Introducing Real Food to Real Babies

My 9.5 month old son is easy going. He did like to eat 2-3 times a night for the first six months, but when he wasn't eating he slept. A lot. This kid was maybe awake 4 hours a day for the first six months of his life. The point I'm getting at is that he has been neglected as second children sometimes are, and he has been generally great with that. But now things are changing. We're working on self feeding and I'm excited to get into what this little guy is going to wolf down. I had a couple friends asking me what babies eat and when and how, then another question today about feeding a one year old. So I thought we could get into what William eats and what he plans to eat in the future.

First off, we don't do baby led weaning. I always wanted to look into it further, but here's why I didn't: I already had one child go through the typical food eating steps and it seemed fine to me. Also, I don't even have time to read books for pleasure right now, so reading a book about changing feeding tactics just wasn't going to happen. From what I  have heard it seems very interesting and something I would probably like, it just wasn't the route we took. 

So what should you feed your baby? The simple answer is "whatever you are eating."  Here is what we did.

Months 0-5.5 our kids only had breast milk. Landon's first food was rice cereal, and William's was pureed avocado both at 5 and a half months. Someone asked me why people use rice cereal and there are a few reasons. When you are first introducing foods to your child you don't know what they may be sensitive or allergic to. Rice cereal is easy on their tummies and there is a very low likelihood that they will have an allergic reaction to it. It also tastes like nothing and can be mixed to be thin or thick depending on the abilities of your baby. The truth is, there are a decent amount of fruits or vegetables that have similar qualities and more benefits. That is why we used avocado with William. Mashed and thinned out with breast milk (or formula) and we usually had one around anyway. 

Months 6-9 we go through the list of all of the fruits and vegetables that we can think of. You try one and wait a few days before trying something new to make sure there aren't any allergies or reactions. It's really annoying. During this time you might feed your baby some of the following: sweet potatoes, mangoes, squash, tomato, carrots, apples, bananas, corn, peas, more avocados, pears, peaches, regular potatoes, green beans, broccoli, braising greens, kale, spinach, etc. Basically anything that isn't naturally soft (carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, etc) you can steam, roast, or boil then throw in a blender or food processor and make it as thin as it needs to be for your baby by adding in breast milk or formula. Or buy the jars or pouches at the store. They have an amazing selection even since Landon was a baby with lots of different veggie combos with spices added in. Check the ingredient list to make sure there aren't weird additive or preservatives. You should be able to understand every ingredient. Those are great to throw in the diaper bag or take on weekends away. 

Babies develop at different rates and during this time your baby might be ready for some chunks of food or finger foods. Both of ours weren't ready until after 9 months. We worked on it with them, but it really didn't click until they hit that magic 9 month mark. 

Side note: when your baby is learning to eat, they have to also learn to swallow and learn to not choke. Food will get stuck in the baby's throat and it is scary. And then they cough it out and with it sometimes comes half of the bottle you just gave them. So when you are trying new chunks or working on self feeding, make sure it's two hours after a bottle so you don't run the risk of wasting and cleaning up 6-8 oz of milk.

Months 9-12 is when we bring the baby to our table. Figuratively because clearly the baby is there already, this is just when we are working toward the baby eating what we are all eating at dinner. So with William at 9.5 months, we are still working on perfecting his self feeding skills. I found a great brand of organic toasted Os that I love & shredded cheese. He has mastered those. We cut up avocado, sweet potato and banana and he works really hard, but they are still a little too slippery for him. Once he gets those going, we'll move on to mashed rice and beans, chopped up pastas and sauces, and then onto chopped up versions of whatever we are eating. At his age and beyond we start by chopping things into about pea sized pieces and limiting the amount on the tray so that he doesn't shove it all in at once. 

Another tip that worked great for us was to serve the food separately. So if you are giving your baby dinner of sweet potatoes, broccoli and shrimp and you know that he will eat all of the sweet potato and then might not eat the broccoli, you hide the sweet potato and the shrimp and start with the broc. Once he has had a decent amount, add in some shrimp, and then when he has had some shrimp bring out the sweet potato. This maneuver kept Landon eating foods that weren't necessarily her favorite, because she had them when she was hungry and didn't know there was another option.

From 12 months on we continue introducing more of what we are eating. What we have learned with Landon is that kids often love things you wouldn't expect. She would much rather have salmon or shrimp instead of chicken. She will eat spinach raw. And the rule in our house is that you don't have to like everything, but you have to try everything once. We also have a new rule that you CANNOT say anything is spicy. It's Landon's magic food turnoff word. If she doesn't like the taste of something she'll say "oh, mommy. Well that's spicy." 

Don't let how many teeth your baby has determine what you are feeding them. Most one year olds will not have their chewing teeth (one year molars) yet and will be chewing food with their gums. Your baby will progress with the food regardless of how many teefies are in there.

Don't be afraid to let your baby try ANYTHING when they get to the right age. I was shocked that Landy liked chopped spinach. But she also loved raw salmon spring rolls and kale salad. Try it all! Let your child determine what s/he does or doesn't like. Don't let preconceived notions about what babies and children "like to eat" cause you to put your child's meal offerings in a one size fits all box.

So for the one year old question, we are taking a trip down memory lane. Here is what Landon was eating  from about 10 months to 14 months: 

Starting small with Os and cubed cheddar cheese.

Finely chopped broccoli and salmon

Chopped banana

The remnants of chopped broccoli and chicken tikka masala

Clockwise from top left: Salmon, chopped spinach, fresh mozzarella, and sweet potatoes

She has this for breakfast for a year. Fried eggs... you guessed it: Chopped

Black eyed peas, pineapple, strawberries and zucchini before they were chopped

 

Os, chicken breast, sweet potato, broccoli, and peas

She was able to handle the larger chunks of salmon about 13 - 14 months.
With avocado, mashed potato and raspberries.

Chicken breast with bbq sauce, chopped spinach, avocado, carrots & broccoli.

Normal snacks or meal additions

 Here is what made this easier on us: When we made dinner we would make sure it was something we could put aside a little of for Landon the following day. For added veggies (which she ate much more of than we did) we would buy bags of organic frozen broccoli, chopped spinach, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, peas, and corn. Then I would pour out a portion for her meal and pop it in the microwave for 1:15 and let it cool. Fresh veggies for the kids. Minimal effort from mom. Other things not pictured above that were very popular: Meatloaf, Lasagna, & Spaghetti Squash.

I'm happy to answer any more questions about our approach and how things worked for us. One thing we tried REALLY hard to do is to keep snack type food to a minimum. You need it, because it is a life saver at least once a day, but kids get hooked on snack foods and it's a slippery slope. We stick mainly with regular bland flavor organic Os because eventually the taste of real food beats out the taste of cheerios. 

Apologies, once again, to my sweet neglected boy. A post about what he is eating turned into a post about what his sister used to eat. Second child. At least he can't read yet, so he can't be too offended. 

#NotSoSweetMay starts in almost 24 hours..... Maybe you'll see me eating cookies at Brown Bag Deli tomorrow... all. day. long. 

- RT