Well, how do I start out every other post here?… “I am quite behind…” or “It’s taken me a while to get to post this" etc.

Better late than never I suppose! I am by no means an expert on this subject other than the fact that I love food and enjoy feeding my kiddos (most of the time). However, I do realize not everyone loves it and every child is different so please keep your own situation in mind. This is simply my experience with the first foods and certain nutritional values I strive for.

Those who know me, know I am obsessed with good food. I love cooking, eating, and sharing food and conversation with friends! My love of food is centered around understanding, or trying to, feed our bodies as they need to be fed and nourishing them in a nutrient-dense way as much as we can. I understand this to largely be a privilege but, I believe with more awareness and consumer advocacy it could be more of the norm. While I am far from an expert, my passion for food and health has led me to many interesting people and resources along the way.

Food, it’s such a personal thing, isn’t it? It evokes so many emotions! None more so than when it comes to feeding children! There are so many ideas and opinions out there and I largely operate in the “do what works for you” realm of things these days. That’s the thing about food, it isn’t one size fits all, there are many ways to nourish your body through eating and so many different aspects of food! And, most importantly, we are all different and unique. I really find it all fascinating. Other than many nutrition facts, that are obviously very important to note, we all need to do what works for us. My journey with food has been just that, a journey, and perhaps that’s for another post. When it comes to feeding my children, my priority is to focus on building their growing bodies and especially their brains, with healthy and nourishing nutrients. For me, that has been through nutrient-dense animal fats to start off. Again, no one size fits all approach but, these are just some of the things that I really value and what worked for us. If this resonates with you, that’s wonderful and if it doesn’t that’s okay too! Just sharing our experience!

First Foods

My second son, who is now almost two, is obsessed with food! I am so lucky in that anything I put in front of him he will eat. When I say anything, it’s not an exaggeration either. I am a firm believer in how you start makes a huge difference and this includes diet in the womb too. While I am not an expert on feeding babies, I did have a few go-to resources that really helped me. My biggest takeaway was to not use my own food preferences or dislikes as a box for my child and I let him eat everything and I even started eating some foods I hadn’t before (sardines). Now, all that being said, some kiddos don’t get into food as early. Food before one is really really just for fun!

My favorite resources for starting solids:

I attended Healthy Bright Beginnings Holistic Food intro class as well as diving right in through her ebooks. We pretty much stuck to the plan. It was all really helpful and I really think the protocol helped to set us up for some lifelong eating habit! (Although, we all know toddlers are rather unpredictable).

How we got started

We did a mix of purees and baby-led weaning - not together… we started with some gentle purees and then we quickly moved on to more texture for baby-led weaning. We were careful not to mix up the two as that can be confusing to the baby. It’s amazing to watch how intelligent babies are. When they know how to manipulate the food in their mouth and fortunately for us, we had lots of teeth early on to help nosh it all down.

How do we know if baby is ready for solid food?

Again, there are differing opinions on this. Some say not before six months, some say when baby shows interest, some say when baby can sit up properly, tongue reflex, etc, etc. I tend to feel it can be a mix of these signs of readiness but it would differ for every child of course.

What foods did we start with?

Bone Broth first to seal the gut. I also gave a high quality liquid cod liver oil supplement (there is MUCH controversy around PUFAs so do your own research). I personally was comfortable with using a high quality supplement, I prefer Rosita Cod Liver oil and would mostly stay away from omega-3 supplements. Like with anything, talk to your healthcare provider and look into it for yourself to know what you are comfortable with. This was around 4.5 months.

Then shortly after, closer to six months, we moved into egg yolks and grass fed butter to promote baby’s brain development. Healthy fats are so important for baby brain development and are crucial for vitamin absorption. We left out gluten and wheat and skipped the baby cereal altogether.

The need for fat.

“It supplies essential fatty acids (EFA) and aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. It is a substrate for the production of hormones and mediators. Fat, especially in infancy and early childhood, is essential for neurological development and brain function.”

John A. Milner, Richard G. Allison, The Role of Dietary Fat in Child Nutrition and Development: Summary of an ASNS Workshop, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 129, Issue 11, November 1999, Pages 2094–2105, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/129.11.2094

For the first little while it was mainly egg yolks, bone broth, and avocado as a start and then we moved into more meat and veggies. I really liked green peas with grass-fed butter mashed (always including a healthy fat with each taste). We also added sauerkraut and kimchi, even just the probiotic juice for that amazing gut goodness. Sometimes I would also sprinkle on some high-quality grassfed desiccated liver pills for that extra hit of nutrients.

As we moved along in our food journey we graduated to fish and meats, sardines, and even caviar!

According to Weston A. Price, and the website Nourishing Our Children, Salmon Roe is a perfect food for babies! It's great for when baby has their pincer grasp down.

“These nutrient- dense eggs are rich in vitamins A, D, and K2 (Activator X) along with zinc, iodine, and the brainbuilding fatty acid DHA, making them a powerful superfood for babies and adults alike. According to a recent Weston A. Price Foundation-funded analysis by UBE Laboratories, fish eggs contain 17,000 IU vitamin D per tablespoon!”

Nourishing Our Children - Nutrient Dense Fish Roe

My children absolutely love caviar.

Fast forward to a year or so later and my child is eating cow-heel soup like its nobody’s business. The focus on the traditional foods really has carried us through.

Foods we avoided initially

Egg Whites

Tomatoes

Conventional Dairy

Wheat

These foods are definitely harder to digest and we waited until after the year mark to try some. We still limit these with the exception of tomatoes although, with this year, I’ve definitely found constantly prioritizing diet a big challenge - more on that later!

Key Takeaways

Healthy fat is baby’s friend - high quality is KEY!

Be careful of delicate digestion - some foods are extremely hard for baby’s immature digestion to break down, hold off until molars come in.

Don’t be afraid of flavor.

Let baby lead, explore, and have fun!

All in all I am very pleased with our starting solids experience. I would do it this way again and I am a huge proponent of sealing the gut and ensuring baby gets their health fats for brain development and nutrient absorption. When we think of traditional foods, that’s how we started!

Please see my disclosure section. Any items purchased through links, I may be compensated. Only share products I use personally and love. Please consult with a healthcare professional before taking any supplements or giving babys and children any supplements.

All opinions are my own. I am not a doctor or health professional. Please consult with your care provider before starting solids.