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The decision to start incorporating solids into your baby’s (babies’) diet is a controversial topic.
But what isn’t when it comes to parenting? ;)
Recommended guidelines state that you should introduce solids once they have turned six months old, can hold their head up and have a stable neck.
However, this can occur anywhere from four months through to eight months! Adequate nutrition in the first year of an infant’s life is from milk- whether that be breast milk or formula.
Deciding to start the twins on solids at six months for us was due to their social awareness and their hunger.
They would start to grab at our food and watch intently, learning by mimicking what we were doing (so cute!).
I love the idea of baby lead weaning- to an extent. LOL. For us, it’s hard to allow meal times to be a 45-minute food fight.
So, I allow the girls to have a few different items of larger foods to hold and chew on, whilst I also feed them pureed food.
To start the twins’ journey with solids, we gave them one solid meal a day around 30 minutes after their bottle for the first 2-3 weeks before moving onto more frequent meal times.
This allowed the twins to transition into eating solids, for us to understand what they like and dislike and not upset their tiny tummies in the process!
When deciding on the foods to feed the twins, we didn’t want to give them foods that were sickly sweet, but also wanted to ensure that they liked the foods we were giving them.
When incorporating solids into your baby’s diet, it is recommended that you start with each food individually with 5-7 days in between to ensure there are no allergies or sensitivities to that particular food.
Here is a list of starter foods that work well for purees:
- Pumpkin
- Sweet Potato
- Banana
- Apple
- Pear
These are some great ‘finger food’ ideas for bubs to hold and chew on:
- Steamed sweet potato
- Steamed zucchini
- Mango
- Steamed carrots
- Ripe pear
- Ripe banana
- Soft peaches
- Avocado
- Watermelon
Breakfast Oatmeal
- Pour boiling water over around half a cup of pitted Medjool Dates with half a cup of oats in an airtight container for around 5 minutes. Ensure enough water to cover the entire mixture, as the oats will expand as they soften.
- The dates will turn into a soft, jelly texture as the time goes on.
- From here you can add in blueberries, strawberries or any other type of flavouring you wish.
- Once cooled, puree with the food processor or baeba. (baby food maker)
- I always have pureed apple and pear in the freezer to use whenever I need, as a time poor mum.
- I always add in apples, pears or mangoes to the mixture. It turns into a delicious creamy, soft oatmeal.
- Cook the rice beforehand in the rice cooker, allowing to cool and puree slightly.
- Steam the vegetables (I usually use the ones we're having for dinner) allowing them to cook longer than you would for yourself to ensure they're easy to puree and soften.
- Blitz in the rice and vegetables in the food processor to combine (depending on what we're having for dinner, I will add in avocado, banana or flaxseed oil to ensure they're getting adequate essential fats into their diet).
Rice ‘Pudding’
- Cook your rice in coconut cream, along with some soaked pitted Medjool dates until cooked.
- Allow to cool and stir through some mango (this is the perfect baby dessert dish!).
Baby food Tips
Avocado and banana surprisingly go well together when combined! Don’t be afraid to mix things you wouldn’t normally combine. Remember babies don’t know that a lot of kids don’t like brussel sprouts or greens! What you give them from an early age impacts their entire relationship with food. A few other amazing combos that we love at home are:- Pumpkin & Apple
- Mango & Apple
- Rice & Lentils
For when I'm heading out for the day, I will pack:
A lunch box container with:- A banana
- An avocado
- A fork (to mush)
- Baby spoon
- Pureed vegetables
- Zip lock bag with baby cereal
- Baby spoon
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