Starting Solids in a Child-Led Way
Kary Rappaport & Kimberly Grenawitzke
Transitioning to solids is another big milestone in a baby's life, but unlike many other developmental leaps—where baby leads—parents often take control, managing the spoon, deciding the "right" amount of food, and preventing mistakes. In this lecture, you will learn how to lean into letting baby be the driving force, while you are the supportive cheerleader along the way.
You'll understand how to facilitate self-feeding and walk away with a deep understanding of choking, gagging, and how the body instinctively protects itself as a baby fumbles through learning to eat.
AUDIO VERSION

Kary Rappaport & Kimberly Grenawitzke
Kary Rappaport is a pediatric occupational therapist, certified feeding and swallowing specialist, and international board-certified lactation consultant based in Oregon. For nearly 20 years, Kary has supported families with the evaluation and treatment of feeding and swallowing challenges in infants and young children. She has worked in both home settings and leading medical institutions, including Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
As a mom of two young children, Kary is a passionate advocate for improving access to connection-driven and research-supported interventions during the journey with infant feeding, from birth to solid food to family meals.
Kimberly Grenawitzke is a pediatric occupational therapist, certified feeding and swallowing specialist, international board-certified lactation consultant, and certified neonatal therapist. Kim’s specialty areas of practice include neonatal and pediatric cardiology, breastfeeding in high-risk infants, transition to solids, and toddler selective eating. She has worked in some of the largest pediatric hospitals on the West Coast, including Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University.
As a mom to a preschooler and toddler, Kim is constantly applying her knowledge of normal childhood eating behaviors in her own home and is passionate about helping families enjoy and love shared mealtime experiences.
Together, Kary and Kim created professional courses on pediatric feeding which have shaped clinical care at multiple institutions across the United States. Their courses serve as the foundation for Solid Starts
PRO - an international network of medical professionals who are helping families raise happy eaters.
Discussion
Your questions will be answered after the conference.
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Hi Kary and Kim,
I’m an Indonesian mom of a 12-month-old boy living in Japan. I have been following your SolidStarts advice through iPhone application. I am a huge fan of your SolidStarts, however there is limited source I can find about your newest book in Japan. Fortunately, I am so grateful to be given a chance to discuss with you during the live session.
If you don’t mind to lend me an advice regarding introducing solid for an active baby and optimizing his height and weight development. Do you have any experience with feeding an active baby properly and creating the best rhythm to ensure his energy is spent on the right activities?
My 12 months old baby appears smaller than his peers, just like 9 months old south east asian baby, though he currently has no health issues. However, he did have dysentery (amebiasis) when he was 8 months old. He was hospitalized for three days.
He is a quick learner and very active. He started rolling from side to side at 2 months, crawling at 4 months, and standing against a wall at 5 months. By the end of his 9th month, he was already babbling, mimicking, walking, and even running on his own. By 10 months he no longer wants to crawl on the floor and keeps running here and there.
He is extremely curious about everything around him and has no hesitation in approaching strangers or playing with other babies. While he sometimes feels nervous in crowds and seeks parents out for comfort, it only takes minutes before he starts running around and playing again. He curiois about food too, but only until he figures out how to play with it. We gave him many types of food tastes, also fulfilled with carbo, protein, and minerals, so that he will no be bored. But he still wants to get out from his chair and running here and there babbling.
He is still breastfeeding from birth while also weaning since 6 months old through spoon-fed purées. He already has six fully grown teeth and no signs of difficulty chewing soft foods. However, since he started walking, he has lost interest in eating and prefers playing and babbling instead.
Given this situation, how can we successfully introduce more solid foods to him? He spends more calories than having intake calories. Any insights or tips would be greatly appreciated!
Best regards,
Nabila