No longer will she allow me to feed her, no, she must do it herself. Every other day or so, she relents and allows me to give her a few spoonfuls, but it's just a tease. As soon as I am lulled into complacency, she presses her lips together and demands to hold the spoon, usually just long enough to send it flying across the room.
On top of that, her method of eating is to take a bite, suck on it, and then spit it out when I am not looking. The good news is that I am not as worried about her choking, the bad news, it's pretty gross to see.
It's been a challenge to say the least.
I am trying to come up with a template for each meal, like a protein, a fruit/veggie, a dairy, etc. I hate to say we are falling into a rhythm because I always jinx myself, so I won't.
Here is what we have been eating:
-Black beans- she loves them! I make them from dried so they have a little kick and I don't have to worry about BPA or sodium (and for easy directions on making beans from dried, check out this post on my grown-up blog). She sucks on them, manages to get the meat out of the bean and then spits the skin out. It's super appetizing to watch...Reminds me of our childhood dog who could crack pistachio nuts and would leave the shells everywhere.
Two notes here: we didn't purposefully give the dog nuts, she would find them in the cupboard. And yes, I realized I just compared my daughter to a dog. Sorry Baby G. Mama loves you.
Slices of raw pear and apple: I think she likes them for teething. I think she is just sucking on them and gumming small pieces, because most of it, she spits out.
Strips of ripe mango
Hard-boiled egg yolks- These are super messy, but she is starting to eat more than she throws.
Steamed veggies (broccoli, green beans, asparagus, zucchini, sweet potato, baby carrots, regular carrots, parsnips)- We tried cauliflower but she wasn't a fan.
Beets!- You can buy cooked organic beets with no additional ingredients in the produce section. These are super messy but she loved them. It didn't help that I dropped the open package in an open drawer....
Cooked strips of chicken
Pieces of bread- I have been tearing off little pieces. I have given them to her plain and put purees on strips of bread to get her to eat the purees when she won't let me feed her. I make my own bread that is an artisan loaf so it's a little heftier than sandwich bread.
Strawberries- she is loving these! I usually cut them in half and that gives her enough to hang on to.
Raw Sweet Pepper Strips- There was a mini discussion (aka me and my good friend, E) on the Facebook page a week ago or so about giving babies sweet peppers. We were at the in-laws last weekend and my mother-in-law an amazing spread of salad fixings. I was sharing with Baby G and she loved the sweet pepper strips. Now, some babies have problems with peppers, so approach with caution, or at least don't plan any solemn outings afterwards where toots would make you blush. But if your baby is like Baby G, he just might like them!
Pieces of tamale- I am convinced that tamales are a great kid food: they are bland, they are soft....okay, that's it, bland and soft. I also love them. I found a brand with no chemicals or lard, Texas Tamale Company, and got the black bean variety. I am loving them, Baby G still has reservations.
Sun-dried tomatoes- My husband loves sun-dried tomatoes and hummus. I thought I would try it with Baby G, and what can I say? Like father, like daughter.
Our store has sun-dried tomatoes in the produce section are really soft. If you buy some that are tough, try soaking them in hot water for a few minutes.
Pickles- Consider it a special treat, I know they have a lot of sodium so it won't be a regular habit. I was snacking on one and Baby G was really interested. She liked it...but not as much as that tomato.
Other news....
We are still saying no to Cheerios. When we went to the doctor, I expected them to say something and they were totally fine with us abstaining from cheerios and rice puffs. They seemed okay with her practicing her pincer grip on beans and other small pieces of food. I guess I am on the defensive since it feels like everyone else uses them.
In April, I need to have a weeks worth of food and meals ready for Baby G. My parents are babysitting for a week and I just realized that I need to have food ready for them to make it as easy as possible. And of course, I realized that in the middle of the night. I'm a little nervous and would love to hear if you have any good ideas for prepping whole foods meals for a baby.
I remember leaving our daughter with grandparents for a long weekend while she was in this stage. It helped to have a "formula" for them to follow for each meal (for example Lunch= 1 fruit, one grain, 1 protein, milk), and then a big list of what the choices were for each. While this might not work for Baby G since she's so into feeding herself, I felt OK about reverting back to purees as those were easier to prep ahead of time and freeze in individual servings. Also, baby won't care if the menu is the same every day for a week. :)
ReplyDeletePS since she likes egg yolks you could make a week's worth of hardboiled eggs ahead of time for your parents, an easy protein!
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