I get a lot of questions about how we started Levi eating solids and when, etc. so I figured I would share our experience, what we did, and what worked for us.
WHEN TO BEGIN & HOW
At our 4 month appointment, our pediatrician gave us the go ahead to start him on solids between the 4-6 month mark. And she gave us two conditions: 1. nurse him/give him bottle before feeding any solids and 2. if he isn’t interested, don’t force it. She said most babies will begin eating when they are ready. And as with everything else with Levi, this proved to be true. We started offering around the 5 1/2 month mark and he really wasn’t super interested until right around 6 months. And from there, he completely took off and by I’d say 7-8 months he was eating two meals a day pretty consistently. And from two to three meals was honestly like a week’s time it felt like. We honestly just took his cues and when he showed interest and hunger, we would offer him food.
I will say my biggest hurdle in starting solids was STARTING! There is so much information out there about how and which foods and methods, it was so overwhelming. I was literally on information overload with how to even begin to feed him solids that I avoided it for a long time. Finally, I just decided to throw out all the methods and rules and just DO IT. Our pediatrician told us that nothing is off limits besides honey until age one, so things like peanut butter and other allergen foods are now recommended earlier on for kids who have had no history of allergies or have no immediate family members with allergies whereas historically there were age limits set for these things. We were very adamant to expose Levi to a lot of different types of foods, specifically high allergy foods right away. The kid LOVES peanut butter to this day.
Turns out what worked for us was a combination of traditional AND baby led weaning. We initially began by feeding him strictly purees. I dabbled in some baby led weaning methods (feeding babies whole foods from the beginning), but he very easily got mad that he couldn’t just eat it up so I followed his cues and did a mixture of both. Eventually, he tired of the purees (about 2-3 weeks in) and only wanted whole finger foods from me. At daycare, our miracle worker of a daycare provider, he would still eat some purees. And within a month to a month and a half of starting solids, he was eating strictly whole foods – no purees.
PUREES
From the beginning, I knew that I wanted to try and make his purees. I knew it couldn’t be that hard. And honestly, it wasn’t. It also takes very little supplies – most people already have. Plus baby food is crazy expensive, the few times we bought some for travel, etc. I found that utilizing my
Instant Pot made batch making purees even easier. I could fill up pint canning jars with fruits or veggies and set them on the trivet with a little water and use the steam function. Then I would batch puree with my
stick immersion blender (you could use a regular blender OR food processor) and freeze in portioned trays. Once the purees were frozen, I would pop them out of the trays and put in ziploc bags for long term freezer storage.
I also traditionally steamed some fruits and veggies too as well as boiled some meats like chicken and beef with some broth and herbs to puree for mixes (like chicken and sweet potato). For me the smaller the portion was, the easier it made it to mix and match different flavors without thawing or heating up too much food. I really enjoyed
these 3/4 ounce portion trays from OXO. I found that for most things Levi enjoyed the combination of flavors versus just one flavor – this was especially true for veggies. I mean I don’t blame the kid – straight steamed and pureed green beans are kind of nasty, but you mix some pears in there and you’re good to go! I compiled a master list of puree flavors and combinations in Evernote and that made it super easy to decide what to give him for a meal. I could just go to the list pick out one flavor and boom – there were all the potential mixes to choose from.
You can find that Master List here.
Occasionally, we will still offer him a pouch or something if we are on the go. But he is VERY picky nowadays and refuses a lot of them. He would much prefer to feed himself than have someone feed him, most days. So even if we are out and about, I make sure to have a variety of snacks at the ready as well as travel with an awesome travel high chair that we can hook on anywhere so he can eat with us.
WHOLE/FINGER FOODS
When it came to whole foods, Mark and I have always believed that Levi can and should eat whatever we are eating and we have stuck to that philosophy thus far. I don’t cook any special meal for Levi to eat and when we go out to eat, he will typically share a meal or eat off of my plate. I will meal plan a few things for him to pack to daycare, but it isn’t anything I wouldn’t eat. Most nights for a family meal I try to cook a protein (meat or fish), carb/starch, and a veggie. This can look anything like grilled chicken with coconut rice and green beans OR baby back ribs with roasted potatoes and roasted broccoli.
When it comes to introducing new things to him, we typically always let him try anything. Besides anything with honey, we’ve never restricted him from trying. Even with purees, sometimes we will find that one time he will like something and the next time he won’t. I still keep offering – I have heard that babies have to try something upwards of 10 times before you can truly identify if they like something or not. Just keep offering! Just like with us, their preferences and moods will dictate what they want and what they don’t want.
A lot of parents get super nervous about feeding whole foods and fear choking. Gagging is different than choking and gagging is actually a good sign when it comes to feeding solids. It means baby is learning how to feed themselves – learning how much food is okay to put in their mouth, how to chew and swallow food, as well as exploring textures. Gagging is the body’s natural defense mechanism to prevent choking. Levi gagged A LOT when trying whole foods and new foods, but eventually he got the hang of it. Now if he gags, it is usually because he is goofing off and not paying attention to eating. Welcome to my life. Anyway, if you want to educate yourself on the difference between gagging and choking,
here is a great resource.
