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I'm a dietitian and I failed at introducing solids to my baby
Starting your baby on solids is an exciting milestone for any new parent. Now imagine you’re a dietitian who lives and breathes nutrition for a living. To say I was “enthusiastic” about starting my baby on solids was an understatement. Finally, I could pass on my lifelong love of delicious food to my daughter. So, where did it all go wrong?
As exciting as it is, starting solids can also be pretty daunting. Purees or baby-led weaning (BLW)? Four months or wait until six? What happens if they choke?!
Like most new mums, I did as much research as possible. I spoke to our GP and local community health nurses and followed all the top BLW pages on Insta, some run by dietitian colleagues. I purchased baby-specific cookbooks and of course, I bought all the Pinterest-worthy gear for the highchair.
Yet, despite my wealth of knowledge, our solids journey was not as smooth as I was hoping, or expecting. Here’s what happened.
At about five-and-a-half months old, my daughter Lila started showing the typical signs of readiness: good head and neck control, sitting well and plenty of interest in what we were eating. After much thought, I decided to introduce purees first, then slowly progress to finger foods. I spent all weekend whizzing up batches of fruit and vegetable purees to freeze, set up the highchair and sterilised spoons. We were ready!
Or so I thought.
Lila’s first taste of pureed pumpkin was typical of how most babies initially react to solids. Lots of funny faces (captured on camera, of course) and plenty of mess! I offered small amounts every day, and by the end of the first week, Lila would flatly refuse and start cry when the spoon came out.
Meanwhile, I had friends with bubs of similar ages to Lila send me photos and videos of their babies happily and heartily tucking into a bowl spag bol. I was disheartened and confused.
What was going on? This was meant to be fun!?
I felt like a failure. I’d studied nutrition for five years at Uni, presented seminars and webinars to parents on starting solids and helped many clients fall in love with food after years of poor body image and low self-esteem. Why couldn’t I get it right with my own daughter?
After some more thought – and a fair few tears – I decided she wasn’t quite ready and waited another three to four weeks before trying again. This time around, she was much more accepting, but still didn’t like being fed with a spoon.
Instead of getting discouraged, I decided to pivot. I offered wedges of avocado, banana broken into thirds, soft pieces of roasted vegies and sourdough toast crusts, and suddenly she loved it – and couldn’t get enough! I felt so much relief, except my fear of her choking on this seemingly solid “adult” food made mealtimes stressful.
To help with my anxiety, I did an infant first aid course and learnt the difference between gagging (normal) and choking (not normal). My fear started to dissipate and we started our solids journey primarily with baby-led weaning (finger foods), plus a few purees here and there when I could get them in.
Fast forward two years and Lila is happy and healthy, and loves her food…most of the time. Like most toddlers, she favours a beige diet of plain pasta, crackers and toast, but also demolishes raspberries, scrambled eggs and smoothies with gusto. There are plenty of days where she refuses certain foods, nags for ice cream or biscuits and I worry she’s not eating enough veg, but I now know I actually didn’t fail. Overall, she’s meeting her nutrient needs, she’s learning that all foods have a place in a healthy diet – even Tim Tams – and we’re having a whole lot of fun cooking and enjoying meals together as a family.
My top three tips for starting solids
1. Lower your expectations
Don’t expect your baby to take to a food the first time — or even the tenth time! — you offer it. Acquiring a taste for certain foods can be a slow process, and that’s okay. Remind yourself that your baby is learning a new skill, so be patient, keep offering and remove the pressure.
2. Don’t compare
Every baby is different, so every solids journey is different. What works for someone else’s baby might not work for yours, so trust your gut and follow your baby’s cues. It doesn’t feel like it at the time, but believe me, it’s pretty hard to stuff it up.
3. Keep it simple
It’s not about preparing fancy, Instagram-worthy meals day after day. Some of the simplest meals are the most nutritious. Think scrambled eggs and avocado on toast, bolognese, pasta, roasted pumpkin and sweet potato, porridge or Weet-Bix with frozen berries, and frittata with leftover vegies. Easy, delicious and nutritious!
