We had a fun start to feeding Q. Fruits and vegetables and foods that were high in fiber were easy to process for her young tummy. As Q’s palate became more refined, we got more excited about cooking for her.

E had fantasies of plating perfectly packed runny egg with a side of caviar for his foodie child, who then would turn to him saying, “what, no smoked salmon??? ” He was eager to introduce her to truffle butter scrambled eggs with a side of caviar and organic French loaf. And duck fat. Glorious duck fat. All before she could hold a knife and fork.

But as soon as we found foods that worked well, everything changed. A tooth would come in, and her ability to chew food would wane because her gums would be too sore. Then she got a cold, which meant sticking to more liquid type fruit purees or broths. Or–our favorite–constipation. Which meant no avocado. Or chicken. Or meatballs. Or anything except for fiber rich prunes and pears, sprinkled with flax seeds. While other kids may have skipped gleefully from veggies purees to chicken and rice to solid finger foods, our process was a long, slow experimentation. Which made me feel even more insecure about my mommying.

Enter again: Little Spoon.

As I experimented with different flavors and foods, Little Spoon’s flavors evolve to match a baby’s age and tastes. I could order pear, or kale carrots and pear, or pear pea mint, depending on how Q was feeling or what she was in the mood for.  With each order, Little Spoon sends you information on your child’s development each time they send you a shipment.

To help guide me towards foods that are great for Q at particular ages, Little Spoon also has this thing called Blueprint, which selects foods that  match with developmental milestones as your baby grows. Good thing, because you might think your kid is ready for spinach at six months, like I did, but then you realize you’re supposed to wait until your kid is 8 months because of concerns over nitrates and you realize YOU’RE DOING EVERYTHING WRONG AND YOU’RE A HORRIBLE MOTHER AND THIS CHILD WILL NOT SURVIVE IN YOUR CARE…..do you see how easy it is to slide down that slippery slope of mom guilt??? Thank you, Little Spoon, for keeping me sane. My child and husband thank you, too.

Now, at 15 months, my child eats everything. Scrambled eggs became a quick favorite, as did ground or shredded chicken, broccoli (to Eric’s disappointment), collard greens, beans, lentils and tofu. And salmon. And this chili. And oatmeal. Yogurt. Dahl. Soup. And yes, Little Spoon.

Sometimes I use Little Spoon as a side dish to a protein because their sweet potato, apple, red pepper and turmeric blend is amazeballs with chicken. Or maybe, yet again, when Q is having stomach trouble, and I need a simple blend to help her soothe her tummy. Despite Q now eating table food, I’m still able to use their purees to supplement meals when needed.

Little Spoon also has some yummy finger food varieties for older kids, too.

So, if I were to give a few tips on how to introduce solids to your kid, I would say:

• Be patient, and be ready for your kid’s tastes and needs to change on a dime.
• Start with easy-to-digest fruits and vegetables, then gradually mix and match veggies as your kid gets more and more familiar. Cut up veggies into bite-sized pieces and steam or boil until soft enough to mash with a finger.
• Try a food more than once before you decide your kid doesn’t like them. You never know when or what your child will fall in love with at a given moment.
• Try Little Spoon. Go to their site and use the code 300SANDWICHES for a discount. Mix and match your flavors and have fun. And I highly recommend you pack the chia seed mango coconut milk blend in your purse for a midday snack, cuz that it the bomb diggity!!!!

Oh, and don’t forget to stock up on vinyl bibs. Unlike fabric ones, they wipe off easy and can be quickly run under water to clean.

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