It's lunchtime. My big kids are eating spaghetti-o's and chicken. Okay, maybe not the healthiest meal out there, but not the worst, either. As I'm spooning spaghetti-o's into my 10 month old's mouth (he LOVES them, by the way), I contemplate the staggering differences between feeding your first child and feeding your third. For the sake of brevity here, we'll totally skip talking about feeding that 2nd child (sorry Paige; sometimes it reallty does suck to be that middle child).
Your baby is 4-6 months old. At one of the many well baby checks, your doctor hands over the "Airplane, Choo-choo, and Other Games Parents Play" brochure. You know, the one with all the feeding recommendations in it. You look at your 4 month old and think, "Solids????? That's still forever away!!!!"
With Aiden, I followed this guide to the letter. Loved it. It tells you what to introduce when, and how much. I'm not one of those (insert adjective of choice here) moms who has the time or inclination to make my own baby food- organic or otherwise. I think Gerber in the jar works just as well. And come on, it's just easier. We did the whole one new food a week thing until we made it through all the fruits and veggies. Then we added the combo foods- cereals, fruits, and veggies. Blah, blah, blah. Only egg yolks until a year, no citrus until a year, and on and on.... As a result (and this is my sincere opinion), we have one of the pickiest eaters in creation on our hands.
Okay, I won't skip Paige completely here.... With the 2nd child, we were way more relaxed. Still one food at a time at first, and I broke out that good ol' brochure and looked at it a few times. Buuuuuttt... she ate a lot more "table food" a lot sooner. It was just easier. I figured out at about 10 months that she could eat what her brother was eating. I started thinking that jarred foods much past then were a racket. And she is a much less picky eater than her big brother.
Fast forward to baby #3. Yes, we started with jarred food. And yes, we introduced one at a time. One veggie a day, then a fruit the next day, then a veggie, and so on. None of that waiting a week crap. Finn (and Paige for that matter) hated baby cereal and refused it from the beginning. Okay. No biggie. I think I gave him cheerios for the first time at 6 months. I know he got crackers then. We moved on to the stage 2 foods by 6 1/2 months, and he was getting either toast or Eggo waffles for breakfast by the time he was 7 months. Hmmmmm.... if Finn can eat toast for breakfast, then he can handle texture just fine. It was the beginning of the end.
Finn is just 10 mo old now, and I think he's been eating what we eat since 8 1/2 or 9 months. We give him the occasional jar of food every now and then to supplement with a fruit or veggie if we are having a particularly non-nutritious day. But he's getting to the point now that he doesn't like much jarred food any more. He'd much rather have "big people food". Which is fine with me. It's cheaper, and easier for me to deal with.
As a disclaimer: I'm not stupid. No peanutbutter or honey until a year. I cut up food small enough not to be a choking hazard. I watch him carefully the first time I give him something. There are lots of moms out there who would gasp in horror at the way I feed my baby. But you know what? He's happy, healthy and thriving.
Your baby is 4-6 months old. At one of the many well baby checks, your doctor hands over the "Airplane, Choo-choo, and Other Games Parents Play" brochure. You know, the one with all the feeding recommendations in it. You look at your 4 month old and think, "Solids????? That's still forever away!!!!"
With Aiden, I followed this guide to the letter. Loved it. It tells you what to introduce when, and how much. I'm not one of those (insert adjective of choice here) moms who has the time or inclination to make my own baby food- organic or otherwise. I think Gerber in the jar works just as well. And come on, it's just easier. We did the whole one new food a week thing until we made it through all the fruits and veggies. Then we added the combo foods- cereals, fruits, and veggies. Blah, blah, blah. Only egg yolks until a year, no citrus until a year, and on and on.... As a result (and this is my sincere opinion), we have one of the pickiest eaters in creation on our hands.
Okay, I won't skip Paige completely here.... With the 2nd child, we were way more relaxed. Still one food at a time at first, and I broke out that good ol' brochure and looked at it a few times. Buuuuuttt... she ate a lot more "table food" a lot sooner. It was just easier. I figured out at about 10 months that she could eat what her brother was eating. I started thinking that jarred foods much past then were a racket. And she is a much less picky eater than her big brother.
Fast forward to baby #3. Yes, we started with jarred food. And yes, we introduced one at a time. One veggie a day, then a fruit the next day, then a veggie, and so on. None of that waiting a week crap. Finn (and Paige for that matter) hated baby cereal and refused it from the beginning. Okay. No biggie. I think I gave him cheerios for the first time at 6 months. I know he got crackers then. We moved on to the stage 2 foods by 6 1/2 months, and he was getting either toast or Eggo waffles for breakfast by the time he was 7 months. Hmmmmm.... if Finn can eat toast for breakfast, then he can handle texture just fine. It was the beginning of the end.
Finn is just 10 mo old now, and I think he's been eating what we eat since 8 1/2 or 9 months. We give him the occasional jar of food every now and then to supplement with a fruit or veggie if we are having a particularly non-nutritious day. But he's getting to the point now that he doesn't like much jarred food any more. He'd much rather have "big people food". Which is fine with me. It's cheaper, and easier for me to deal with.
As a disclaimer: I'm not stupid. No peanutbutter or honey until a year. I cut up food small enough not to be a choking hazard. I watch him carefully the first time I give him something. There are lots of moms out there who would gasp in horror at the way I feed my baby. But you know what? He's happy, healthy and thriving.
Well, I say you do what works. Period. I think if we had another (which is not in the plan) it would likely go differently for sure. Ours is SO texture sensitive even at 2.5 and I'm sure part of it is because we waited so long for everything. I personally think Spaghettio's RULE!
ReplyDeleteI love your blogs!!
ReplyDeleteYep! Garrett's all over trying everything the rest of us are having and has been since November. He discovered hummus just before Christmas, which he loved, and last night he discovered sun dried tomatoes. No problem with texture for my kid!
ReplyDeleteYou could not have put it any better!! My child #1 is very picky. Child #2 will eat anything!
ReplyDelete