Good pasta shapes for babies

I have a tip for all the moms out there feeding older babies past the mushy stage of life.

I've tried offering mine big pastas, such as shells or rotini cut in half, but they'll have none of it. Little people like little pastas, and mine like these two kinds in particular — stelline (little stars, pictured left) and ditalini rigati (grooved beads, on the right). I buy them at La Bottega, an Italian grocer in Ottawa.

I add them to diced boiled veggies, diced meat and cheese sauce to make a complete meal.

They love them. The only drawback is you tend to find little stars all over the place for a few days afterwards. These of course are the pieces that have been tossed overboard during the meal. I'm sure you moms know what that's all about!