Transitioning your baby from breastmilk or formula to solids doesn’t have to be complicated, but often times we overthink it! Don’t stress over when and how to introduce solids. It’s really quite easy. There are a few simple rules you’ll want to keep in mind, but don’t overwhelm yourself with too much research! There is a lot of flexibility here! There is no one right way to do it.
Many parents first introduce their baby to rice cereal at four months old, but I disagree and tend to agree with the more current recommendation to wait until after six months old. There is no need to begin solids too early and it will simplify your daily routine if you wait until closer to six months of age. That being said, Brady hated solids until about ten months old and that was just fine! They really don’t NEED solids until closer to a year old. They will continue to get the bulk of their calorie and nutrition needs from your breastmilk or formula. Introduce them around six months old and if they refuse them, just wait and try again in a few weeks! Don’t stress!
When you begin introducing foods you will want to do one food at a time. Begin with a food and serve it to your baby for four days before introducing a new food. This is to ensure that they are not allergic and if they are allergic to it then you’ll know which food they are reacting to. If you introduced four new foods at a time then you wouldn’t know which food was eliciting the allergic reaction.
I made my kids baby food and I also bought jarred food. Having done it both ways I can definitely say it is SO much less expensive to make your own, plus you get the added benefit of knowing exactly what ingredients are in your child’s food! Don’t worry, making your own is easier than you think! I’m sharing some of my baby’s favorite recipes so you can make your own baby food at home!
Storing it is easy too. There are two methods I use. The first is to simply put it in ice cube trays and freeze it. Once frozen pop it out into a gallon ziplock bag. Each cube is 1 oz of food.
The second storing option (which I love!) is to use pouches. I use the Infantino Squeeze Station. It’s so easy. Just prepare your baby food and then fill the pouches. Then label them and freeze! Much less expensive than buying pouches and great for on the go too! I throw them in the diaper bag and by the time they thaw they are ready to eat without having to worry about keeping them cold.
Here are some of Brady’s favorite homemade baby food recipes!
- 1 Cup cooked sweet potato diced
- 1 Cup cantaloupe melon diced
- 1/4 Cup organic yogurt
- Dash of powdered ginger
- 1 sweet potato
- 1 medium parsnip
- 1 small pear or apple
- dash of ground nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp cooked chickpeas
- 1 pear cored and diced
- 3/8 Cup apple juice
- 2 tsp raisins
- Dash cinnamon
- 2 tbsp cooked organic pumpkin from a can or fresh
- 2 tbsp cooked chickpeas
- 1 ripe banana
- Combine melon and sweet potato in a food processor and blend together.
- Add the yogurt and blend for 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle with a little powdered ginger (optional) and refrigerate.
- *Note: I like to fill my pouches with this and it keeps in the fridge all week!
- Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch chunks.
- Peel the parsnip and cut into thick slices.
- Peel the pear/apple, remove the core and chop roughly. If using an apple remove peel.
- Place the sweet potato and parsnip into a saucepan and add water up to cover the veggies half-way.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for around 10 mins, stirring the ingredients.
- When the veggies are almost tender, add the chopped pear/apple and simmer for 4 to 5 mins.
- Drain then transfer the ingredients to a food processor.
- Add a pinch of nutmeg and blend to a smooth puree.
- In a small saucepan combine pear, raisins, and apple juice.
- Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2 minutes.
- Add the chickpeas and cook for 3 minutes more until the pears are tender.
- Allow to cool, then transfer to a food processor.
- Add the cinnamon, then puree until smooth.
- Puree together and serve!
Share with us the tips and recipes that work best for your baby! What is your baby’s favorite food? At what age did you introduce solids?
I bet that sweet potato yogurt is GOOD. My boys always loved sweet potatoes when they were babies.
How wonderful! I will admit I never made homemade baby food. I did BLW after #2 with the last 4 and it was wonderful. Making baby food would for sure be the only other way to go!
Great recipes! I never made baby food when my kids were babies. I really wish I would have made them though. A better choice for them for sure.
My kids loved sweet potato as a baby. I used to make my own baby food and freeze it too. It is much healthier and less expensive
Oh wow, thanks for sharing. I’ve never thought to put my homemade baby food into ice trays but it’s a brilliant idea.
These are some great recipes – I used to feed my little guy homemade baby food – using the baby grinder – but always just made it fresh – so the storage ideas are cool also 🙂
We didn’t do too much solids when we started transitioning over. Now, she mostly gets table foods but will still nurse from time to time.
I swear our kids went from bottles to solids overnite. They were such good eaters that they needed heartier meals each time!
I waited much longer than everyone around me though I should, but phft to ’em. 😉 My son and his wife started very early w/their little one and that was fine too. I think it’s just a matter of preference. 🙂
My kids used to love sweet potatoes when they were little, but regretfully I didn’t use organic back then. 20 years ago it wasn’t so readily available. Kudos to you for doing such a great job! I’ll share with my cousin who has a baby.
Things have changed since I had my kids. I like the convenience of the pouches but not the plastic waste. I hope you can recycle them. BTW your pictures are awesome.
These are amazing recipes for baby food!! Making baby food seems so much more complicated then this!
I loved making baby food so much. It’s so much more affordable and super healthy!
These are great homemade baby food recipes. I’ll share these with my friend who has a new baby.
This is awesome. I love these recipes. I will have to try them the next time we have a little one around here.
So colorful! I bet little kids love to eat them because of it!
It’s good to read tips that help moms with their little babies; especially new moms. My kids are older and the memory of transitioning is a distance away.
Omg this makes me miss my princess being itty bitty!!!! Making baby food was so fun!
Those little trays were a life saver. I loved making our own food!
I had all these plans for homemade baby food when my kids were smaller. I wish I had stuck with it.