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When Ada was brand new, I read about Baby-Led Weaning and knew it was something I wanted to try.
Our Pediatrician recommended starting Ada on solids a little earlier as long as she was showing interest. We began with baby oatmeal and then started introducing simple purées I made. We introduced each ingredient separately to help better pin-point allergies, if need be. Once she’d had something and not reacted, that ingredient could be added to mixtures.
Ada began sitting up reliably a little past six months of age. Once that milestone was met, she moved to eating in her high chair and we started introducing finger foods.
Getting Started
With both the purées and the finger foods, we started with the foods that are lower on the allergenic scale. This meant that Ada’s first vegetable was green beans (it’s very rare to be allergic to green beans!) and she still hasn’t had strawberries.
I found that Ada initially preferred foods that were less “flavorful” at first (think cucumbers rather than mangoes). Foods with smells were also initially rejected (rutabaga was soundly snubbed at first). I keep offering the same thing as it may take a few introductions to befriend certain foods (rutabaga!) and then, if need be, I mix the offending item with something else that is more-liked (rutabaga + apple = applebega).
Purées
I make Ada’s purées solely because I enjoy doing so. Seriously, that’s the only reason. It’s not because I read a study about how kids who are fed baby food from the store grow up to do inexplicably horrible things like prefer Saved By the Bell: The New Class to the original.
There is just something so joyfully mindless in chopping fruits and veggies. After chopping, I steam the fruit or veggie and then blend it (in the big blender or using the immersion blender, depending on quantity). I make larger batches and freeze small portions to eat throughout the week.
I’ll definitely write more about making and storing Ada’s purées later!
Finger Foods
Starting with cucumbers, I slowly began presenting Ada with long spears of food for her to pick up and eat herself. Shape is important here, as the piece of food has to be long enough for Ada to grab on to.
Watching Ada pick up an apple slice and gum it is one of my favorite things. She gets more dexterous by the day. She delights in feeding herself. Once she realized this was possible, she became far less interested in being spoon-fed. Now, my role in regards to her spoon is just to re-load it. She brings it to her mouth herself.
Supplies
- Broom with long-handled dustpan. I don’t know what I’d do without it (well, yes I do, I’d clean less frequently and we’d have ants).
- Silicone freezer tray. A normal ice tray would work (and I’ve definitely used one when I made huge batches of food) but it is nice to be able to easily push out the frozen portions.
- We love our silicone spoons because they are soft and I’m less worried about her smacking herself in the face and losing an eye as she learns to eat.
- Washi tape or masking tape and a sharpie to label things in the fridge!
- Small Tupperware to hold single portions of food as it thaws in the fridge.
- High chair/ clip on chair (we love this one with this tray).
- Dish rags, bibs, wet wipes. Kids learning to eat is messy business. I think a large part of my success has been that I’m not concerned with messes.
Tips
- Some foods, like pears, are … fibrous. To put it bluntly, pears cause poops. (Opposite problem? Try bananas). If your kid is having problems “passing” some of the food, it may be that your purées are too thick and you need to thin them out more with water or breastmilk.
- If the purées are too-liquid – peaches and mangoes tend to be soupy – I add oatmeal to thicken it up.
- I use Wholesome Baby Food for recipe ideas (and a helpful chart on when babies can eat different items!) I also browse the aisles of baby food at the grocery store for purée mixture ideas.
- I hear good things about chilled cucumber and melon spears for teething babies! Ada definitely loves both.
- The best part of mixing new combos of food is naming your creation – my favorite so far is applerutacchini (apple + rutabaga + zucchini).