These days, one of the most frequent questions I receive via email and Instagram stories, is how we introduced Katie to food and how she enjoys it.  Please keep in mind, what I’m sharing here is what worked for us but there are many different perspectives and options. Similar to starting a new exercise routine, it’s important to consult your child’s pediatrician before starting solid foods.

Introducing Katie to solid foods has been easier and more fun than Bo and I expected.

As you may recall, when Katie turned three months old, I stopped pumping and since then she has exclusively eaten Similac Sensitive.  She has thrived on this formula, which we order once a month from either Walmart or Amazon, depending on the price.  Around the time Katie was four months old, we realized that we should start doing research on solid foods. Every book, article or person that we spoke with recommended introducing babies to solid foods between the age of four and six months.  Some methods recommended starting with a pureed fruit or vegetable, while other sources suggested adding baby cereal or other grain to formula or breast milk. Neither Bo nor I wanted to start with baby cereal or fruit, instead choosing a vegetable. After both our pediatrician and a few friends recommended sweet potatoes as a first food, we decided that Thanksgiving weekend would be the perfect opportunity.

I remember the moment as if it was yesterday. An hour after her afternoon bottle was done, Bo and I held Katie in my lap and gave her a small spoonful of sweet potato. We’d roasted the sweet potato in preparation for making sweet potato casserole, one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes.  We both waited with baited breath, hoping she wouldn’t have any adverse reactions and would somehow signal that she wanted another bite. I was surprised by the fact that I actually got emotional. I remember tearing up because this was just one more signal that our little girl was growing up faster than I ever imagined.  After three small spoonfuls, Katie was giggling and smiling, loving every bit. We kept an eye on her that evening but luckily she didn’t have any negative reactions.

We introduced new foods very slowly in the beginning, following the baby feeding guide in Beaba Baby Cookbook. Between Thanksgiving and New Years, we tried each of the below foods, always allowing 2-3 days before introducing the next one.

• Sweet potato
• Peach
• Banana
• Apple
• Pear
• Carrot
• Broccoli
• Green Beans
• Avocado

For the first month, we only gave her solids after her 4pm bottle as a way to get her accustomed to sitting in a high chair and eating from a spoon. By mid-December, the schedule we’ve followed, Mom’s On Call, recommended that she have solid foods three times per day (8 AM, 12PM and 4PM) so by this point we were laughing and making a mess with her three times a day on the weekends and our nanny gives her solids at 12pm and 4pm.  We also tended to only give her one or two types of food at a time. For example, she may have a small portion of peas and then have a small portion of avocado. We also started reducing her formula to 7 ounces instead of 8 ounces during the day.

Now that she is 8 months old, we’ve had a great time making her recipes from the cookbook which combine multiple foods. For example, she loves eating Autumn Chicken (chicken, potato, butternut squash & olive oil), carrot apple and potato soup, and Mini Mama’s Meatballs (turkey meatballs from the Beaba cookbook).  We also allow her to try small pieces of whatever we are eating, making sure that it is soft enough for her to gum and that it is cut into pea-size piece.

In order to take the guess work out of giving her solids, each Sunday I take 30-45 minutes to organize her food for the week.  In addition to the food I prepare in the Beaba, we also always keep YoBaby Plain yogurt, shredded cheddar cheese, eggs and avocado in the house for easy, last minute food options. Here is a glimpse at what she ate today:

• 8am – 3 ounces scrambled eggs with salt & pepper and 1 Sweet Potato Chicken Meatball (Moving forward, per all the great info I received from you all, I will not add salt to season her food.)
• 12pm – 3 ounces scrambled eggs with salt & pepper and 3 ounces of pureed pears (Moving forward, per all the great info I received from you all, I will not add salt to season her food.)
• 4pm – 3 ounces of sweet potatoes and cinnamon and 3 ounces of pureed banana and apples

Here is a list of the things we’ve loved during this journey:

• High Chair at Home: Stokke Tripp Trapp
• High Chair in Savannah: Ikea Antilop High Chair (Only $20!)
• Baby Food Maker: Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker
• Food Storage: Beaba Multiportions Silicon Storage
• Her Favorite Spoon: Beaba First Stage Spoon
• Her favorite bibs: BabyBjorn Soft Bibs
• Her favorite on-the-go food packs: Earth’s Best
• Her absolute favorite food: Peas

Your turn: If you’ve been through this process before, any tips or tricks? Favorite food that your baby loved?