Starting solids

Serendipity102508

We are getting ready to start solids for the first time. I just wanted to know what food did you start with? What food did your little one like best? Dud you make your own puréed food or buy( if buy what brand did you use?) so excited to begin this stage

PrimRoseMama

How old is your LO? Most pediatricians & the experts say to wait until 6 months. That said, my kids showed readiness at 4 months old.

We started with barley-flax meal (like oatmeal) to teach DD/DS to chew & swallow. Start watery & gradually thicken. Don't be alarmed if they gag. If they refuse, don't force it. Solids before a year are just for taste & fun. There should be no nutritional weight or push for calories this way.

Both my kids hated any jarred/pre-made food. They like the pouches from Plum though. We did Baby-Led Weaning.

Basically, you can cut up food into tiny bits (straws/sticks are the favorite method). You should keep chunks soft, but big enough so they can pick it up.

A good test of adequate tenderness is to take a piece & use your tongue to press the chunk to the roof of your mouth. If you can easily smoosh it with your tongue then it's fine for baby to try.

We started with chicken thigh meat cut into thin strips. It was falling off the bone & tender. DS loved it.

We also did sweet potato chunks, avocado chunks, banana chunks.

For snacks between "meals" the freeze dried yogurt drops & puffs. I believe Gerber makes both.

Have fun!

ConversationFear

Our little guy was ready at 4 months. We gave him rice cereal first, to practice. He got a little bit everynight between his 5 pm bottle and his bedtime bottle at 8:00.

We started real baby food when he turned 5 months. His first tasting was squash, then sweet potatoes, then carrots. We gave him 1 thing for 3 days to make sure he didn't have any issues with any of it. After that came the greener things like green beans, peas and avocado. This week we are going to start some fruit.