Baby first food advice – BABYBJÖRN This is Life

Is your breast- or bottle-fed baby about to try baby first food? Some babies will give the restaurant of Mum and Dad rave reviews, while others can be much harder to please. Your milk-loving baby may be uninterested in baby first food and reluctant to even try something that tastes and feels so different!

Food your baby seems to love one day makes them cry inconsolably the next! Some days, your baby will turn their nose up at all the food you offer. So how can you tempt your baby’s appetite?

Baby first food doesn’t need to be plain and bland

We asked Mums and Dads on Facebook to share their top baby first food ideas and we got a great response. Here are 7 helpful tips from parents on getting your little one to like baby first food.

7 top tips for baby first food:

Let your baby watch while you cook 
“Our little one is six months old now and eats everything we give her – and everything we don’t give her if she can grab it. She loves watching us while we cook and we give her titbits of suitable baby first food. We also let her smell and touch the food as far as possible.”
Eat together at the table
“Our baby eats all kinds of baby first food and we’ve always made a point of him sitting with us at the table for every meal. He was allowed to taste our food and drink water from our glasses. He thought it was really exciting to see us gulp drinks and chew food! So our tip is: always let your baby sit with you at the table.”
Let your baby explore food – but keep an extra spoon handy
“Let your baby eat and explore baby first food any way they like, with their hands or a spoon. Keep an extra spoon handy that you can use to sneak some food into your little explorer’s mouth from time to time. This worked brilliantly for us.”
Make it fun
 “Baby first food needs to appeal to your baby’s eyes, so opt for colourful food like peas, carrots and sweetcorn. And to make it fun, we usually arrange the food in shapes. And finally – but most importantly – your baby will laugh and open their mouth when you ‘fly’ the food in on the spoon.”
Divide the food into little piles instead of mixing it up
“I work as a nursery school teacher and know that many children prefer their food to be divided into little piles rather than all mixed together – sweetcorn in one pile, potato in another and a third pile of fish. That’s my top baby first food tip!”
Leave it up to your baby and don’t be afraid to spice things up
“Leave it up to your baby and give them plenty of different flavours and textures to try. Baby first food doesn’t need to be plain and bland. Never add salt to baby first food, but don’t be afraid to try spices and seasoning. Our youngest didn’t like baby food at all and wanted spicy food, especially with garlic and chilli!”
Give your baby time and never force them to eat
“Setting a good example at home with food worked best for us! I never force my baby to eat, it’s better to give her time to find out what she likes and doesn’t like. If we’re honest, grown-ups don’t like every kind of food so we can hardly expect our children to like everything, can we?”