Starting solids

Try a baby feeder, they help introduce new flavours without the fear of choking, great for teething as well.” – Monique

Mix pear puree with the rice cereal when first introducing solids, this will help avoid the horrible month of constipation.” – Amy

Don’t worry if more comes out then what stays in when beginning, it’s about sensations and taste, not nutrition when you start.” – Melinda

Invest in a good blender, it will be worth the money.” – Abbe

Avoid favouring certain foods over others just because you don’t like it. Your baby will have very different tastes to you.” – Allie

Storage Ideas

Buy those baby food freezer trays and do a monthly cook-up to get a great stockpile of food in the freezer.” – Poppy

Fussy Eating

If your baby will eat fruit purees but not savory, try carrot as it is a sweet flavored vegetable when cooked.” – Melinda

Sometimes it easier to put more on your plate, then trying to get them to eat of theirs.” – Melinda

Try and eat meals as a family, or at least one meal together to encourage good eating habits.” – Zoe

From about 10 months + let bub hold a spoon too while you feed them, this acts as a distraction and also encourages them to eat more.” – Kara

Praise, praise, praise!” – Kara

Try and use food objects such as bowls and spoons to distract your baby, rather than turning on the TV. The phase will pass and you don’t want to be left with a bad TV-while-eating habit.” – Allie

Once your baby decides to feed themselves, rotate 2-3 spoons heaped with food. Load and put on tray, load and put on tray… get ready for food explosion around the house but they are learning independence.” – Kara

Avoid having too much food on the plate or highchair tray, often bub will get overwhelmed and ditch the lot over the side.” – Claire

If you are worried about a toddlers vegetable intake start grating zucchini and carrot and adding them to other dishes, also a honey glaze is another great way to get toddlers to eat vegetables.” – Melinda

If bub won’t eat a new flavour, try dipping the end of the spoon into an old faithful and then slowly dipping less and less to adjust to the new taste.” – Carla

Good To Know

Once I introduced meat to my 7 month old he started sleeping through the night.” – Debbie

Freeze purees in ice-cubes and place in the fruit feeder for bub to suck on. Great for introducing new flavours and doubles as a long lasting teether.” – Jody

Clean up highchair crumbs with your daily vacuum.” – Tall

If you make something too runny, thicken it with plain multigrain baby cereal.” – Mel

When using over ripe fruit in recipes like muffins you can reduce the amount of sugar you use.” – Sarah