Food for thought

February 1, 2007 | Print

Kelly’s Thoughts: Oliver’s First Foods

I started solids with Oliver when he was six months old.

I don’t have a rule about when to start solids. Somewhere between six and nine months has been my pattern.

I started Amelia at six months because she seemed ready and I was the last holdout from my babygroup (which at the time seemed relevant).

I tried Wyatt at seven months. He wasn’t interested. Tried again at eight months, still not interested. At nine months he said bring it on.

There’s a recent study tying wheat allergies to the timing of starting grains that’s worth reading when making the starting solids decision. That said, the usual advice is to delay solids (or certain foods) to avoid food allergies and sensitivities–especially if parents are allergic.

I start the kids with a baby cereal and then a vegetable. I feed them once a day, often for a month before starting a second feed. I feed them in the late morning or mid-day so they have time to digest before going to bed at night.

Oliver’s first foods:

Earth’s Best Organic Baby Oatmeal
Oatmeal because rice cereal can be constipating and he’s already six months old so his digestion is more developed.

I follow the box instructions and mix with warmed breastmilk the first two weeks. Then I switch to warm water, and eventually rice milk. After a week, I make the cereal less watery, but not too thick.

Amelia’s the only one who ate cereal and I followed a tip from my pediatrician: add a touch of organic prune juice to avoid constipation.

Organic Yam/Sweet Potato
To me, yams are orange inside, and sweet potatoes yellow. I start with the yams.

I bake a potato at 350 or 400 degrees F until it feels like it’s soft inside (30 minutes to an hour or longer).

I usually put it in the fridge and puree later. If I puree right then, I let the potato cool a bit. I put some potato in my Braun Hand Blender, add a little hot water, pulse, then check consistency.

I keep adding hot water until I get a soft consistency–not runny, but since it’s first food, pretty wet. I put some in a bowl for Oliver, the rest I store in a washed glass baby food jar and keep in the fridge.

I’ve tried pureeing a whole potato and freezing portions in small plastic containers. But the defrosting process took too much planning for me, so I puree enough for just a few days.

Earth’s Best Organic Sweet Potatoes
When I’m on the road or in a pinch, I use Earth’s Best baby food jars. I also like Healthy Times organic baby food. I pour some baby food into a bowl (rather than feeding right from the jar), so I can refrigerate the leftovers in the jar for the next feed.

Some grocery stores carry fresh organic baby food (like Bohemian Baby and Homemade Baby). It’s expensive, but it also tastes a lot better. That said, the jar food has always been fine for me.

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