Although common advice is to wait till 6 months before introducing food to infants, our Doc gave a go-ahead on non milk foods for Tweety when she turned 4 months. Have been quite excited to see her reactions on tastes beyond milk!
After reading up and gathering thoughts from elderlies, we decided to introduce non milk liquids first (fruit juices etc) and then slowly progress to semi solids depending on how she takes it. Another thing we decided is that we will try and give her as much fresh, home-made things as possible to keep artificial flavors, chemicals away from her tiny system.
The first thing we gave her was freshly squeezed orange juice at room temperature. After making some strange gestures, she liked it and took another 9-10 spoons. Encouraged by her reaction, gave her apple juice couple of hours later which was also accepted well! It’s been more than a month now and she has been given many other forms of fruits, pulses, veggies. The food feeder came in handy to introduce her to lot of fruits which are difficult to squeeze into juice. Sharing a brief of our learning’s here.
Things needed to introduce various food varieties
- Couple of aprons (to prevent her soil her clothes)
- Set of small bowls and spoon (preferably colorful ones to attract the baby’s attention)
- Instrument to strain, crush/mash
- Handkerchief/wipes to clean her post feeding
Few important things to be kept in mind
- Since babies can’t chew, whatever is given to the baby should be thoroughly squeezed, mashed and strained to avoid it getting stuck in her neck
- The utensils/clothes/hands used in the process of feeding is to be cleaned properly to avoid the risk of infections
- All preparations should be given at room temperature
- Usage of spices should be minimalistic and best avoided as much as possible
- Baby needs to be burped after each feed, as in case of milk, to avoid chances of her throwing up
Some ideas on basic preparations that are healthy, can be made at home in no time
- Fruit juices (Watery fruits like orange, apple, melon, strawberry, grapes)
- Lemonade (Lemon squeezed in water with a hint of honey)
- Homemade curd (diluted a bit with water with a hint of honey/salt) as per baby’s liking
- Fresh fruits (Cut/pulped/grated) can be given through the food feeder which also serves as natural teether for the baby.
- Dal (pulse) curry – Pressure cook half cup washed moong-dal in 3 cups of water for about 10 minutes along with a pinch of salt and turmeric. Allow it to cool, mash it thoroughly. Strain and serve.
- Khichdi – Pressure cook a mixture of washed dal and rice (in equal proportions) in half cup and boil in 3 cups of water for about 10 minutes along with pinch of salt and turmeric. Allow it to cool and mash. Adjust the consistency with water/curd. Strain and serve.
- Apple Stew- Wash and peel one apply and pressure cook it for 4-5 minutes along with 1 cardamom in 1 cup water.. cool, mash and serve the pulp
- Banana Stew- Mash banana to pulp, add some honey to improvise the taste, adjust consistency and strain
You can also check out weelicious.com for more ideas on interesting recipes for kids of all ages.
Our Tweety is a no fuss eater so far and likes trying out new tastes. Infact her preference is more towards other food, fruit juices than milk. And Mango is her all time favorite so far, she simply pounces on it and gobbles it up till the last remaining bit!
What’s your baby’s favorite food?
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