Starting Solids

We've been slowly introducing Mara to solid foods for the last two months now and it's been an interesting adventure.  We started by simply putting Mara in her high chair around four months.  She was able to sit up for the most part on her own and enjoyed sitting with us at the table while we ate dinner.

At first she wasn't interested in the food we were eating and was satisfied to play with a toy or a spoon while we ate.  She quickly started to pick up on our mannerisms and began mimicking chewing and putting things in her mouth.  It was only another few days and she was wanting what we were eating.

So we started her off with a few tastes here and there.  Some sweet potato, mango juice, banana.  Talk about opening a can of worms!  Now every time we would sit down she would demand tastes; fussing until we would get her something to try.  Also a few tastes were never enough.  One morning she ate almost a full ounce of mango juice!

Although we hadn't quite hit that 6 month exclusively breastfed target I had originally set, I knew it was time to start introducing solids to Mara.  She was ready.

From the beginning I've known that I wanted to make Mara's food.  Mainly because I can regulate what's in it but also because it's so much cheaper then buying the prepackaged kind.  I did a little research about what foods were most appropriate and how to introduce them and jumped in.

We started out with fruits and vegetables.  I didn't want to do rice cereal (a staple first food in most of the US) because I feel its just processed sugar and don't think it's a necessary first step.  With most of the vegetables, I simply roasted them in the oven with a little olive oil till they were soft enough to puree.  Fruits I allowed to ripen and then simply put them in the food processor.  The only fruit that took a little more work was apples which had to be boiled and then pureed.

I didn't worry too much about the consistency to which I pureed the food either.  I wanted Mara to get used to a lot of different textures.  I knew that if there were a few chunks in there I would be near to make sure she didn't choke.

Experimenting with a spoon

On days that I would make baby food, I would make sure to do a large batch of whatever I was working on.  I would freeze it in ice cube trays specifically made for baby food and then transfer the cubes to zip locks when the cubes had set.  This worked really great for the everyday.  As much as I wanted to make her food, it was too much for me to make it fresh everyday.

We've tried sweet potatoes, zucchini, red peppers, carrots, green beans, bananas, avocado, pears, peaches, and apples.  Mara loves her fruits and doesn't mind some of the "sweeter" veggies such as carrots, red peppers and sweet potatoes (yes I know this isn't a veggie per say).  As we've introduced new foods to her we have also experimented with combinations of things as well as some spices.  She loves a pinch of cinnamon in her applesauce and a little shake of cloves on her sweet potato.

Recently I've even lessened my reins with Mara's food.  We've been traveling and I knew it would be hard to make or take food with us.  I again hit the internet and did a little research.  I found a few brands that I felt comfortable with and picked up a few pouches.  Besides the price, I've been super happy with the quality of these products (we use the Earth's Best brand) and Mara just loves them.  Maybe a little too much...
But overall they have been great for traveling and are so convenient to just squeeze out onto a spoon.

She loves to suck on pickles

I think the most important lesson I learned about introducing solids to Mara was to keep trying.  She initially went through a phase where she was eager and excited to try everything in front of her.  But a few weeks later was barely interested.  We backed off but kept trying.  I think this is key because now she eats a good 2 oz. at every sitting and could probably eat three times a day if we sat down with her.

I also found that she does best if everyone else is eating.  She likes to watch others and feel like she's engaging in the same behavior.  She also likes to help feed herself and guides the spoon to her mouth with ease.  We're still working on her pincer grasp but have found giving her small pieces of bread and puff cereal are helping with this.

Surprisingly she isn't too interested in foods in their "true form" yet.  We've given her pieces of banana and avocado but she just doesn't quite get it.  Now if you just put these pieces on a spoon she's right there and has it in her mouth.  Funny!  But I think this stems from us starting with the spoon early and how fast she catches on.

I'm always amazed with the new stages we go through with Mara.  When we're about to begin one it always feels so overwhelming.  I felt like we were finally in a routine before solids and couldn't imagine having to prepare actual food for her.

But now its normal.  She loves to eat and is a great eater.  Sure its a bit messier but I love that she's getting to explore new tastes and try new things.