We are very excited to announce that Quinn has started down the road to eating solid food! After a lot of research, I have decided to skip purees altogether. The idea kept popping up in blogs that I follow. These two posts in particular put me over the edge. The book "Baby-Led Weaning" by Gill Rapley explains that this isn't a new concept, in fact it's very old. It's just that no one is talking about it these days. She gives some history, spells out practical details, and includes tons of stories and quotes from parents who are doing this. A lot of people are nervous about choking, but a six month old's gag reflex is really shallow so this method actual helps them learn what an appropriate sized bite is because they will just spit out pieces that are too big. 

The term "weaning" can be misleading, I'm not trying to get Quinn to give up milk anytime soon. The book is from the UK so the terminology is a little different from here. I'm going to keep offering her the same number of milk feedings as she's been having and as she is able to get food into her mouth and connect that to feeling full she'll request less milk. The first couple months are more about testing out different tastes and textures anyway since milk still provides all the nutrients she needs. I'm relieved to not be spending tons of time making purees just to have her spit it back out. The BLW approach is all about feeding your child the same food you are eating and having a fun social time at the dinner table. I'm sure this brings up many more questions and the book does a great job of answering all of them! You can check out the website or their forum for more information.

So, what does a six month old look like eating solid food? Well, I've got a video for you! We gave Quinn the options of broccoli, a scrambled egg yolk, and a sliced banana. Any guesses on which one she chose?

It was such a delight to have her at the table with us while we ate dinner. I'll try to keep posting updates, but I think this is going to work well for our family.