21. How to Start Your Baby on Solids with Little Spoon Co-founder Michelle Muller

As our babies grow, we get more and more excited to welcome them into the world of food. I sat down with Little Spoon Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer, Michelle Muller, on her motherhood journey, starting babies on solids, and her leadership role at Little Spoon.  

Michelle is southern belle turned New York City mama. Although she grew up in Texas, she loves being a mom in the city. She loves that her kids can pop over to the MET for an afternoon, she loves the seasons, and Central Park. 

Michelle is also an open book in speaking about her experience as a single mom to 3 boys. We discuss how divorce is such a taboo subject and yet more than half of marriages often turn to divorce. It's a reality that many moms and dads experience and we talked about dismantling the notion that "it's terrible for the kids". Michelle speaks to her strong co-parenting with ex-husband. Although it wasn't all roses and butterflies in the beginning of their divorce, their love for their kids superseded their annoyances with each other and they were able to evolve their relationship as co-parents. 

Then, the conversation shifts in talking about starting solids with your baby. As our babies grow, as parents, we get excited to welcome them into the world of food. Mealtime is a bonding experience for many families and welcoming your baby to be a part of it is so exciting. I asked Michelle what the most important thing parents should do in preparation for starting solids and she advised to not rush into it. 

Once a baby starts showing curiosity around food it might be time to start solids but also to shine the light onto yourself: are you excited? Are you ready? This is supposed to be fun and if you're stressed about it, your baby will feel that too. Michelle's biggest piece of advice is the approach feeding with love, happiness, and enthusiasm. 

We also talk about combo feeding. I was so nervous to start solids had no idea what I was doing. I knew I didn’t want to give my son jarred baby food so I gravitated towards Baby Led Weaning because it sounded like the best thing for our family. I wanted my son to just grow up eating what we ate at the dinner table but I quickly realized that it was idealistic to adopt a pure Baby Led Weaning methodology because at daycare and they were worried about choking. I ended up doing a mix of both real food cut into small pieces and mashed foods. Michelle and I talked about how it's okay to mix it up and just because we choose to go by one method, it's okay to not be so textbook about it and have an open mind and do what feels right. 

I share my my experience in using Little Spoon: I personally love it because it takes the guesswork out of certain meals and it helps introduce flavors that I never would have thought of on my own. Michelle and I talk about how these days the majority of house holds have both parents working and it can be challenging to get creative in the kitchen. 

Little Spoon's ethos is, "Giving you one less thing to worry about and an easy way to keep your kid healthy." Little Spoon offers fresh organic baby foods, they have everything from baby blends to toddler and big kid meals. Little Spoon has no preservatives, no extreme heat processing, no GMOs, and no additives. 

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