be honest...

[makena_smiles]

I am making Maddie's baby food myself, instead of buying pre-made stuff in a jar.  So far she's eaten banana, squash, sweet potato, peas,  and carrots.  Of those things she eats all but the peas, so I'm actually trying them again this week in hopes she will expand her horizons.  We're also going to do apple, yam and potato soon.   She also eats

Comments

[jessibeaucoup]

I think you are doing great! You'll just have to keep trying and introducing new things. Other than known things to keep her away from (wheat, honey, peanuts) you should try anything and everything. Even though she doesn't have teeth yet, you could try giving her bits of things on your plate just to gauge the reaction and to establish the 'normality' of those foods (i.e. keep her from throwing fits later).

I don't know if any of this will work - it justs feels right to me. Also, I'm so, so, so proud of you and impressed that you make your own baby food!!

[makena_smiles]

Thanks for the encouragement! It really is fun making her food. We're moving on to apples this week. And I'm going to try the mixed grain cereal again and see how that goes. I haven't given her the turnips yet because I liked how they tasted before they were mashed, but they taste funky now that I mashed them. Oh well. I'll try them. If she hates them they'll go in the compost. =)

[str8ontilmornin]

I didn't know until recently about waiting until a certain age to introduce nuts, so any idea I may have should be checked and doublechecked. How about other legumes beside peas? Lima, navy, kidney, lentils? Also other grains like quinoa or amaranth. These have complete proteins if that's a factor right now. Of course these can be mushed for the toothless out there.
I think variety is great but until she actually starts pointing to things on the menu, then you are golden. Sounds like you are doing the right thing as far as introducing variety and definitely trying things more than once. M will respond to the variety of options and expand her list eventually and I highly doubt she will stick with the same four things for the rest of her life.
Oh and the teething biscuits contain wheat flour so let me know when you/she are/is ready and I'll bake up a batch.

[makena_smiles]

The doc. said she could start having wheat products any time now. We gave her a mixed grain cereal two weeks ago and that was the night she threw up, but we're convinced now (after the last week or so of weirdness) that it was the immunizations that caused the reactions not the cereal. I'm actually going to start offering her cheerios (part the reason we had a kid - the quintessential baby experience - cheerios) which have wheat, and I'm going to give her the mixed grain cereal again. I'll let you know how that goes but I'm really hopeful that it's a success because it will really expand our food horizons. I've never even heard of the other grains you mentioned!! I'll also check on legumes, but I'm pretty sure they're fine. The only concern I'm guessing would be gassiness, but I'll check it out and we'll start trying them.

[makena_smiles]

I definitely need to introduce more legumes. We're doing apples this week. As well as trying the mixed grain cereal again. She's been having cheerios and as far as I can tell those are going fine, so I think wheat flour is a go.

[imaginetulips]

One of the things I really liked about the book I mentioned a while back is that it had a month-by-month list of when to introduce foods and gave ideas for introducing or mixing foods. It helped keep me out of that rut! We never tried turnips (no reason other than I didn't think of it) but S. loved beets when she was a baby (won't touch them now but that's another story). So "ha" to those who think it's weird. We fed her tofu, which most people thought was disgusting. She also loved avocados. I should know this but if you remind me how old Maddie is, I could pull the book out and give you a quick list if you'd like. Maybe it will help spark some new ideas for you.

[makena_smiles]

Maddie is 7 months (her 7 month "birthday" was yesterday =). I'd love a list of foods, or the name of the book again (I don't remember the title). I'm enjoying making her food. It's very satisfying.

[imaginetulips]

I thought she was either a month older or younger than my cousin's baby. Anyway, the book is called Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. I can't say I ever read through the whole thing and I think the author is a bit of a fanatic about some things, but I liked the list of foods, suggestions for how to prepare them, and timetables for when they should be served. Here's a sample up to 7 months (minus the main things you've already mentioned