Derrick vs Oranges

We continue on our journey through every fruit mommy can think of.  Today's journey is oranges!  I have been holding off on this standard childhood staple due to the acidity.  With Derrick having acid reflux, I wanted to delay introducing citrus.



We have another winner in the fruit category.  Derrick loved his orange pieces and ate them right up!  Yummo!

Food size

Every thing that I read when we first started BLW talked about food that was stick like with a handle.  We started our solid food journey with sticks of sweet potato, broccoli stalks,  and carrot sticks.  But, as you can see as the blog progresses, the size of Derrick's food keeps getting smaller and smaller.


This is our own natural progression based on Derrick's needs.  As his pincer grip became better and his desire to eat food grew by leaps and bounds at 9 months, we had to change how we fed him.  Derrick was getting so excited about eating food, that he would put the whole piece in his mouth.  He ended up overwhelming himself by stuffing his cheeks full of food that he couldn't swallow.  We tried giving him his sippy cup to help with swallowing, but it didn't always work.  He would end up getting upset and crying.


So we started giving him smaller pieces.  This worked for awhile, until his excitement overcame him again and he started pushing food into his mouth until he cheeks poofed out like a little chipmunk.  Again we tried giving him his sippy cup to promote swallowing, but that didn't always work.  We have had to change our mindset with feeding him, giving him the small pieces and only giving him a few at a time.

I don't remember reading anywhere in the BLW how-to's about reducing food size.  I guess the important thing is to not take BLW too seriously or thinking that you 'have' to follow a strict set of rules.  The only reason there is a label is because it is against the mainstream way of thinking and by having a name, others can plug something into Google and learn more about it.  Just follow your instincts and your baby's lead on what they like and what they can handle :)

Happy eating :)

Derrick vs Chicken stir fry

This is one of our family's go to meals.  We cook cut up chicken breast, bell peppers, onions, and garlic and stir fry it up in a wok.  We serve this with rice, and everyone picks their own sauce.

Derrick had his without sauce (and cut up into smaller pieces)



He was a big fan of the bell peppers.  Out of my own little fear of him choking, I took the peel off of the bell peppers before I game them to Derrick.

Derrick vs his 9 month appointment

A few weeks ago Derrick went for his 9 month well baby check up.  The reason I wanted to post about the visit is that we had talked about solid foods.  I didn't tell my pediatrician that we were doing BLW, but just that I was preparing all of his foods myself, no jar junk.  At the visit our pediatrician encouraged us to start table foods.  He said with Derrick's pincer grasp, as good as it is, there was no reason to hold back.  Hearing that made me very happy.  He also said that except for four foods, I could give Derrick whatever I wanted.  Those 4 foods are:  peanuts, shellfish, eggs, milk.****

This news also made me excited.  I didn't have to keep wondering, "Is this a proper first food"?  Now I could really just give Derrick whatever we were having ourselves for dinner.  What a great way to really include him as part of our family.  This also meant that I could start giving Derrick proteins, which worry wart me had been holding back.

So be on the lookout for more posts involving some more interesting foods!

****Follow your own pediatrician's advice as to introductions to high allergenic foods.  Do not take my post as advice of when to introduce certain foods.   

Derrick vs spaghetti and meatballs

Say what?  Spaghetti and meatballs??  Yes, I gave it a shot.  My parents were in town and I was already cooking for 4 adults and I didn't have anything planned for Derrick.

My one mistake was trying to give him angel hair pasta.  I should have done penne or bowtie, something that would have been easier to grasp.  That would have been much better for his little hands.  Derrick played with the angel hair, but didn't end up eating any.  Mommy mistake :(


Derrick did end up loving the meat ball though.  He just ate them up.  I cut them up in little pieces about the size of peas, since he has gotten so good at grabbing items.  Meatballs - yum

Derrick vs Kiwi

One of my favorite fruits happens to be kiwi.  I wish I lived in a place where I could grow them myself - yummy!  I was searching for something to give to Derrick for lunch and I decided, what the heck, we can try kiwi.

On first taste Derrick wasn't completely sure what his silly mommy had put in front of him.  It suspiciously looked like those peas we had a few nights before.

But they tasted much better!  My little piggie can almost eat a whole kiwi in one sitting! Yummy

Derrick vs Peas

Now that Derrick has a pretty good pincer grasp, I wanted to give him a challenge.  Well, maybe not a challenge, but more to see how good his little fingers work.  Plus, personally, I was getting sick of eating orange veggies all the time.  My hubby may love them, and I do too, but I need more color in my life.

Derrick had no problems with the peas and seemed to enjoy them


These will be a veggie we try again!!

Derrick vs Peaches

We are trying to branch out with more fruits.  I grabbed a peach the last time I went shopping.  I peeled the peach and cut it into slices.  Derrick gobbled them right up.  I can't wait to give him fresh peaches when they are in season.

Yummy!  Give me more mommy! Can't wait for summer!  Gimme more fresh fruit!

Derrick vs pancakes

Every morning that my husband is off from work, we do a nice breakfast together.  My husband plays short order cook and I get to sit back and enjoy all the smells.  When Derrick was first included, I wanted him to take part in our weekend breakfast ritual.  Since he is too young to eat eggs, I decided to try pancakes.

Since we are battling a milk protein intolerance, I used the following recipe from MSPI mama
Milk Free Pancakes

Derrick really enjoyed his pancakes and this will be a must try again.

You can also use a milk free pre-made batter.  Bisquick batter is milk free and we enjoy using this too.

