When my Pediatrician told me at 4 months that I was all clear to start serving solids, I was sorely unprepared. I didn’t realize that I would be starting so early, so I had just the very bare basics at home. Luckily, what I had, plus a quick trip to Walmart for rice cereal and oatmeal was all I needed to get started that night. Over time my collection of feeding focused supplies has grown. Some items I’ve deemed as useless and thrown away. Others are a daily need. Below I break down the top items you should have on hand, and when you’ll need them, so you don’t have to splurge all at once. Keep in mind that my timing is very much tied to the way I did things. You may find that you experiment with finger foods earlier, and then require different items earlier. My timing is simply offered as a guide.
SEATING:
When to buy: 4 months
At 4 months, Lucas still wasn’t fully supporting his own head, so we slightly reclined the seat on his highchair. If your highchair doesn’t recline, this is a much cheaper seating option vs buying a new chair. It’s also an extremely useful chair to have around anyway, so believe me, it won’t go to waste. BUT, if your highchair reclines, then you obviously don’t need this for feeding purposes.
When to buy: 7 months
I didn’t start giving Lucas finger foods until 7 months, so I had no need for a splatmat until very recently, however, if you are doing baby led weaning you’ll want this much earlier than I did.
STORAGE
When to buy: 1 month or 7 months
If your child is on formula, this is useful right from day one. If not, then this becomes useful when your child requires snacks on the go. I use this to store chopped up blueberries or peas, and have even put my puree’s in here.
When to buy: 4 Months
This set comes with 6 containers, which IMO is the perfect amount for fridge storage. From 4-6 months I would store 2 days worth of food in the fridge. Now that I offer finger foods at every meal I can store his three puree’s for the day plus his three snacks.
When to buy: 4 months
If you are going to be making your own baby food, I highly recommend this product. You could of course use ice cube trays, but I prefer the serving sizes this item allows me to freeze. I make baby food a couple times a week so I only have one, but if you think you’ll be making multiple types of puree’s in one day, get a few of these.
SERVING
When to buy: 4 months
You only need one of these. At first I started with the waterproof ones and had a bunch on hand, but they need to washed in the machine vs just washing them in the sink with the rest of the dishes. Eventually I bought this silicone bib, and it’s now the only one I use.
When to buy: 4 months
I love these spoons. The tip of the spoon turns white when the food is to hot for baby. Safety first!
When to buy: 4 months
As it has its own carrying case, this spoon never leaves my diaper bag (except to be washed of course).
When to buy: 4 months
These are always good to have on hand. They travel well (lids stay on tight) and are microwave/dishwasher safe. Great for mashing bananas or avocados in. Perfect for mixing cereal or oatmeal. Cheap too.
When to buy: 5 months
I loved giving this to Lucas with a strawberry or piece of banana inside and watch him go to town on it. His entire face would be stained from the foods inside, but it’s such a fun way to explore foods. Mom Hack: Put mashed banana in here, freeze, and then feed to baby when they are teething.
When to buy: 6 months
At around 6 months I started offering Lucas water with his dinner for no other reason than to teach him how to drink by himself. The Munchkin Miracle 360-degree trainer cups are IMO the best on the market. Spill proof in the diaper bag. Spill proof in the babies hands. Win win.
When to buy: 7 months
Again, when you purchase this depends on when you start allowing your baby to feed themselves. For me that was 7 months, so I held off on buying this.
FOOD PREP
When it comes to prepping food there are so many new gadgets out there. The 2-in-1 steaming and blending machines, such as the BEABA Babycook or Baby Brezza (currently on sale on Amazon), make the entire process a smooth and simple one touch experience, but personally, I found that using what I already had was more than good enough and didn’t require any new space or expenses.
When to buy: 4 months
I love my steamer pot and I don’t know how anyone lives without one. I steam all my veggies in here, and now I use it to make Lucas’ food. When I am cooking him meat, I put the meat in the pot with some broth, and the steam from this cooks the veggies in the steamer pot.
When to buy: 4 months
For chunkier puree’s or purees where I want more texture, this is the small appliance I turn to.
When to buy: 4 months
I love that this immersion blender’s stick is stainless steel, which means I don’t have to wait for the food to cool down before I blend it. The only downfall is you have to hold the blend button down the entire time you are blending.
When to buy: 4 months
I went back and forth between the Vitamix and this. The KitchenAid takes up far less space, and costs a fraction of the price. I don’t have a Vitamix so I can’t say that it’s just as good, but it gets the job done, so I don’t really have any complaints.
When to buy: at birth
I love that my bottle warmer also warms food. Yes, the microwave is the fastest way to warm puree (20 seconds vs 5 minutes) but I prefer warming it slowly by steam.
When to buy: at birth
Great for warming up bottles and baby food on the go. Again, this method will take 5 minutes and constant stirring, but it always comes out at the perfect temp with no hot spots.
Well, that’s my list. Its long, but its gotten me this far, and I can honestly say that everything on it is a must have for me. Do you think I’m missing anything? What are you using throughout your feeding journey that has been a game changer or a lifesaver? Let me know in the comments below or on Instagram.
Thanks for reading, and Buon appetito!
Disclosure: Some of the items above link to product pages on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
