Introducing solid foods to your baby can be a little overwhelming with so much information from websites/books and family/friends. It can even cause confusion when one person is telling you to start solids at 4 months, and another person is telling you to start at 6. To this day, my parents are still on our case that we introduced solid foods “too late” to Luna because she is a “picky eater.” *rolls eyes* hahaha I hope my mom doesn’t ready this, or else I’m going to get la chancelta thrown at me hahahaha.

Anyways, below are some helpful tips for introducing solid foods to your baby. Please note that it is recommended to wait until 6 months to introduce solid food.

Know the Signs

I breastfed Luna exclusively for the first seven months, and am still going strong at 19 months with appropriate complementary feeding. I started introducing solids to her as soon as noticed that she was interested in our food. She would try and reach for our food, or open her mouth when she saw us eating. Your baby may be ready for the transition to solid foods when you see the following signs:  holding their heads up and sitting upright in their high chair or seat, opening their mouths proactively for food when it is offered and turning away when they don’t care for it, and closing their lips over a spoon when its offered, keeping food in their mouth and swallowing.

Take Baby Steps

Introducing solid food to your baby is exciting, but remember to take baby steps. It’s best to to take a slow and steady approach to introducing new foods. The first solid food that Luna tried was a banana, and she didn’t like it. I tried it again another day, and she still didn’t like it. A year later I am still trying to get her to eat banana and she just wont budge, hahaha. She’ll have a bit, chew and then spit it out! And I’ve tried giving it to her different ways; whole, sliced, diced, mushed and even frozen…nada. We tried beans next, and she LOVED them, any kind of beans: chick, pinto, white, turtle, kidney, she’ll take it! PHEW.Always introduce new foods when your baby is happy and hungry to ensure a great first impression. Also, offer single foods first before offering blends of flavours. If your little one doesn’t like something, try it again another day.

Lead by Example

We always try to have our meals together as a family, especially dinner. I find that Luna eats best when she is served the same food as “the adults” (in a form they can eat) since she likes to pick from our plates. Even though she may not always eat everything on her plate, it is important for us (and her) to still serve her a plate of food at the table so that she learns healthy eating habits. From healthy dinner favourites like roasted chicken and veggies, to sweet treats like abuelita’s famous banana bread, Luna eats the same meals we do. With baby food like PC® Organics food pouch your baby can easily enjoy the same nutritious food your family does. Remember that your baby learns to eat by watching you, so lead by example and never turn your nose up at a new food in front of your child since they may notice and mimic the behaviour.

Unplug During Meal Times

In our home, we try hard to not have any electronics on during our meal time. I know it can be really hard, especially when there is a new episode of Survivor, This Hour Has 22 Minutes or Rick Mercer, so we are guilty of having our TV on during dinner sometimes. But, we are a little stricter when it comes to tablets and cell phone during meal time, they are not brought to the table, so that we don’t have ANY distractions. Focusing on your meal will teach your baby that meal time is important. Remember, families that eat together, eat healthier.

Introduce Iron-Rich Foods First

At around six months of age, the iron stores that babies are born with begin to decline and they need iron-rich foods to meet the nutrient needs of their fast growing bodies. Luna loves to eat salmon, eggs, beans which are iron-rich foods. I also like making her smoothie popsicles with iron-rich veggies and vitamin C, to help her absorb the iron. It is common in Canada that  iron-fortified infant cereals like PC® Organics Mixed Grains baby cereal is the first solid food introduced to baby.

Spice Things Up

Plain food can get boring, at least for us. Gabriel and I love that extra flavour, we’ve always cooked with a mix of herbs and spices, so it’s no wonder why Luna loves it too. Obviously, if something has a little bit of a kick, we reduce it for Luna. She loves butter chicken. Gabriel is a salty man, he loves to put it on everything, even when it doesn’t need it, so I have been working with him to limit the amount he adds when he is cooking, since it is unhealthy for our baby’s diet. I suggest he adds fresh or dried herbs and spices to switch flavours up. I also don’t have a salt shaker in my house, lol..and if he wants to add salt to his food, he has to take his plate to the kitchen and manually grind the salt crystals there. Try spicing up PC® Organics Strained Unsweetened Applesauce with a small pinch of cinnamon, yumm!

