Our Experience of Introducing Solids

Ahh solids… Such an exciting milestone! I always looked forward to being able to start solids with Mila. I love food, and I couldn’t wait to share my love of food with my baby girl. I didn’t start Mila on solids until she was 6 months old. I did attempt to give her purées at 5 months, but she wasn’t interested and her tongue-thrust reflex was still very prominent at this age, which meant she just spat out the purée anyways - this was a total buzzkill, because we were SO excited to introduce her to food! Lol.

What are the signs your baby is ready to start eating solids?

• Firstly, and importantly, your baby needs to be able to hold their head up by themselves, and be able to sit upright.

• Your baby should show interest in food - Mila started watching me eat like a HAWK, and would always try and grab my fork and put it in her mouth. This was just before Mila turned 6 months old and was a very clear sign that she was ready for solids.

• As I mentioned earlier, at 5 months old Mila still had the tongue-thrust reflex (this is basically a protective mechanism babies have where they stick their tongue out/spit food out when you feed them, as they don’t yet know how to swallow anything other than milk). They lose this eventually. Once the tongue-thrust reflex has been lost, you can introduce solids.

• Your baby still seems hungry after getting their full amount of breastmilk/formula for the day!

Remember… There really is no need to rush this milestone. Breastmilk/formula should also stay in the picture until your baby is at least a year old. Mila still gets the same amount of formula a day, as she did pre-solids. The purées/food I give her is a “bonus” on top of her regular, daily formula intake.

What Foods Did I Offer First?

There is honestly no hard and fast rule as to first foods. I wanted to start slow, so I spoon-fed Mila purées to begin with. I gave her oatmeal mixed with her formula, puréed vegetables/grains, yoghurt, mashed avocado, mashed bananas. Once I could see that Mila actually knew what she was doing, my confidence grew.

Once I felt confident, which only took a couple of days haha, I wanted to offer Mila food that she could pick up with her hands. I like “baby-led weaning” because it gives babies the opportunity to learn, explore, and feel the different foods and textures. It gives them independence. For this, I started off by giving Mila whole steamed veggies, like broccoli/carrots/green beans, avocado strips, sweet potato chunks, toast with butter (cut into soldiers), tomato penne pasta. Basically anything soft that was a low choking hazard.

Funnily enough, after trying both baby-led weaning and spoon-feeding, I learned that Mila actually prefers being spoon-fed. She gets super frustrated with herself when she tries to pick up food and can’t quite get it in her mouth. If I feed her myself, she eats it all and is WAY happier. So we do mainly spoon-feeding at the moment. However, a lot of mum’s I know - this was the complete opposite. It’s honestly amazing, but your baby will genuinely tell you what they like and don’t like!

What I Feed Mila Weekly:

Mila still eats a lot of purées as she is 7 months old, but I do incorporate solid food at least once-twice a day (even though it mostly gets thrown on the floor to Franc lol).

Breakfast:

Oatmeal (if Mila doesn’t finish her morning bottle, I will mix the rest of her formula in with this), I sometimes also mix a little peanut butter with jam in too.

Fruit/granola pureé

Toast with vegan butter or mashed avocado

Pancakes with banana

Morning Snack (after her morning nap):

Happy Teether Organic Crackers

Yoghurt with cut up/soft fruit

Cucumbers

Lunch:

Vegetable pureé

Whole steamed vegetables

Dinner:

Vegetable/protein purée

Cheesy rice with mixed vegetables (peas/carrots/sweetcorn)

Tomato penne pasta

Baby burrito bowl (rice, mashed beans, avocado, cheese)

Veggie burger (cut up/mashed)

Mashed potato with mixed vegetables

Whole wheat toast with hummus

Baked sweet potato chunks

Meatless Meatballs with tomato/marinara sauce and veggies

Overall, the advice I would give any new Mum who is starting solids with their baby, is to just listen to your baby and your intuition. You and your baby know best. If you want to take it slow - then take it slow. Give your baby purées, soft foods, and build it up from there. Or if you think they’re ready to start full baby-led weaning, do that. Let them guide you and tell you what they want.

Let me know what you guys feed your babies each week in the comments. I could always use new recipes and ideas!