Will's food plan

I have had lots of questions about how we are starting William on solid foods.  There are lots of decisions to make, and generally as long as you don't hand your kid a drum stick or a doughnut at six months of age, there aren't really right or wrong answers. Some studies say to wait until after six months to introduce solids, other studies say between four and six months, both camps say they are better for reducing long term food and inhalant allergies.  We opted to introduce over Christmas as it made the most sense for us and our kid.

We started with cereal, and have added one veggie or fruit each Saturday.  We are going to add oatmeal soon (no additives, it's a baby oatmeal). Once we have a solid set of veggies and fruits, we will start meats.  The new recomendations from AAP say to start meats sooner than in the past, but I am not really in a hurry for what that will do to a diaper, as long as he is getting enough protein from the milk (and balanced fruits like the avocado).

I am making the baby food purees. Call me trendy, or hippie, or over-controlling, but I love cooking, and we eat mostly fresh, local and organic where reasonable.  I have a baby bullet, a mini blender for baby food that is all dishwasher safe, which makes things super easy.

We have made: carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, avocado, apples, pears, and broccoli. I steam or boil the veggies, let them cool, and then puree with a bit of the water they were cooked in.  (Bananas and avocados I puree raw with water.)  This week I am going to make applesauce! I have found that the blender doesn't mix well unless there is the right amount of water in it, which is helpful.  If it stops mixing, I just add another 1-2 tbsp of water.  I freeze the puree either in two ounce portions, or half ounce portions (ice cube trays). Then I throw the cubes into ziplocks in the freezer.  Defrost in the microwave at half power, 15 second at a time until you get it defrosted and the chill off.

The homemade purees are SO much cheaper than baby food, and I like being involved in the process. The babysitter does give him some fruit from a jar, as it is convenient, and we send the rest with him.

Will starts out with each new food eating a half ounce on day one, and a bit more on day two.  The AAP rule is to try a new food for four sequential days to make sure that there are no allergies.  We introduce a new food on Fridays or Saturdays so that we have the weekend to watch for reactions and get used to something new. (And so that Mommy and Daddy can enjoy his reactions to the something new.) William will eat and eat and eat if we let him! It is our challenge, because, left to his own devices he will gladly eat until he looses his lunch.  He started with 1-1.5 ounces of ceral with 1-1.5 ounces of fruit once a day and now has 1-1.5 ounces of cereal and 1.5-2 ounces of fruit or veggie each twice a day. 

I start my baby research with the Mayo Clinic... http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-baby/PR00029
Also... www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com
And...http://wholesomebabyfood.com

This is what has worked for us, but every kid is so different!  I am happy to share recipes!