There's a lot of theories out there on how to start your baby on solids and what those solids should be. Let me tell you (if you didn't know already), everyone is passionate about their own way of doing it. They should be! It's your precious little one, and you hope you are setting them up for a lifetime of healthy eating. It's a big deal!
Regardless of which approach you take, I encourage you to 1) care. By caring I mean, take the time (and patience) it requires. 2) Be flexible. You can't control every aspect of your child's nutrition. For a short period of time you do control every morsel that touches their lips (except when maybe grandparents are involved) but you still can't control what they like and what they don't like. So mom's and dad's, take a deep breath, try to stay relaxed and ENJOY this time of introducing your baby to all kinds of new foods.
Baby Ben turns 6 months old in a week and a half, which is the time I start feeding food. The light bulb went off in my head this week that the 6 month milestone was fast approaching and I needed to prepare.
I made about 80% of my oldest son's baby food. I shared a few recipes with you back then such as Barley Cereal. (I'll be making this again instead of rice cereal as I don't think rice cereal is really that nutritious.) But let me back up a bit and tell you why I make my own baby food.
First, I just enjoy doing it. I like cooking so it's only natural I also enjoy making my baby's food too. Second, I know exactly what is in the food, how it was prepared and where the original food came from. The "Organic" label on food is a trustworthy standard so I am by no means bashing it. But when I make my own concoctions, I know exactly what went into it. Third, I can adjust the food to baby's likes and dislikes. I can also hide things like putting some spinach in with blueberries (they'll never know). And honestly, it's just cheaper to make your own.
There are many other reasons why you might choose to make your own baby food, but these are the main ones for me. There are also many reasons why choosing store-bought baby food is a good option too. I used store bought on several occasions like when we traveled. I simply ordered these from Amazon and had them shipped to our destination. Talk about easy!
When I first did my research about approaches to feeding my baby, here's the four main techniques I considered:
- Introduce green veggies first. Yellow veggies second. Orange veggies last. Then move on to fruits.
- Give a vegetable first, then offer fruits (in the same sitting).
- Giving cereal as the first food and then adding other purees.
- Baby led weaning.
Any of these options can work but option #1 is what I chose to go with. It worked for us. The first food I gave Jackson was pureed avocado, and that's what I plan to do with Ben as well. Hopefully it's no secret that I love avocados. They have amazing health benefits and add deliciousness to everything. Personally, there is no more wonderful food to first introduce to my babies. After avocados, I plan to try zucchini, green beans, and peas (which were not well-accepted the first time around with Jackson and I can't say I blame him). In the yellow department, I'll go with summer and winter squashes. For orange, you can't go wrong with sweet potatoes and carrots.
Since this post is getting a little long, I'll come back tomorrow with information on how to puree, tools of the trade and favorite cookbooks. In the meantime, check out my (affiliate) Amazon store that features many of my favorite products.
Disclaimer: Always consult with your pediatrician when deciding when and what to feed your baby. This post is not intended to mean that what I chose to do is what everyone should do.
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