Introducing Purees

I know it’s very exciting to start the food journey with bub but please please please wait. 3 months is too early! The recommendation is now closer to 6 month. Also, it’s so much more clean up once they start solid’s lol

I started my boy just before 4 months. Try and get as close as possible. I did however let him suck on fruit like oranges and strawberries around 3.5 months old. It’s more about making sure she can sit up and swallow than interest. But interest is also very important. I just went to Woolies and the baby section there and got 4 month purées and put some on a baby spoon and that’s how he eats it. My son can’t sit up by himself but he can sit properly in his high chair. Good luck xx

I 100% agree with this!! Make sure bub is able to sit fully unassisted first & as close to 6 months as you can get. Baby’s have immature tummy’s & bowels & it can cause a very upset tummy with problems in the future like diabetes & stomach issues. As fun as it is watching baby eat, do some research first❤️

@Sarah I am going to try and wait till atleast 4 months but was hoping to get some ideas so then atleast im ready ahead of time. Yes definitely not keen for the clean ups 😂

@Domonique yeah that was pretty much gonna be my plan to just let her suck on Fruit. She already holds her head up with no issues at all. She's almost got sitting up mastered but she likes to flop herself in half at times 😂😂

Some of the things you need to see is, can your LO hold their head up unsupported, sit in a high chair. If they can that’s great. Just wait until they’re at least 4 month old to start small amounts of solids. Savoury is a good start. You can always try them with a rice cereal. My LO hated rice cereal (Farex). Food pouches say 4+ (from 4 months) I started my LO at 4 months and just introduced him to different flavours and textures once to twice a day, just introduce very slowly. This way you’ll also see what your LO likes and doesn’t like

thank you this is very helpful x what foods would you suggest starting them with?

My paediatrician recommended to wait till between 4-6 months and start with only fruit or veg purée about an IceCube size worth 2 times a day see how much Bub takes if bubs start to take more than can offer 3 times a day

Please look on Solid Starts and do spme research.
Since 2021 it is now recommended minimum 6 months to start solids. And only if they are showing ALL the signs of readiness. Some babies aren't ready until over 8 months.
There are reasons this research continues and reasons recommendations change. Remember there was a time people were told it was fine to do at 1 month old!
We now have new updated info and best practice to keep our babies as safe and healthy as possible.

Please educate yourself using the latest research and guidelines that are there for a reason. https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/infantandtoddlernutrition/foods-and-drinks/when-to-introduce-solid-foods.html

You can research and read all this, for sure but it’s up to you when you think your LO is ready. You can start at 4 months if they’re ready, both my kids started at 4 months and they’re fine. Anything you make you can freeze in ice cube trays as they are perfect portion sizes for first solids. Puree some carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet potato, pumpkin, then later try pureed fruit like apple and pear.

@Shelby thank you ❤️ this helps alot

You start to look at the signs of being ready when they are 6 months. Sitting up with minimal support, bringing stuff to their mouth and such. Before 6 months, their digestion system isn't developed for solids. So it's not what's going on on the outside. It's the inside development you have to wait for. There is a lot of research about this on all major health organisations.

I know it's hard but 4-6 months girl she hasn't got long best to wait a little longer I did at 4 months it because they are more mobile and can sit up better x

definitely check out solid starts if you’re interested in BLW. It’s the most brilliant app with safe and appropriate ways to prepare food for bub at different ages.

Tbh, I started my Jan 2021 bub at just over 4 months and in hindsight it was WAY too early. I got caught up in the excitement and caused myself stress when he wasn’t overly interested for quite a while. My Feb 2023 bub started at 6 months and it has been such a smoother journey!

I started my girl just before 4 months as she was the same and she’s been loving food ever since. Purées are a great start in my opinion and baby rice is good also

We started on rice cereal mixed with breastmilk/ formula, 1 teaspoon a day and went from there. Your baby will have more if they want it and tell you if they don’t. From there I mixed various fruit purées it’s the rice cereal then moved onto a pureed sweet potato, a new food each week. Just do a bit of Googling, heaps of ideas online but don’t be in too much of a hurry, once you start you can’t stop and it’s definitely more work than just a milk feed!

