10 Essential Items When Starting Solid Foods

Before your baby is ready to try solid foods, you’re going to need to get ready: with all the right gear! Unlike when you were breastfeeding or formula feeding, which really don’t need much more than your body or a bottle, feeding your baby solid foods requires a bit of set up and a few accessories. 

Whether you’re feeding your baby pureed baby food or you’re using Baby Led Weaning, all these items are must-haves.

Redeem your Free Baby Food Sample Box here!

The 10 Best Items for Feeding your Baby Solid Foods

1. HighChair

Your baby needs to be able to sit up to eat, and they need a chair that helps them stay upright and in one place, since they have a tendency to roam, which you don’t want while they’re covered in food eating. We like highchairs that are easy to clean, and it’s not a bad thing if they also look good next to the family table.

Here's one of our favorite HighChairs - the Tripp Trap Chair from Stokke. (via our affiliate link)

2. Bowls, Spoons, and Cups

Your baby will need a set of dishes that won’t break easily, since they are destined for the floor (and across the room) at some point. It’s also nice to have a set that fits a baby’s tiny hands, and that is soft enough not to hurt their mouth. 

These Baby feeding utensils from OXO are designed with a Baby's mouth in mind. (via our affiliate link)

Redeem your Free Newborn Sample Box here!

 3. Bibs

We warned you about the mess. Well, the mess is real, but the bibs help keep it to a minimum. At least you can feel you’ve made an effort to keep the baby clean with a bib. Bibs come in all colors and patterns, and some even have cute sayings stitched in. The cool ones have a crumb catcher at the bottom! You’ll need many bibs, in several sizes as the baby grows.

There are even specialty bibs that are ideal for Baby led Weaning, which are really more like an art smock. Full coverage means cleaner outfit underneath!

Take a look at these super cute bibs we found on OXO! (via our affiliate link)

4. Wipes and Washcloths

This is all part of cleaning up the mess we mentioned. Trust us: every time you feed your baby, you should have wipes and/or washcloths on standby. We recommend washcloths when at home and wipes when you’re on the go, but feel free to use washcloths all the time. Buy them in bulk.

Try these Bamboo Washcloths via Amazon.

5. Blender

It’s very easy to make your own pureed baby food, as long as you have a good blender on hand. You’ll want one that really liquefies the food, which you’ll need to boil or steam ahead of time. If you’re on a roll and make a big batch, you can freeze it up to use later on.

This is our favorite blender of all time: The Vitamix. (via our affiliate link)

6. Food Mill

If you’re making your own baby food at home, the Food Mill will come in very handy. You’ll use it to grind up foods that don’t easily blend, like meats. The resulting texture will be chunkier than a smooth puree, which is also helpful at the next stage of development when babies are ready to chew more.

Try this Food Mill we found!  (via our affiliate link)

7. Ice cube trays or food freezing trays

Once you’ve done the work to make a big batch of pureed or food-milled baby food, it’s time to freeze it up and store for later on. But don’t make the mistake of freezing it all at once: the pro is to freeze in meal-sized units for easy thawing and heating. And remember – these are Baby Meals we’re talking about. An ice cube-sized serving is probably all your baby will want. 

These silicone freezing trays are terrific! (via our affiliate link)  

8. Splat Mats

If you hate cleaning up a baby food mess as much as we do, you’ll love splat mats, designed to catch all the food that misses the highchair and winds up on the floor. The splat mat keeps the floor clean and can be thrown in the wash.

Check out this super cute Splat Mat. (via our affiliate link)

9. Robot Vacuum

Look, messes are going to happen, we've established that. But cleaning is not our favorite thing, so anything that helps us have a clean floor is OK in our book. And why not have a tiny machine humming around taking care of the mess all day? 

This Robot Vacuum is also a mop, which is super handy! (via our affiliate link)

10. Food Crimpers/Sandwich Cutters

When your baby can eat bigger pieces of food, you may want to make mini sandwiches for them, which is perfect for having a family picnic! The key step is to use one of these “crimpers,” or cutters, to seal the edges and make sure the filling stays inside the bread. Plus it makes some of the cutest sandwiches you’ve ever seen. Or eaten!

Try this Sandwich Cutter we found. (via our affiliate link)                                                                                                                                                     

Along with all this gear, know that you’re also going to need extra sets of clothing for both you and your baby, some patience, and a willingness to clean up messes. Often. Feeding your baby, or letting them feed themselves is another step on the journey of Parenthood, and we hope you have fun!

Interested in Baby Led Weaning? Read our article to get the scoop.

 

  

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