The typical menu of my 7-month-old

We had waited until Daphne was 6 months old to start introducing solid food (and by solid I mean anything other than milk), and we dug in on single-grain cereals, pureed veggies, and pureed fruits. She would occasionally enjoy a meal, especially the cereal, but I also often got a very stubborn closed-lipped girl who wouldn't take a bite of anything. She was very interested in the spoon, but not the food on it.

After a month of working our way through about eight types of fruits and veggies without any success, we decided to try another approach. We bought a box of Cheerios and let her try them. She loved the things, and I think she especially appreciated being able to feed herself.

Over the course of the last month, we've been letting her try out other soft foods. So far, she absolutely loves bananas and has been developing a taste for canned peaches cut into little bits. We're going to try pears this week. On the veggie front, she's had avocado, white potato, sweet potato, and cooked carrots. Butternut squash is on the menu for this week.

One fun development is that her finger dexterity has improved significantly. Although she's still not perfect at it, she can often pick up pieces of food (even slimy ones like peaches) between her thumb and forefinger.

Intriguingly, I tried giving her pureed veggies again this week because we still had some jars of baby food in the cupboard. Turns out she likes them now. Maybe she just needed to get used to the flavors on her own.

These days, she eats Cheerios and pieces of fruit for breakfast while I make and eat my breakfast. She doesn't always eat lunch... but if she does, it's usually Cheerios and a fruit or veggie. For dinner, I try to give her a bit of what we're having if our dinner includes a cooked vegetable. Last night, she got some soft cooked potato, avocado from our salad, and peach. If I know we're going to be out of the house for dinner (which happens several times a week when we eat with friends), I'll try to give her a bigger lunch so she gets to eat some solids.

We're looking forward to letting Daphne explore more flavors and textures of food in the coming months! I wish I had a good photo of her eating, but it seems I haven't taken any of those. Maybe next time.

(edited to add photos!)