Our Co-Founders loved Le Purée during their journey into introducing solids to their little boy Nash. As busy parents running a business, Le Purée's nutrient packed, whole food based meals were a go-to for Nash.

We chatted with Jessica from Le Purée on encouraging solids, baby led weaning and navigating allergens. Jessica is an Accredited Practising Dietitian with many years of experience in treating chronic conditions through evidence based guidelines. Jess is a passionate foodie, and mum to two happy recipe testers- meaning that food is a constant source of joy and health (and mess)!

How to know when to introduce solids?

When starting solids, it’s essential to make sure that babies have head and neck control. 

If they’re sitting up and watching you when you eat, and reaching for your meal, they’re starting to learn what a spoon is and the process of feeding themselves! If their hunger seems to be skyrocketing, and milk feeds aren’t cutting it- that’s a clue that solids might be needed. 

Check out this post for more info!

Tips to encourage your baby to eat solids/what to do if they aren’t interested?

Some babies aren’t interested in starting solids, because a milk feed is a path of least resistance, so why would they bother?

It’s important to note that iron requirements in bubs skyrocket around 6 months, so solids are required for iron sources. If they’re not interested, the key is to offer when hungry (before milk feeds, not after), space out timings so they start to learn that food won’t be available on demand, and to keep food on the menu- even if they’re rejecting it. Being consistent in your messaging will get through to them!

How to navigate top allergenic foods?

The top allergenic foods can be daunting to introduce, but the guidelines tell us that exposure before 12 months is important to try and limit allergic reactions in our babies. Introducing allergens with a teeny, tiny portion (½ tsp), and one at a time- means that you can act quickly if a reaction does occur. The best time to do this is during daytime hours (think breakfast or lunch meals), so you have plenty of support if required!

Make sure that allergens aren’t choking hazards (e.g. nuts- we’d recommend using a nut paste) or even better- using this brilliant allergen introduction bundle, which includes all of the allergens in powder format- from our good friends at Taste Bubs! This pack allows you to introduce each allergen safely, with guidance from paediatricians!

How to best introduce baby led weaning?

An increasingly popular approach to starting solid foods, baby-led weaning involves jumping straight to finger foods and bypassing purees. Making sure that babies can support their own head and neck, and have supported feet are crucial for their setup. Placing foods which ‘smush’ easily in their hands allows them to explore, play and sample the foods by taking them to their own mouth. 

Le Puree’s range of finger foods allows for exploration, whilst ensuring the highest nutritional content with carefully considered ingredients for baby's age and stage!

How to best transition from puree to finger foods?

Feeding puree encourages babies to use a spoon, to track food coming from the bowl to their mouth and it is the safest food to start with- in that it contains no lumps or chunks as potential choking hazards. 

Transitioning into finger foods gives babies the independence to explore and self feed, so the hardest part as a parent is to step back and watch (carefully). Offering a few soft, ‘smush-able’ foods before they have their puree meal, means they’ll potentially try a few pieces while they’re hungry (rather than waiting until after the puree when they’re full!)

Slowly increase the ratio of finger food to puree as babies seem ready to assert the independence of self feeding!

Check out this post for more info!