Derrick vs apples

I was reluctant to try apples with Derrick.  Whenever I thought about giving them a try, I never had any on hand, or the ones I had on hand were small.  But, when Derrick turned 7mos old and we started to include him in breakfast, I needed more ideas.  So one morning, I grabbed an apple.  I peeled and sliced the apple and cooked it in the microwave.  Surprisingly, they cooked well.  I gave them a quick sprinkling of cinnamon and voila! Breakfast!


I was surprised how well Derrick picked up the small apple slices and really enjoyed eating them - yummy

Spice it up

As mentioned in our sweet potato post, I have used spices on Derrick's food.  We don't care for bland foods, so why would he?  I am not talking spicy as hot and spicy, but just something with a little bit of flavor.  I will be avoiding salt and sugar because that is what is best for baby.  I went online to find a good resource of information on which spices would be good for Derrick to eat.  At Wholesome Baby Food, they suggest a list of baby friendly spices as well as what fruits and veggies they would go best with. 

I have included that list here.  Enjoy making food with a little pizazz :)

Derrick vs Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  This holiday is purely about food and family, and I anxiously await it every year.  I was very excited to share this day with my little boy.  When looking at the menu for dinner, we were limited as to what we could give Derrick since he has no teeth and was just 7 months old.  So turkey and cranberry sauce were out, but Derrick did enjoy his mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Derrick did end up sleeping through Thanksgiving dinner, but he enjoyed his food while the rest of us enjoyed our pie.  :)

Derrick vs Bananas take 2

Slippery foods.  They are the enemy of a new eater.  Poor Derrick tries so hard with his little hands and he just can't get a good grip on these foods.  Luckily I read online about "breading" the slippery food with rice cereal.  Well, it worked like a charm!  Derrick was able to get a good grip on his 'naners.

He picked the banana right up and put it right in his mouth.  He did hit his nose a few times, but shhhh, we won't tell. We love our bananas!

Derrick vs Sweet Potatoes take 2

We decided to tackle the orange veggies again with sweet potatoes.  This time, I boiled the sweet potato just as if I was going to make mashed potatoes, hoping to avoid the skin on the outside that I found with the butternut squash.  I had been reading about offering the baby some spices on food to make them more enticing.  I decided to sprinkle a little bit of cinnamon on the potatoes.

He ate these potatoes up.  This was the most energy and desire he has shown for any food so far.  (except water in the sippy cup)  I will be adding some extra flavor to other veggies in the future!!

Derrick vs the sippy cup take 2

We decided to try a different type of sippy cup for Derrick.  This one does not need you to suck to get the water out.  Derrick really likes to drink water and will cry and reach for his sippy cup.



But he struggles with the whole concept of the cup - because, well, he is only 6 months old.  Our pediatrician said as long as he gets it by the time Derrick is a year old, we are fine.  Not that we were worried.  So we do help hold it for him so he can get a little water, then we give it to him to see if  he can do it.  Hey, this is what practice is for right?



 
He likes to chew on the spout of the cup as he drinks, which leads to a very wet baby, but a very happy baby :)

Derrick vs Avocado

One of the foods I have read about giving to a new baby is avocados.  They have great nutrients and have no allergy risks.  When I gave the avocado slices to Derrick, I forgot about how slippery it would be for him to pick up.  He held a piece I handed to him, but quickly dropped it and didn't want to try again.  He did take bites of the avocado when I held it up to him.

Next time I will try to coat the slices with some rice cereal to give Derrick some grip.  Overall, even though he didn't feed himself directly, he ate quite a bit.  I was impressed.  Yummy

Derrick vs rice

We don't go out to eat often, but when we do, we try to go out for food that we cannot make ourselves at home.  Typically that leads us to international food favorites - sushi and thai.  Right now Derrick does not sit well in the massive restaurant high chairs, so he just sits on my knee.  This hasn't made BLW easy to 'follow' at restaurants.  I end up feeding him bits of my rice from my meal.  So, I thought I would try rice at home. 

I cook jasmine rice because of my love of thai food.  Jasmine has a great fragrance and is sticky.  This makes it very easy for a new eater.  The rice just stuck to his hand and he didn't have to worry about picking it up with his fingers.  This was a success!

Wordless Wednesday Feature

Derrick was featured on the Natural Parents Network's Wordless Wednesday blog entry.  Congrats to my little man! 

Check out the Natural Parents Network blog entry here

Derrick vs Butternut Squash

Orange veggies.......you can probably tell we like them.  They have been our most popular offering to Derrick during these first few days of BLW  We are just offering him what we are eating, but Derrick isn't overly thrilled with these nutrient dense offerings. 

I have been reading up on fresh food preparation,  preservation, and storage. I caught an article on the best way to prepare veggies to not lose nutrients.  I was surprised to learn, microwaving lost the least amount of vitamins from the veggies.  Apparently the quick cooking allowed more nutrients to stay in the veggies.  Steaming was a close second.  So I thought I would give microwaving the squash a try, especially since we were having our squash in the form of a a curry, and I am not ready to expose Derrick to a more complex food yet.  (Plus our pediatrician said to wait until he was 9 months for something that complex.)



Well, the one downside to microwaving is that it leaves a thin 'skin' on the veggie.  (I had already pealed and chopped into fry like shapes)  Since Derrick wasn't thrilled with this offering, he didn't put much of an effort into gumming his food.  We got the "you've gotta be kidding" face again, as he just kept licking his veggie.



With a little help from mom, he would eat bits off my finger and he seemed to enjoy it.  We will keep at it with the orange veggies :)

Derrick vs Bananas

We will add bananas to the list of successful foods.  We tried to let Derrick hold the banana, but again, it was very slippery.  He was happier to move himself towards the banana I was holding and take a bite of it on his own.



Another successful food for Derrick.  :)
Yummy!