Tomorrow Myles has his six month check up with our pediatrician and we are going to get the go-ahead to start solid foods! This child LOVES to eat so it's going to be very fun to give him different kinds of food and watch his thrilled little face. On the other hand, it's been so easy to not have to think about what to feed him these past six months while breastfeeding. I'm overwhelmed by the amount of information out there regarding starting solids...looks like some people go the traditional route of pureed fruits, veggies and proteins while others lean toward "
Baby Led Weaning" which involves giving the baby whole foods (cut into "matchstick" sized pieces) right from the beginning. I'm going to discuss with our pediatrician tomorrow but both methods seem to have their merits.
I've thought about buying one of these
dual steamer/processor's to make things easy on me and our mom's/nanny but that would be more of a commitment to pureeing everything. I also have yet to buy a highchair! I've heard
this one from IKEA is inexpensive and great.
Any and all advice is welcome! Would love any tips on essential gear, books and favorite foods!
Hi Teresa! I got that food processor for Henry and hardly used it. It just took too much time and cleaning to get anything made. My suggestion would be to save your money and just buy a couple steamer baskets and maybe a baby magic bullet. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice! I already have a small food processor so maybe I'll just stick with that for now...
DeleteI had to chime in because we decided to try Baby Led Weaning and it worked out so great for us! I liked that we could just give Romy bits of what we were eating or fresh fruits and veggies. A mantra that we kept repeating was "food before one is just for fun." The BLW authors and my pediatrician said that she would still get all her necessary nutrients from breast milk, which was good to know because it wasn't until around 10-11 months that she actually started ingesting enough solid food to make a difference (you won't miss the diapers, trust!) So for the first couple of months they're just learning how to eat, essentially. We liked it because we didn't have to buy or prepare much special food and when we were out and about we didn't have to pack much because she could always snack on what we did. Now that Romy's nearing two, she's an awesome eater and not picky at all. I convinced my sister-in-law to try it with her second, and she loves it after spending lots of time and money pureeing everything for her first.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that's kind of tricky with BLW is that some folks might question your methods. Both grandma's thought we were nuts and were always worried about choking. Once they saw that she was fine and I convinced them that this was how babies ate before manufactured baby food hit the markets, they actually thought it was pretty cool.
As for highchairs, we liked having one that attached to our table and got a used Chicco seat somewhere. We liked having her right at the table with us, even though it was a pain to clean. She started getting too big for it a few months ago and we went with this one from Phil and Ted's. It's easy to clean and isn't hideous, but the straps are useless so I wouldn't use it with a smaller one. If money were no object I would love the Stokke Tripp Trapp.
http://www.diapers.com/p/philteds-poppy-highchair-cranberry-814481?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_D&utm_term=ZX-304&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1925297417&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=ZX-304&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}
Best of luck to you whichever way you go. You can always try a few different ways or combine them in a way that works for your family. It's such a fun age; enjoy!
Thanks so much for all the great tips McCall! I am leaning toward BLW, he LOVE food and is focused so I think he would be into trying to feed himself. I really like that Phil and Ted's seat, thanks for the recommendation!
DeleteOne tool that I've had with Grace that I wish I had with the others is a hand-held food grinder. You probably won't use it right away, but around 9-10 months and beyond it's pretty handy! You can grind up what you're eating so baby eats what you're eating!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! Thanks Gina!
DeleteIsn't it crazy they're ready for solids already? Keep us posted on how it's going!
ReplyDeleteI would have just posted this link instead of my long-winded comment if I'd read it in time. It's a lovely in its simplicity.
ReplyDeletehttp://orangette.blogspot.com/2014/01/in-it-together.html