Starting solids...

[mamatoabirdie]

hi mamas!

so, my little one turned five months yesterday and though I don't plan on starting solids for the next month or two, I would like to gather some more information.  my oldest is six and I used jarred baby food, but I'd really like to make my own for my son.  I must have blocked solids out of my memory because I truly don't remember anything about starting my daughter on them.  can I get some experience and wisdom from you ladies?  good foods to start with, how long to wait between foods, ect...

thank you!

[Silverring]

We got some large ice cube trays and a load of fruit and veg and just peeled and steamed/boiled them individually at first then together, and mashed them down with a fork when they were easy to mush then freeze.

We started with pear, then apple, then courgette, carrot (that takes a while to cook till soft) and so on.  I added ground millet after a while and millet and apple became a favourite.  Then red lentils, peas, split peas, bananas, leafy green veg and quinoa were added.  I think we added potatoes after that, and pasta and bread after a year (we're an atopic family.)  I can't remember when we introduced dairy.  I think they had yoghurt and cheese from about 9 or 10 months.  We used natural yoghurt with stewed fruit in it.

We started at 6 months, giving one ice-cube sized portion once a day, quickly building up to 1 cube 3 or 4 times a day, then up to 2 cubes.  Then gradually they had lumpier portions and more of it.  Finger food I think was bits of melon, water melon, gluten free crackers, rice cakes, bananas, soft, chopped pears.

I have heard good things about Annabel Karmel's recipes.

[skycheattraffic]

After about a week or two of purées DD just started grabbing my food. We very quickly went the baby led weaning route and never looked back. Basically we were just careful to slightly over cook some items so it was easy for her to chew. We are expecting baby #2 in July and plan on skipping baby food altogether.

[phathui5]

We actually started at four months with our most recent baby, who was totally ready and ate it up (no drooling out food here). We did applesauce, mashed banana, mashed avocado at first. Then we pretty much started feeding him little bits of whatever we were eating.

He turned seven months old today and today he had:

- lots of nursing

- a little water

- mashed potatoes

- Greek yogurt

- mashed banana

- bits of green bean

- bits of meatloaf