Man, it's been a while since I've updated you guys on Wren's eating habits. I guess truthfully I kind of do a quick update on the monthly posts, but thought I would spend an entire post on it today.
I LOVE THIS!!! Meal time is, mostly, quite enjoyable in our house. Not to say that we don't have those moments when she's totally not into sitting in her high chair or devouring what is on her tray, but more times than not we all sit down to dinner at the same time and eat the same thing. I don't have to prepare her food separately. I don't have to feed her before we eat. I simply make dinner & we eat it. It's fantastic!
We never did baby food or anything mushy. Her first food was green beans...ones from my plate!! Gary took her to her 9 month check-up and the doctor said the only thing she couldn't have is honey, so we pretty much live by that rule. We let her try EVERYTHING!!
I kind of grew up a picky eater and at times those tendencies tend to peak back into my life. Gary has a much more diverse pallet and I've learned over the years that I actually do like more things than I thought. It kind of helps that he's a phenomenal cook too :). We tend to try new recipes quite often to excite our taste buds, but also get Wren used to eating all kinds of different flavors and textures. Pinterest has assisted a TON with the plethora of recipes that are at our fingertips! I pin recipes that sound good to this board, then I edit it with any notes on how I might improve it or cook differently next time and move it to this board. I get rid of any of the ones we don't like. It's an awesome way for us to try new things and keep up with what we've tried and liked!
Some people ask how I feed Wren things that need to be eaten with a spoon since we don't spoon feed her. Well, there are times when I will spoon feed her now, but not in the beginning. I let her feed herself for several months before I started feeding her. I wanted her to feel confident when she ate. She loves cottage cheese and can totally feed herself, but sometimes she just likes eating from the spoon. I know that she will get to where she can spoon feed herself soon too, but for now I usually put the food on the spoon for her and then give it to her to put in her mouth. She does pretty good, but still sometimes dumps it in her lap because she tries to put it in her mouth upside down :). I sometimes fully spoon feed as well. If we're at a restaurant and I don't want her to make a huge mess I'll just feed her the soft foods like guacamole. Since she's already learned how to feed herself I don't feel like it's a regression to feed her this way every once in a while.
Yes, she still has favorite foods. I don't think there's anyway to deter anyone from having favorite foods. However, that doesn't mean that she won't eat other things. She loves any kind of pasta! But she doesn't only eat the pasta and leave everything else. She eats it all. There are times though that she eats more pasta or less pasta. The Baby-Led Weaning book said they know what their body needs. Sometimes you will notice they eat more carbs. Sometimes you will notice they eat more protein. Sometimes you notice they don't eat much and just want to nurse...this is normal! We definitely notice this stuff! It said don't force them to eat. Let them go at their own pace. Let them decide when they're done. They will definitely let you know. Sometimes she'll be fussy and reach out. Sometimes she'll start tossing food over the side of her chair. Sometimes she'll sit happily and play with her cup while we finish. I normally have to sweep under her seat after every meal, so if she's content I'll let her stay in the chair even if she's throwing food over the side. It's a great time for Gary and me to talk or to get our Bible reading in.
She's not big on any type of 'baby food.' She doesn't really care for puffs anymore. She doesn't like the yogurt bites (I still have the very first package I bought). She definitely doesn't like baby food. My sister left some of my nephews baby food in the fridge and so that it wasn't wasted I thought I would feed it to Wren. She did not like it! In the past I've given her some of his baby food and she'll eat the few bites I give her and even reach for more sometimes, but she wasn't digging these mixed veggies. Cook her up some fresh or frozen mixed veggies and she's all over it :). She will eat some of the graduate foods, but I don't normally buy them because it's an extra expense. As of yet, we haven't had to increase our grocery budget because we don't really buy anything additional. We buy the occasional baby item (storage milk bags, snacks, diapers), but since she eats what we eat and we use cloth she's pretty much a free baby! Now I know that will change as she gets older because I've seen the crazy grocery bill of households with teenagers, but for a year of someones life not being a burden financially that's pretty cool don't ya think? I think we can have 20 more of these!! TEHEHE kidding...not kidding :).
You might wonder if you do go the baby food route if you can still have a good eater and my answer to you is YES! Absolutely! I have a friend that made all of her baby food & once he was ready to move to more solid food she simply kept making the same foods just not mushing it up. He does great and eats a lot of peas of carrots. She said he won't touch green beans, but I think we can all agree that if your child is eating peas and carrots that we are going to be happy campers!! Oh and I probably need to add that she's raised another child to get broccoli as a side instead of fries, so I think she knows what she's doing :).
