My baby boy turned 5 months on Sunday; he has two teeth, he can roll over in both directions and he's eating solids. Seriously where has the time gone?
Back to the solids, I know that the guidance from the
medical community is that there is no need for solids before 6 months of age. I also
know from experience that you need to pay attention to your child and meet his or her needs regardless what the doctors and nurses tell you.
There are all sorts of articles and guidance about signs of readiness; my boys simply showed interest in food and signs of hunger and they were able to successfully swallow the food, so I allowed them to eat.
As someone who loves to cook, making my own baby food was more a reality than an option. I never really contemplated buying baby food and when I had an opportunity to compare the jarred food with the homemade, it quickly became apparent that homemade food simply tastes better. Never mind that you have so much more control over exactly your child is consuming.
We are still in the early stages of solids, today the boy tasted his fifth food and I am finally able to start mixing flavours, here's what he's tried so far.
- Rice Cereal
- Avocado
- Sweet Potato
- Pear
- Chicken
Next up
Quinoa, I'll be using the method from
Quinoa 365, which I will share with you after I test it out!
If you want to make your own baby food, but don't know where to start, check out
The Baby's Table by Bradshaw and Bramley. A friend of mine lent me her copy of the book when the boy started solids and it ended up so dog eared and food covered that I ended up buying her a new copy. Another resource I consulted a lot the first time around is the
Wholesome Baby Food Website. And of course I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.
