We wait to begin introducing food/solids to our babies- usually until they are 8 or 9 months. I know that is pretty unusual. Most people begin around 6 months and some even earlier like 4 months. We wait because we are trying and hoping to prevent things like Celiac disease and diabetes among the many other allergies that Payne intestines have- milk, ,bananas, peanuts - to name a few. The other reason that is almost equally as strong is that I don't really like feeding babies baby food. They grab the spoon, fight with you for the food, it is messy, takes longer and they always want to eat when I want to eat. That is pretty selfish- I know. It is fun maybe the first couple of times but really, I like when they can start feeding themselves. But as I said before, it is mostly about the allergies.
Ideally we begin feeding our babies around 8 or 9 months with introducing fresh wholesome fruits and vegetables, whole grains- rice, oatmeal, then wheat. No preservatives. Just wholesome fresh goodness for their little tummies to adjust to one at a time.
The reality: dried up Ramen noodles, garlic bread with butter and mayo, old bananas and banana peel, crunchy Trix (Hello yellow #5 and Red #2), Cheerios soaked in cow's milk, pieces of Fruit Roll Up (high fructose corn syrup), and peanut butter sandwich crusts. Those are just the food items I have witnessed.
The combination of early crawling and standing (the little kid table is just the right height for his chubby little reaching hands) and older siblings who are really just little kids too makes for adventures in food scavenging. Yep, the self-feeding stage. My dear sweet Wesley- may the antibodies I have given you be strong and your intestines be steel.
You know, maybe the reason that my children are such good eaters is because we make them wait for so long they are willing to try ANYTHING.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Baby Food
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6 comments:
Joy, I loved your comments on feeding Wesley. He was so eager to eat all that pureed peach, I can just imagine that he is on the prowl for anything he can snatch now. He must have the Jackson "gut of steel"! Pat
I've had a sneaking suspicion that, as my family gets larger, I will lose more and more control over things like my kids' eating... =)
Oh well.
This is nature's way of making me flexible, right?
It seems like some babies' eagerness to eat is just the novelty of it anyway, and then it wears off and they won't eat that thing for another six months. Do you find the same?
We agree with Lindsay's comment. Of course, Andrew doesn't have any older siblings to supplement him with the really good stuff yet.
Do you guys notice that babies eat better when their siblings, or other older kids, are eating as well?
What do you mean by eating better? That they actually eat or that they eat the food presented? So far our kids have been great eaters. We just feed our babies whatever we are eating and make whatever adjustments are needed (cutting up smaller or mashing etc.). I don't really do baby food. Of course we stay away from things like honey that first year and there is a list of food (like collard greens) that you are also not supposed to give kids under 1 because of the nitrates. That was new to me.
Oh, Wesley could become obese if he was scavenging under our table....especially Morgan's chair. :)
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