Baby Feeding Basics

Sweet potatoes -- food #1

Introducing food to your baby is an adventure. We somehow managed to make it 6 months on exclusively breast milk and then started solid foods (well, solids as in steamed and pureed and mashed up so it no longer resembles solid food) at the 6 month mark and, fortunately, my son loves to eat.

Note, at 5 months, we had begun rice cereal, which was a bit of a bust. He had developed a rash on the first day of cereal, so I immediately stopped and waited 5 days for the rash to completely clear away. The, I tried again for 2 days with another rash appearing. Our pediatrician recommended a different brand that worked for a few days by which time he was ready for solids. I stopped the cereal when I began solids, but I will re-start it tomorrow morning so that he has two meals a day. Also, he's been resisting formula these days and mixing it with cereal will help give me a break.

It's amazing to watch babies learn how to eat, e.g accepting the spoon, swallowing the food, grabbing the spoon. So far, he's had 3 days each of sweet potatoes --> carrots --> peas --> pumpkin --> green beans --> butternut squash. Acorn squash is next and then his first fruit will be pears before avocado and apples. He made faces of disgust on the first days of sweet potatoes and carrots and actual gagging on the first day of peas. He loved pumpkin while green beans were not well received. I made the squash less liquidy than the rest and he refused to open his mouth after the first bite. I added a little bottled water and he ate the rest albeit reluctantly. Today, he grabbed the spoon right out of my hand because he wanted to feed himself. He is eating a few tablespoons at each sitting.

Signs that little boo was ready for solids.

• He had steady head control for months and was able to sit upright in his chair easily.

• When I introduced water in a sippy cup at 5 months, his extrusion reflex made him push out his tongue to keep the cup out of his mouth. He did this a few times before he learned to drink from it. Since my mom had also taught him to take water out of a spoon, he had no problem accepting the spoon with food.

• He was fascinated when my husband and I would eat in front of him. He would stare us down.

• His appetite had grown tremendously in the last month and he definitely needed something extra to help keep him full.

• He's more than doubled his birth weight and should be close to 15 lbs at this point.

I haven't bought ready-to-eat jars yet because I'd like to make his food at home for as long as I'm able. Making your own baby food is easy, efficient, and economical. I am using fresh (organic when possible) produce and no added ingredients. Also, it's great because on the first day when I make his vegetable of the next three days, my husband and I also eat that vegetable as a side dish during dinner. My friend recommended the BPA-free Beaba Babycook, which is fantastic. I can steam then blend the vegetable all in the Babycook. The food can be steam re-heated the next day. Also, it's easy to use and to clean.