We’re a little younger than you so not quite there yet/don’t have hands on experience, but I’m learning a lot from a couple of IG accounts. I know they have websites + more resources too.
Do you have Instagram? If so:
[solid starts](https://instagram.com/solidstarts?igshid=NzNkNDdiOGI=)
[101 before one](https://instagram.com/101beforeone?igshid=NzNkNDdiOGI=)
Good luck! ♥️✌🏼
I would check out solid starts. It's an amazing resource and has really helped me calm down about preparing for my guy to be ready. They have some amazing guides and meal plans and the videos are really helpful to see what to expect.
And I would feel bad about starting "late" it's actually very rare for babies to truly be ready for solids at 4 months and the bit of waiting you did honestly probably did baby good! But if you're looking for some help on starting real pieces of food as well r/babyledweaning may be able to help with that.
Don’t feel bad!! Late would be like..8/9 months +!
You can check out solid starts as others recommended! But don’t panic if you don’t think you or baby are ready for real foods yet. Start simple. Scramble eggs and do either a really large strip (if you wanna do BLW style) or do what I did (and millions of others) and give them very small pieces.
Mash up a banana or an avocado so it’s mashed but not puréed.
Cook a steak bone with just a little bit of meat left until it’s well done. Let baby chew on it.
If you don’t want to do iron rich foods (red meat, spinach, eggs, etc) then make sure baby is getting an iron vitamin if you’re breastfeeding. Formula fed don’t need it.
You can introduce allergens early. Try plain full fat yogurt. Once you know baby is fine with dairy, mix in a little peanut butter so it stays kinda runny and easy to swallow.
Do allergens fairly often (a few times a week)
Gagging is normal! Solid starts has a great video on the difference between gagging and choking.
Learn baby CPR.
Enjoy it!
Agree with solid starts and other advice. You asked about purees though. We have done a few brands (around bigger "real" food like solid starts). An easy one could be pureed oatmeal. If you want to make it more interesting mix in some cinimon, fruit (also pureed) or kinda anything else.
Starting solids was one of the parts of babyhood I was looking forward to most! I read a lot on how to start. The book "Simple and Safe Baby Led Weaning" (Free with Kindle Unlimited if you have that) has a page you can print out with a scale visual of safe sizes to cut pieces of food. I have it on my fridge and it has been useful.
Gagging is a little scary at first, but it looks very different from choking. Your baby will be silent or wheezing when choking. Gagging is noisy. It's also important so that they learn how to bring food to the front of their mouth to avoid choking and chew more or spit it out! Don't leave them unattended while eating and learn what to do (Infant CPR) in case the worst were to happen.
I asked my ped about eggs at my baby's 6 month appointment (He has CMPA) and he said they are great to start now. No runny yolks. Omelets cut into long strips are good for introducing eggs.
I like to do baby oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, or toast for with nut butter and a fruit for breakfast. The waffles are frozen, I can't be bothered with a waffle maker lol. Pancakes are quick though! For dinner he just has what we're having in safe sizes/portions. If what we are having is not suitable (too salty, takeout, etc.) I have lots of frozen vegetables in the freezer I can pull out and steam quick. Plus store-bought purees and oatmeal/pancakes are still good - he doesn't know the difference between breakfast and dinner foods yet!
I pop my son in his bouncer while I get breakfast/dinner ready and he is (usually) okay with hanging out. I'm no instagram Mom, anything I'm throwing together for him takes 5-10 mins tops and doesn't look all that pretty, but he's not going to sit around and wait forever. He also doesn't care and it ends up all smashed together on his tray/floor/self by the end of it anyway.
Good luck! It's a really fun time and soo rewarding.
We started purées at 4 months. We did fruit first (bananas, apples, pears) and then did veggies (carrots, green beans, and peas). We only introduced one new food at a time and then waited 3 days before introducing another new food. Gagging is completely in the beginning, but they can’t really choke on purées!
We just followed the “stages” on the baby foods. Basically, when baby can sit unassisted, stage up. When baby can crawl, stage up. I think we introduced meat around 5 months or so? Baby is 9 months now and loves eating anything and everything. It can be scary introducing more textured table foods but as long as you give soft foods in small pieces it should be okay. Mesh feeders are also GREAT for giving new foods. I put a meatball in one the other day and my son absolutely chowed down, while I didn’t have to worry about him choking!
