We started with steamed broccoli stems and mashed potatoes mounded up in front of Sierra on her Bumbo tray. (We skipped cereals - it's hard for the young digestive systems of babies to process cereals without discomfort. Also, I learned that purees are mainly for 4 to 6 month olds with pediatrician OK and that a 6 mo old can handle all types of finger foods with their incredible gag reflex - even without teeth!)
The approach is called baby-led weaning. I call it "Finger Foods From the Start." (I found out about it on Mamasource!)
Check out http://babyledweaning.blogware.com
It's a very informative and funny blog from a Scottish mom about her adventures with solid food.
There's a Y! group too. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/B-LW
"Baby-led weaning is an approach to the introduction of solid foods which involves babies from around six months of age feeding themselves with their fingers, thus avoiding the need for spoon-feeding and purees. Babies who are allowed to take control of their eating in this way seem to enjoy the process enormously and to become
less fussy eaters later. It's also less work for Mum! Join the group to share the experiences of those who are using (or have used) this method."
Sierra is the BEST eater. She's not picky at all and she even has multiple food allergies! She loves to try new things, especially if we say "oooh yummy (fill in food here)!"
Bottom line is that she is in control of what she eats and how much. On 2 occasions we tried to spoon feed her and she clamped her mouth shut each time. But when we placed finger foods in front of her for her to pick up she was much more happy and she actually ate her food!
I will be posting more food pics at our blog. (I'm way behind on our blog. Sierra just turned 15 mo and I'm posting 9 month entries!)
S.
Baby Sierra updates can be found at our Pregnancy and Birth Blog:
http://360.yahoo.com/ut96grad
Latest entry 7/1/08