Let me start by saying this is by no means a dietician's or other medical professional's opinion or recommendation.
This is simply our adventure into the land of being a baby foodie.
What has worked for us may not necessarily work for you.
Take what I say with a grain of salt and be sure to use your own intuition and/or instinct for what is best for your child.
One of the biggest comments I get told is, "You seem like a mom who would make her own baby food."
Why, thank you. I am glad I come across as that put together. And while, yes, I would love to make all of Lainey's food myself.... it's just not realistic for us right now. So, when I reply with a solid, "Oh, how I wish I had the time do that."
The next question I usually get is, "What is that pouch?" Or I get spotted feeding Lainey from a pouch and someone says, "Well isn't that a great idea!? We didn't have things like that when I had a baby to feed!"
Well, it's true - pouches are "the new thing" in baby food. But that isn't really why I use them. I made a decision when Lainey started eating solids that she would be eating organically as much as possible. And it just so happens that most organic baby food comes in pouches. There are many brands of baby food out there... from the popular Gerber to Earth's Best, Ella's Kitchen and Plum Organics - just to name a few.
And believe me, we have tried them all!
And...
We have actually eaten most of them.
Lainey didn't start solids until she was about 6 months old. While most of the time we don't consider her adjusted age, this one of the times that her pediatrician wanted to take things slow. So we held out until she was 6 months old, which would equal about 4 months adjusted.
Little Miss never took to cereal very much, so I don't have any advice for that. We tried every type of cereal we could and she just wasn't into it... so we put our big girl pants on and stepped it up a notch.
Starting out was tricky, to be honest. I had to make sure we only tried foods that were a single ingredient. And single veggie flavors were tricky to find in a lot of organic options. We actually used a brand called NurturMe, which is a powdered baby food that you add formula or water to in order to get the right consistency. I am a big fan of this stuff! It's easy to use, tasted like the fruit/veg it said it was and for the most part, was easy to travel with! The other cool thing about it is that when she gets older, I can sprinkle it into other foods and add a secret vegetable to the dish. (Nope, there's no shame in my game -- I am all for the toddler taste bud trickery!!)
Then we moved on to combos. Simple combos at first. Since there weren't a ton of plain options early one, I wanted to make sure anything new in a combo was the only new ingredient. This way, if there was any type of allergic reaction, I could more easily pinpoint where it came from. For example, Ella's Kitchen makes a pears, peas, and broccoli pouch. Well before we taste-tested it, I made sure Lainey had already tackled pears and peas. This way, if something threw her off, I would know it was probably the broccoli.
We did the fruit and veggie thing for a few months...
Now comes the sticky wicket in our menu... MEAT! Now, I know that meat is not a necessity... people are vegetarians all day - every day. But I still want Lainey to try/eat it. If she grows up and decides to be a vegetarian... more power to her! I've been there - done that. It's not as hard as one may think, but I do love me some chicken!
Ok, sorry - back on track...
Meats have been a tough one. I have seen the stink face at the dinner table more times than I can count. And I have had it thrown back up more times than I would like to ever remember. But finally! (sing kitchen angels, sing!) We have found a winner! I think it all boils down to texture. I have compared the ingredients to a Plum Organics chicken dinner and the Ella's Kitchen equivalent. Both have nearly identical ingredients, but I can assure you they have very different textures. Now, that is not to say one texture is better than the other... they are just clearly different textures. Lainey prefers the texture of Ella's Kitchen. Your baby may prefer that of Plum Organics or some other brand. And who knows, maybe she will like the more lumpy texture as she gets older. But for now, it's just not working out for us.
I have one trick up my motherly sleeve, though, for serving meats to a toddler. It took me a while to get it, but now that I see the pattern... it works like a charm!
Are you ready for it??
Start with the side item first! Yep - start with the fruit, veggie, or combo there of then add the meat to the meal! Yes, more toddler taste bud trickery.... I know, I am a mean mom. But hey! It works!!
After I can tell Lainey is done with the food, we end the meal with a little "dessert" of puffs or yogurt bites. Just a few to keep her still while her tummy settles and I can clean up the kitchen.
Lainey is still drinking formula too - she does about 4 6oz. bottles a day. Most of the time, she takes the bottle about 30 minutes after her solid meal.
Here's our daily menu
8am - Breakfast
One pouch of something like these:
- Plum Organics Mish Mash of blueberries, oats, and quinoa
- Ella's Kitchen Brekkie (fruit, rice and yogurt)
8:30am - Bottle
Noon - Lunch
One pouch of something like these:
- Greek yogurt mixed pouch
- Vegetable mix of some kind
- Generally, not a lot of fruit mixes at lunch
12:30pm - Bottle
4pm - Bottle "Snack"
She generally takes a full bottle at this time with no solids
7pm - Dinner
One meat pouch + Side item pouch
- Chicken or Beef pouch
- Fruit/Veg mix pouch
- Followed by a "serving" of puffs
8pm - Bedtime bottle
This is
our down time. No playing, just sitting quietly watching TV. Sometimes
we even have this bottle in her bedroom. After the bottle, we read a
book - say a prayer - and go to bed.
I
should also say, Lainey has pretty good reflux, and I am confident that
she knows when she is done. So when acts like she is done eating, even if I think she
should eat more, I don't try for "just one more bite." Because odds are,
I will get that bite and then some back on the high chair tray!
I
am also confident that she knows when she is hungry. Because of this, I
let her decide if this "schedule" works for her on a daily basis. If
we are out and she doesn't seem interested in eating - ok, fine. Skip it
for now and you can eat it later. This may seem like a bad idea, like
it would throw our whole day off. It really doesn't; she puts herself
back on track. She is consistently hungry at "dinner time" regardless
of when she ate lunch/snack. And bedtime always falls before 8:45pm.
Hopefully this helps you with your toddler's menu too.
xoxo,
Linda
