Introducing Solids - Belton,MO

my daughter's first foods were sweet potatoes and avocado and she loved them (avocado especially is packed with healthy fats, like breast milk and formula is). Be careful how much carrot and sweet potato you give her because my daughter had an orange nose for about 6 weeks! Totally harmless but looks strange :)

We introduced greens after cereals. We started with peas, then moved to green beans, spinach, broccoli etc. (We mixed these with the cereals at first.) We introduced the yellow/oranges after the greens since they're sweeter. Some say they have trouble getting their kids to eat the greens because they introduced sweet potatoes, carrots, etc. first. For what it's worth, all four of my children (6,5,3 and 1) are more into green vegetables than orange, but this could be purely coincidental. And kudos for making your own baby food!! Easy, cheap and SAFE.

Our doctor told me to introduce veggies first, starting with the same color ie: carrots, sweet potatos, squash, doing each for a week, then moving to a different colored veggie and so on. Then introduce the fruits next and do the meats if needed last. I didn't give her the meats until she was almost a year tho, because I was a paranoid mom.

Hope that helps.

My ped said to introduce all the veggies first, and than fruit, and meats last, because if an allergies is present it is more likely to be to a fruit or protein source over a veggie. Also, some kids will not want to eat veggies if they are used to fruits.

Carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, primarily.

Mix pears, bananas, and apples into oatmeal for something new (since it's bland)

Also, your ped (dr) should have an outline of what and when to introduce to her.

my son is 5 months old. so far has had rice cereal, banana, avocado, sweet potato, carrots, pears, oatmeal.

checkout www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Just an fyi- note that I haven't read the other posts yet- I wouldn't make carrots yourself. Our ped said that depending on where they are grown, they can have dangerously high levels of nitrates in them. If u want to make your own food, I would go with pees or pears. My LO didn't like any of the homeade squashes and greenbeans left the strings in there. Bananas are always good but can be constipating.

Sweatpotatos are good too! Remember your baby has no idea about 'things that sound weird' so combos that we wouldn't touch can be good (like the bananas and avacados mentioned below) and less constipating. We also introduced 2 oz of prune juice (real stuff) w/ his breastmilk bottle @ noonish to help w/ digestion etc... Worked like a charm and didn't have any constipation. Did that for 3 months till his was used to it.

Avocados are a wonderful first food. Full of great fats and my son ate them like crazy. Our pediatrician said to introduce those first, because the fats are so good for their brain. We went to peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans. After he really started liking those we went to pears, peaches, and bananas...but never cared much for bananas and still doesn't!!

I've heard the book First Foods is fantastic for guidelines on what to feed baby at what age. With both my children I waited until 6 months to move past rice cereal. Then veggies came first, followed by fruits, and meat closer to about 10 months.

I made all of the baby food...the best thing I did was to join a vegetable share with a local farm. I did summer shares and winter shares and got a veggie box full of the best veggies of each season, fresh and organic. Pretty much you just roast any veggies you want to use (roasting lends more flavor than boiling or steaming), puree, add water if needed, pour into ice cube trays, freeze, then pop the cubes into bags once frozen. Pull out the cubes in the morning and they are ready to go by the time you need them (pull out the breakfast cubes the night before and keep in the fridge overnight...pull out early in the morning to bring to room temp).

I'd say your first veggies will be things like peas, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots. Also avocado is fabulous as a first food, and no prep necessary there which is nice. One tip - for some reason it seems that babies LOVE avocado mixed with banana...sounds really gross, but my kids both loved it, and I've heard the same thing from lots of other moms too.

Once you get to fruits, you can roast apples, pears, peaches, mangoes, plums (skin off), and puree them. Bananas are great of course. Do not use any berries or honey yet. You can also add some organic cinnamon to the fruit purees you make. Not sure if this is true or not, but I've read that cinnamon can improve brain function...even if it's not true, it's safe for the baby and makes the fruit even tastier!

Later when I got to the stage of using proteins I would roast chicken or use roast beef, puree with veggies, and the babies loved it.

FYI-There's new information about nitrates in carrots not being good for babies. That is one food that I recommend buying rather than making yourself. Baby food companies use carrots that have been grown in low nitrate soils. Even organic carrots may not avoid the nitrates. Google for more information.

Having said all that, you can feed her almost any veggie that you want to try. Our first was avocado which is nice and portable. We also kept sweet potatoes on hand. Any squash is good as they have a natural sweetness babies love and they are easy to puree. By 6 months our daughter had tried almost everything except shellfish and peanut butter. We held off on those in case of allergies but everything else was fair game as long as you take it slow and watch for allergies and constipation.

www.wholesomebabyfood.com is an AWESOME site for any food questions. :) Especially if you are planning on making your own food, which it sounds like you are planning. It gives you information about just about every food you can feed babies... including the best age to introduce it (What foods are better for first foods, which ones are better to wait until 8 months or so, what foods are taboo... etc.) It even has recipes for them. :)

Bug's suggestions are great. We also did squash, broccoli (makes an excellent puree perfectly acceptable for serving to adults if you add a little cream, salt and pepper), melon (more of a drinkable - it is very liquid when you puree it but yummy), lamb, salmon. The recent evidence is that early introduction of solids may decrease the incidence of food allergy rather than increase it. We did not puree green beans - they just didn't come out right - started those when he could hold finger foods. You also need to be careful if cooking your own spinach - something about nitrates? Once you have done a bunch of single ingredients, you can just start pureeing what you are eating (with the exceptions of no honey or undercooked meats/fish).

