Solids at 9 Months Old

We have offered breakfast and dinner for three months now, with lunch inconsistently offered. Honestly, lunch got in the way of us going out during the day and it was hard to fit the third meal in with bottles and naps. Over the past two weeks lunch has become a regular meal. The trio now consume 3 meals a day in addition to 24 ounces of breastmilk/formula in bottles. I have not been consistent with offering sippy cups. 

Here are the main ways the babies eat:

1. They are spoon fed meals by Jesse or I while sitting in the bumbo or high chair. 

2. They feed themselves while sitting in their high chairs.

3. They feed themselves in a free for all on the floor.

4. They (eh, really only James) feed themselves with squeezable pouches.

I've still been able to keep their food healthy. I haven't taken many shortcuts with the babies' food. Instead of instant oatmeal, I make steel cut and mix in fruit. I am very intentional in making sure most of their foods are fresh rather than processed. That's not to say that I haven't given them yogurt melts, veggie straws, cheerios, graham crackers, etc. But the majority of what they eat is produce, eggs, beans, yogurt, or chicken. Here are a few meals they've eaten this week:

Banana Egg Pancakes: Whisk together one banana and one egg together, pour batter by the tablespoon, and cook for a few minutes on each side. The pancakes have an unusual texture but they are solid yet soft enough for the babies to feed themselves. 

Taco Soup: Our recipe is 2 cups of shredded chicken, 2 cans of drained black beans, a jar of salsa, 2 cups of chicken stock, and a can of corn. Combine ingredients and simmer on stove for half an hour. We fed the trio since the ingredients were pretty wet. They always eat whatever we eat for dinner.

Cereal and Fruit Salsa: Mix a cup of diced peaches, cup of diced pears, and handful of strawberries in the food processor. Mix in cheerios.

I'm really impressed with how well they eat. We started with purees but evolved more into a baby led weaning approach. The babies never refuse food and we have given them a broad range of foods and spices now. They do fine with different textures, even though they don't have any teeth.