Weaning your baby from breastfeeding to the bottle can be one of the hardest tasks for parents. Once you have successfully transitioned your baby in between foods, it becomes much easier from there! It is said that once your baby reaches 7 or 8 months of age, they can start eating more solid foods from a variety of food groups. Usually, parents can wean their children from the bottle to soft foods such as purees. Although these are softer foods, they are still considered a great move into the solid food eating stage.
It’s normal for parents to be worried about their babies during this stage, but with a few recipes and tips, you’ll be able to help your baby successfully move onto more foods and ultimately create healthy eating habits!
Purees
Some of the best recipes for babies are purees. Not only are they easy to make and rather cheap for parents, but they provide plenty of nutrients as your baby is growing. Additionally, these foods help replace sugary contents that store-bought pouches or concentrates usually come with. Purees give your baby the nutrients and the sweet taste they’re looking for!
Pears
Pears are some of the best foods to give your baby as you make purees. Pears taste great and they are loaded with vitamin C, which promotes a healthy immune system, vital to the development of your baby. Pears are also great to mix with vegetables, such as peas, that way your baby develops a liking for these foods.
Sweet Potato
This is a popular “first food” for babies. You could even start feeding your baby sweet potato puree by the time they reach six months. In fact, it is recommended to feed your baby sweet potatoes so they can reach more solid foods. In addition to vitamin C, sweet potatoes are rich in potassium and fiber.
Apples
Before you give your baby solid pieces of apples or other hard fruits, it is best to make them into a puree to determine their liking for these foods. Apples, when being made into a puree, can be mixed with many other foods, such as prunes. This is because apples are naturally sweet and provide that taste where other foods might lack. This can also help your baby gain a liking for foods that aren’t as sweet in taste.
Carrots
Carrots are almost always combined with other vegetables in puree form. Carrots are typically combined with green vegetables to make them look more enticing, which in turn can help encourage your baby to eat these foods. Like with other foods, carrots can easily be peeled, heated, and mashed into a soft puree for your baby.
More Solid Foods
It typically doesn’t take too long to transition from soft foods, such as purees, to more solid foods. Additionally, it is recommended that parents stick with some of the foods they used as purees when they begin to feed their babies solid foods. Purees are meant to establish a liking for foods, so once you have accomplished that, you can move on to feeding your baby more!
Broccoli
Broccoli is very crunchy. As such, we recommend parents steam and mash the food a bit before feeding their baby. You could also limit your baby to eating the leafier and softer part of the broccoli. This will help to familiarize your baby with broccoli before eating the harder parts of the vegetable!
Berries
Most berries are very soft, considering they are solid foods. The best berries to give your baby are blueberries and blackberries. Strawberries, on the other hand, are harder. As such, it is best to wait on these until your baby can comfortably eat these starter solid foods.
Lentils
Lentils are another great source of solid foods that are safe for your baby to eat. Since lentils can easily be mashed while eating, you don’t have to worry too much about making them softer for your baby. This can also help introduce them to peas, beans, and similar solid foods!
Receive High-Quality Newborn Care Only at Minis Pediatric Walk-In Clinic!
If you need assistance with feeding your newborn and finding which foods are best for your baby’s health, Minis Pediatric Walk-In Clinic can help! You can contact us today to make an appointment to discuss the best health plan to take for your child. We’re here to guide both you and your baby on your health journey!