Our Must-Haves for the Transition to Solids

Written by: Jessica Diamond, MPH, RDN

Is your baby ready to transition to solid foods? Get ready for this meaningfull (but messy!) milestone by making sure you have all the essentials below. Introducing solids may sound simple in theory, but there is actually a lot you’ll need to think through to make this transition a smooth one. Check out our Feeding Your Baby Solids course and article Starting Your Baby on Solids article for additional insights and strategies to set your baby up for success.

1. Our favorite highchair: This will be your most important (and probably most expensive) purchase. The Stokke Tripp Trapp chair is our favorite, hands down. Because it’s wood, it’s easy to clean and provides solid support to your growing kid. It has an adjustable foot rest and the right back support so your baby or child is supported which is so important for them to be able to be successful with learning to eat real food. Once your child outgrows their highchair, it will convert to a toddler-sized chair – how cool is that?!  

2. Our favorite cups: Once your baby is around 6 months, you’ll need an open-lid and then a couple of straw cups to introduce shortly after. (In Breaking Down: Cups, we explain why you should use only an open-lid and straw cup from babyhood on – check it out!)
   • Our favorite open-lid cup is the EZPZ silicone starter cup. We also love these stainless steel “sauce” cups since they work both at 6 months and then into preschool. These stainless steel open lid cups are great for the same reason!
   • The Honey Bear Straw Cup is adorable and practical – it will teach your child how to drink from a straw!
   • Once your baby learns how to drink from a straw, they’ll be ready for straw cups like this cup. These are our favorite straw cups because they have silicone covers to protect the glass and a bumper on the straw so it can’t be pulled out. This EZPZ straw cup is also wonderful!

Disclaimer: You may be wondering why we don’t encourage the use of sippy cups. We recommend avoiding hard-spout sippy cups or transitional nipples because they have been shown to inhibit proper muscle development in the mouth. Even the Munchkin 360 cup, which we used to recommend because it was a nice, spill-proof cup, has been shown to create muscle imbalances in kids’ mouths. Open-lid and straw-cup feeding is so important for your baby, so just stick with those!

3. Our favorite utensils: We’re big fans of baby-led feeding, and a good set of utensils makes this possible. 
   • The NumNum GOOtensils are a must for teaching your baby how to self-feed. We recommend purchasing three packages since you’ll be using three spoons per meal. 
   • We love the Lego Utensils because they make feeding both fun (they ignite your child imagination) and are heavy-duty and non-toxic. These 18/10 stainless steel utensils are also handy because they will last your toddler throughout early childhood and are also non-toxic – they are the perfect complete set of silverware for your little one.

5 Ways We Manage the Mess:

1. This spill-proof bowl is our favorite brand for bowls and plates because they are silicone so easy to clean, durable, and non-toxic. 
2. We absolutely love full-sleeved bibs because feeding will be (and should be) messy. We prefer the Bumpkin brand because all their bibs and products are BPA-free, PVC-free, vinyl-free, phthalate-free, and lead-free. We also adore the silicone bibs – they look adorable, are safe, and are really good at catching food!
3. We like the Gathre highchair mat because it looks so chic and is easy to wipe down after meals (but keep in mind it can only be hand-washed and is pricier).
4. The simple splat mat is perfect for under the highchair, is machine-washable, and can double as a blanket outside.
5. We stay organized with these glass baby food storage jars and these ice cube trays for freezing pureed food. 

Want to learn more about the basics of feeding your baby and thrive when it comes to feeding solids? Take our Feeding your Baby Solids Course. It covers ALL the topics, answers questions you didn’t even know you had, and it’s all broken down into short, easy to understand videos for you to watch on your own time and at your own pace, even while doing the dishes. For babies 3+ months old. We cannot recommend it enough!

And check out our podcast episode, Feeding Your Baby Solids: Breaking Down the Myths for more insight into nutrition and best practices for raising a healthy, well-rounded eater from the start!