We started feeding Sophie solids when she was about 5 months old (and by "started" I really mean we gave her 1/4 of a teaspoon of avocado one time). I was excited and really nervous to start solids--I love food and looked forward to sitting at the table with her to eat, but the thought of allergies and choking really freaked me out. 

Before we had a baby I really wanted to do baby led weaning, so we gave her little bits of avocado and banana for a few weeks until she got used to chewing. She would occasionally get too much and gag, which is normal, but having that be our first experience with food really freaked me out and I decided to introduce some purees instead. One of the most liberating things I've learned so far as a parent is that almost nothing has to be all or nothing (whether it's BLW and purees or cloth diapering or formula and breastfeeding or a nanny or daycare)--you can come up with a combination that works for you and your family.

I really don't have any wisdom or expertise regarding starting solids, I just know that I felt more nervous than excited about it, so I read a lot and really enjoyed hearing other people's experiences about what foods they did first, how they prepared them, etc. So I wanted to put together a post with our experience so far! Sophie is a great eater and really seems to like everything we've given her so far. Sometimes it takes a few days for her to decide she likes something (I had to mix shredded chicken with strawberries a couple times before she'd eat it by itself), but she enjoys eating and has already gotten pretty good at feeding herself.

Foods We've Tried So Far:

• Avocado
• Banana
• Sweet potato
• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Zucchini  
• Squash
• Eggs
• Plums
• Apples
• Watermelon
• White beans
• Mango
• Peanut butter
• Yogurt (whole milk, no sugar added)
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Chicken
• PUFFS! She loves them and man are they easy. (We get these ones.)

Preparations:

• I serve almost all of these foods steamed or lightly boiled--I just simmer a couple inches of water in a small pot and cook for 8-10 minutes, then puree it in our blender. 
  • Now that she's gotten the hang of chewing and swallowing, I chop, dice, or smash the food instead of pureeing it, and instead of feeding it to her on a spoon I put it down on the tray for her. Sweet potatoes get sliced into long thin pieces so she can easily grab them, and I just smash blueberries with my fingers before I hand them over. 
• I thin peanut butter out with about half an ounce of breastmilk, but you could use formula or water. I just didn't want it to be too thick for her to swallow--the handout our doctor gave us mentioned that peanut butter could be a choking hazard if it's not thinned out.
• We've used cinnamon (on sweet potatoes and in a white bean puree) and lime juice (on avocados) so far for seasoning, but we haven't gotten too into other herbs or spices yet. You'll read that they shouldn't have salt yet, so her food is pretty bland.
• I was making all of my own purees before we moved in the middle of July and then I started buying the pouches from the grocery store and I love having a few in our bag that we can use in a pinch. She's not really eating purees anymore but I think I'll keep a few on hand for travel and days when I'm feeling lazy. It's weird having to cook for her after being able to feed her exclusively with my boobs for months and months, but I do love it.

Foods I Want to Try Next:

• Fish
• Beef
• More beans
• Pasta
• Toast
• Rice
• Cottage cheese
• Tofu
• More, different fruits and veggies--any suggestions?
• Eggs (again)
  • She ate eggs for almost a month with no problems, then one day she threw up pretty violently about 4 hours after having them. The next day the same thing happened, so I waited a week and tried again. Sure enough about 4-6 hours later she was puking again. We took her to the pediatrician and he said to wait a few more weeks, even a month, and try again. That was a month ago and I still haven't gathered the courage to try again. Lots of people wrote to me when I shared about it on Instagram and said their babies couldn't tolerate eggs until they were about a year and a half--has anyone else had that experience? I want to try again one more time before her 9 month check-up because our doctor said we could talk to an allergist if they're still making her sick.

Products We're Loving:

• I use these bowls and lids when I'm putting together meals for Sophie (then I take a little at a time and put it on her tray).
• This silicone ice cube mold was perfect when we were doing purees. You can also use it for freezing smaller amounts of breastmilk!
• I've had these jars forever but I like them a lot for storing Sophie's food after I've cooked it. I also can't get enough of these reusable bags.

Like I said, I'm no expert but I do think taking it slow and introducing foods at your own pace is key to making the experience a good one. We never push food on Sophie and I remind myself constantly that breastmilk is still her main source of nourishment for a few more months. Food before one is just for fun, as they say, and I think that can definitely be true. I love food so much so I have been really enjoying sitting down with her a few times a day and enjoying a snack together.

I think that's all for now, let me know if you have any questions! Thanks to everyone who submitted a question on Instagram, I answered all of those on Wednesday night (I never know if I should keep highlights or not for Stories--if you have an opinion one way or the other let me know! It's easy enough to save them so you can go back and view them again later.)

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Dear Sophie,

You're going to be 9 months old in a few weeks! You've almost been in the world as long as you were in my body, and I've gotta say as much as I enjoyed experiencing pregnancy, having you here with us is 500% better. You are the light of our lives.

You started standing up a couple months ago and I really feel like you might be an early walker. You are so active and funny and only cuddle when you're really sleepy, so from the minute you wake up we're all over the place, following you around as you explore every inch of our house.

The other day you fell and smacked your little face on the coffee table and my heart completely broke--I always hated the cheesy saying "having a child is having your heart outside of your body" or whatever it is they say, but it's true. You cried and I scooped you up and nursed you until you felt better and then you gave us a huge smile--you are so brave and smart and sweet and I still go to bed every night looking at photos of you that I took that day, showing them to your dad and reveling in the fact that you're our daughter.

Lately I've been thinking so much about work and motherhood and cooking and our future and all the things I want to do but haven't found the time for yet. I want you to look back on your childhood with a smile, and feel so incredibly loved by us every single day; and I also hope that you'll grow up and be proud of me. Maybe that's silly, but it's true.

