Jennie and I both do a lot of research before trying something new. You will find both of us looking up menus on the way to a restaurant to start thinking about what we want, researching what attractions are around a hotel or air bnb and it is no different when it comes to our babies and their development. So both of us had read A LOT before we started to introduce solid foods. After researching and reading, we both planned to introduce around 6 months and both expected to skip purees and start with baby led weaning. Both boys even had the same first food: sweet potato! When Brooks ate way more of the puréed sweet potato than the solid, Jennie and BJ decided for the first little while to stick with purées! We sent purees with Lucian to daycare and tried solids at home. We realized he was eating much more at daycare, so we started trying more purees at home too. We both thought for sure we would skip over purees and go straight to Baby Led Weaning with solids, but the boys had other plans, and we let them take the lead!
We both offered our boys lots of fruits and vegetables to start. We served them for 3 days watching for any reaction before introducing new items. It was fun to see that sometimes on day 1 they’d start out making a face like it was gross or strange and by day 2 or 3 be enjoying it!
We began transitioning to thicker purées around 7 months and then started introducing small pieces around 8 months. At 8 months, Lucian was solely on small bites and pieces with no interest in purees. While Jennie still offered purées some until around 9 months when Brooks had no interest if it was puréed. A fun tip from Jennie: She still uses the leftover, frozen purées to mix in smoothies, Greek yogurt, or cottage cheese. You can also add them to pasta and rice to keep from wasting. It is also an easy way to get in those fruits and vegetables!
Both boys began trying meat around 8 months, both started with chicken. The boys have also tried salmon, cod, ground beef, tuna and turkey. We usually just pinched off a small amount of whatever meat we are having with dinner and cook it without the added salt and spicy spices! Jennie and BJ smoke the meats plain on the smoker.
MUST HAVES:
I highly recommend the Baby Bullet. I used it for purees in the beginning. I loved the different size options and the silicone trays for freezing foods. We still use it for Lucian’s smoothies (and sometimes a milkshake for mom 😉 )
Our microwave came with a steamer and it may have been the most valuable gadget. We also used some frozen steamer bags of veggies for a good last minute option!
This Mash and Serve Bowl was another favorite.
After Lu turned one, we also introduced Dr Praeger’s Littles which he LOVES. They have good ingredients in them and are a really easy last minute veggie to add to any dinner!
Jennie used an immersion blender and steamed the foods on the stove until cooked and soft enough to blend with the immersion blender adding breastmilk to achieve the thickness/consistency we were looking for!
Jennie used these freezer trays and then put them into labeled, freezer storage bags.
Lucian’s favorite foods:
black beans, all meat, rice, grapefruit, cheese, peanut butter and broccoli!
Lucian’s not-so-favorite food:
all berries.
Brooks’ favorite foods:
avocado, bananas. greek yogurt, blueberries, spinach, ground beef, pasta, and cheese!
Brooks’ not-so-favorite food:
green beans.