“Open up. Here comes the airplane. Zoom! Zoom!” We’ve all played that game with our children. Now that a bottle is not enough for baby, the doctor will tell you that you can add a bit of solid food like cereal, fruit or veggies to their meal to fill them up. Using a small coated spoon, scoop up some cereal and touch the spoon to their lips. If they open up to accept it, baby is ready to have solid foods. Now the fun begins.

When my son could sit up on his own, I fed him from a high chair. He liked the freedom of being able to look around. A few times I made the mistake of leaving the bowl of cereal or strained fruit on the tray while I answered the telephone. Imagine the mess I found when I got back. Sometimes he would smack the bowl and more food ended up on me than in him. Keep a wet dishcloth handy.

Picture Ideas:

Feeding time is always fun time when baby starts on solid food. Buy yourself an apron if you don’t already own one. Mommy and daddy should take turns feeding and photographing baby.

Don’t forget to snap a picture of baby’s messy face and your messy apron. Every time you introduce a new food into baby’s diet, take a picture to capture the faces he makes.

Scrapbooking Ideas:

Find cute stickers and foam decorations of fruits and vegetables to use for your scrapbook page. Try to find scrapbook paper with a bib design. Glue the food randomly around the page.

Crop your pictures in the shape of the food baby is eating in the picture: a box of cereal, peaches, pears, sweet potatoes, etc.

Baby has moved on to solid foods. Now it’s time for teeth!