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Lindsay Surowitz & I met in 6th grade. That’s right. 6th grade!
We were introduced by our girlfriend Lauren & I liked her right away. Not only is she beautiful with the best skin, she’s also cool, kind & smart.
We had a full 360 moment when Blog-doo designed her blog, Weeknight Bite. Blog-doo is a company I created with Erica of Fashionlush. We help content creators create logos, mood boards & blogs in a very pretty fashion ( if I do say so myself ).
Anyway, it’s been so cool to watch her blog flourish. Lindsay shares so many good, healthy recipes. My absolute favorite post is for gluten free pancakes. Try it with my 5 second jam & you will be obsessed.
I asked Lindsay to come on The Skinny Confidential for a 3 part series on feeding babies. In today’s post she’s sharing tips on how to introduce solids to your baby & how to keep your cool when doing it. Specifically, you’ll love her suggestions for the first foods to give.
With that, let’s welcome Lindsay of Weeknight Bite to the blog!
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Hi TSC readers! I’m Lindsay Surowitz, & I’m a blogger, nutritionist, & new(ish) mama sharing all of my approachable wellness tips, easy recipes, & everyday healthy living content over at Weeknight Bite.
Lauryn & I have known each other since elementary school, & it’s been so fun to go through this major transition into motherhood at the same time. My son Noah is just over 18 months old, a couple months ahead of Zaza, so once Lauryn jumped into the world of introducing solids, I was so excited to share my tips & tricks with her ( & now all of you! ) !
Let me start by saying, I’m not the expert on all things ‘introducing solids’ — I’m just a mom who’s been there before & learned a lot along the way! In the beginning, it made me super nervous, but after going through it, I do have some ( …as Lauryn would say ) tippity tips that can hopefully put new mamas at ease when starting solids, too!
TIPS FOR INTRODUCING SOLIDS TO YOUR BABY
♡ START WHEN YOU FEEL READY & WHEN YOUR BABY IS READY- EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT!
I was shocked at Noah’s 4-month pediatrician appointment that the doctor said we could already get started on solids if we wanted. He said I would be able to tell if Noah was ready based on 2 things:
1 – if he’s super sturdy supporting himself in his highchair, & 2 – if he seemed really interested in food when we’re eating around him. I didn’t really feel we were there on either front, so we waited until he was just about 6 months, which is when he was really eyeing my meals, reaching for my plate, & more stable sitting up. You’ll know when the time is right!
♡ TAKE THE CLASSES & ADVICE FROM EXPERTS WHO MAKE IT EASY & FUN.
Before you get started, I’d 100% recommend taking an infant CPR class ( or brushing up on it if you already took it while pregnant ). My biggest fear ( like every parent, I’m sure! ) was Noah choking, so you definitely want to understand the cues & differences between choking & gagging, & how to handle each situation.
Gagging is actually a positive thing as it helps your baby develop their gag reflex, whereas choking is obviously terrifying, but knowing the cues & how to respond will help put you more at ease!
There’s so much conflicting information out there & I felt like people were so pushy about purées vs. Baby Led Weaning ( more on that later! ), so I just wanted someone to simplify it for me. I had a private session with Jessica Diamond, ( who is now co-host of a Dear Media Podcast called Meaning Full Living! ), & she changed everything for me.
Any parents about to introduce solids to their baby should definitely give this podcast episode a listen – it’s a game changer! She also has an online course that’s super easy to work your way through & will give you full confidence going into this fun feeding chapter with your baby!
♡ BE FLEXIBLE — DON’T GET SO HUNG UP ON ONE SPECIFIC METHOD OF FEEDING YOUR BABY.
I really don’t understand why people make it seem like you have to choose between feeding your baby purées or following Baby Led Weaning ( BLW ). If you’re unfamiliar with BLW, it’s basically just skipping the purée phase & letting your baby feed themselves finger foods right from the start.
It’s supposed to be really great for their fine motor skills & teaching them to be independent eaters, but are you kidding me??… as a nervous first-time mama, mashed avocado made me feel a lot more comfortable in the beginning than handing Noah a spear of anything!
Do whatever works for you & your baby, but don’t be afraid to do a mix of both & keep trying out new foods, textures, & ways to prepare these foods as you get more comfortable.
♡ EMBRACE THE MESS!
To quote this podcast episode, embrace the mess! It’s about to get real messy in your kitchen so just buckle up & enjoy this ride with your baby! This is all part of the experience for them. It teaches them to use their hands, it’s a good sensory experience, makes them comfortable around foods, etc. etc. Just get a good bib & a mat under the highchair!
♡ DON’T GIVE UP!
When you get started, your babe is going to make all sorts of faces & reactions when they try new foods for the first time. That doesn’t mean they don’t like it!
It could take several tries before they learn to like something, so just keep trying it, even if you have to try it in all different forms. For example, Noah was not into broccoli at all in the beginning, but then I scrambled it into some eggs & he wolfed it down. A couple weeks later, he was happily eating the broccoli solo.
Keep offering & don’t get discouraged!
A FEW IDEAS FOR FIRST FOODS…
Stay tuned for Part II of this series which will include some of our favorite recipes ( & Zaza & Noah’s favorite pancakes! ), but here’s a quick summary of the foods that we started with. Obviously each baby is different but I’ll just share the order of foods we tried!
- mashed avocado
- puréed sweet potato + cinnamon
- mashed banana
- puréed carrots + nutmeg
- puréed broccoli
- puréed apples + cloves
- Ready for finger foods: banana egg pancakes – recipe coming soon!
- More finger foods: sautéed broccoli florets & sautéed zucchini spears
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Hope you loved this post & it left you feeling excited to feed your baby solids for the first time. Lindsay will be back soon with a banana egg pancake recipe for your littles.
Also, stay tuned because I’ll be on Lindsay’s blog sharing something special real soon too.
x lauryn
+ if you like this post, check out what I feed Zaza.
++ scope the strawberry cake you’re sure to love.
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