Stephanie has already told you about Baby Led Weaning.  Like her, I had never heard of BLW.  I was too scared to try chunks of fruits, veggies and meat with my guys.  They didn't even have teeth!  (Still don't at 10 months, but that's another post.)  I decided to follow tradition, sort of.

Many people will tell you your baby has to have rice cereal as his/her first food.  Others will tell you that adding rice to the last bottle of the night will help your child sleep through the night at an earlier age.  Both of my boys had rice cereal added to their bottles early on for reflux.  I can assure that it did NOT help them sleep through the night.  (Yet another post.)  Since rice cereal wasn't "new" to them, we didn't use it as our first spoon-fed food.

After doing lots of research, I decided that I would make food for the boys.  I enjoy cooking.  I could save quite a bit of money.  And, I would know exactly what was going into their bodies.  The best website I've found for moms that want to make their own baby food is Wholesome Baby Food.  I've used this site to guide my introduction of new foods to the boys.  They have great recipes, allergy alerts and storage tips.  

One of the biggest questions for all babies, not just preemies, is "When is my baby ready for solids?"  The answer to this varies from child to child.  I have one child that loves ALL food and will eat anything I put in front of him.  He will eat with a spoon or self-feed now that he's older.  He will grunt and fuss if I'm taking too long between bites or getting his food ready to eat.  His brother, on the other hand may be the pickiest eater ever.  He enjoys only a few foods.  He thinks the spoon is a torture device.  And he enjoys blowing raspberries just as I sneak in a bite of applesauce or peaches.  

Things to consider when deciding when to start solids: