Although the pediatrician gave us the green light to start solids at four months, we decided to stick to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization and feed Max breast milk exclusively for his first six months of life. After getting a bit of guidance from the pediatrician at his six month well visit we jumped in to the world of solids the day after his six month birthday. At Dr. Khan's recommendation we started with oatmeal instead of rice cereal. I made it myself by grinding up oatmeal very fine in the blender and we mixed it with a bit of breast milk. Since then we have switched to store bought baby oatmeal as I can't grind it up fine enough in my home blender. The store bought stuff is almost like a powder and is much smoother and thinner when prepared. Max seems to like it much better and is more likely to actually swallow the bite.
Here is a video of his first tastes of "real" food!
We have also tried bananas, peas, and carrots and he seems to like them all so far! I've been making his fruits and vegetables at home by steaming them until very mushy and pureeing them in the food processor with a bit of the cooking water. The veggies tend to thicken up a bit after being in the fridge so we usually thin it with a bit of breast milk when it's time to serve it to Max. The pediatrician said this can also help with the transition to solids as the breast milk lends a familiar taste, and it helps make it more of a "runny milkshake" consistency.
For the bananas I just break off a one inch piece and mush it up really well with a fork before thinning it with breast milk. Sometimes we mix the bananas in to his oatmeal. Per the pediatrician's instructions we wait 3-5 days between introducing each food. This way, if Max has an allergic reaction we will know exactly what food is the source of the cause. Since we tried two vegetables in a row we are going to try another fruit next... yay for pears!
Max eats solids once or twice a day, and he is swallowing more and more of the food. He is also getting better at clearing the spoon with his top lip (versus having us sort of pour it in to his mouth). Sometimes he will eat the whole serving and other times he closes his lips tightly and turns his head away after two bites. When he does that we usually give him a little break and then try putting the spoon to his lips again to see if he'll eat a little more. His level of interest in eating solids seems to vary and we don't push it on the days he is done after two bites. At this point it's more for fun and practice than for nutrition and calories, and breast milk will continue to be his primary source of nutrition until sometime around his first birthday.
We'll add in "lunch" closer to his seven or eight month birthday, and transition to finger foods closer to his eight or nine month birthday. When it comes to solids it seems to be more of a "watch the baby for readiness cues" versus going by the calendar. Until then, open wide baby bird! Yum!