I started my son on rice cereal, then oatmeal, then sweet potatoes. After the sweet potatoes passed his taste test, I just gave him everything (carrots, green beans, peas, bananas, applesauce, apricots, peaches, etc. etc.). Of course, I would wait a few days in between introducing a new veggie/fruit to check for an allergy. This was 3 years ago and they said solids were okay at 4 months. So that is when I started. I know they say 6 months now, but I plan to do the same with my next child who is due in March. Good luck!!

We did what Momma of One, said below.
This was also per our Pediatrician.

We took it slow. SINGLE grain cereals first. Then after even 1 month, tried a different cereal.
THEN multi grain cereals.
This is not only for the allergy factor, but for the system to get used to digesting.... fiber and different foods. Not rushing it. Or constipation can occur etc.

We also, like Momma of One said... did NOT introduce any meats.... until after 1 year old. This is also per our Pediatrician. When young, a baby's kidneys can be overloaded, per too much protein, for example.

The website: Baby Center www.babycenter.com has good tips about introducing solids, to a baby.
ALSO go according to your Pediatrician.
Or the American Academy of Pediatrics.
http://www.aap.org/

Bear in mind... what foods NOT to introduce, per age.
For example: do NOT give spinach baby food... until after 9 months old. Because it has certain enzymes in it, that is not good for a younger baby.

Also no citrus, until after 1 year old.

As Jen A. said, be careful of prepping your own root veggies (carrots, beets, etc.) because they can have high levels of nitrates, even organically grown ones. Commercial baby food is constantly checked for these levels and therefore is actually safer than home-made.

As far as solids, I started introducing at 6-months and worried a lot more about it with my first son than my second! With #2 just kind of grabbed a jar and tried it with him. At 14-months, he's a great eater (as is my 3-year old). I didn't mix foods together because I wanted them to get used to the taste of each food. Good luck and have fun! Don't stress or over-think this stage!

It's just a bit early since baby has an open gut till around the 6 month mark but many folks do start before that time.

It is usually best to go with non-sweet things first like peas, green beans, avocado, then move to other veggies and then fruits. Let baby acquire a taste for the non-sweet before the sweet.

I made all my 2nd baby's food using organic frozen veggies. I created an assembly line-steamed them to soft, pureed them in the food processor, popped in ice cube trays, rinsed the food processor and went again. Easy peasy.

both of my sons (9 years apart in age) had different pediatricians. Both were put on the same diet regimen. Game plan was: single grain cereal 1st, sticking with it for 2 weeks before trying another. Rice went better than anything else for my sons.

Next came vegies, & both drs said stick with same color groups first. So we did orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, & squash. Each one was tried for 3 or 4 days before moving on. Green vegies next.

Fruit juice & fruits were next. The juice was watered down: 1/3 juice to the water. (we didn't bump up to 1/2 & 1/2 until closer to 8 months, & I still use that ratio for toddlers to avoid sugar.)

As for actual food prep, I cooked fresh on the vegies & used a little food processor. Sometimes I had to add liquid...either water or formula....just before serving. One of my friends made ice cubes out of her food supplies. I was a sahm, so it was easy for me to have fresh on hand. & I also didn't stress myself....we did use jar food, too.

Now here's the rest of my honest response: both of my sons were put on cereal before 1 month. Both survived & thrived. No side effects, no long nor short-term problems. Even with the 9 yrs btwn the boys & different drs, their game plans were similar. Sooo, cereal at 1 month.....vegies at 3 months.....fruits by mid 4 months.....& meats, pastas, etc by 6 months. Both boys had 4 teeth at 6 months, 8 teeth before 8 months. They could chew & mush anything & everything........& both drs had them on finger foods by 7 months. Simple things like Cheerios, soft cheese, etc.

I fully realize this is contrary to what many drs recommend, as do many parenting organizations. When I answer these ?s, I am committed to being honest & open. That is "why" you have been given a full answer based on my experiences with my children.....& all of my nieces & nephews!

Sounds like a fine plan, if you make your own baby food the whole fruit vs vegs first doesn't apply, they'll eat both. Bananas, apples, peas, squash are all good next choices. Please though be careful, the one food you shouldn't make yourself or be very careful making are carrots.

Unless you buy carrots grown especially for baby food they have nitrate levels that are too high for babies and can cause serious problems. Most baby food at home books will tell that and where to get the correct carrots, the pediatricians I've talked to just recommend not making carrots at home (even though my son seemed to have issues with all jarred food, so they told me until he's older skip carrots as a food).

The baby food book I liked best, if you're looking for one is super baby food. Good luck and good for you for making your own, I really think it makes a difference. I have a 5yr old who eats more vegs than my husband and I really think it has to do with the fact he had pureed brussel sprouts, beets, etc as a baby and that all his baby food tasted like the actual food. Is it weird to anyone else that we play games with jarred baby food to guess what it is?

Also, if you want to make it in bulk, they sell ice cube trays with lids, but I found that a standard tray works just as fine and I put it in a freezer ziploc bag while they form (to protect them) then once the cubes are formed, I pop them out and put them in a freezer bag and each cube is ~2oz, so I just throw a cube in a bowl and I'm good for the day.