There are many ways to make the transition to solid foods, and one that has been gaining in popularity recently is baby-led weaning/feeding. (In the US, the word weaning usually refers to the end of breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. However, in other places, it simply means adding food other than milk or formula).
This method skips over the puree phase entirely, moving straight into "grown-up food". This can be nerve-wracking at first, especially as baby will gag a fair bit at the beginning. However, their gag reflex is triggered much further forward that an adult's, and this helps them learn how to safely maneuver the food in their mouth.
If you're looking ahead to this phase and interested in learning more or if you're in the midst of it and are looking for some inspiration, check out this book (with one caveat, mentioned below)!
It has many different recipes with ideas for every meal of the day. They are mostly relatively uncomplicated with generally accessible ingredients, and the pictures are enough to make your mouth water! The meals are geared towards infants, but many would suit the whole family. In fact, that's one of the appeals of baby-led feeding: not preparing different dishes for the same meal. I think this would be great as not only as a quick fix to get out of an inevitable cooking rut, but also to keep on hand as a reference long-term
My concern with this book is solely in regard to her introduction pages, and it is a concern I have with many people involved in the nutrition/recipe space. In many instances, "healthy" food becomes "good" food becomes "morally superior" food. There is an assumption that every reader is a Good Parent™ who not only would NEVER give their baby any added sugar before 1, but also cares enough to go above and beyond by only providing perfectly nutritious homemade meals and snacks. There is no wiggle room for the parent living in a food desert who doesn't have access to much unprocessed food. Or for the parent who lets their 11-month-old baby share in a sibling's birthday by having a tiny taste of cake. Or the chronically-ill parent who occasionally serves a less than balanced meal. Am I saying that infants should be eating Twinkies on the regular? No. What I am saying is that perfectionist, moralizing mindset is harmful to many, especially those with existing mental health or eating disorders.
One of my other favorite (free!) resources for this phase is Solid Starts. They have a website, app, and Instagram page focused on supporting families as they navigate this process. They include examples of gagging vs. choking, maintain a database of individual foods and suggestions for how to offer them at different ages, and show clips clarifying what the various readiness signs look like in different babies.
Check to see if your local library has a copy, or if you'd like to own your own copy, support independent bookstores as well as my community support by purchasing from my Bookshop Storefront!
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