It probably shouldn't surprise me that I seem to be raising a mini foodie, given how much I love food myself. But this is why it surprised me: When I was pregnant all I could eat was white food. Bland, mild, flavorless. Nothing with vinegar or spice or any kind of acid. I had terrible acid reflux that started right about when the nausea ended and then just got worse week by week until I seemed to only eat TJ's frozen pot stickers, white rice, and milk. Much to my midwife's dismay.
It was awful. I missed an entire season of heirloom tomatoes. An entire winter without lemons and clementines. Salads because I couldn't handle the salad dressing.
So I was sure this baby was going to be a child who didn't like anything but white, bland food. Boy was I wrong. We are using the baby-led weaning method of introducing solid foods, which basically means we feed her what we eat - no special purees or baby food. No rice cereal, because I certainly didn't want to encourage the white food thing. Her first solid food, about a week before she turned 6 months old, was a nectarine that I was eating over her head while she was in her carrier. She wanted it, so I handed it over and let her suck on it. Big hit. And she's been wanting to try whatever I'm eating ever since.
For the first few weeks she was really just playing with foods we offered her - tasting, exploring the texture, but mostly letting things fall back out of her mouth. But at some point I noticed she was swallowing, and suddenly she wanted to eat a lot. Ironically, because the method has been termed "baby-led weaning" (emphasis mine), she also seemed to want to nurse more right around the same time, which I can only assume meant that she was having a really big growth spurt. Also she learned how to crawl right around then.
Tomorrow my Bean will be 8 months old and these are some of the things she ate this week:
- Pieces of chicken from several different dishes, including a chicken tikka masala wrap.
- Chunks of nectarine, peach, and pluot.
- Some gorgeously ripe french melon from the farmer's market that made a deliciously sticky mess.
- Rice with some of the tikka masala sauce on it.
- Naan, bread from my sandwich today, and some of my english muffin yesterday.
- Yogurt. Lots of yogurt. Peach and banana this week.
- Water from a big-kid sippy cup with no valve (she's so proud of herself for knowing how to do this!)
- Falafel and hummus. The hummus was the first food she really hasn't liked. REALLY didn't like it.
- A spear of raw broccoli. She didn't eat this so much as gnaw on it, but she seemed to be enjoying it.
- A little bit of meatball at a potluck - I think it was turkey.
- Sweet potato fries from the same potluck.
- Bits from a burrito, including some chile verde pork, pinto beans, and avocado.
- Lots and lots of Plum Organics Puffs - she's particularly fond of the red and green flavors.
- Baby Mum-Mums as pre-dinner snack when I'm not making dinner fast enough.
- Homemade avgolemeno soup, which she liked so much I had to go get more out of the fridge when we finished the bowl I had heated for myself.
- She may have had a tiny bit of the brownie I ate today and the oatmeal cookie I had a couple of nights ago. Neither had any nuts in them, though!
And I'm probably forgetting some things. Writing out this list I'm aware of a particular lack of vegetables, which is an issue in my diet as well. When I do eat them I prefer them raw, which isn't conducive to eating with only six teeth. Sometimes I give her puree with peas or spinach in it just to get some green stuff in her, but she doesn't really like it. I've tried squash about 6 different ways and it doesn't even make it to her mouth. She just smears it around the high-chair tray or dumps it over the edge. If any of you have ideas for baby-friendly vegetables, I'd love to hear them!
I'm glad we are using this method of introducing solid food. No power struggle, no real extra expense (except the Puffs and MumMums), and honestly, it is so much fun to watch her explore and really enjoy what she's eating.
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