peeled or unpeeled as long as it is super soft.
Your little one may have the dexterity to hold a piece of food between their pointer and thumb but not yet have the experience or teeth to chew a raw, harder pear.
Before cutting into bite-size pieces, continue to peel and slightly cook pears or serve only super soft ripe pears until your baby has molars and plenty of experience chewing harder foods (usually after 12 months).
How to Prepare Pear for Baby
If your baby isn't ready for hard foods and the pears you have on hand are not soft enough to serve raw in wedges or chickpea-sized bites, you can steam, bake, or poach the pear so that it's soft and safe enough for your baby to eat.
Here are a few quick and easy steps to prep the pear:
First, wash the pears thoroughly with water before cutting. Pears, like all fruits, can carry bacteria that can make a baby sick.
To poach a pear, cut into fourths, remove the core, stem and seeds and add enough water to a pot to cover the pear. Bring to a low boil and gently simmer for 8-10 minutes or until fork-tender. Typically, pears are poached in simple syrup (sugar and water), but you can absolutely poach a pear in plain water. Hold the sugar, which is not recommended for babies under the age of 2.
If you choose to steam your pear instead, you can cut the pear into fourths first, remove the core, stem and seeds and then steam the pear for approximately 8 minutes or until soft.
Cooked pears can be offered with or without the peel as long as they are soft.
Soft pears can also be mashed, or you can use a food processor to make a pear puree. Add a little water left from steaming the pears to the food processor until you get the desired consistency. Note: keep in mind that a thicker puree is easier for a baby to self-feed on a preloaded spoon.
Feel free to add a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg for added flavor!
Can babies eat pear skin ?
Yes. According to the CDC, some foods are still choking hazards for young kids, including hard raw fruits and vegetables. However, many babies can handle pear skin without a problem as long as the flesh of the pear is super soft. Others need more practice with “chewing” first, so use your judgment.
Many babies will simply spit out the peel while eating the pear, but this offers them exposure to the texture and feel of pear skin and gives them an opportunity to practice moving foods around inside the mouth - all good things.
In any case, from a nutrition standpoint, it’s better to leave the skin on the pear, as it’s loaded with fiber and phytochemicals.
Have you served pears to your little one yet? How’d it go? Pears show up quite a bit in my Safe & Simple 12 Week Meal Plan. If you’re looking for help with BLW meal planning, finding baby- and family-friendly recipes and want weekly shopping lists plus a complete plan for top allergen introduction & lots of guidance (with photos) on how to safely serve each food, check it out!
If you’re getting ready to start your baby on solids, download my FREE Baby-Led Feeding Essential Checklist to make sure you have everything you need to get started. You might also want to check out my new online course for parents, based on my best-selling book which will walk you through the whole process of starting solids using a baby-led approach.
As always, if you're looking for personalized nutrition support for yourself, your babies and/or your kids, I am currently accepting new clients in my virtual private practice. Looking forward to meeting you online…
