I don't know why I was so nervous about starting Lauren on solids. Seriously- super nervous. It's like I was closing a chapter on part of her babyhood and I was a little sad about it. Before she was born I had decided that I was going to give her only homemade foods- including only homemade baby cereals. She's never had a can of processed baby food or anything out of a box and I intend for it to stay that way. Breatfeeding may not have worked out how I wanted it to, but THIS is in my control. I am so determined, lol. I did SO much research and changed my mind a dozen times about what to feed her first and how long to wait between introducing various foods, whether or not to add formula to it, whether to use a spoon at first or let her eat off my finger, etc. Eventually, I decided to go with bananas first, waiting 4 days between introducing each new food, not to add formula to it unless it was just super thick and seriously needed thinning down, and to use my finger at first so I didn't throw too many new things at her at once. So far we've done bananas, sweet potatoes, avocados, apples, rice cereal, and green beans. And so far my sweet, super opinionated baby has loved EVERYTHING! With the first few things we tried after bananas (sweet potatoes and avocados), it took her a few days to decide what she thought, but she loves them now! And based on her reaction and sweet little hands reaching for the bowl, her favorite food....? GREEN BEANS! :) Here's a few pictures of my very happy and well fed little girl:
Very first bite! Bananas!
Loved them!
Yummy avocados! Regardless of whether she's wearing a bib or not and has the high chair tray or not, this is a messy process. So sometimes I just put her in clothes I don't care about and skip the bib. She's happier that way anyway!
And her very favorite part of any meal... when she's done I hand her the container and let her play with it. It always results in changing her clothes and mopping the floor, but look how happy it makes her!
For anyone who's curious about my homemade baby food making process... it's super easy. With the exception of bananas and avocados, I cook the food, then puree it in a blender and freeze it in ice cube trays. Once frozen I pop the cubes out and put them in freezer ziplock baggies. Before I go to bed I decide what she's going to eat the next day and I take a few cubes out and put them in airtight containers in the fridge. Then when she's hungry it only takes about 10 seconds in the miccrowave, and voila! Homemade, healthy, yummy goodness for Lauren! Bananas and avocados don't need to be cooked obviously so I just mash them with a fork when she's ready for one! As far as rice cereal goes- I only use short grain brown rice right now. I turned it into rice powder using my kitchen mill (so easy, I adore that thing!) and store a ton of it in an airtight container in my fridge, and it's just 1/4 cup rice powder to slightly more than 1 cup boiling water. Whisk and boil for 10 minutes and you're done! I don't add formula to it, but I do add fruit to thin it down and she loves it! Making homemade baby food has almost become a hobby for me- I have so much fun doing it!
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