I found my inner-parenting zen when I started feeding my daughter solids. Believe me, I do not get to experience this feeling often.

When we first started to feed her solids, my daughter ate very little if at all. She wasn’t all that interested. Then when she was just over seven months she refused to even let us feed her. Yet I experienced pretty much zero stress related to the introduction of solids. And you can too.

The secret to my success – and lack of stress – was in three simple sentences…

“I am responsible for what my baby eats.

I decide where and when to feed my baby.

My baby is responsible for how much and whether s/he even eats at all.”

Let’s break them down to understand how they work:

•  I am responsible for what my baby eats. Okay that’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s up to me whether my baby is going to eat homemade nutritious foods or sugary cookies marketed as baby food. (Psst… if you don’t want your baby to eat sugary processed foods, don’t have it in your house!)

• I decide where and when to feed my baby. Will meals take place at the dinner table with the rest of the family? (Great choice!)

• My baby is responsible for how much and whether he or she eats at all. Stop there. Let’s let that one sink on. Read it again. My baby is responsible for how much and whether he or she eats at all. Did you catch all of that? Did I just tell you that your baby can get away with one or two bites of dinner?! Or not even touching it??? That’s right. And it’s also perfectly normal if your baby eats solids like it’s going out of style. Try not to stress about how much your baby should eat.

The important thing to remember is that for the first year of life, breastmilk is the main source of nutrition for your baby. Solids are an adventure in learning and hopefully by the time your little one is a year old, she will be enjoying a variety of different foods. Try to keep it fun and stress-free.

If you’re finding starting solids is challenging for your little one, give us a call at HaltonParents. I’ll be honest – I had my fair share of challenging moments when starting solids, usually after I went through the trouble of making my daughter a special “baby food” recipe. I would be all excited to have Pumpkin try her specially-made butternut squash/carrot/chicken pasta just to have her turn her nose up at it. That’s when you heard me muttering “I am responsible…  My baby is responsible…” You gotta laugh it out!

For more tips about introducing solids, or to ask us a question, there are many ways you can contact one of us directly:

• Leave us a comment below
• Talk to us on Twitter: @haltonparents
• Email us at haltonparents@halton.ca
• Call  HaltonParents by dialing 311 or 905-825-6000 for parenting information or to speak directly to a Public Health Nurse (every Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)