I just had to write this post. Not because I think I’m doing anything new or transforming when it comes to feeding a baby but just because I love all things food:) Plus it just wouldn’t be right, documenting Elizabeth’s first year, without including some talk of her first bites!
You might recall me mentioning back in some earlier posts that I was thinking of doing Baby Led Weaning (BLW) when it came to starting solids with Elizabeth. When I mentioned it to our pediatrician, whom I love by the way, she made sure to remind me to have realistic expectations. (ie: doesn’t work for every kid). Remember I just mentioned how I was needing help in the expectation area:) Well we were all set forth to go that direction until a snag crept up in our plan. Miss Elizabeth was HUNGRY! Well maybe not so much hungry, but VERY interested in our food. So then and there I decided we’d do a combination. One part BLW and one part purees and so far it’s going great.
Around 5 1/2 months we started with some oatmeal cereal. To date this is her least favorite food. She dislikes it so much that I stopped serving it. So after cereal we gave her mashed banana & avocado. Both of which she loved. And mid-December when she was just shy of 6 months we began giving her finger foods to begin playing with per BLW. So far she’s tried a vast array of food and has not disliked anything with the exception of oatmeal. For the pureed foods some are Gerber organics and some were homemade using fresh or frozen foods steamed and pureed in large batches with our food processor. I love making her food…must be because I love making and eating food in general…not for everyone!
Here’s what she’s had so far:
In addition to starting solids she’s also been experimenting with her sippy cup. It’s incredibly adorable watching her try…so far she can get it in her mouth and can sip from it if we tilt it but she doesn’t quite have the tilt down on her own!
As far as stuff for feeding, well after a month we have some favorites of course. I’ve found that easy to clean/wipe off is best and that the fewer items the better. So here are some of our favorite feeding items…we just have one of everything below and it’s been more than enough!
1. Baby Bjorn Bib - BEST BIB EVER! We had some cheap ones before and they would get SO gross. Easy to wipe off and catches everything.
2. Gerber Soft Spoons – These just happened to be the ones that landed in my cart at Target. No reason other than they work. Why mess with a good thing!
3. Ikea Highchair – BEST HIGHCHAIR EVER! Very inexpensive, super easy to clean, nice looking, and best of all it’s ALL PLASTIC. No gross food getting stuck anywhere.
4. Kidsme Feeder – This is great. Super easy to clean (are you catching a theme!) and doubles as a teething toy either with ice in it or on it’s own.
5. Cookbook – My resource for making purees as well as this site and this one.
6. Baby Led Weaning Book – I own both and the cookbook is much easier to follow and contains all the info from the regular book.
7. Avent First Sippy Cup – Easy to clean, easy to hold, and so far it’s easy for her to get water out of.
8. Freezer trays – One ounce portions, easy to get food out of, and can be used after the fact. Many people also like this one and this one. I got this model because I had a gift card at a local store that only carried this particular one.
So that’s how we’ve done it. Like everything I’m sure there will be some give and take but I want Elizabeth to be exposed to as many different tastes/textures/etc. in hopes that she will be a great eater later. Although I was the pickiest eater as a kid and now I love just about anything…so there’s hope if that’s the case for her.
SO tell me…do you have some favorite items/recipes/foods your kids loved?
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