Transitioning your baby from milk to solids is an exciting and depressing time. While you are thrilled your baby is progressing normally, it is often hard to let go, allowing him or her to develop. In most cases, this type of transition takes time. At first, your baby is going to bulk at this new taste and texture in the mouth, preferring milk. Therefore, be patient and expect more food on the bib than in the mouth. The best time to go through the transition from milk to solids is sometime around six months of age although you should consult with your pediatrician first.
If your family lives by vegetarian rules, then you would want your baby to do the same, avoiding meat and sometimes, fish. In fact, if you were a vegan family, foods such as butter, milk, or any meat by-product would also not be accepted. The challenge is that for a baby, certain nutrients are required for health development. In this case, we suggest you breastfeed as long as you can, incorporate appropriate supplements into the baby’s diet, and again, consult with a nutritionist or your pediatrician for advice.
Another important note is that if you have another child, you will likely find that the new baby and the existing child do things very differently. In other words, it might be that your first child took a long time to transition from milk to solids whereas the newborn takes to food immediately, or vice versa. Therefore, try not to expect the same responses because you will probably not get them.
While you can purchase all types of baby food on the market today, we still suggest you start with some of the basics such as peas, carrots, oatmeal, or bananas, foods that are usually tolerated well. Once your baby becomes accustomed to these new flavors and textures, then additional foods could be incorporated. Now, what I did was make my own baby food. For this, I would purchase fresh peas, green beans, carrots, corn, etc, and puree them in my blender. Then I would place the food in ice cube trays and freeze them. At mealtime, I could pop out whatever I needed, heat it just slightly, and my baby had fresh food.
The advantages of making your own baby food are tremendous. For one thing, you can use only the best quality and freshest foods available. Second, making your own baby food is much less expensive than store bought foods. Third, when we would leave town to visit family or friends, I could simply put a couple of ice cube trays of food in a plastic zippered bag, put them in a cooler covered with ice, and pop them in the friend’s freezer upon arrival.