Introducing Solid Foods

Introducing solid foods to your baby is a major milestone. Make sure you have the video camera ready to catch those first “What the heck is this?!” faces that almost all babies make. When you first start giving solid foods to your baby, they barely qualify as solids. It’s really still expressed breast milk or formula mixed with a tiny bit of food fed with a spoon. You work your way up to a thicker consistency as your baby gets used to it.

The current recommendation from the AAP is to start solid foods around six months of age. You should introduce foods one at a time, and slowly, to make sure your child doesn’t have any sensitivities or allergies to that food. Ask your doctor what time length he or she suggests waiting between introducing new foods—I’ve heard everything from four days to a full week.

When it comes to that super, runny baby food like rice cereal or baby oatmeal, I prefer using cloth bibs. My favorite cloth bibs are from aden + anais. No other bib I’ve tried absorbs as well. They’re super soft for wiping baby’s face, and boy, will you do a lot of wiping when your baby first starts learning how to eat from a spoon. Bonus: they are great for teething drool and spitting up babies as well.

I love Boon’s 2-in-1 feeding spoon, Swap, for beginning eaters. It is the perfect serving size, and it’s angled perfectly for mom and baby’s comfort. There are two different spoon options—metal or silicone—on the spoon, depending on baby’s preference. My baby prefers the silicone, but I use the metal side to scoop in the rice cereal or oatmeal when I’m preparing the meal.You can even use the other end to sample the food yourself if baby needs encouragement eating.

I prefer using glass bowls for my baby’s food. They are dishwasher and microwave safe, and I don’t have to worry about what chemical may or may not be banned next week. Since I’m still in charge of the bowl during this early eating stage, I don’t have to worry about my baby throwing the bowl or breaking it. I use 1-cup prep bowls. They are a perfect size, they come with lids so I can store prepared food in the fridge, and I love that this particular brand has a narrower bottom than top. It makes it easier to scoop out the food. Remember your baby isn’t eating much food in one sitting to start.

Always ask your doctor about his or her feeding recommendations. These are just my opinions from my own experience feeding my own kids.