When a new mom learns that it’s time for her baby to start eating solid foods, she feel super excited about this milestone she’ll get to experience with her baby. Unfortunately, though, things don’t always go as planned! Babies have a mind of their own — and a palate of their own, too! What one baby loves, another baby thinks is perfect for throwing across the room. In reality, with babies, there is a difference between what you want and what your kid will do.
No matter how your baby takes their first solid foods, or when, know that any struggles you face are probably common. These moms can attest to their own trials with those first bites.
Sometimes you have to throw the traditional rules out the window
“When it was time to introduce solid foods, I was immediately drawn to the concept of ‘baby-led weaning,’ in that the finger foods are introduced before purees or cereals. I had read enough anxiety-provoking articles about arsenic and pesticides hidden in baby food and thought this ‘natural’ approach would be a better fit.
My partner and I decided organic avocado would be a great first food, seeing how guacamole was basically all I ate while pregnant. We eagerly gave him a tiny bite of the ripe green goodness (also referred to as ‘nature’s butter’ in my house), and our baby promptly started choking. Yes, that’s right. I made my child choke.
We responded quickly, and despite my increased worry that he somehow had aspirated enough food to kill him during naptime, our now 6-year-old loves avocado. Following this incident, we redirected our approach to ‘whatever doesn’t make our child choke to death.'”
—Molly, mom of one
Siblings sometimes get involved and make it hard
“We started rice/oatmeal cereal at 4 months with our twins. So when they turned 6 months, we immediately introduced table food. My husband is a chef; he particularly couldn’t wait to turn them into little foodies. I remember one of the first meals we gave them was salmon and rice.
My one twin Sovi absolutely loved the salmon. He grunted in between bites and demanded more quicker than we could scoop it. Kaius, on the other hand, didn’t necessarily hate it, but he wasn’t a fan like his brother was.
I remember I turned my back to grab their cups from the refrigerator, and when I looked back, Sovi was reaching for the salmon on Kaius’ plate. Unfortunately, he ended up knocking the plate to the floor, and he lost it. He cried so hard because he wanted more salmon. There, of course, was more, but he didn’t know that. I dished him up some more salmon, and the tears stopped, and he went right back into focus devouring his salmon!”
—Thenedra, mom of twins, with one on the way
They might enjoy something you don't expect
“My oldest son was in day care for a while, when his teacher came and told me how great of an eater he was. I was so proud! I really tried hard to make sure that he was introduced to every type of food when age appropriate, especially vegetables and fruits.
One day, I went to a lunch date with him at school and found out why he was so successful in the clean plate club – his teacher was seasoning up his food like it was her own! She had all of the children climbing on her to get a taste of the seasoning she liked to use (an all-purpose, no-salt seasoning) from spoons!
It was no wonder why her cooking was such a big hit with all the babies. From then on, I started seasoning his purees and mixes at home, and my great eater became a superstar!”
—Chanel, mom of two
Be prepared for a whole new set of tastebuds with the next baby
“I knew that my second child would be different from my first, but I did not know how. Everyone was telling me that they would be like night and day. So I wasn’t surprised when my second baby was not a great sleeper when my first went down so easy, and the second didn’t enjoy Mickey Mouse as much as my first.
But I was shocked when I piled up a plate full of my first son’s favorite foods and served it to my second. My first child loved anything juicy — think tomatoes, berries, etc. One night, it was time for my second to try out some tomatoes for the first time, and was I in for a surprise! Let’s just say I wasn’t thinking red wall paint was in my future, and I’m glad that we had some great cleaner to get those tomatoes off the walls!”
—Lauren, mom of three
Babies tend to change their minds at the drop of a hat and discard what you think they would love
“Noah was a good eater when he was younger. Noah loved broccoli, eggs, and chicken when he was little. As he grew, he ditched the eggs, but the broccoli and chicken stuck … to the point where he asks for chicken and broccoli for dinner sometimes now.”
—Alfreda, mom of one
Your village might sneak foods you don't approve of
“I had a patient who allowed her father-in-law to babysit her child. For some reason, the father-in-law had it in his mind that the baby’s first food would be ice cream and snuck it to the child while babysitting.
Of course, most things in moderation are probably fine — but the parents were really offended! They got past it, but it was tough at home for a while!”
