as josh mentioned in his blog post today, bebe has been showing a real interest in food for a while now. people eating, people drinking -- she finds it endlessly fascinating. so, we decided that it was time to introduce her to solid foods. the recommended age for doing so is six months, and if you've been following along at home you know that bebe marie will be six months old on wednesday (side note: how is that possible? can time slow down just a little bit? please?). close enough.
however, we have no interest in starting her off with rice cereal and other pureed foods. instead, we plan to introduce solid food to her using the baby-led weaning approach, which is so named because it originated in the UK, where the term "weaning" means introducing solids, not ending nursing. the basic idea is that right from the beginning, babies are given table food and allowed to feed themselves. it's perfectly safe, assuming the foods given are soft and gummable, and it appeals to me for several reasons. first and foremost, it allows the baby to decide whether and how much to eat, rather than getting spoonfuls of mush shoved into her mouth. secondly, it's a hell of a lot easier -- i can make one meal for all three of us, and we can all sit down to eat together. josh and i get to enjoy our own food while bebe is free to eat hers or not, as she wishes. finally, it's my hope that by feeding bebe whatever we're eating, rather than starting off her relationship to solids with the idea that there is "kid's food" and "grownup's food," we'll increase the likelihood of having a child who likes a wide range of tastes and textures, rather than a victim of the "nefarious chicken-finger pandemic," as it was described in a new york times article last year.
anyway. this is just all to explain why these pictures, of bebe eating solid food for the first time, show her munching on a carrot. don't worry, it was fully cooked and soft, plucked out of our beef and barley stew and rinsed off under some cool water.
we started her off in the high chair with a cup of water. she didn't quite understand what to do with it, but when i held it up to her mouth she did swallow a little bit, mostly by accident.
then we put some cut-up carrot on her tray. she was still more interested in the cup.
however, we have no interest in starting her off with rice cereal and other pureed foods. instead, we plan to introduce solid food to her using the baby-led weaning approach, which is so named because it originated in the UK, where the term "weaning" means introducing solids, not ending nursing. the basic idea is that right from the beginning, babies are given table food and allowed to feed themselves. it's perfectly safe, assuming the foods given are soft and gummable, and it appeals to me for several reasons. first and foremost, it allows the baby to decide whether and how much to eat, rather than getting spoonfuls of mush shoved into her mouth. secondly, it's a hell of a lot easier -- i can make one meal for all three of us, and we can all sit down to eat together. josh and i get to enjoy our own food while bebe is free to eat hers or not, as she wishes. finally, it's my hope that by feeding bebe whatever we're eating, rather than starting off her relationship to solids with the idea that there is "kid's food" and "grownup's food," we'll increase the likelihood of having a child who likes a wide range of tastes and textures, rather than a victim of the "nefarious chicken-finger pandemic," as it was described in a new york times article last year.
anyway. this is just all to explain why these pictures, of bebe eating solid food for the first time, show her munching on a carrot. don't worry, it was fully cooked and soft, plucked out of our beef and barley stew and rinsed off under some cool water.
we started her off in the high chair with a cup of water. she didn't quite understand what to do with it, but when i held it up to her mouth she did swallow a little bit, mostly by accident.
then we put some cut-up carrot on her tray. she was still more interested in the cup.
she also wondered, what's up with the cameras, mom and dad?
eventually, she noticed the carrots, but she couldn't pick the tiny pieces up.
i had originally cut the carrot up because at the last second i got cold feet about letting her control the feeding herself, and worried that if i gave her a longer piece she'd choke on it. but once it was clear that she couldn't do anything with the little pieces, i gave her a longer spear that she could hold in her hand.
she examined it for a minute,
she examined it for a minute,
and then put it right in her mouth.
these pictures don't tell the whole story -- she did gag a couple times, which my research on BLW had led me to expect as normal and nothing to worry about. she puked all over herself but got right back to the business at hand, sucking on the carrot and gumming little pieces off. i have no idea if any of it made it into her belly, but that wasn't really the point. in fact, there's a saying that "until they're one, food's just for fun" -- that is, babies are supposed to receive all their nutrition in the first year of life from breastmilk or formula. giving them solid foods, up until their first birthday, is just to introduce them to different tastes and textures, to explore and have fun.
in that respect, bebe's first foray into the world of solid food was a definite success.
in that respect, bebe's first foray into the world of solid food was a definite success.
_
No comments:
Post a Comment