Unconventional Baby Food

Eleven years ago, when my first child was an infant, I gave him baby cereal from a box when he was ___ months old (I’ll save myself the embarrassment of an exact age, but suffice it to say, it was really early!) Since I can’t change anything about that, I just have to admit I didn’t know any better and move on armed with more and better information.

Now, you will not find me in the camp of those who do not feed solids until their babies are 1 year old. Maybe if I had children with allergies that would be something I would hold to, but as it stands, I have hungry kiddos and stick to the rule of thumb that has yet to lead me astray…

When they start showing interest, start grabbing, and start being hungry more often and on a fairly consistant basis, I offer food. If they turn their nose up at it, I don’t push it. I wait a bit and offer it again. Since I’ve begun following this way of introducing solids, I’ve had babies eating solids anywhere from 5 months to 7 1/2 months.

However, I have confess something here…

I no longer feed infant cereal as a first food.

What do I feed them?

Well…

one of my favorites is advocado. Avocados are a nice healthy fat (and babies need nice healthy fats in their diet!). It is also easily mashed, making it a quick food to prepare. In the beginning, I take a small sliver (peeled, of course) and mash it in a bowl and offer it to baby. This has always proved to be a favorite with my kiddos.

Another good fat and easily consumed food is…

Once again, a good healthy fat for baby (and mamas too!). I usually only do one small spoonful of coconut oil per day, but you must, must, must use only the extra virgin organic kind. For more information on coconut oil, take a look at Dr. Mercola’s site and Coconutoil.com. (and just as a side note, we also use coconut oil for skin rashes and as a wonderful smelling hand lotion)

I don’t often give fruit as a first food because I prefer my kiddos avoid a reliance on sweet things to tempt their palate. Not sure if there is any proof to my theory that introducing sweet first makes baby less apt to want the blander tasting veggies later on, but no matter, I tend to steer clear, except for one fruit…the mango!

Mangos have a nice mashable texture and are not as sweet as some fruits. Most of my babies have been pleased with mangos and had no issues eating their veggies.

So, there you have my top 3 favorite unconventional baby foods. The reason this has come up is because Micah is showing interest in food. Here I’ll make yet another confession…

I am not consistant in the beginning with feeding solids. If one day they are starving hungry all day long, I feed them; but, if the next day they seem satisfied with just good ole mama’s milk then I stick with that. Honestly, nursing is 100 times easier than feeding solids. There comes a point where feeding baby food every day becomes necessary, but rarely in those early days. I also try to make sure they are really wanting food and not just in a growth spurt that will pass within a week or two. If after about a week of consistantly being fussy and nursing round the clock things do not level back out, then I offer food. This is where Micah is. He is nearing 5 months, but he is very tall and very advanced physically for his age (must have been that extra week he spent in utero!), so it really doesn’t come as much of a surprise that he is already interested in food.

As I said, I’m not real consistant, but he has had some coconut oil and a bit of advocado this past week. He thought they were great!

Here is a picture of Micah taking his first bite of coconut oil.

(Yikes, mom! Where’s the bib!?! Note to self…coconut oil is an OIL…not good to go bib-less!!!)