Stay Hydrated

We started giving Luna water at six months, she would drink small amounts from our cups. Water helps ease digestion, reduce tooth decay and prevents dehydration. We would offer her water during the day, especially during meals. She loves carrying her water bottle around and a meal time drinks from her own cup.

It can be difficult to know when to transition your little one to solid food while ensuring they get the nutrients they need. With so many conflicting resources available, it can also be challenging to know who to listen to. While you always want to ensure your baby is reaching each eating milestone, you also want to ensure his or her individual needs are being met. Your local Loblaws® Registered Dietitian is a great place to start to discuss your specific questions and  concerns. A Loblaws® Registered Dietitian is available in Loblaws® stores in BC, they can field your specific questions and provide you with professional advice you can trust. You can find your closest Loblaws® Registered Dietitian here.

Now that you have read a little bit about our experience of introducing solid foods to Luna and some of our tips, I would love to know at how many months did you introduce solid foods to your baby? And do you have any tips to add to the list?

Disclaimer: This is part of a sponsored collaboration with DiMe Media and Pampers. All opinions are 100% mine.

Pampers believes that even though babies are little, they are powerful agents of change. Babies have a profound impact on our lives and on the world. When a baby comes into your life, you want to be a better person for that baby. Babies bring out the best in each of us. They make our lives better. And that’s why there’s nothing each of us wouldn’t do to make life better for babies.

From the very beginning, as in the day Gabriel and I found out that we were going to be blessed with our first child, we knew we were going to have to improve some things in our lives- and make it a lifestyle. For example, before finding out I was pregnant, we would rarely have breakfast, or balanced meals. And the day we found out I was pregnant, we took a pledge that we would NEVER skip breakfast again! We also promised each other that we would eat healthy, and not skip meals.

We did this because it was important for us to have a healthy lifestyle, especially for when our baby would be born. So we could lead by example and show her healthy eating habits.

There are a couple other things we did in order to prepare ourselves for our baby, like enrolling in a first-aid course, and doing yoga and meditation together. I didn’t expect  us to change much more, but  when our Little Moon blessed us with her presence out here, we did. Gabriel and I grew so much, as individuals, partners, family, and global citizens. I’ve learned to be patient, to multi-task, and be more involved in our community. We are eager to continue learning, exploring and sharing this beautiful journey with her.

And we continue to strive to be the best version of ourselves because Little Moon brings out the best of us. There’s nothing each of us wouldn’t do to make life #BetterForBaby. Pampers believes that babies bring out the best in all of us. Pampers has unveiled a new video – The Pampers Better for Baby video– to celebrate the many ways babies bring out the best in all of us.

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No teething experience is the same, every child is different. From when teeth emerge to the symptoms they have, and that’s totally normal. For example, one of our little friends is just breaking a tooth in at 13 months, and our Little Moon now has 7 teeth and 4 molars emerging, OUCH! Symptoms of teething can be short, or linger around for some time. And some of these teething symptoms include, but are not limited to drooling, biting/chewing on everything , difficulty sleeping, lower appetite, and irritability.

When I notice a couple of these symptoms together, I know that my Little Moon is teething and I quickly offer remedies to  treat the discomfort. When we are home, I will usually give her a couple teething tablets, frozen fruit,veggies to chew on. But there are times where we are out and about and I don’t have any homeopathic teething tablets or frozen goodies for her to chew on, and thankfully I have been wearing my Tiny Teethers, silicone teething necklace, phew!

Tiny Teethers, silicone necklace has now become one of my favourite accessories because it’s not only fashionable, but functional! Before, I would tuck my necklace into my shirt because I didn’t want to worry about Little Moon putting it into her mouth, tug it so hard she would brake it. Or, I would just opt-out of wearing a necklace, it was so much easier. But since discovering Tiny Teethers, silicone teething necklaces I have been wearing a necklace almost daily, especially when we are going out.

