Baby Food 101

I recently received a message from a sweet reader requesting tips on how to help make her baby girl an adventurous eater.

To be quite honest, getting Reese to eat almost everything (except fruit... we're working on this) was an extremely long, tiring process.

I spent many days wanting to throw in the towel and say screw this, he'll drink breast milk for the rest of his life and I guess I'll have to be ok with that.

Luckily, I stayed persistent and he finally came to terms with the fact that eating was actually amazing!

(I make all food the little tyke eats except for: Puffs, yogurt bites and wheels which we get from Gerber)

At four months old I made baked sweet potato.

(Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees wash and wrap an organic, or not organic, sweet potato in foil and bake for 45 minutes or until soft, then stick in blender, bullet, baby bullet with a bit of water or breast milk/ formula until pureed)

He did not like sweet potato at all, faces were made, gag reflexes kicked in and I was left with a screaming pissed off baby! Fast forward to 8 months old and he devours them as if he is afraid the dog will snatch his bowl away.

 Moral of this story is, what your baby doesn't like today, she may like tomorrow. 

If she refuses it one day freeze it (if not contaminated with babies mouth) and try again in a couple of days, baby may surprise you!

(I like to fill ice cube trays with baby food and stick them in the freezer, once they are frozen pop them out, stick them in a ziplock and write the date and info on the bag.)

I also found that letting him watch his daddy and I eat helps him try new foods.

All babies are extremely curious and are willing to mimic anything that you do!

A couple of days ago I was eating a pear... Reese decided to snatch it out of my hands and hold it with his super Kung- Fu grip of death to nibble on, when I tried to take it away it was the end of the world! Tears the size of Texas were shed and I was pinched, scratched and kicked at... (we're working on this!!! Momma doesn't appreciate tantrums, especially NOT from an 8 month old bean)

Now, we are moving away from purees and into small pieces of actual food and he seems to be enjoying this a lot more. 

We started introducing bits of food through Gerber puffs at around 7 months old when I was 100% sure that he wouldn't choke.

We then moved on to Gerber wheels, small pieces of potato, chicken, pasta, Gerber yogurt bites and crackers and obviously whole pear which are now his favorite :) and more.

Just tonight I baked zucchini squash strips 

(Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees grease cookie sheet with olive oil. Slice zucchini into thin strips and place on sheet, bake for 25- 30 minutes or until tender... after they are baked I peeled the dark green skin off as this may be too tough for baby to chew)

He didn't like the strips so we are trying them again tomorrow.

 

Be persistant, buy veggies and fruit in small portions and freeze what ever you don't puree or chop up in ziplock freezer bags. (Organic produce can be expensive and this helps save money!)

Let your baby explore by holding her own spoon and dipping her hands in the bowl, she may like eating this way... if she's anything like Reese and stubborn like a mule she probably will enjoy this more than mommy feeding her.

I also like to stick to a routine of making sure all meals are eaten at the same time every day.

(Snacks are scattered through out the day and no schedule is set on those.)

Buy these bowls with lids to keep in the fridge (it's recommended on all baby food sites and jars that you toss unused baby food that's been in the fridge after three days.. I like to stick to this rule as well)

And most of all breathe!! She'll be eating you out of a house before you know it!

This site has helped me tremendously!

I hope this helps.

xoxo

(Please note, that I am NOT a licensed doctor/pediatrician. All tips shared above are simply from experience from raising my 8 month old son)