Does your baby want table food? - Page 2

[iris0110]

Tharen is super interested in food. He sits at the table in his bumbo at dinner time and watches us eat. I tried giving him chewy toys, but that just didn't cut it. He drools, licks his lips and chews his fingers/bib eagerly while we eat. It seems almost cruel to eat in front of him at this point. I was so unprepared for this cause Kearnan was totally disinterested until about 6 months. His first food was a piece of pizza crust that he secretly stole off of his grandpa's plate when he was about 7 months old. After that he got a bit of food on and off, but didn't really start eating solids until he was about 11months old. With Tharen, since he is so interested I think we will start offering soft veggies in the mesh feeder when he can sit up on his own fully. I figure that gives us till about 6 months. Even then it will only be for the experience, he will still get primarily breast milk for nutrition. I am thinking maybe we will start with avacado and steamed squash and work our way up from there. Maybe I will puree some tofu with breastmilk and freeze it in ice cubes for the added teething benefit. My IL's got me a baby food making kit for my baby shower, but since I am not big on spoonfeeding babies I don't know that it will get much use.

[wirewendy]

Dipping a chip

My daughter is 4 months and a few days old. My DH and I were eating tortilla chips and Guac. I carry her around in a sling a lot, so she was just at the counter level. She was reaching for a chip, so I gave one to her. She took the chip, reached into the bowl and dipped it in the guac! I couldn't believe it! She doesn't yet put things into her mouth other than her blankets or clothes, so didn't try to put it in her mouth. I wonder if she would have liked it. Probably not because it had fresh garlic in it. She likes trying to drink out of a glass, but when water gets into her mouth she spits it out and makes an ugly face. It is hilarious. She is always trying to grab at our plates, but I think it is only to feel the texture and examine their contents. I think that when she starts putting things in her mouth I will experiment with food. I am waiting for her to give me the cue.

[allnaturalmama]

Since we're on the subject, here's some quotes from Sally Fallon in Nourishing Traditions on the subject:

"An unfortunate practice in industrial societies is the feeding of cereal grains to infants. Babies produce only small amounts of amylase, needed for the digestion of grains, and are not fully equipped to handle creals, especially wheat, before the age of one year...Many doctors have warned that feeding cereal grains too early can lead to grain allergies later on." page 600

"Baby's earliest solid foods should be animal foods as his digestive system, although immature, is better equipped to supply enzymes for digestion of fats and proteins rather than carbohydrates...At the age of about ten months, meats, fruits and vegetables may be introduced, one at a time..." pg 600-601

"It is unwise to give baby fruit juices, especially apple juice, which provide only simple carbohydrates and will often spoil an infant's appetite for more nutritious foods. Sorbitol, a sugar-alchohol in apple juice, is difficult to digest. Studies have linked failure to thrive in children with diets high in apple juice." pg 601

"It is wise to feed babies a little buttermilk or yoghurt from time to time to familiarize them with the sour taste. Above all, do not deprive your baby of animal fats -- he needs them for optimum physical growth and mental development. Mother's milk contains of 50 percent of its calories as fat, much of it saturated fat, and children need these kinds of fats throughout their growing years." pg 601

I wish I had known this with my first!

[iris0110]

At the age of about ten months, meats, fruits and vegetables may be introduced, one at a time..."

I don't know that I can put Tharen off for another 5 months. He is already practically mugging people to get at their food. I won't let him have any till he is at least sitting on his own, but he would be theiving food from his brother long before 10 months. I just started giving him water with a straw to amuse him during dinner so he doesn't try and steal our food. He almost got ahold of a cracker today at lunch. I always thought it was safer to introduce veggies first, and then meats. Should I consider fish or chicken as a first food instead of avacado or squash?

[allnaturalmama]

Originally Posted by iris0110

I don't know that I can put Tharen off for another 5 months. He is already practically mugging people to get at their food.

Originally Posted by iris0110

I always thought it was safer to introduce veggies first, and then meats. Should I consider fish or chicken as a first food instead of avacado or squash?

Yes, the author does turn on its head the typical American way of introducing baby to foods, but, I didn't want to bore everyone with the contents the entire chapter in my post above, so I did leave out a couple other good quotes:

"Carbohydrate in the form of fresh, mashed banana can be added after the age of 6 months as bananas are rich in amylase enzymes and thus are easily digested by most infants."

"Carbohydrate foods such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, etc, should be mashed with butter..." (so carbs in the form of veggies like squash are not a no-no, just be sure to supply the animal fats with the veggies; avocado has good fats, too...)

also, the author says you can start giving baby an egg yolk a day as early as 4 months because it supplies cholesterol needed for mental development and important sulphur-containing amino acids. The egg should be from free range hens for omega-3s. You can even add a pinch of sea salt to the yolk, since it is necessary to activate the formation of glial cells in the brain. The white of the egg should not be given before one year, because its proteins are difficult to digest.

So, she's not hardcore wait til 10 months, but she does advocate holding most foods off til then, and that meats are a worthy first food. Remember that butter, yogurt, and eggs are also animal foods, too, and are recommended...

With DD2, I pulverized chicken, fish, beef, etc for her beginning around 10 mos, and mixed them with a bit of water or yogurt, as she's still not the best chewer in the world, even at almost 3! DS1 is a compulsive chewer, so the water/yogurt would not have been necessary for him, although I didn't know then what I know now, so he started out on mainstream powdered, processed, all-vital-nutrients-removed rice cereal.

[wawoof]

Interesting thread.

I think Ethan first tasted food at about 5 mo - hummus from my plate! We added small amounts of various baby foods after that, and he never had any trouble with anything, though he never cared much for cereal of any kind until he was big enough to eat cheerios. The only things we held off on were dairy and eggs (until age 1) and peanuts (until age 2), to minimize the risk of allergies or intolerance.

Galen is *super* interested in food. He puts everything in his mouth, stares at anyone eating, and as of the last week, is not interested in BF while others are eating. So, today I pulled out the Super Baby Food book and Sears' The Baby Book and both said to follow your DC's signs of readiness and to introduce first foods after 4mo when you feel your DC is ready, based on their signs of interest. For me, the most important tenet of AP is responding to my child's expressed needs and as long as I can do so and not endanger his health, I do it. I might wait longer to introduce foods if we had a family history of food allergies, but we don't.

Sooo, I let Galen taste mashed ripe banana today and he *loved it*. He seemed so happy to be able to eat when the rest of us are eating. I'm going to follow the SBF guideline to wait 4 days to a week between each new food and watch for any allergies (and hold off on dairy, eggs, peanuts, and grains for a while). I was interested in what a PP said about cereal. The SBF book echoed the PPs comment that babies can't digest whole grains before at least 6 mo. And, given all the health problems that result from our culture's addiction to refined carbs, I don't want to introduce them to Galen any earlier than necessary. So we will hold off on grains till later and then introduce only whole ones. Of course I plan to keep giving Galen as much breastmilk as he wants. Also, I don't plan to introduce any other liquids to his diet before 1yo, as my understanding is that nothing would be better for him to drink than breastmilk.