Since Boo recently turned 6 months old, we figured it was time to start considering solids. She’d been exclusively breastfed to this point (huzzah!) and we were feeling pretty chill about the whole thing. Our little Baby Jabba is obviously not lacking for calories so we just started sitting her down for dinner with the rest of the family and handing her things.
I gave her a fat slice of cucumber one night. A slice of apple another. A small pile of black beans at lunch. A whole wheat cracker.
She mostly just picks them up, looks at them, licks them a bit, then clumsily drops them to the floor. Several nights after we started, she started to get the idea and went to town on a slice of cucumber.
SucksucksuscksuckBITEsucksuck.
The thing was pulverized in 2 minutes flat and she was thrilled with herself.
With Poppy, we tried our best to be chill, but we were first timers and what we wanted to do was contrary to most mainstream advice, so we sort of found a middle place and stumbled around in it for a while. This time, though? Bah. To hell with purees. Screw off, baby cereal. This one’s just eating from the table.
So far, so good.
We generally follow the LLL maxim “before one, just for fun.” If Boo wants to eat a lot, we’ll go with it. But if she doesn’t and continues to rely mostly on breastmilk for a while longer and maintains a healthy weight, then we won’t stress about it either. Time will tell.
My problem this time is not figuring out how to feed her, but what to feed her. I’m trying to start slowly and still with primarily one-ingredient items. We don’t have any history of food allergies amongst us, but we’re still proceeding somewhat cautiously, just in case. I also want to make sure she can handle whatever we hand her. The whole wheat crackers seem to pretty much disintegrate upon mixing with saliva, but saltines? Hello, choking hazard!*
Is it still baby-led weaning if your big sister shoves it down your throat?
Each night when we sit down to dinner, I dig through the fridge to find something appropriate for her to play with eat. Some nights I’m luckier than others.
String cheese? Damn it, dairy.
Leftover Indian? Too many ingredients.
Lettuce? Who wants to eat plain lettuce?
So I ordered a couple of books from the library in the hopes that I can skim through them for some inspiration and timelines for introducing this and that.
I’m heading over to pick them up as soon as P is up from her afternoon nap. I think Boo’s dinner tonight will be avocado. But tomorrow? I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
What were your babies’ first foods? How/when did you approach starting solids?
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* Obviously, whenever feeding a baby anything, whether pureed or finger foods, you should watch them carefully and not leave them alone to choke. I know this is a big “duh” but it doesn’t hurt to say it out loud before someone gets their undies in a bunch.
