It is an exciting time when you can start feeding your infant baby food. It is one more time of sharing and playing with your baby. If you want your baby to learn to love a variety of food, you need to follow a careful plan.
The first baby food almost every pediatrician recommends you start your baby with is cereal. You buy a box of rice cereal, mix up the first bowl, and then you get to have one of two experiences. Some parents are very lucky, and their baby loves the cereal and eats it easily. The next set of parents discover a baby who pretends they are gagging, and hates the cereal. If you are in the second group do not add sugar, or other sweeteners to make them eat it. If they learn to love sugar, you will have more challenges in your next stages of feeding. Just keep trying gently with the cereal. They may never learn to like it, and you will just need to move on.
When you start using Gerber, Heinz, or other baby food, you will be tempted to start with the fruits. You are right, your baby will love them. This is exactly why you need to start with green vegetables. They need to learn to enjoy vegetables first, before they have a chance to become addicted to the sweetness of the fruits. After they have tried green vegetables for a week or two, introduce yellow and orange vegetables like squash, carrots, and sweet potato. These are slightly sweeter, and they will enjoy them immensely.
Fruits are your next step in baby food. Your baby is going to love bananas, pears, apple sauce, and all the other fruits. Do not worry about buying the dessert mixtures, stick with fruits. They are healthier, and just as enjoyable for your baby.
The final step in baby foods is introducing the meat family. Sometimes this is a bit challenging. They have become accustomed to the vegetables and fruits, and now they are experiencing a completely new texture and taste. You needed to wait for the meats to allow their digestive system to mature. They will learn to enjoy the meats, you will just need to be patient.
You do not need to buy baby food at the grocery store. You can choose to use a baby food mill or grinder to make your own. You can save money grinding your own food, but it does increase your level of work.
As your baby continues to grow, and starts getting teeth, graduate them to foods which are more dense, and finely cut table foods. Baby food will quickly transition them to loving the same foods you eat. Just do not rush the process. They will guide you by their reactions.
Baby food is the great start to the transition from having only milk, to eating a variety of foods. It is fun for both you and your baby to experiment with new foods. Their sense of exploration will help you expand their diet rapidly.