Starting Solids

When it comes to starting baby on solids there are two big questions that come to mind.

When should I start offering solids?

What should I start with?

Both of our babies were not totally ready at 4 months old to handle solids. Thomas had an especially difficult time handling them. By six months he was ready. He was sitting up all on his own and he was very interested in what we were eating. When I offered him rice cereal though, he hated it! He gagged! Eventually, I decided to just try regular food and skip the rice cereal. I knew that he could get the iron from some good veggies anyway. So, I started with peas but he hated those. I realized that maybe he just wasn't ready like I thought, so I waited another week or two. Eventually, I pureed some sweet potatoes and butternut squash for him to enjoy. He struggled at first but it wasn't long before he was really eating them! Then he was unstoppable! He seems to never get full these days!

I think the same process can be applied to most babies. The doctor will tell you when baby is old enough and your instinct will tell you when baby might be ready, but in the end we have to listen to our little ones! I just really think that if most of the food gets spit out, or if they are gagging on foods, maybe it just isn't time yet. All babies develop differently. And yes- your baby will eventually eat solids! 

That leads us to the next question- what should baby start off eating? Rice cereal is a good first food because it is easy to digest and it provides a little extra iron for baby. Like I said previously though, my babies did not really like the rice cereal. I quickly moved on to foods that have some of the same qualities like being easy to tolerate, not being an allergy trigger, and something that provides good nutrition. I like to lean towards giving vegetables first, but there is no solid evidence that offering vegetables will keep your baby from developing a sweet tooth. One of the first things I made was butternut squash. He loved the natural butter flavor and the hint of sweet that they have. Butternut squash is actually really nutritious too!

I also love to introduce avocados too! They are said to be one of the "superfoods" like blueberries. Here's what Wholesome Baby Food has to say about them:

"Avocados are often called one of nature's perfect foods because they are said to contain everything a person needs to survive. A wonderful 'good fat' food for baby's brain and physical development, try an avocado as baby's first food instead of refined cereals."

You can click here to read more about the benefits of avocados and read more about other fruits and vegetables!

Those are just two ideas for first foods, but there are just so many different options. Just about everything we offer is great for starting off!

Don't give up if your baby rejects a certain veggie! The beauty of having homemade baby food in 1-oz cubes is that you can just pop a couple of different veggies and fruits together to get a combination that is surprisingly tasty! 

Welcome!

So you are probably wondering exactly what Peas and Thank You is. If you’ve seen us on facebook or are following our blog, you’ve probably gathered that we have something to do with babies.

Peas and Thank You is the product of two people who share a deep passion for their children and their children’s nutrition.

Moms always want to give their best for their children and for choosy moms with the time homemade baby food is a must. But it’s come to our attention that truly giving your child the best requires a lot of time, a lot of research and quite frankly a lot of effort in terms of the means of actually making all the baby food.

Fortunately, Amanda and I have had the time and the opportunity to give our children what we believe they need. We have come to realize that many mothers do not have this same opportunity and we want to share our passion with them.

So that they too may give their children the best quality and nutritional value, in spite of the constraints life so often throws at us.

And so we created Peas and Thank You. A company that specializes in high- quality, homemade baby food delivered straight to your door.

Unlike store bought baby foods we prepare our product made to order with customizable menu options tailored to meet your child’s individual tastes and nutritional needs.

If you’re a mom, you want your child to have the best, don’t let your busy life and hectic schedule keep your from doing that. Let us do the heavy lifting while you give your time at attention to that special little life that means so much to you.

If you’re a choosy parent, or know someone who is, we invite you to try our product so you can teach your children to say “Peas and Thank You.”