It is hard to believe that little Miss Riley Paige has now been eating solids for seven whole months! We started solids when Riley was just over 5 months old. Starting your little one on solids is an exciting milestone but could be a little overwhelming. We are going to cover baby’s first foods as well as our journey to starting solids.
Riley was showing all the readiness signs and I was going back to work when she turned 6 months, so it was time to begin! We did a combination of BLW (Baby-led weaning) and purees. This is how our solid food journey began and continues and yours may look similar or it could look completely different! I hope this post provides you with ideas, encouragement and support for such a special and exciting time for you and your little one!
Signs Baby is Ready for Solids
One of the first signs that Riley was ready to start solids was that she was able to sit up straight and had good neck control. This is important to look for when starting solids because there is less of a chance for choking. Another sign she was ready was that she was very interested in what we were eating. Riley would watch us eat and started to reach for the food we had on our plates. A great resource I loved referring to was Solid Starts. They have so many helpful tips with readiness tips and databases if you need first food ideas!
Getting Ready: Supplies
I was so excited to start Riley on solids. It’s a huge developmental milestone for both Mama and baby! One of the first things I did was look up all the different supplies I was going to need. There are so many options out there but below is a list of what we used when first starting out!
- Silicone Baby feeder
- these and First Foods Set“>Baby size cup
- Silicone Bib
- High Chair
- Silicone Molds for extra food storage
- Blender for purees
First Food!
Riley’s first official food was… SWEET POTATO! Such an easy first food for little ones because it has so many beneficial nutrients and when mashed they are the perfect texture. Before having sweet potatoes, I gave her some watermelon in the silicone feeder. I gave her this so she could start experiencing different flavors in her mouth while I was getting all the supplies ready. I stuck with sweet potatoes for a few days just to make sure she didn’t have any reactions. I did this for the first month or so of introducing new foods. Once her and I got more comfortable in this new world of solids I would offer her more than one food at a time and would combine foods. Here is a list of some of some great ideas for baby’s first foods:
- Avocado
- Banana
- Peas (purée)
- Frozen fruits in the silicone feeder
- Oatmeal (made with breastmilk)
From then to Now
Riley is now 12 months old and has grown her solid food list quite a bit. After the first month or so we started expanding the above baby’s first foods list and started mixing foods together and introducing meats. She has now had beef, chicken, pork and salmon to name some of the most common meats we eat. We started with ground beef and would mix a little in her pureed vegetables. When she first started eating meat, we also made a big batch of chili and chicken noodle soup and use the nutribullet baby blender to puree it. After that, we would freeze it and have it on hand for easy lunches or dinners.
Today, Riley eats what we eat on most days. This is one benefit to starting your little one with BLW right away. At twelve months old Riley is up to eating 3 full meals a day and still breastfeeds about 3-4 times a day.
If you are getting ready or just began solids with your little one, I want to give you all the encouragement during this special time! It can be overwhelming but just take it day by day and spend the time to get all the supplies!
Happy eating!! xoxo Alyssa (and Riley 👶!)
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