My community health nurse said it was okay to start from 4 months if they're showing all the signs mentioned above. Start by having them sitting in the high chair at the table with you while they eat. Give them a baby spoon to play with and get use to. Then a week or two later you can consider starting them on purees, recommend veggies first and later fruit so they don't get hung up on the sweetness. She recommended against giving fruit or anything soft to suck on in case any fibres or chunks go down. There's a couple of reflexes they need to work out first, the gag reflex being one of them. Then a couple of weeks after that you can have the purees be a little less pureed once they are ready.

I started my 5 month old on green bean purees a couple of weeks back and he was not a fan haha. I'll try pumpkin next but not in a hurry.

Apparently, you can try them 10 times on something before determining they don't like it

Research determines six months based on leaky gut health. Wait, and then try baby led weaning approach. So much research and books out there to learn more.

All your baby needs for their first 6 months of life is breastmilk only (or formula). The World Health Organisation recommends to slowly start introducing complementary foods from SIX months in addition to breastmilk.

Enjoy this time. There is absolutely no rush; your baby is only an infant once.

There are purees from 4 months , start with something really basic. And only tiny amounts..

At 3 months the gut isn't ready and baby might still have tongue thrust reflex

Start with single ingredient veggie purees, then add in pear. If you go too fast, baby gets constipated so check on bubs poos. The poo changes on solids but it shouldn't go too dry.

https://www.unicef.org/parenting/food-nutrition/feeding-your-baby-when-to-start-solid-foods

A quote from this website says:
'Actually your baby is showing normal feeding signs, they are just more developed now that they're older. It doesn’t mean your baby needs solid food early. Your baby is ready when they reach 6 months old'.

There's great info on this website about when it's necessary to start solid foods for breastfed and formula fed babies

Wait til 6 months. My son was ready at 4 months but holding out was the absolute right thing to do and I'm glad I did.

@Nakita I'm 4th time mum, all my babies started solids at 3 -4 months. They are fine.
Do vege and fruit purees, ice cube sized and freeze them. You can try that sized amount now.
You can also buy the silicone food dummie looking things and put whole fruit in them for baby to suck on watermelon, mango, banana etc

Just be prepared for allergies, label what food is in each one as we found out the hard way that my 1st baby had a reaction to sweet potato.

You can also buy silicone spoons that change colour for temperature too they are so handy

@Lara thank you!! ❤️

Love I get the feeling by the comments you have replied to that you only want to hear ‘go for it’. There is a heap of advice out there but the key thing is not to rush, especially if Bubs isn’t sitting up by themselves (3 months is absolutely too soon by any guidance). Gut heath and getting solids right is so critical for long term health as 80% of our immune response comes from the gut/digestive system. I know it’s exciting and starting at 4 month is fine but waiting a little longer can have major benefits later in life so just be open to all ideas ☺️. Beyond the Bump did and excellent podcast on starting solids with the founder of Boob to Food. Worth a listen and the website has lists of first foods, she recommends against rice cereal as it has poor nutritional value and suggests starting with savoury flavours as some kids who start on fruits (especially the sweets ones) can develop a preference for sweet flavours making it harder to get them into veggies.

@Stephanie thanks, and I only didn't reply to everyone saying to wait as I also wanted advice on what to feed her once she is completely ready. She is showing all signs except sitting up by herself so I just wanted to be prepared for when she is ready x

And im never on the app so I only see come notifications

hopefully the Boob to Food resource helps they have a great website and FB community too. Sitting up unassisted is the most important ready sign as it’s an indication of how strong the core muscles and digestive muscles are. Bubs need to have core strength to push the food through digestion and sitting up by themselves is the indicator of that. The grabbing for food and mouthing is a common reflex, my 3 month old wanted to suck on everything but that’s not just food readiness. We started with a mix of mushed avo and breastmilk to thin it.