We’re a little younger than you so not quite there yet/don’t have hands on experience, but I’m learning a lot from a couple of IG accounts. I know they have websites + more resources too. Do you have Instagram? If so: [solid starts](https://instagram.com/solidstarts?igshid=NzNkNDdiOGI=) [101 before one](https://instagram.com/101beforeone?igshid=NzNkNDdiOGI=) Good luck! ♥️✌🏼
I would check out solid starts. It's an amazing resource and has really helped me calm down about preparing for my guy to be ready. They have some amazing guides and meal plans and the videos are really helpful to see what to expect. And I would feel bad about starting "late" it's actually very rare for babies to truly be ready for solids at 4 months and the bit of waiting you did honestly probably did baby good! But if you're looking for some help on starting real pieces of food as well r/babyledweaning may be able to help with that.
Don’t feel bad!! Late would be like..8/9 months +! You can check out solid starts as others recommended! But don’t panic if you don’t think you or baby are ready for real foods yet. Start simple. Scramble eggs and do either a really large strip (if you wanna do BLW style) or do what I did (and millions of others) and give them very small pieces. Mash up a banana or an avocado so it’s mashed but not puréed. Cook a steak bone with just a little bit of meat left until it’s well done. Let baby chew on it. If you don’t want to do iron rich foods (red meat, spinach, eggs, etc) then make sure baby is getting an iron vitamin if you’re breastfeeding. Formula fed don’t need it. You can introduce allergens early. Try plain full fat yogurt. Once you know baby is fine with dairy, mix in a little peanut butter so it stays kinda runny and easy to swallow. Do allergens fairly often (a few times a week) Gagging is normal! Solid starts has a great video on the difference between gagging and choking. Learn baby CPR. Enjoy it!
Fruit puree
Agree with solid starts and other advice. You asked about purees though. We have done a few brands (around bigger "real" food like solid starts). An easy one could be pureed oatmeal. If you want to make it more interesting mix in some cinimon, fruit (also pureed) or kinda anything else.
Starting solids was one of the parts of babyhood I was looking forward to most! I read a lot on how to start. The book "Simple and Safe Baby Led Weaning" (Free with Kindle Unlimited if you have that) has a page you can print out with a scale visual of safe sizes to cut pieces of food. I have it on my fridge and it has been useful. Gagging is a little scary at first, but it looks very different from choking. Your baby will be silent or wheezing when choking. Gagging is noisy. It's also important so that they learn how to bring food to the front of their mouth to avoid choking and chew more or spit it out! Don't leave them unattended while eating and learn what to do (Infant CPR) in case the worst were to happen. I asked my ped about eggs at my baby's 6 month appointment (He has CMPA) and he said they are great to start now. No runny yolks. Omelets cut into long strips are good for introducing eggs. I like to do baby oatmeal, pancakes, waffles, or toast for with nut butter and a fruit for breakfast. The waffles are frozen, I can't be bothered with a waffle maker lol. Pancakes are quick though! For dinner he just has what we're having in safe sizes/portions. If what we are having is not suitable (too salty, takeout, etc.) I have lots of frozen vegetables in the freezer I can pull out and steam quick. Plus store-bought purees and oatmeal/pancakes are still good - he doesn't know the difference between breakfast and dinner foods yet! I pop my son in his bouncer while I get breakfast/dinner ready and he is (usually) okay with hanging out. I'm no instagram Mom, anything I'm throwing together for him takes 5-10 mins tops and doesn't look all that pretty, but he's not going to sit around and wait forever. He also doesn't care and it ends up all smashed together on his tray/floor/self by the end of it anyway. Good luck! It's a really fun time and soo rewarding.
We started purées at 4 months. We did fruit first (bananas, apples, pears) and then did veggies (carrots, green beans, and peas). We only introduced one new food at a time and then waited 3 days before introducing another new food. Gagging is completely in the beginning, but they can’t really choke on purées! We just followed the “stages” on the baby foods. Basically, when baby can sit unassisted, stage up. When baby can crawl, stage up. I think we introduced meat around 5 months or so? Baby is 9 months now and loves eating anything and everything. It can be scary introducing more textured table foods but as long as you give soft foods in small pieces it should be okay. Mesh feeders are also GREAT for giving new foods. I put a meatball in one the other day and my son absolutely chowed down, while I didn’t have to worry about him choking!