When to start broccoli & other solids???

[TracyElise]

My lo is 6 1/2 months and loving her pureed veggies.  When can I start steaming and pureeing things like broccoli & cauliflower for her?  Also don't know when I can do fruit like strawberries & raspberries-things with lots of little seeds (And do I have to cook the fruit first or puree them raw and just mix in a little water to make it the right consistency?) 

[Khalam's Mama]

I don't know of any reason broccoli couldn't be a first food. DS had at at her age. Berries can be allergens so some wait until 1yo or cut the seeds off but as they are so small if you didn't want to avoid until then I don't think it would be a choking hazard. It is usually the second time you eat something it causes a reaction so serve it in the morning for a few times so you can look out for reactions in the day. I would only cook hard fruits like apples. Anything soft (bananas/berries/peaches etc) or soft when ripe (pears) I would give raw.

[Lolly]

We gave broccoli and cauliflower from 6 months but as finger foods rather than puree - they are perfect for holding and munching on. Broccoli is still a favourite with my kids!

My DS reated to fresh strawberries (blotches all around his mouth) but was ok with them cooked and added to things like yoghurt, DD I didn't give any to until she was closer to 1 because of DS's reaction.

Laura

[Lemonthyme]

Strawberries are a common reaction to have.  I still gave them around 8 months I think but there's no reason not to give them earlier.  I think I sieved out the bits with raspberries then got bored with it(!) and just pureed with the seeds and he seemed to accept it.  I still cooked them though and started offering them raw when he was getting really good with finger foods, so maybe 9 months?  No reason not to offer earlier though.

[*Kara*]

This website has a tonne of info regarding when to intro things...

http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/index.htm

I didn't offer broccoli/cauliflower until 8 months... it can be very gassy!

As a general rule, I still steam and peel all fruits/veggies for DD's purees.  I have started to leave half the peel on things like apples/pears/plums... the skins are harder to digest and the reason for the steaming is to breakdown the sugars a little to ease digestion.  Some kids are fine with no steaming and all the peel though

[Khalam's Mama]

We did peel apples and pears for a good while - probably until after 1yo when he just started eating them whole, but depends on how many teeth they have.

[*Kara*]

For sure... my LO is only 9 months now so we are half peeling and steaming still