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For all the babies born this past fall and winter, it is time to throw down the bottle and begin their foodie journey with introduction to solid foods and eventual self-feeding. Healthy eating habits are established at a very young age so this transition period is critical to your child’s future food decisions. 

With summer nearly upon us, there is a variety of great fresh fruits and vegetables you can begin introducing baby to. Below are suggestions of fruits and vegetables that makes great first foods for baby:

• Cooked and peeled potatoes, yams, carrots, and sweet potatoes 

• Cooked and peeled pears and apples

• Soft ripe fruit such as bananas, avocados, peaches, and blueberries

A great way to soften and cook raw fruits and vegetables without losing their nutritional content is by steaming. Olababy has created a SteamBowl that easily allows you to steam, serve, and store your baby’s food all in one bowl.

• Wash, peel, core, and slice apples into ½ inch cubes

• Place ¼ cup of apple cubes in the SteamBowl

• Place the SteamBowl in a pan or saucepan with water 

• Cover and steam approx. 3-5 minutes, until soft

• Allow apple to cool then mash thoroughly with a fork

• Thin with water, breast milk, or water as desired

By having baby’s introduction to solid foods include fruits and vegetables they begin to develop preferences for healthy foods, benefit from the nutritional content, and fresh fruits even help to prevent constipation. After introduction to solid foods, the next step on your baby’s foodie journey is self-feeding. 

Self-feeding is a huge milestone for babies in their development. They further their fine-motor skills needed to feed themselves, developing both muscle strength and coordination. When a baby is in charge of feeding themselves, they begin to respond to their body’s hunger and fullness cues. Between eight and twelve months a baby can begin using their hands to feed themselves, by thirteen to fifteen months they can begin using utensils, and by eighteen months, babies use utensils more consistently. 

When baby is ready to begin using utensils, a great tool is the Olababy Training Spoon. Designed to promote self-feeding, the Training Spoon is designed to fit in baby’s hand, scoops food at any angle, and even doubles as a teether for gum relief. Great first foods for baby to experiment using utensils include pudding and mashed potatoes. The Training Spoon helps baby to master scooping, cutting, and slicing with utensils. 

As baby continues their foodie journey into their toddler years, they will soon exclusively eat solid food, master dining with utensils, develop food preferences, and begin making their own food choices. Healthy habits start early, so here are some final tips for when baby is ready to join the dinner table. 

• Model good food choices, make sure to eat your veggies in front of baby 

• Offer baby a variety of healthy choices and let them choose what to eat

• Be patient, babies and toddlers are notoriously messy eaters 

• Focus on eating meals together as a family

• Allow amble time for baby to eat 

This post is sponsored by Olababy