Good luck out there mommas!! You're doing great!!
Kimberly
I LOVE THIS!!! Meal time is, mostly, quite enjoyable in our house. Not to say that we don't have those moments when she's totally not into sitting in her high chair or devouring what is on her tray, but more times than not we all sit down to dinner at the same time and eat the same thing. I don't have to prepare her food separately. I don't have to feed her before we eat. I simply make dinner & we eat it. It's fantastic!
We never did baby food or anything mushy. Her first food was green beans...ones from my plate!! Gary took her to her 9 month check-up and the doctor said the only thing she couldn't have is honey, so we pretty much live by that rule. We let her try EVERYTHING!!
I kind of grew up a picky eater and at times those tendencies tend to peak back into my life. Gary has a much more diverse pallet and I've learned over the years that I actually do like more things than I thought. It kind of helps that he's a phenomenal cook too :). We tend to try new recipes quite often to excite our taste buds, but also get Wren used to eating all kinds of different flavors and textures. Pinterest has assisted a TON with the plethora of recipes that are at our fingertips! I pin recipes that sound good to this board, then I edit it with any notes on how I might improve it or cook differently next time and move it to this board. I get rid of any of the ones we don't like. It's an awesome way for us to try new things and keep up with what we've tried and liked!
Some people ask how I feed Wren things that need to be eaten with a spoon since we don't spoon feed her. Well, there are times when I will spoon feed her now, but not in the beginning. I let her feed herself for several months before I started feeding her. I wanted her to feel confident when she ate. She loves cottage cheese and can totally feed herself, but sometimes she just likes eating from the spoon. I know that she will get to where she can spoon feed herself soon too, but for now I usually put the food on the spoon for her and then give it to her to put in her mouth. She does pretty good, but still sometimes dumps it in her lap because she tries to put it in her mouth upside down :). I sometimes fully spoon feed as well. If we're at a restaurant and I don't want her to make a huge mess I'll just feed her the soft foods like guacamole. Since she's already learned how to feed herself I don't feel like it's a regression to feed her this way every once in a while.
Yes, she still has favorite foods. I don't think there's anyway to deter anyone from having favorite foods. However, that doesn't mean that she won't eat other things. She loves any kind of pasta! But she doesn't only eat the pasta and leave everything else. She eats it all. There are times though that she eats more pasta or less pasta. The Baby-Led Weaning book said they know what their body needs. Sometimes you will notice they eat more carbs. Sometimes you will notice they eat more protein. Sometimes you notice they don't eat much and just want to nurse...this is normal! We definitely notice this stuff! It said don't force them to eat. Let them go at their own pace. Let them decide when they're done. They will definitely let you know. Sometimes she'll be fussy and reach out. Sometimes she'll start tossing food over the side of her chair. Sometimes she'll sit happily and play with her cup while we finish. I normally have to sweep under her seat after every meal, so if she's content I'll let her stay in the chair even if she's throwing food over the side. It's a great time for Gary and me to talk or to get our Bible reading in.
She's not big on any type of 'baby food.' She doesn't really care for puffs anymore. She doesn't like the yogurt bites (I still have the very first package I bought). She definitely doesn't like baby food. My sister left some of my nephews baby food in the fridge and so that it wasn't wasted I thought I would feed it to Wren. She did not like it! In the past I've given her some of his baby food and she'll eat the few bites I give her and even reach for more sometimes, but she wasn't digging these mixed veggies. Cook her up some fresh or frozen mixed veggies and she's all over it :). She will eat some of the graduate foods, but I don't normally buy them because it's an extra expense. As of yet, we haven't had to increase our grocery budget because we don't really buy anything additional. We buy the occasional baby item (storage milk bags, snacks, diapers), but since she eats what we eat and we use cloth she's pretty much a free baby! Now I know that will change as she gets older because I've seen the crazy grocery bill of households with teenagers, but for a year of someones life not being a burden financially that's pretty cool don't ya think? I think we can have 20 more of these!! TEHEHE kidding...not kidding :).
You might wonder if you do go the baby food route if you can still have a good eater and my answer to you is YES! Absolutely! I have a friend that made all of her baby food & once he was ready to move to more solid food she simply kept making the same foods just not mushing it up. He does great and eats a lot of peas of carrots. She said he won't touch green beans, but I think we can all agree that if your child is eating peas and carrots that we are going to be happy campers!! Oh and I probably need to add that she's raised another child to get broccoli as a side instead of fries, so I think she knows what she's doing :).
Good luck out there mommas!! You're doing great!!
Kimberly
