Baby's first foods? Help!

[simplify4balance]

I need some ideas for first foods for my DS who is about 8 months.
I think that I heard that Oats, wheat etc. is hard to digest, so we have been giving him rice puffs and rick rusks.
He has enjoyed some avocado, a bean here and there and (oddly) he likes to suck on my grapefruit. lol. Yes. I just wrote "he likes to suck on my grapefruit." Any Hoe.
I want to get him off to a good start, but I don't want to go into a giant book reading research thing!
PLease tell me what guidelines you go by when considering first foods!
Oh- I'd prefer it to be mostly foods he can sloppily feed to himself...
Thanks mammas!!!

[Laniemama]

Whatever you are eating! We do baby-led intro to solids and basically whatever I'm eating, I will give my baby, in tiny portions of course and if its something really hard, I don't give it. I do hold off on all grains until after a year and honey of course until after a year, but other than that, I just give what I'm eating. Avocado and banana are good first foods. Chicken and carrots/potatoes are good too. We also do stuff that the baby can feed themselves, if I have to spoon feed them (besides like soup), then they are not ready for food. I started first food with my ds around 7 months and he didn't really start eating until around 9 months. He never liked to be spoon fed and loves feeding himself. HTH!

[simplify4balance]

Thanks!
He is so sweet... lately whenever I am eating, he growls and grunts to tell me that he wants to try my food! I have always been nervous to feed them butter, meats, spices etc... since I thought you were supposed to feed only one food at a time to watch for allergies. Starting to think that is not as much of a concern. I feel like just giving him little tastes of whatever we are eating, no matter how complex the dish.
Even meat???
What do you think?

[nerdymom]

If there is no history of food allergies in your family then I would not worry about it. I would be careful if there were allergies/sensitivities in the family (we were/are very vigilant about dairy b/c of that reason). Also just be watching for diaper rashes, unusual stools (like bloody or unusually loose), and unusual crying which may be stomach pain related, especially when introducing a common allergen like eggs, dairy, grains, and tree nuts.

We broke every "rule" when introducing solids. When the 9 month old grabs a handful of your peanut butter and raw honey sandwich and stuffs it in his mouth before you can stop him, you develop a pretty relaxed attitude towards food. I will NOT allow him to have commercially produced honey, only local honey from reputable farms.

[melamama]

Egg yolk is a perfect first food--provided there are no sensitivities.
This time I'm also going to add liver as described in NT.
I also hold off grains as long as possible.
Banana is also good.

[simplify4balance]

Melamama, What is NT?

[melamama]

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

[CookAMH]

I've posted this in a couple other threads, but if you are interested in the traditional foods route, this article is really helpful. Scroll down to the Six Months to a Year section:

http://fourfoldhealing.com/category/...-our-children/

[melamama]

Originally Posted by CookAMH

http://fourfoldhealing.com/category/...-our-children/

thank you for posting this---it's a great article--I hadn't been thinking of adding coconut oil in so soon, so it was great to be reminded.

[elleystar]

The first food our DS would eat was potato leek soup. He was interested in food but everything we gave him up to that point (your usual avocado, squash, banana lineup) was totally rejected. He went nuts for that soup though. And yeah we did have to spoon feed him that in particular.

I used to make a TON of stews. Lamb stew was and still is his favorite. Then I could take out pieces of very tender meat and various veggies and put them on his tray and he could go to town. It worked great!

[CookAMH]

Originally Posted by melamama

thank you for posting this---it's a great article--I hadn't been thinking of adding coconut oil in so soon, so it was great to be reminded.

You bet! My 9mo loves coconut oil. Loves it. Plain! It just melts in his mouth. He also likes drinking watered down coconut milk.

About the soup...my DS went to town on some roasted red pepper soup that I made, and I think he liked the deeper/extra flavor than single foods.

[LizanaMama]

We just started introducing solids to our EBF 8 mo old due to his strong interest in our food. We have shared many foods from our meals with him, as well as incorporated the basics. We discovered that he loves spicy and savory foods...including green curry and herb infused olive oil. The soups sound like an excellent addition! I think if baby shows an interest allow a taste so long as you keep in mind allergies and usual suspects (e.g. honey).