If you are interested in learning more about Baby Led Weaning from the beginning, there are a lot of great Facebook groups and other resources out there. I got far too overwhelmed with all of it and took bits and pieces of it for our own utilization. And it worked great for us!
Typical Daily Schedule (11 Months)
Today, at 11 months, Levi eats 3 meals a day and 2 snacks a day. I swear he is always eating – he gets that from me! I am such a grazer. He is also nursing or has a bottle four times a day, just recently dropped a bottle mid day. Honestly, we have never pushed a schedule on Levi – early on it didn’t work for us. But as he has grown, he has really sort of set his schedule on his own and we enjoy it. We do the same morning routine and the same evening routine. And we find that he is hungry about the same times every day. You can tell because he will literally growl – I guess he gets hangry like me too. Levi has always been a great eater and the amount of food that kid consumes is UNREAL.
5-6 AM wake up and nurse
7 AM breakfast
9-10 AM bottle
12 PM lunch
2 – 4 PM bottle and a snack, depending on naptime
5 – 6 PM snack while I make supper, it is the only way I can get cooking done
6 PM supper
6:30 – 7 PM bath, nurse, and bedtime
LEVI’S MEAL FAVORITES
I don’t have any specific schedule as far as what he eats. I like to have a variety of foods in the freezer, fridge, or pantry that I know he likes (especially breakfasts) on hand so it makes for easier mornings. I plan to do a separate post on some meals with recipes that I’ve made and keep on hand. But here’s a general idea of some things that Levi loves to eat.
BREAKFAST
Eggs
Banana Pancakes
Muffins (blueberry, pumpkin, apple, etc.)
PB toast
Yogurt
Fruit (peaches, pears, grapes, blueberries, mandarins, mango, or apricot)
LUNCH & DINNER
Meat/Protein (meatballs where I can sneak in veggies, chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp)
Veggie (most days this is a pipe dream but sometimes he likes broccoli, corn, cauliflower, green beans, or carrots)
Starch/Carb (sweet potatoes, black beans, coconut rice, macaronis)
Cheese (he loves string cheese I cut up in chunks)
Yogurt (whole milk or yogurt melts)
Fruit (peaches, pears, grapes, blueberries, mandarins, mango, or apricot)
SNACKS
Veggie Straws
Crunchies or Puffy Cheetos
Golfish, Cheerios, Puffs (any other small snack like such)
Yogurt Melts
String cheese
Fruit
OUR FAVORITE EATING PRODUCTS
Divided Stainless Platter
This little platter has been amazing for taking food to daycare. Eventually, I plan to move to a Planet Box – right now it is just too big for us. Typically our daycare provider will take the food from the platter to his EzPz plate and use that to heat it up. Just note: don’t put the lid in the dishwasher it’ll warp!
EzPz Mini Mat
This mat/plate has been AMAZING! Seriously best plate ever! I tried some generic versions but they weren’t the same quality.
Abiie Beyond Highchair
This is the the highchair we use and LOVE! It is super compact, super easy to clean, and looks clean/stylish. I will say that it wasn’t until Levi was 6 months that we put him in it as he was a little wobbly for a while.
BabyBjorn Soft Bib
I wasted so much time trying out a ton of bibs and NONE of them worked well – they all sucked or didn’t fit well. These BabyBjorn bibs work awesome for us and we love them. I got rid of/threw out all the rest of the bibs I had. We love that these catch the food that doesn’t make it in his mouth – it makes clean up way less messy, at least until he learned to throw food on the floor.
Munchkin Weighted Straw Sippy Cup
We tried SO MANY sippy cups and he didn’t get any of them. I gave him this weighted straw sippy cup and on the first try, he figured it out! Now he drinks water like a champ out of these! These aren’t the best for throwing in the diaper bag for travel as they leak easily, especially after Levi throws them on the floor at home and breaks the cover part off. They are also insanely hard to clean! But these are the ones he drinks BY FAR the best from!?
Contigo Straw Water Bottle
I picked this water bottle up last time I was at Walmart for Levi to try, he got it but it still isn’t his favorite. I have heard a lot of good things about these water bottles from many moms. Apparently from time to time Costco will have a three pack! I have also heard good things about this water bottle from Nalgene too.
Phil & Ted Lobster Highchair
I ordered this chair for when we took our road trip to Kansas City and were going to be out and about. It worked WAY better than most restaurant highchairs and we ended up LOVING it! I love how compact it is for travel – it fits nicely in the bottom of the stroller without taking up a ton of space. Absolutely worth the price!
Hopefully this helps answer some questions about our experience with solids. Like I said before, the hardest part for me was to JUST START. Once I quit trying to follow any set method, schedule, or certain set of foods – it became a lot more free and MUCH easier. I just fed him.
