If you follow me on Instagram, I shared a reel of Gracie enjoying her first food – sweet potato! I won’t lie to you, starting solids gave me a lot of anxiety but after taking the Happy Healthy Eaters course, I felt much more equipped to take this on. We felt most comfortable beginning with purees and then we will eventually transition to baby led weaning. I made sweet potato mixed with some breastmilk and it was a hit! After seeing how much she enjoyed it, I can’t wait to try even more foods with her. I will say, it’s a total mess but we’ve found a way to keep it minimal (like this floor mat and long sleeved bibs). I’m sure more mess awaits us… *laughs nervously.*
Here are some must-haves for beginning to feed your babe that we love…
Long Sleeved Bib – This is amazing keeping mess minimal. A hot tip I got was putting baby naked (in a diaper only) in the high chair so you can just wash them off if food gets everywhere…which it will. I just put this long sleeve bib and then a silicone bib to catch anything else.
Floor Mat – These are machine washable and great for keeping your floors stain free! I ordered this one off Amazon but you could even use one of those clear office chair floor mats in case you want something without a pattern as it’s easy to wipe clean too!
Freezer Pod Trays – I love these because starting with purees I am batching when I cook and freezing for future feeds so all I have to do is pop them out and warm it up before serving to Grace. I can re-use these down the line as a fun snack tray for her, so it can be re-purposed!
Handheld Blender – I wanted to skip a baby food processor machine to save some money and so I just picked up this handheld blender I can use for our food as well in other recipes. It’s super easy, I just bake or steam food and then blend it in a bowl with this to my desired texture.
Meat Thermometer – Something I never considered but is totally brilliant! You want to make sure you cook meat for babies well, so I got this to ensure everything is just right for Gracie.
High Chair – Totally not necessary to do so, but we wanted to get something that would suit our condo aesthetic and so we went with this one 🙂 any high chair will do, just make sure baby has foot support and that they can touch it (as they need something to push off if they God forbid choke). Super important!
First Foods Set – I love this because it has everything you need to get started!! Suction bowl/tray so that it doesn’t move (babies love to launch things), little spoons and a cup that’s got a good weight to it. We’re skipping sippy cups (you can read this blogpost on why it’s a good idea, but again do what works for you!).
Silicone Bib – Easy to wash/clean and catches any fall out from babies mouth (also come in the cutest prints, he he).
Happy feeding your babe! xoxo
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