Starting Your Baby On Solids

I was overwhelmed when it was time to start my baby boy Rio on solid foods. He had been breastfed exclusively and had never been sick or had an issues-great sleeper, never had a diaper rash, no skin issues, not even a cold. I was nervous that things would change once I started him on solids. My pediatrician recommended we start him on cereal. I asked if I could do just vegetables and fruits instead and he said that was perfectly fine. I just felt more comfortable giving him real, whole foods that we eat. I really liked the idea of baby-led weaning and I knew that I wanted to follow philosophy for the most part. One of my main goals with Rio is that he is able to enjoy variety of healthy foods. I personally think the key to this is exposure. When I started feeding Rio solid foods at 7 months, I only gave him vegetables and healthy fats for the entire first month (avocado, coconut, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli, asparagus, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, etc.). After a month I introduced some fruit (pear, blueberry, banana, raspberry, strawberry, apple, mango). Now after two months I have added some protein and more healthy fats (lentils, split and black eyed peas, chickpeas, almond milk, beans, grass-fed butter, avocado oil, and occasionally fish-primarily wild caught salmon). Everything organic. I have also given him organic oats, quinoa and white basmati rice, but other than these grains I have chosen hold off on grain until he's one year old. I'm also holding off on dairy except for grassfed butter for awhile. These are just my personal choices, but they have worked well for Rio. He is 10 months old and eats three meals a day. I still breastfeed him 3-4 times per day. He still hasn't been sick, has 5 teeth, is a super healthy and happy boy.