There are plenty of books and online resources that elaborates on the 'how-to" of introducing solids to babies, so I will not repeat the same thing here.  There are also plenty of baby food cook books which you can refer to for recipes and ideas.  I have also shared some of my Baby Food and Baby Porridge recipes.

What I am going to share are a few basic principles I adhere to regarding feeding solids.

1. I don't introduce solids until my babies are at least 6 months old

This is in line with WHO and the AAP, as well as our own Health Promotion Board's recommendation of breastfeeding exclusively for at least 6 months.  Breastfeeding exclusively means giving the baby only breastmilk and nothing else.  No porridge, cereal or formula milk.  Certainly no cereal in a bottle of milk to make the baby sleep through the night.  This, in itself, is a dangerous practice because it is a choking hazard.

Delaying solids until the baby is ready also saves you a lot of trouble trying to 'teach' the child to eat.  Some parents are eager to introduce solids and are partly influenced by ill-informed doctors and older folks to introduce solids from as early as 4 months old.  When you introduce solids that early, chances are you baby is not entirely ready for it.  If you read books on babycare, you will learn about the signs of readiness, e.g. baby able to sit up on his own and losing his tongue thrust reflex.  Some parents get really frustrated with their babies because their babies keep pushing the food out of their mouths.  They try to 'teach' their babies to eat.

The truth of the matter is that you do not need to 'teach' your baby to eat.  Your baby will eat when he is good and ready.  The reason why your baby pushes food out is because of his tongue thrust reflex, which is nature's way of protecting your baby from ingesting and choking on solids before his time.  The fact that your baby is pushing food out means that he is totally not ready for it.  His body and digestive system is not ready for it.  So instead of getting frustrated and angry, trying to 'teach' your baby to eat, delay introduction of solids until about 6 months and you will find everything a breeze.

2. I don't use commercial baby food.

Very rarely do I use commercial baby food.  For my 2nd child, I only bought a jar of baby food once!  That was because of unexpected circumstances and I was not prepared to feed him outside home and he was too young too eat table food.

3. Exposure to texture

While adhering to certain guidelines about introducing solids, e.g. not giving egg in the first year, I try to expose my kids to different texture and different flavour.  When they first started solids, of course, everything has to be pureed.  But gradually, I will stop blending everything and just cook everything until very soft, retaining of the original texture of the ingredients.  

Commercial baby food also comes in textured forms for older babies.  But really, texture is not simply a matter of smoothness and coarseness.  Cooked the same way, the same amount of time, how a carrot feels in your mouth would be very different from how a piece of celery feels in your mouth.  Getting your baby used to different food texture will pave the way for healthy eating habits later on.  Your child will be less likely to spit out food just because it feels a bit strange in their mouth.