We’ve started Allie on solid foods! Our doctor gave us the green light so we started giving her pureed food, but we’re going really slow.
Right now, Allie is just getting the feel for swallowing food and tends to push most of it out with her tongue. I figure she isn’t super ready for solid foods yet (breastmilk and formula are her main sources of nutrition and will be for the first year). So we are just having fun with solids right now.
For years, baby rice cereal was considered the best food to start with, but now the American Academy of Pediatrics just recommends any easily digestible foods. We decided to start with vegetables and then fruit because they are more nutrient-dense than rice cereal.
When you prepare baby’s first foods they should be super smooth and pureed so that’s why I asked for a food processor for Christmas. As Allie becomes a more experienced eater (usually around 6-7 months) we will gradually reduce the liquid in her pureed food for a thicker texture. We’ve been feeding her new foods one at a time and waiting 3-5 days before we try a new food to make sure she’s not allergic.
Her first food was avocado, and then we tried, sweet potatoes, and then an apple. Once I knew she wasn’t allergic to sweet potatoes or apples I decided to combine the two and added a little cinnamon.
I’m going to try to make most of her food at home. I’m not putting pressure on myself to make ALL of her food, because I know we’ll be on the go and we’ll probably try a few packets, but I don’t want to use them often. I’d like to make majority of it to save money and keep it as fresh and all natural as possible.
I’ve decided not to do the baby-led weaning technique. I don’t think there is a right or wrong approach to feeding a baby. What is most important is that we pick a technique that works for us and that Allie is getting nutritious food. I get very anxious thinking about Allie choking so that’s why I’ve decided to puree her food.
Here are few food combinations I’m excited to try next:
- Butternut squash + sweet potato
- Green beans + sweet potato
- Apple + carrots
- Peas + apple
About Sara
I had great luck with making my own food for a while. Until Claire learned to feed herself. Now she loathes the spoon! Yogurt is about the only thing she will eat off the spoon since you can’t eat it with your hands, really. I felt so much better making my own food. I definitely don’t make it all, but it’s cheaper and you get so much more than if you buy it.
Melissa @ Freeing Imperfections recently posted..How + Why I Started Supplementing while Breastfeeding
I’m glad to hear you had great luck for awhile. I’m guessing mealtime will get messier as Allie gets older. I might just start feeding her naked and let her feed herself.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Yay, it sounds so fun to hit a new milestone like that! <3
alexandra @ my urban family recently posted..Friday Favorites Week 22
It is fun! I’m excited for her to really start liking food. Right now, she just loves milk.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
This is really helpful, Sara! We are going to start introducing solid foods to Axel in a month or so, and I’m always curious about which foods moms introduce first. One of my friends got me a baby bullet for my baby shower, so we will be making a lot of our own baby food too. I can’t wait to try to avocado and sweet potato. I ate a lot of that while I was pregnant (and while breastfeeding) so I wonder if he will really like it? Does that even make a difference?
Kristen @ Glitter and Dust recently posted..Life With Axel and Other Updates
My friend has the baby bullet and she loves it! I hope you blog about your experience. So far Allie likes avocado the most and I ate tons of it while I was pregnant.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Love your food combos! I made Diaper’s food early on as well and it was actually a lot of fun trying different combos. Like you I was SO nervous about choking so puréed foods it was. Gradually I would give Diapers teething biscuits and other items and once he could use a spoon somewhat by himself, all bets were off and he got small pieces of what I made for dinner. His faves for black beans, green beans, chicken, and yogurt. It’s so fun to see their personalities and likes and dislikes come out! Enjoy!
What are teething biscuits? My mother in-law mentioned them. Did you make them yourself?
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Hi Sara! I didn’t make the teething biscuits. I bought the Plum Organics one. Diapers loved the pumpkin/banana flavor and the apple/spinach/kale flavors. I also bought the Baby Mum-Mum brand in the banana flavor – Diaper’s favorite. These are very popular and you should be able to easily find them 🙂
They are great for baby’s to learn how to “chew” but safe bc they basically turn into mush when they get wet so I never worried about Diaper’s choking on these. I hope Allie likes them!
Sounds like something we need! I’m going to look at Target the next time we go. Thank you!
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
I think it is so great as a mom to know that it’s okay to do what you feel is best. Mary is loving food and we feed her as we eat to try and establish a family meal time. I haven’t made all of her food and we also got the okay to give her a little of anything we are eating. So she has had some bites of mashed potatoes, yogurt, and marinara. It’s so fun to watch!
Sarah Dudek recently posted..I’m Not The Runner I Used To Be, But……
It is fun to watch! We are feeding Allie at dinner time so we establish a family meal time too. I think it’s so important!
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
My daughter wasn’t interested in food AT ALL until 7-8 months. I started out wanting/trying to make her food – I started with sweet potatoes too and have a hilarious photo of her extremely unhappy reaction – But it was so frustrating to spend time making things she’d reject!
Kelly @ Noodle to the Rescue recently posted..Five Favorites – January 2016
Yeah, we are in that stage. I’m hoping she’ll start liking the food soon. I’m freezing a lot of it and will save it for later so at least I’m not wasting it.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
So much fun! I can’t wait for real food!
Katie @ Live Half Full recently posted..My Thoughts on Fitness After Baby & Expecting More: Fourth Trimester Workout
It is! I hope you blog about your experience!
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Thanks for sharing! I haven’t even thought about solids so it was an interesting read (and had never heard of baby led weaning!). I also want to do puréed whole foods as much as possible !
Nicole recently posted..The Changes I Made in my Diet for P90X
We started pretty early. I think most parents start around 6 months. I wanted to start early so I could freeze a lot of it.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Wow, this is a huge milestone! You must be so proud! Some of those food combos sound really tasty, even to me. =)
Emily @ Out and About recently posted..Training week recap: Jan 18-24, 2016
They are tasty! Tony and I have been trying each one. Adding cinnamon gives them a lot more flavor.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Adeline is 3 months old now but I can’t even imagine giving her any type of real food for a good long time! I mean I guess she’ll be ready though, it just seems intimidating to me!
Sarah @ Sweet Miles recently posted..Quick Healthy Snacking While Breastfeeding/Pumping at Work
We started early (4 months), but I wanted to freeze a lot of it. When Allie isn’t interested we just give her a couple of licks and then we put it away. I’m not going to make her eat until she’s really ready.
Sara recently posted..Mealtime With Baby
Starting solids is so much fun! I was big on putting cinnamon in baby food too and Little Miss is still a huge fan, I think it’s great for their taste buds too. I also was afraid of baby-led weaning. I think it’s great in theory, but just wasn’t the right choice for me. I just recently started letting her hold entire bananas to take bites off, and she even (semi) chokes on them from time to time when she takes too big of a bite. I don’t think she would have been a good candidate for BLW hah.
Christina @ Embracing Simple recently posted..6 Habits of Organized People