One of the most fun times was introducing our daughter to the amazing tastes of food! What funny faces and great pictures! It can be challenging for some babies to make the transition so here are a few guidelines to get you started.

Once baby has overcome the initial time period of tongue thrusting and has learned how to take in rice cereal and baby food well, it’s time to start introducing solid foods.

When you first put your baby in the high chair begin training “High Chair Manners” by teaching your baby to keep his hands either under or down on the tray while Mommy feeds baby. Physically hold baby’s hands in this position until you baby understands the expectations and starts to do on their own. This is one of the first steps in teaching self-control and you will find this practice rewarding in the long run!

The highchair is also a great place to begin teaching sign language. Teach “Please” first. When your baby indicates he would like something say the word please and take his little hand and slide it across his chest a couple times. This takes many months but persevere and the results will be a wonderful help to your family. Other signs to work on once “Please” has been accomplished are “More”, “All Done”, “Down please”, “Thank you”. For a complete list of signs and diagrams see Babywise II.

My previous post discussed example timing of how to work your baby’s eating to your times. Until the age of one a liquid feeding should precede a meal.

Many Mommies choose to wean during the time period between 9-12 months, and begin formula. In our busy lives today its common for breast milk’s supply to decrease and therefore the need to wean to a bottle. Remember to be careful how much formula you give in comparison to a diminished milk supply. If  given too much baby may not show interest in eating the new food’s. Slowly decrease the amount of formula a little bit. Babies and children have a perfect internal mechanism that lets them know when to stop eating both liquid and solids. Another option is to give half of the bottle feeding prior to a meal and then offer the second half after. If refused then you know they have a had enough.

At each meal continue to feed baby food first with “little hands down”. Then soft finger foods can be placed on the tray with instruction given that baby may now pick up the food. Parents may enjoy dinner while baby is working on the finger foods.

Ideas include bananas, soft cooked veggies and fruits, cereals. While whole milk is not to be given until one year old Yogurt may be introduced at 9 months. Between 9-12 months most babies tire of baby food and are more interested in what is on your plate. We cooked our daughter’s food without seasoning initially to ease her into our family’s favorite foods. You can introduce all your family favorites mashed and cut small. Of course watch for choking concerns.

I took advantage of this time period to do some research on new healthy and nutritious ideas for our family. I have changed and added many foods since the addition of our daughter to our family.

This transition is a slow but very fun process, hope these tips are helpful and happy eating!