solid foods

It's a joyous day when your lil one gets the go ahead to start eating solid foods. Starting with rice cereals and moving on to purees and eventually finger foods, we're here to help you get your tot started on a solid food regimen. Check out some of our solid food coverage and start creating meal plans that will inspire your new eater.

Top 100 Baby Purees	A Solid Start: 5 Foods to Avoid	Solid Food Feeding Quiz
10 Tips For Introducing Finger Foods	10 Foods to Kick Solids Into High Gear	Five Foods to Chop So Tots Don't Choke

Feed your baby with one arm tied behind your back? You can do that! When lil ones are first introduced to solids, moms can spend most of the meal batting their hands away from the oncoming food and ending up with a lap full of pureed veggies. Using their experience with the Squirt Dispensing Spoon, Boon has teamed up with Plum Organics to introduce the Plum Dispensing Spoon ($4 for two), a set of two BPA and phthalate-free spoons that attach directly onto squeezable pouches, to allow for one-handed feeding. The company recently sent us a set to try out.

Who is this product designed for? The spoons are ideal for busy moms of infants who are starting solid foods.

Is it practical? Yes. The spoon twists onto any pureed food pouch (not just Plum Organics) in a matter of seconds and eliminates the need to dirty a bowl when feeding a tot. Once baby is done, the spoon is easy to clean and dishwasher safe.

What sets it apart? The Plum Dispensing Spoon is the first of its kind.

What could be better? I wish the actual distance from the stem to the bowl of the spoon was longer, allowing parents to place it further into the lil one's mouth, and at more of an angle. At the current length, I felt like the pouch (which came from a dirty store shelf) was too close to my tot's lips.

Would you buy it? Yes for on the go feeding and traveling it eliminates the need to pack bowls. At home, I would stick with my regular baby spoons.

Would you give it as a gift? It would make a fun gift, along with a few pouches of food for a mom who is introducing solids for the first time.

Are you ready to make the switch? Moving your lil one to a diet that includes solid foods can be an exciting time. While many of today's parents were fed rice cereal almost from the get-go, doctors currently recommend holding off until tots are between four to six months old before bringing a spoon to their mouths.

Before introducing the baby cereal, most pediatricians look for wee ones to exhibit certain developmental milestones such as sitting up (with support), doubling their birth weight, and showing interest in food. Even if your hungry tyke is salivating when watching you eat at four months, some docs insist on maintaining an exclusive breastmilk or formula diet until they reach the half-year mark.

When did you start introducing solid foods?