What I know for sure is that I'm proud of you--already, and every single day.

xoxo Mama

When we were expecting Sophie, I waited quite a while before starting a baby registry. It felt really overwhelming to me--I didn't know what I needed, so asking people for specific items seemed kind of impossible. I spent a lot of time reading blog posts about what essential baby stuff they stuck to (at the time we were in a smaller townhouse and we weren't sure if we were going to move or not), and I liked the idea of keeping it simple. We were also traveling from California to Virginia for our baby shower, and I wasn't sure how it would be to ship a bunch of stuff back.

We already had a crib (this one, which we found used and lucked out because they threw in the changing table as well), and I knew that at the least, we would also need a car seat, diapers, and a few things for her to wear. Once I started thinking about everything else as bonus items that would make our lives easier, but weren't 100% necessary, it took the pressure off and I was able to have a little fun with our baby registry.

Before I get started I'll first say that we used Babylist to build our registry, which I really liked because you can pick items from any website and not be limited to a specific store. Here are the things we registered for and use all the time (I included more information about each item below):

• We registered for this UppaBaby carseat and Rob's parents were generous enough to buy it for us, and then we personally bought this stroller which we're obsessed with (not pictured above). It was definitely a splurge, so we didn't add it to our registry (It's a personal preference but I felt pretty uncomfortable registering for anything over $300). We do really love it though, and we use it all the time. I like that it comes with a bassinet and a seat but you can also use the Mesa car seat--having options are always great, especially if you got to where you're going and the baby fell asleep in the car. It also works as a double stroller, so we were confident buying it knowing that it was going to last us a long time and get a lot of use in the future as well.

• Carter's onesies are my favorite. I don't like a ton of prints or colors so I like that they're pretty basic. For those first few months we spent a lot of time at home and if Sophie was even wearing any clothes, it was most likely a Carter's onesie. We got a lot of short sleeved ones and quite a few long sleeved ones as well.

• I'm a huge fan of Doddle & Co.--I was lucky enough to spend some time with Nicki Radzely a few years ago at Alt Summit when she was still working on getting the company started and I was still a few years away from having kids, but I kept them in mind and they were kind enough to send us a few pacifiers after Sophie was born.

• I've talked about my love of this nursing pillow before, so I'll just leave a link to it here for you again. We still use it every day.

• I lusted after this diaper bag for weeks and couldn't ever seem to buy it before it sold out. I love that it can be worn as a backpack and is neutral enough that Rob can wear it without feeling like he's dragging a purse around. It also fits a ton of stuff and I just think it's really a beautiful bag.

• We use this baby wash every night at bath time and it's been great.

• I definitely registered for a few cute things that weren't necessities, and these moccasins went on the list as soon as we found out we were having a girl. They are so cute and they stay on really well and I love them.

• Love this tub, it's perfect for those first few months where they're so tiny. It also takes up no room at all and is great to travel with, you just fold it in half and throw it in your suitcase.

• We got these little sweatpants in a few different colors--they were soft and cute and went with all of our onesies.

• My friend Paige recommended this play mat and it was so great--they can lie on their back under it and look up, and you can move the arch down to the ground so they can look at all the little toys during tummy time. We still have it in our nursery and Sophie plays with it every day. I'm all about stuff that transitions well and can be used for a longer period of time, so this has been perfect for us.

• I wasn't sure we needed a DockATot but I registered for it anyway because I'm a sucker and saw a lot of them on Instagram. Rob's coworkers threw him a shower and surprised us with one and we did end up using it a lot. Now that she is so mobile we don't use it anymore, but it was nice to put in bed and hang out with her in the mornings when we were too tired to get up. I also used to put her in it on the couch and fold laundry or work on my laptop.

• We used these bottles almost exclusively for a good six months (now we use them in addition to the ones that come with my breast pumps). Sometimes they leak if they fall over but overall I really liked them.

• We use this drying rack for bottles and pump parts and it doesn't take up too much space and it's also not completely hideous, which I think is all you can ask for in an item like this.

• I randomly registered for this milk storage collection even though I don't have a Medela pump, so that's kind of weird, but I do like the bottles and the little caddy you can put in your refrigerator. I still use it to store milk so I'd recommend it, especially if you have a pump that goes with it. I didn't love their bags so I switched to these Lansinoh ones once we used them up.

• Another cutesy thing: these bows are really adorable. They're soft and slightly oversized--Sophie doesn't wear a ton of bows but she does have a green one and it's really sweet.

• I love these hats for fall and winter. Basically if it's a hood or a hat, it should have little bear ears. (That's the rule in our house, at least.)

• We used these swaddles when we brought Sophie home from the hospital. I didn't like the idea of swaddling her with a blanket (mostly because I could never figure out how to do it), so I opted for anything with velcro.

• We also registered for a couple baby carriers: a Solly wrap and one from ErgoBaby. Wraps/baby carriers ended up being a thing we used more than I thought we would. Other than the ones we registered for, we also have the Boppy one I wrote about here, which I use the most. If I had to choose only one, I think I'd go with the ErgoBaby because it's easily adjustable, so Rob and I are able to both use it without much fuss.

Well, that's quite a list! Baby stuff does seem to multiply and take over your house pretty quickly. I didn't register for many one-use things or specialty items like a bottle warmer or sanitizer, baby food maker, etc. If I could do it with something I already had, then I kept it off the registry. We also didn't buy hardly anything for her until we brought her home from the hospital. That sounds weird but it was easier for us to spend time with her and get into a routine and then figure out what we needed to make it easier. There's really not much that we bought or received but haven't used, and I think it's because we did our best to stick to the basics until other things we needed presented themselves.

I hope this post helped! I'd love to hear what baby items you registered for and loved, or if you got something you thought you needed and then never actually used it. Let us know!

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