Solids

This post started as a how-to make your own baby food post. But then I realized I had more to say about solid food in general. So, here it goes…

As mentioned in her 6 month post, Analiese started eating solid food a few weeks ago. I did a fair amount of research beforehand to know what kind of foods to start with and the best time to feed them to her given her current routine. I dug out my borrowed copy of The Baby Whisperer Solves All Your Problems and revisited the discussion boards at TheBabyWhisperer.com. The concept we’re following is “until 1, food is fun.” In other words, breast milk will remain Anliese’s primary source of nutrition until she’s 12 months old. In the meantime, we’re getting her used to what food is, what to do with it, and to learn that eating is an enjoyable, pleasurable, relaxed, positive experience.

You may remember that we’re following the Eat, Activity, Sleep routine throughout the day. As we introduce solid foods, breast milk remains the “E” and solid food is the first part of her “A”. The rest of her “A” time allows for the food to digest.

My friend, Krysta, recently wrote about her experience with starting solids with T. We’re using the schedule she found as a guide to introducing new foods every 3-4 days. As the schedule suggests, we’re starting out with two meals each day – one right after her first feeding of the day and one in the early evening when she wakes up from her cat nap. She’s usually fairly hungry and expecting food since all of her other feedings follow naps, but it’s not time to have milk again. This differs a bit from the BW advice, but it seems to be working for her and us. The timing of this later meal will eventually match up with when we can all eat dinner together.

Like most things we’ve done with Analiese, this change is a gradual one. (Also, as we increase the amount of solids throughout the day – both in the amount of each meal and the number of meals – we’re slowly decreasing the amount of her dream feed. Another gradual process. I think we’ll both be a little sad when we no longer have this opportunity to peak in on our sleeping babe.) We started with very runny rice cereal for her first meal (video to come soon). It was somewhat anti-climatic for Ross who was expecting “solid” food to be, well…more solid. Nevertheless, Analiese loved it, could tell it was different (especially since it was coming from a spoon) and wanted more. Carrots were next, which she enjoys a lot. (Side note: She hasn’t had carrots for three days as I write this post and she’s still pooping orange “play-doh” poop.) She wasn’t a fan of avocados, but I’m going to try them again down the road mixed with something else.

With each new flavor, Analiese isn’t sure at first, but eventually can’t get enough and really enjoys the new sensation on her taste buds. We can tell how much she likes something by the distance she sticks out her tongue when she opens her mouth for another bite. She has a long tongue! We get to see a lot of that tongue when she eats peaches, which is the latest food we’ve introduced her to.

I have really enjoyed making Analiese’s food. I registered for a few baby food freezer trays and the Top 100 Baby Purees which have both come in handy. When it’s time for a meal, it’s so easy to take a cube of food out of the freezer, heat it in the microwave and then let it cool. Depending on what it is, I’ll mix it with either breast milk, rice cereal, or both. Below is the process I used for making peaches. I could have just pureed the fresh peaches, but the idea of baked peaches sounded (and smelled!) so much better for some reason.

The first thing I did was cut the peaches in half, removed the pits, and placed them in a baking dish with an inch of water.

I baked them at 400 degrees for about a half an hour. I didn’t think it would take this long, but it needed to be long enough for the skin to start to wrinkle. This was a sign that the skin would come off easily. I got impatient and took the dish out to check the skin. It seemed loose enough, so I took them out and peeled the skin off.

Into the food processor. I love my food processor. Second favorite kitchen tool to the Kitchen Aid mixer. There’s a good amount of clean up involved whenever I use it, but I don’t mind it too much.

Voila! Pureed baked peaches!