Tiny Teethers are teething necklaces that look good on mom and are safe for babies to chew or suck on, a win-win for both parties! 🙂 Tiny Teethers are made of solicone, the same material used for pacifiers and bottle nipples. They are free of BPA, Lead, cadmium and pthalates.

Luna loves to teeth on my Tiny Teethers necklace while she is in her carrier or sitting in my lap. She also loves to play with it while nursing (sensory tool). I’ve also been able to use it at restaurants when she is being fussy, I will snap it off and put it on the high chair so she can play/teeth on it. I also really like that it is super easy to clean, simply wash with soap and water.

Tiny Teethers offers affordable, on-trend styles and colours while being completely safe for baby to touch, tug and teethe on. I love my ivory Tiny Teether silicone necklace, the colour and simplicity of the round beads allows for this necklace to match well with any outfit. So I never have to think twice, I just grab it, put it on and voila 😉 Looks great.

This is a sponsored campaign in collaboration with JOHNSON’S® and Latina Bloggers Connect. However, all opinions expressed are my own.

Una de las primeras memorias que tengo de mi niñez es viendo como mi mama nos cuidaba y particularmente como me enseñaba e enculcaba el cuidado de mis hermanos, pues yo soy la hija mas grande. Y una de mis responsabildades como big sister era jugar con ellos y cuidarlos. Ya cuando crecimos, y era una teenager ya no nesitaban de mi cuidado, y empeze a trabajar como niñera. En donde pude poner en practica todo lo que habia aprendido de mi experiencia anterior.

Pero nada de eso se compara cuando tienes tus propios hijos. Ningun libro que lei durante mi embarazo logro describir la sensacion que te regala las carias de tu bebe. La manera primordial y maternal de comunicacion entre un bebe y su mama, que empieza desde el vientre. Yo me recuerdo de la primera vez que senti a mi pequeña Luna moverse en mi vientre, fue algo fuera de este mundo al sentir que una vida crecia en mi. Durante mi embarazo, le hable mucho a mi bebe y solo sentia buenas vibras. De hecho, el primer estimulo sensorial del bebe empieza con el tacto mientras se encuentra en el vientre.

Otra de mis primeras memorias con mi hija, fue el momento que nacio y mis parteras me la pusieron en mi pecho, piel-con-piel. Time was at a stand-still, no podia quitar mis ojos de este hermoso regalo de Dios, mi hija. El contacto piel-con-piel de 25-120 minutos post parto, puede afectar positivamente las interacciones entre mam y bebe un año mas tarde.

Yo siempre e sido una persona cariñosa, so ni se diga con mi hija hehehe. Durante nuestras rutinas diarias siempre estamos jugando peek-a-boo, cantando, bailando y explorando cosas nuevas, como texturas y olores.  Nos gusta tambien aprovechar bath time, para estimular su sentidos de olfato y tacto (oliendo y jugando con los bubbles), the brain’s process for learning is enhanced when multiple senses are stimulated versus just using one. Despues de su baño la secamos bien y hacemos un masajito con asiete de lavender, para que se relaje y este lista para dormir. Research has revealed routine touch and massage by a parent or loving caregiver is critical to baby’s growth and development, communication and learning.

Una de nuestras actividades favoritas al momento es caminar en nuestro jardin y oler la variedad de flores y hierbas que tenemos. Como el sage, lavender, rosas y hay las cuales tambien nos gusta probar, despues de oler, como la menta y licorice. Sabias que el olfato es el sentido numero 1 vinculado con la memoria? Yo tengo olores que me traen muchos recuerdos de mi niñez, y asi seguira toda la vida.

Recuerda que no solo es muy importante expresar nuestro amor  palabras, pero con caricias tambien. Son estas caricias las que estimulan el cerebro de tu bebe y juegan un papel muy importante en un desarollo saludable. By age three, 85% of a baby’s brain is developed, so it’s important to engage with your child from the first moments of his or her life

https://bit.ly/JohnsonsTouchYT